Page 3 (2/2)

I went into the hall just as randfather thrust hi in behind him His wrinkled face was tanned, like his old leather briefcase

"Did you hear that Miss LaBarge--" I started to say, but randfather waved his hand to quiet me

"I’m aware of what happened" He took off his coat and draped it over the pile of things Dustin was balancing in his arms

"Do they knoho--"

"I don’t know, Renée," he said, his face softening while he studied me "I’m sorry" He took off his hat and dropped it on top of his coat Dustin gave hi away

"Where were you?" I persisted, walking behind hi around "There are things I need to attend to now"

I stood in the doorway of his study while he sifted through the papers on his desk until he found the one he was looking for Ignoring me, he picked up the phone and dialed a nue residence?" With one hand he loosened his tie

"Who is that?" I randfather continued, and, leaning over the desk, he shooed me out into the hall As his office door closed, I could hear hi I’ else to do, I slid to the floor and waited I tried to listen in, but all I could hear were occasional phrases "I see" "How odd" "Yes, I would very much like to see it, if it’s not too much of an imposition"

His muffled voice faded in and out until the door opened

"Oh, Renée,"into me "You’re still here"

"Of course I’ my question, he rolled down his shirtsleeves and fastened them at the wrists with cuff links "Get dressed," he said "We’re going on a trip"

Ver in and out of sleep, e sales and lawn ornarandfather’s shovels and Monitoring supplies, whichsound every ti just in case we encountered any Undead; though it seee would co not to think about where ere going, but everything around us ree: the yarn stores and bakeries, where I could al an oversized sweater as she nibbled on a scone

Her house was off of a pastoral road riddled with potholes It was a weathered wood cottage burrowed into a hillside, the roof alrass There was one car in the driveway; otherwise, it looked deserted Two of the front ere broken

We pulled up next to the house, in front of a sive our condolences to her fa her house to search for any infor, per Monitor protocol," randfather said as we made our way up the stone path to the front door "I’d like for you to join me"

"Monitor protocol?" I asked "You do this for every Monitor that’s killed?"

"I don’t, but soh Monitor Court does I used to be a member, and now that I’m retired I only take cases that are especially close to e was one of your mother’s best friends It’s the least I can do to honor herroses curled their tendrils around the railing as if trying to pull the house into the ground Sing, I gaveunsure about what I was supposed to say or do once ent inside "Just be yourself,"the knocker, the door opened, and a stout reeted us "You must be Brownell," he said with a smile He had the smooth face of a baby, but had to be at least forty years old

My grandfather took off his sunglasses

"I’randfather, then to me "Annette’s mother’s nurse She was too ill to make the journey, so I’m here in her stead Please, coe In the living room, a couch was positioned oddly next to a few overturned stools; a bland print of a landscape leaned on the floor in the hallway, as if it had been knocked off the wall; and a pile of broken dishes had been swept into the corner of the kitchen

"The front of the house was ravaged when the police got here," Jeffrey said "The ere broken, the furniture was all over the place…They think it happened after her death; sos Thankfully there wasn’t much here, and whoever it was didn’t touch the back roo ere the only ones there "Her family? Friends?"