Page 115 of The House Beyond the Dunes

“Yeah, other than I have a flat and the skies are about to open up.”

“And when they do, the beaches will be swamped with high tide. Leave it for today. I’ll change your tire first thing in the morning. You can drive out when the tides are calmer.”

“Can you drive me out tonight?”

“I’m in the middle of more demo. If I push through, I’ll be finished by midnight. Unless it’s an emergency, you’re going to have to wait.”

Another night here. “I’ll work on the tire myself.”

“We’ve got one hell of a storm coming.” He glances toward the sound and the blackening skies. “It’ll be here in less than fifteen minutes.”

I shove back my hair. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve seen my share of storms.”

In answer, several fat raindrops land on my head. One more night isn’t the end of the world. And I can barricade the doors inside. This time tomorrow, I’ll be out of here, and I’ll have spoken to the local police and shown them the pictures of the woodland house. “How long does it take to change a tire?”

“Longer than fifteen minutes.”

“So I’m stuck.”

“Until the morning. That’s not a big deal, is it?”

“No.” I don’t want to explain why I want to leave now.

“Okay. Call if you need anything. Have your flashlight close and phone charged. We’re going to lose electricity.”

“Terrific.”

“Are you okay? You look off.” The raindrops grow larger and drop faster.

I think about the house in the woods and the bedframe posts marred by old rope, and the picture of the three boys—Kyle, Jeb, and Reece. Did they know what Jeb had done? If Jeb did take Stevie, then one of them could have helped him. She also said there was someone in the shadows who didn’t try to stop her escape. Who was who? “Do you miss him?”

“What?”

“Kyle. You two have been friends for so long.” My voice is quiet. “You must miss him.”

“I told you we had a falling-out years ago. We’ve barely spoken since.”

“Why did you two fight?”

I expect him to blow me off. Most would see this as none of my business. “He was never the same after his brother went to prison. Heblamed himself for Jeb’s incarceration. After that, he wanted nothing more to do with me.”

“Why did he blame himself? Jeb made his own choices.”

“Maybe Kyle felt he let Jeb down. We knew he was struggling with the drugs. But I was tired of cleaning up Jeb’s messes while making a run at a different life. Kyle had been away at college for two years. The way Jeb saw it, we’d ditched him for better lives. His rage spilled out.”

“Onto a girl who had done nothing wrong other than let him get close enough to snatch her.”

“Yeah.”

“Did Jeb act alone?”

The question dangles between us. “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. Did Jeb ever hint that there was someone else working with him?”

“He never said anything to me. And if he told Kyle, Kyle never said. Loyalty means something up here.”

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