The Ghostly Grounds: Disaster and Dessert by Sophie Love

Author:Sophie Love [Love, Sophie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sophie Love
Published: 2021-05-16T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“I should probably point out that I’m not a very good liar,” Abagail said as she pulled her car into the Shoreline Oaks driveway.

“I don’t need you to lie,” Marie said. “I just need you to make sure Sherry isn’t looking out of windows or doorways. I need you to keep her downstairs. Tell her you’re very upset that Katie is being so accusatory. See if she’ll give you her side of what she experienced when Eva fell.”

“I’m still nervous about it.”

“Oh, I am, too,” Marie said. “Believe it or not, your daughter isn’t a fan of sneaking around into other people’s houses.”

“I always thought if we ever reunited, it would be this really touching sunset scene, or maybe a fancy dinner,” Abagail said. “But I never would have imagined this.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

Marie thought that out of the three of them, Brendan was likely having the best time—being fawned over and getting to enjoy lunch. Meanwhile, she felt her stomach gurgling and bubbling with nerves as her mother parked the car. Much like June Manor, it appeared that Shoreline Oaks was lacking guests on the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve; there was only one other vehicle in the gravel parking lot.

“I’ll give you one minute before I get out,” Marie said. “I hope you’re good at thinking on the fly.”

“I am. I’m also quite good at going on and on with a conversation even when it’s clear the other person wants it to be over.”

“Perfect,” Marie said, slinking further down in the seat. “And I need you to try to get her on the back patio. Maybe act all impressed with the view.”

“You think that’ll really work?”

“Not sure. But there’s only one way to find out, right?”

Abagail let out a shaky sigh, opened her door, and exited the car. For a moment, Marie could hear her footfalls on the gravel, then on the sidewalk, and then not at all. A few seconds later, there was the very distant sound of someone knocking on the door and then, a handful of moments after that, the sound of two people murmuring. The sound of the door closing came not too long after that. Marie looked to her watch, waited a very tense minute, and then quietly got out of the car.

She hurried across the lawn and walked up to the porch as if she was afraid she might step on a landmine. When she came to the door, she reached out for the handle and looked behind her. She was certain Katie would pull up behind her at any moment. But she knew this was not the case, as Katie was scheduled to meet with Brendan for lunch five minutes ago. Marie placed her ear to the door and heard her mother’s voice. It was getting further and further away. She then heard someone laughing—not her mother, but someone else. Sherry, presumably. After another few moments, their voices were still present and Marie didn’t think her mother would succeed in moving Sherry outside.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.