Page 51 of His to Haunt

“I haven’t been introduced yet.”

“To Zand? But you met him when… he gave you that,” I say, pointing at the embroidery. She must have forgotten.

She frowns. Sometimes, she does that when she recognizes it’s her dementia causing forgetfulness.

“It’s okay, Mom.”

“It wasn’t him,” she says.

“Okay,” I nod. “Let’s go to bed.”

After giving her a hug and kiss, I go downstairs, trying to calm my mind. Do all trained psychologists feel like they are the only sane person they know, or is it just me?

I can’t just up and leave, though my instincts are screaming to do just that. Grab Mom and our things and flee this godforsaken town. But that’s a panicked thought. I swore I wouldn’t let the eccentricities of this house and town get the best of me. I must calm down.

Taking controlled, deep breaths, I go to my room and change into a robe before heading to the nearby bathroom. It’s the only one with a full bath. I watch the hot water pour slowly, filling the porcelain tub. My phone beeps, and I check my message. It’s a missed call from Stacy about fifteen minutes ago.

I dial her, heading into the hall where it’s quieter.

“Hi Leena, how are you?”

“Good, thanks,” I lie. At least Stacy hasn’t managed to seem crazy yet. But she isn’t a local.

“Is there a problem, Leena?”

“Well, I called because I had a question about Rachel. She mentioned you as a family friend. I wondered if you knew her well enough to answer a personal question about her. If it’s okay.”

“Sure, it’s fine. Not sure I can help but ask away.”

“You had mentioned her attempted suicide. Did you happen to know if she was on any medication or was seeing a therapist of any kind?”

She takes a breath, sighing. “Well, I really don’t know. I’m sorry.”

“Could you tell me what you know about the incident? Mom and I haven’t discussed it much, and I don’t want to upset her by bringing it up.”

“Mm-hm. Well, I only know what Zoe told me about the situation.”

“Zoe?”

“Oh, Rachel’s cousin. Zand’s twin sister. I was friends with their mother, before she passed. Zoe was still living at Moonvine, and she and Rachel had an argument. Rachel became upset. She’d been drinking. She ran upstairs. There was a loud noise, and Zoe went after her. Found her hanging from a rope. Luckily, she caught her in time…and…well, there was talk about institutionalizing her. But then that was before…she went missing. Awful.”

Tears flood my eyes, and I make a wheezing sound into the phone.

“I’m sorry, Stacy.”

“Oh, you poor thing. Is there anything else I can help you with, Leena?”

There are so many questions I want to throw at her, but none of them seem appropriate.

“So then, it was only Zoe, Zand, and Rachel living here when she went missing?”

“Yes, I believe so. They were trying to keep the business afloat with only the three of them, but it wasn’t easy. They didn’t want to hire outside of the family.”

“I see. Thank you, Stacy. I’ve taken up enough of your time.”

“No problem at all. Call if you need anything else.”

“Will do. Goodnight.”

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