PARI DISCERNS THAT The Ring is an even smaller neighborhood than she imagined. She and Abby return from the beach and walk toward the center, oval-shaped park, which is lush with short, densely shaded, blooming trees. The gravel road transforms into cobblestone when they reach the park. A long, level home with a slender tower reaching up at least three stories rises on the sloping hill behind the back of the park. The house has no sign of a front door and there are enormous, front-facing windows on the tower’s stories. Pari notices a white, longhair cat sitting at the bottom of the second-story window. Is he gazing above the park trees and out to the ocean? Monitoring the neighborhood and park? Or waiting for someone special?
On each side of the manor are two small cottages, four total,
