Page 36 of The Summer Guests

“You would’ve made things worse,” said Elizabeth.

Susan looked around the table. “And that’s what the man’s angry about?”

“Oh, he’s angry about more than Anna,” said Colin. “It’s the same old story, the have-nots against the haves. Look at the state of the shack he lives in. And here we are, in Moonview. It’s sheer envy.”

“But he made it sound like you did something to him.”

“Tohim?”

“He said, ‘Tell them I haven’t forgotten what they did.’ What does that mean?”

“We’ve never done anything to him. He’s just a crazy old man.”

“He’s always been that way,” said Hannah. “He used to harass my parents too. And Arthur, didn’t he leave a dead raccoon on your doorstep?”

“You remember that?”

“I was eight years old, and it made a big impression on me. Plus, there was that horrible business about his father, and what he did.”

Susan frowned at Hannah. “What did he do?”

“It happened way back, before Colin and Ethan were even born. Reuben’s father went bonkers one day and killed these people on Main Street. I remember the other kids talking about it.” Hannah looked at Arthur. “How many people died?”

“That was a long time ago,” Arthur said. “Let’s not bring up that subject, okay?”

“Please, can we all stop talking about Reuben Tarkin?” said Elizabeth. “I’m tired of hearing about him.”

“I agree,” said Arthur. “He’s just a sad reminder that the locals always consider us outsiders, no matter how many summers we spendhere. We’re forced to get along because we need them to fix our houses, keep up the roads.”

“And they need our money,” said Colin.

Susan’s cell phone rang, and conversation instantly ceased. Susan looked at the name displayed on her screen and felt her breath catch.

It was Jo Thibodeau.Zoe. There’s news about Zoe.

Her hand was trembling as she answered: “Hello?”

“Are you home right now, Susan?” said Jo.

“Yes. Why? What’s happened?”

“I need to come by and collect a swab of your mouth. I’ll be right over.”

“Wait, a swab? You mean for DNA?”

“Yes.”

She felt Ethan reach out to grasp her arm. Felt everyone at the table watching her. “Why?” Her voice rose, shrill with fear. “Have you found her?”

“No,” said Jo. “But we have found something else.”

Chapter 19

Maggie

“Do you think she’s alive?” asked Callie.

Maggie let the question hang unanswered for a moment as she poured grain into the chicken feeder, as she emptied a bucket of water into the dome of the stainless steel poultry waterer. She wondered if she should be perfectly honest with Callie and tell her what she really thought: That Zoe Conover was most likely dead. That she’d been abducted and brutalized and discarded. That for girls like Callie and Zoe, the world was not a safe place, and they must pay attention to even the faintest whisper of alarm in their heads. It was something that Callie already knew; only a few months ago, she herself had experienced the terror of being abducted. No one had to convince her that the world was a dangerous place.

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