Kirstin lay in bed and stared at the ceiling, daring not to move. She could hear Steiner, breathing rhythmically beside her as the clock ticked on the nightstand next to the bed. She was worried; he came to bed later than normal, as if he intended to stay up half the night. But after he nodded off in the parlor while listening to the radio, she convinced him to go upstairs. He fell asleep quickly, and now she had to make sure she didn’t wake him.
She waited until 1:20 a.m. and delicately slid from the mattress so he didn’t stir. She moved slowly away from the bed, tiptoeing into the hall. When she reached the stairs, she waited. After a moment of silence, she assumed he still slept. She cautiously descended one step at a time and stayed close to the wall where the tread had more support a
