That night, an hour after Janey had downed her second glass of wine and gone to bed, Tessa snuck up the steps to the second floor, the plain white envelope clutched in her hand. Every board creaked, and she tiptoed over to the recliner in front of the windows.
She looked out over the dark water, the tips of the waves barely catching the moonlight and throwing it back into the sky. The sand, usually beige, was a frosty color, and everything seemed still and serene.
A figure jogged along the beach, a headlamp attached to the person’s forehead, and Tessa marveled that someone would be out at this hour, exercising. Of course, she didn’t do any sort of formal exercise if she didn’t have to, and running was completely foreign to her.
When she was sure Janey wasn’t going to come upstairs and i
