Wilkes warily inspected his suite the following night. Although he"d been renting it for two months, he felt cold and unwelcome here. The setting sun slanting through the windows cast a russet glow over the walls and furnishings, but he didn"t feel the sun"s usual warmth. He stood watching the lengthening shadows as dusk grew. Strangely it reminded him of the creeping shadows in Nettie"s house.
He headed for the bedroom, where Lucy sat at her vanity arranging her hair with jeweled combs. Stopping at the window, he glanced into the street, then, too fidgety to stand still, he walked in circles, twirling his riding crop.
Then, suddenly, he stopped pacing and listened.
“Lucy, can you hear that? The boards. They creak like someone is coming toward me.”
The events at the séance—most of them
