“Now we’ll never find out why it was there,” she said.
Lisa hoped she was right. She left Veronica and Stephen and went behind the wall to get away from the wind. The entrance to the interior of the fort, or at least the largest part of it that was still standing, rose up in front of her. It was shielded by the slanting ground, and water trickled down the discolored bricks, making ripples in the murky pool that had collected in front of the doors.
The more Lisa thought about the boat, the more disturbed she became. What could Graham possibly be doing with it? There was no reason for him to arrive by boat, especially if Molly’s assertion that he was in town on a business trip was correct, but maybe he had decided to do a bit of exploring in his free time. She thought about the job offer he had made to her father and felt slightly better. He wouldn’t stick around after being rejected. He would break Molly’s heart and go back to wherever he came from.
She was reflecting on this happy thought when Veronica and Stephen dashed around the corner, dragging Josh with them. They appeared to bear him no ill will for ruining their plans with the boat. Veronica splashed through the puddle and shook the doors. A clanging sound echoed through the air. It was so disconcerting that Lisa found herself standing much closer to Josh than she had intended. In fact, she wouldn’t have objected if he had put his arm around her shoulders, but he didn’t.
“It’s stuck,” said Veronica.
“Good,” said Lisa. “You shouldn’t be going in there anyway.”
“You’re not listening,” said Veronica. She sounded jittery. “I’m not playing around. The doors won’t open. Something’s in there. I can feel it watching us.”
“You’re just trying to scare me,” said Lisa with as much courage as she could summon on such short notice. She shoved Veronica out of the way, grasped the handles, and pulled on the doors. They didn’t budge. She tried again, this time using all her strength. The result was the same. She felt something holding them in place. Veronica was right. The doors were locked from the inside. Someone was hiding in the fort.
Veronica and Stephen stared at her with solemn faces, waiting to hear the verdict, but Lisa couldn’t think of anything encouraging to say. She realized her fear was contagious and hated herself for it, especially because she didn’t want to make a bad impression on Josh.
“We should probably leave,” she said.
Veronica and Stephen didn’t need any further encouragement. Through no fault of their own, they had been thoroughly intimidated, first by sharks, and then by intruders. They were rather subdued as they turned back toward the house, but it wasn’t long before they forgot about their fears and ran on ahead of Lisa and Josh, laughing together without a care in the world.
Lisa was afraid of what she would find when she returned to the house. There was no doubt in her mind that Sabrina had done something dreadful during her absence, and the more she thought about it, the more desperate she felt. Her hands became clammy in her pockets, and she found herself shivering, but not because of the cold. She slowed down as they walked up the driveway, and by the time they arrived on the porch, she couldn’t bring herself to take another step. Veronica and Stephen went inside and left her alone with Josh.
“Lisa, what happened back there?” he said.
“I don’t know,” she said. “There aren’t nearly as many tourists in Silvertree as there are in some of the bigger cities along the coast, but it’s not unheard of for strangers to come here and get themselves into all sorts of trouble.”
“Do you think we should tell your parents?” said Josh, reaching out to open the door for her in an absentminded show of courtesy.
“No,” said Lisa. “I don’t want to give them anything else to worry about right now.”
“What do you mean?” said Josh.
The anxiety in his voice surprised her, and as his eyes searched her face, she felt herself coming to pieces. She averted her gaze, but he had already looked straight through her. Lisa didn’t know what to say. She wished he would stop interrogating her. Whatever was waiting for her inside the house couldn’t be worse than his questions.
“Something’s going on,” he said. “I’ve been trying to figure it out, but I can’t seem to wrap my mind around it. My parents have been acting strange for the past few days, my mom has been wasting away ever since Yvonne was born, and your dad is an oncologist.”
“So?” said Lisa.
Josh shrugged.
“My parents like to keep secrets,” he said. “They don’t mean any harm, but sometimes they take it to an extreme, and I’m not sure why. For example, I didn’t know my grandfather was alive until yesterday.”
“Richard?” said Lisa.
“Yes,” said Josh. “I can’t imagine my parents cutting him off unless they had a good reason, but in that case, I don’t know why they’d give him a second chance. I hope I’m not making you feel uncomfortable by asking you about all this stuff. I’m just worried about my mom, and I thought your parents might have said something. She’s sick, isn’t she?”
“I can’t tell you,” said Lisa.
Before Josh could reply, she hurried into the house. She heard her mother crying as soon as she entered. No one else was in the room. Lisa rushed to her mother’s side. She hadn’t seen her so distressed since the funeral. Clinging to her mother, she raised her head. Josh was still there. He looked like he
