Page 39 of From the Darkness

“I see,” Bree said, keeping her voice even.

“If you need anything, give your shopping list to Graves, and he’ll take care of it on his next trip into town.”

“Does he like to buy tampons?” Bree snapped.

“Probably not. But he’ll do it, if you need them. Or you can borrow some from me, if it’s an emergency.”

“I don’t need them right now. I was just giving an example,” Bree muttered, wondering if she could steal a car and make her getaway, with Dinah in tow. But first she’d have to find the keys—and match them to a vehicle. “I don’t like it any more than you do,” Nola muttered, and for a moment Bree thought she was going to say something more. Then her expression closed up again.

“Well, I’ll make a list of what I need,” Bree said, then hesitated. She wanted to ask why there was only one phone in this huge house. But she decided she wasn’t going to get a straight answer. Probably Nola would give her some story like the one about the car insurance.

As she left the room, she debated what to do next and decided she should check on Dinah.

Mrs. Martindale was in the kitchen getting ready for dinner. When Bree asked about the little girl, the housekeeper directed her down a short hall to a cozy sitting room that was probably the servants lounge. It was outfitted with a comfortable couch and chair, both facing a large television set.

Dinah was on the sofa eating pretzels from a bowl and watching a Disney video.

She looked up as Bree came in.

“Can I turn off your program for a minute?” Bree asked.

“For a minute,” the child answered, making it clear that she didn’t really want to be interrupted.

Bree clicked the stop button on the DVD, then sat down on the couch. “I know you like to watch videos. But we could play a game instead.”

“I want to find out how Cinderella comes out.”

“You haven’t seen it before?”

“No. Mrs. Martindale just got it out. She keeps new ones around—for a surprise.” Bree thought about keeping the child company. She wanted to spend more time with Dinah. But she wasn’t going to be pushy about it. So she said, “Okay. Then I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Yes.”

Bree clicked the video on again, then started back toward her room, thinking she might as well get some rest. As she made her way down the hall, she heard voices and stopped. Mrs. Martindale was talking to someone, her tone sharper than Bree had heard it before. She stopped in the hall, aware that she was eavesdropping, yet willing to use any means she could to find out about the situation at Ravencrest.

“What’s wrong with you? This isn’t a good time,” the housekeeper was saying.

“Then when do you suggest I come back, if you don’t mind my asking?”

Bree recognized the other speaker. It was Graves, the spooky handyman—or whatever he was supposed to be around here.

“I suggest you come back later,” Mrs. Martindale said firmly. “When I’m not . . . cooking dinner.”

After a space of several seconds, there was a grudging, “Okay.”

Bree waited a few beats to make sure the conversation was finished, then stepped briskly down the hall and entered the kitchen again. “Problems?” she asked, as she took in the slightly flushed tone of Mrs. Martindale’s face.

“That was Graves,” she said.

“Yes, I heard him.”

The housekeeper looked exasperated. “I asked him two days ago to check the drain in the kitchen sink. It’s sluggish. So, he shows up now to fix it. When I explained to him it wasn’t a good time, he got that stubborn look that makes me so annoyed.”

Bree nodded. So, Graves was stubborn. She might have added that the man gave her the creeps. But she didn’t know his relationship with the housekeeper. The conversation hadn’t exactly sounded friendly, but she wasn’t going to make any assumptions.

“I’ll be in my room if you need me,” she said.

“Yes. Fine.”

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