Page 28 of Is Anyone Listening?
"It probably should," I murmured. "But we're not leaving. Not yet anyway."
"I'll keep my phone close. You do the same. Text me if you need me."
"I will. You do the same."
After Tessa left, I stared at the note for another minute and then turned it face down on the desk. I picked up my phone, and before I could second-guess myself, I typed out a message to my father: I need to know why you left Stonecross, what happened between you and your mother.
I stared at the words for a long moment. And then I erased them.
My father wasn't going to tell me anything. I needed to find the answers for myself, and that's what I was going to do.
Chapter Eight
I jerked awake. There was a sound—too sharp to be the wind. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was a little past five a.m. And now I could hear the sound of hushed voices outside my room.
I rolled out of bed and moved quickly to the door, glancing through the peephole. There was movement just off to the side, and then Ellen came down the hallway. She paused outside my door, and I shrank back in alarm.
What was going on? Was she going to knock on my door?
And then I heard another voice. Anna?
I looked through the peephole again and saw Anna crossing in front of my door with a backpack on her shoulders.
What on earth was going on? Why would they be in the hall at this hour?
I turned the knob and cracked my door open, but the dimly lit corridor was empty now. I closed the door and locked it, then got back into bed. I stared up at the ceiling for several minutes, my mind racing with more questions and no answers.
I tossed and turned for the next hour, and then I must have fallen asleep, because sunlight was streaming through the curtains when I woke up again. I grabbed my phone, shocked that it was now half past nine.
My phone showed several missed texts from Tessa, starting about thirty minutes ago.
You up? Going down for breakfast. Want me to bring you something?
Cassidy???
Getting worried. Text me back.
I quickly typed: Sorry! Didn't fall asleep until late. Just woke up.
Her response came immediately: I'm glad you're okay. I grabbed muffins and fruit. Coming up now.
A minute later, there was a knock on my door. I let Tessa in, still in my pajamas, my hair a mess.
"Hope you're hungry. I grabbed a bunch of stuff." Tessa set a tray on the desk. It was filled with pastries, fruit, and coffee.
"Thanks. I must say you look better than I feel."
"I think it was the bath. The lavender knocked me out." She grabbed one of the coffees and took a sip. "Did you do any more research after I left last night?"
"I looked up Tyler Pierce. All I could find was a short paragraph about him on his company website. He is an architect for an NYC firm and got his degree at Yale. I couldn't find him on social media, but I was too tired to search further. I can do more today."
"Why don't you get Morgan on it? That's something she can do from New York and feel more a part of this. At least, we know Tyler is an architect. That part of his story holds up."
"It does. I'll text Morgan. I also want her to research Ray Connors. We've been focusing on Ellen, but Ray seems to be her right-hand man, and it's difficult to believe Ellen searched our rooms on her own." I paused. "There's something else I need to tell you, Tessa."
"What?" She sat down on the bed and sipped her coffee, giving me an expectant look.
"I woke up around five this morning to hear someone outside the room. It was Ellen and Anna. It looked like Anna was leaving."
