Page 78 of Forever Dead

"What the hell are you doing up here?"

Selena looked back toward the wall.

Nothing.

Only moonlight broken by moving branches outside.

The old woman's shape had vanished.

Connor came into the room. "Selena?"

"I just wanted to see the scene."

"You really never do listen to me."

"I wasn't planning on going inside."

"That makes this much better."

"The front door was forced."

"I saw it."

"I heard footsteps," Selena said. "Then I thought I could hear someone crying, but it's the wind. There's a loose shutter back here."

Connor swept his flashlight across the room. "There's nobody here but you and me. I checked the rooms when I came in."

Selena turned toward him. "How long have you been here?"

"Couple of minutes. Cheryl called me. I was closest."

"I didn't hear your car."

"The wind's loud, and I parked back near the first curve, so I didn't drive over anything around the house." Connor frowned. "You must've been in a daze. I shouted when I came through the front. Didn't you hear me?"

"No."

He studied her.

Selena stared again at the wall.

A shadow.

That was all.

A shutter moving in moonlight. Branches outside. Her own mind filling in the rest because she had been thinking about Eleanor from the moment she entered the driveway.

It had to be.

Connor followed her attention. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Selena."

"I said it's nothing."

The shutter moaned again.