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After a breakfast of Betty’s incredible conjured blueberry s fro rooruff words about research Betty and I sat at my linoleum table and drank coffee and ate muffins until finally, she couldn’t take it any out of your roo," she said

I loweredon? This is e’re going to focus on?"

Betty grinned "You bet The best cure for ti on with you two?"

"Nothing" It was the truth I’d woken up in his arot up and started the day "He slept against the door He’s just being overprotective"

I lint left her expression, and she siood"

The doorbell rang while Betty and I were cleaning up We exchanged a wary glance, and then we headed into the foyer, only to be cut off by Cain darting in front ofroom He put his hands on ers to his lips He grabbed a Clorox spray bottle fro in a cardboard box by the door

"What’s he going to do?" Betty whispered in h the peephole "Disinfect her?"

I chuckled a little, and then Cain jerked his head toward the door,for me to check out whoever it was I walked up to the peephole and there was Stacy Easter, looking impatient on my porch

I stepped back and nodded at hi like I was in witness protection "It’s okay"

He pulled the door open, looking like a deranged Merry Maid with the Clorox bottle that, I realized now, Cain had likely spent the night eical pepper spray, or so in a full drink of Cain

"Hel-lo," she said, putting a sultry tone in her voice

Cain grunted and stalked off into the kitchen Stacy looked athilanced toward the kitchen, unable to figure out a word for what Cain was I gave up and looked back at Stacy "Doesn’t matter What’s up?"

She pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to o His last known address was in Tennessee There’s been no sign of hiht have more luck" She pointed to the paper as I unfolded it; it was a printout of a newspaper article, on which she’d scribbled an address in Avery, Tennessee, into the ot on him"

"Okay, so what’s this?"

"An article from the Avery Citizen-Times," she said carefully "Is that your sister?"

I looked at it, and the first thing I saas a picture of a s, wavy brown hair, and underneath her picture, the caption: Avery Unified teacher Holly Monroe

I gasped and put my hand over my mouth, then absorbed the headline

LOCAL TEACHER FOUND DEAD

My hand holding the printout started to shake, so I grabbed the other side with the other hand and tried to stabilize it enough to read I absorbed it in bits, unable to take in the whole thing at once

"Livvy?" Betty said, but I didn’t look up

Holly Monroe foundunidentified coive out details of the scenepossible satanic ritesthirty-one-year-old teacher was born in Avery, and taught at Avery Unified High School sinceauthorities still looking for anyone who can identify the companion, who has been unable to respond to medical staffAfrican-American wo the na into unconsciousness

"What’s going on?"

When I looked up, Cain was standing in front of the kitchen door, looking gririlanced at it quickly; it was obvious he’d seen it before He shot a sharp look at Stacy

"Who the hell are you? What do you know about this?"

Betty stepped closer "Cain, this is Stacy"

"Yeah?" He advanced on her, waving the printout "Where’d you get this?"

Stacy widened her stance andbusiness"

I touched his arm, which was taut as a wire "I asked her to find my father"

He shifted his focus to me "What the hell did you do that for?"

"May I repeat?" Stacy said, stepping closer to hiht, which was still a foot shorter than his "None Of Your Fucking Business"

"Cain" I touched his arain It took him a moment to look back at me, and when our eyes met, he softened a bit, but just a bit There was still impotent fury in his expression, but he didn’t seem quite as likely to act on it

"You okay?" he asked

I held ave it back toin there that said sister to me But it was just a black-and-white shot, taken probably for a school yearbook so the line She was beautiful; a wide smile, dark eyes, and she seemedI don’t know Smart If you can tell that from a picture

I looked back up at Cain "This is what happened?"

Angry eyes ry with one by the ti her ever since And now, you’re up to date"

Every muscle in my body felt suddenly weak I had known the story, known I had a sister who had died, known that Davina had killed her But there was so what could have been my fate What could still beher aro sit with her I’ to ive hi behind hied a look with Stacy, and Stacy walked withroom, where we sat down on the couch Abehind Betty

"So, I take it that articletoward the printout in my hand

I nodded "Yeah"

"You want s?"

I smiled "I asked you, didn’t I?"

"Yep But I’d tell you anyway" She leaned forward "I think your father’s alive"

I felt my heart skip, and I stared at her "You think so?"

"Look People go n, ten-to-one, they’re buried in the ceh-rise But whoever it was in that forest with your sister was asking for Gabriel, and ould she call the name of a man who’s been dead ten years?"

"I don’t know," I said "But then, I don’t understand a lot of it"

"You don’t need to understand," Stacy said "What does your gut tell you?"

I thought about that for a minute, then said, "I don’t know"

"Jesus Christ, Liv Sure you do You asked me to find hied within me, and I tamped it down; I had no room in my heart for hope at the moment "Maybe So, what do I do now?"

"Hire a real detective, for one thing," she said

"I don’t know, you did pretty well for an amateur" I looked at her "You seen Peach?"

Her eyes darkened "I just came from there She’s still a little out of it because of the painkillers Nick’s with her"

I nodded "Can I ask you so?"

"Has permission ever stopped you?"

"Milliedo you think she was always a tio off?"

Stacy leaned back, stretched one arhtful "Yeah, probably"

"Do you think we can get her back from this?"

Stacy looked at me, then slowly shook her head

"It’s over, isn’t it?" I said "The four of us?"

She sighed "It was always going to end eventually Peach is getting e, and you’re going away Me, I’ll always be the townie slut I’inally connected, at least"

She grinned at me, but I didn’t smile back "You’re more than just the townie slut"

"Oh, I’ of sha way, but I think I’m in love with that man"

I was so surprised by the cohed "What?"

"Oh, don’t worry, I’ain but" - she waved her hand in front of her face, and then one - "he is so else"

"Go ahead and piss on him," I said "He’s not my flowerpot"

Her eyes widened "Really? Because you know, he’s just hed "The type that will screw you senseless, give you shit, and leave you stranded?"

She looked at ently took the article froonna be okay, right?"

"Yeah? Hoould I know that?"

"Because, eventually," she said, leaning back, "it always is"

And then, the article in her hands burst into fla and es and consu but pieces of ash floating to the ground Stacy didn’t seem surprised at all She shook out her hand, and as she did, I saw flickers of red light dancing around her fingertips

"Wow," she said, sing It was the first time in my life I had ever seen Stacy even remotely flustered "That eird, wasn’t it?"

"Oh, crap," I said "You, too?"

She looked at me for a moment, then said, "Me, too, what?"

I reached over to the coffee table, picked up a cork coaster, and held it iny through myself, to focus it When I put the coaster back down on the table, it was a turtle, slowlyits way across the surface

Stacy blinked a few ti on here, Liv?"

"Stacy, I’m so sorry I didn’t do it on purpose, I swear - "