“Don’t worry,” said Molly. “Everything will work out if you give it enough time. That’s what I always tell myself when I don’t know what to do, which has been pretty often lately. Graham has been so different since his friend got hurt. He doesn’t complain much, but he’s a shadow of the man he used to be. It’s been terrible for me, but at least I know it won’t last forever.”
“What do you mean?” said Lisa.
“I’m not sure if I should tell you,” said Molly. “Graham found out his friend’s wife was coming into town tonight to pull the plug. He wanted to say goodbye. I insisted on coming with him, but he asked me to wait here. He gets so embarrassed about his emotions. I hope he comes back soon.”
As she spoke, the elevator doors opened, and Graham approached them. He looked preoccupied, but not particularly heartbroken. Molly leaped to her feet and waved at him. Graham raised his head. When he noticed Lisa, a peculiar expression appeared on his face, but she was too upset to wonder what it signified.
“Graham, look who I found,” said Molly. “Lisa just happened to be sitting here. What a strange coincidence, right? She was at prom with Josh, but she somehow got into trouble with her parents, and it looks like she’s stuck here. Why don’t we give her a ride? It would be easy to swing by her house on our way home.”
“That’s a very interesting idea,” said Graham.
Lisa thought he sounded dazed, but she wasn’t surprised, especially if he had just witnessed a death, as Molly’s information suggested. She had known Molly for as long as she could remember, and she trusted her. She stood up, not noticing as her cell phone slipped off her lap. Molly put an arm around her shoulders, and they walked out to the car, bowing their heads against the rain. Lisa climbed into the back seat, and Molly squeezed in beside her.
Graham drove them away from the hospital. Lisa closed her eyes. She wasn’t looking forward to explaining herself to her mother. When she finally started paying attention to the world around her, she didn’t recognize the buildings she saw outside the windows. They were in a part of town that didn’t make sense.
Lisa tried to see where they were going, but to her surprise, the bridge materialized through the mist, and she realized they were crossing the river. She told herself Graham was probably lost, but as soon as the thought entered her mind, she knew it wasn’t a reasonable explanation. She started to get scared.
“Graham, where are we going?” said Molly.
“You’ll see, my dear,” he said. “Don’t worry.”
“Another one of your little surprises,” said Molly with a chuckle.
Graham pulled onto the highway that led into the country. Lisa wanted to ask him what he was doing, but she was too afraid of what he might say. She reached into her purse for her cell phone, but it was gone. Fear smothered her. Molly leaned forward and tugged on Graham’s sleeve.
“Graham, this is silly,” she said. “I adore going on long drives with you, but not in the middle of a storm. The rain is so noisy that I can’t even hear myself think. Besides, Lisa has had a busy day, and I want to get her home.”
“Molly, please shut up,” said Graham. “We’re almost there.”
He turned onto a narrow gravel road and the car slowed to a crawl. Lisa couldn’t see where they were going, but she could hear the crunching of the tires on the uneven ground through the roar of the rain. The trees finally parted, and she saw a clearing with a trailer in the middle, perched on a slab of concrete. It had stained walls and a sagging roof. The windows were dark. Weeds grew around it, and clutter was scattered across the yard. A blue light glowed above the porch.
The rain stopped falling so heavily. Graham stopped the car in front of the trailer. He didn’t turn off the engine. The headlights blazed into the woods, but the underbrush was so thick that nothing could be seen.
“Graham, I know we’ve talked about buying a new house, but this isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” said Molly with a nervous laugh. “Don’t you think this joke has gone on for long enough?”
Graham got out of the car and climbed up the rotting wooden steps that led to the porch. He knocked on the door. It opened to reveal a woman silhouetted in the flickering light from a television somewhere behind her. Lisa couldn’t see her face, but she recognized her squat figure. It was the woman from the restaurant.
“What’s wrong?” said Molly.
Lisa couldn’t speak. Her mouth was too dry.
“You’re shivering,” said Molly. “I knew we shouldn’t have walked through the rain. Graham’s taking this a little too far, but I’ll talk some sense into him when he comes back. I don’t know why he thinks this sort of thing is funny.”
Graham and the woman approached the car. Graham yanked the door open and beckoned to Lisa.
“Get out,” he said.
“Graham, what’s going on?” squeaked Molly.
“Mind your own business, my dear,” said Graham. “Lisa, this will be much easier for you if you cooperate with me. It’s going to happen either way, so I suggest you make the best of it. Hurry up. I don’t want to have to—”
“Graham, this is a waste of time,” said the woman. “Let me take care of this my own way.” She grabbed Lisa’s arm and pulled her out of the car. Lisa stumbled, and the woman jerked her to her feet with a sudden flash of anger.
“Get up,” she snarled. “Listen to me, you piece of—”
“Sophie, this isn’t her
