As Melody approaches the turn off to the barn, she pretends to go towards the barn by faking a turn before she swings the opposite direction and slips behind the corner store. Melody runs fast in the fluorescent lighting of the store, before she is seen and hides behind a second corner. There, she waits for her stalker to appear.
And just as she had planned, the stalker follows her. She reaches behind her and picks up the large planting container Emma gave her husband. He has yet to fill it. It’s large enough to send a shock through the body, but not too heavy for her that she can pick it up. She holds it up above her head as the footsteps draw nearer to her. Just a couple more steps and her stalker will be within view. The footsteps slow down as they reach the corner, but not by much.
Melody takes a deep breath. Any second now, she thinks. She is about to shut her eyes and whack him right on the head. That’s when she realizes that her stalker is no man at all, but a young girl of about 15 years old.
Melody’s mouth drops. She stops herself within inches of giving the young girl a concussion. The girl ducks when she sees that she is faced with a perilous moment. “Who are you? And why are you following me?” Melody is hasty and haughty. She doesn’t hold back her frustration. “I could have killed you!”
The little girl looks up at her in fear, peeking through her arms, propped up to guard her head. That is when Melody realizes her voice is startlingly raised and on edge. “Please,” the girl begs, “don’t hurt me.”
Melody lowers her voice a bit, but carries a stern, disapproving tone. “Don’t hurt you? Why were you following me in the first place? Do you know that in America, people die for a lot less than that? Are you crazy?”
“I… I was just...” Trembling noises escape from the girl.
“You better talk before I have half the mind to raise this weapon again?” Melody pretends to raise the container over her head a second time.
“Okay, okay. I’ll talk o’rite. Just donnae kill me.” The girl cries, hunched over. She is wearing a dark green windbreaker on top of a hooded sweater, light blue jeans and brown boots.
“You’d better.” Melody slowly lowers the container down, checking to see if the girl has an accomplice close by her. She is on edge and ready for any surprises should they arise. If there is anything she has learned here on the island, it’s you can’t trust anyone and always be ready for surprises. “Are you alone?”
“Yes,” the girl lowers her arms from her head. “I am.” Now, Melody gets a good look at her. She is skinny and fair. Her brunette hair has streaks of oil in it like it could use some grooming, but her youthful beauty still shines through. Her eyes are bright and fiery. Melody wonders if she has had to face some hardships in her young life. Her light freckles add a slight gentility to her would-be otherwise ordinary features.
Melody demands, “Let’s start with your name.”
“My name is Nell.” Her voice is… sweet. This confuses Melody because she cannot understand why a sweet girl would be caught stalking her. She knows something is not right about this. Who is behind this? The way things have been on the island lately, Melody is now questioning every person’s intent – at times, even her own.
“I’m Mel…” She begins to introduce herself.
“Melody. I know.” Her voice trails off as she says Melody’s name.
“Sure, I’m the only American on the island.” Melody is not as impressed as Nell might have expected. Though, she does wonder inwardly how Nell knows her name.” “So out with it. What do you want, Nell?”
Nell looks around her to see if anyone can see them. She lowers her voice down to a whisper and says, “I’ve been following you for some time now.”
“What do you mean?” Melody is unsettled by the news. How is she on the island to investigate and didn’t even notice a 15-year-old girl following her?
“Last night, you went to the corner store after work.”
“Yes. I do that all the time.”
“Not exactly. Yesterday, ye bought two sweetie bags because Rebecca said that her doll Sarah needed some sweeties for her quiz days too. Ye plan to give em tae her the morrow.”
How does she know this?
“And today, ye went tae see Officer Higgins because ye asked him tae check on the barn up there. He didnae have the best news did he?”
“Who sent you? Was it the Deacons?”
“Even that container you’re carrying. Sean was supposed to have potted plants in there already, but he hasnae “quite gotten tae it.” Tsk tsk tsk.” Nell adds as she wags her finger. A confident smirk forms on the side of her mouth.
“Alright, so you have been following me. Why? You obviously wanted to get caught tonight? Did the Deacons pay you to say all that?”
Nell looks down and rubs her arm. “No. I couldn’t risk being seen talking to you. That’s why I came to you by night.” Melody notices that Nell is still looking around the corner.
“Are you looking for someone?” Melody raises her voice. She is tired of the show. With her hand, she clasps the container beside her.
“Shh.” Nell continues to speak in a whisper. “I tried to talk to you sooner. But it’s always been too dangerous for me to come to your room. I don’t know if you know this, but people have been watching you. They could be watching us right now.”
“Who has?” Now Melody is also whispering.
“Two men.”
“It’s probably Tam and Rob,” Melody thinks
