CHAPTER NINE
June 30, 2010
Early Morning
Calvin was still half-asleep when the shrill whistle of a kettle on the kitchen stove shrieked against the morning silence. He heard the stomp of Mrs. Seabrook rushing into the kitchen.
An old memory flashed over his consciousness, triggered by the metallic scream. Too exhausted to resist, Calvin twisted against his sheets as it overrode his thoughts.
He and Cleo were twelve years old. It was a stifling August Saturday, hot enough to fry an egg on the stepping stones in their mother’s garden.
The dog chewed one of Martin’s old slippers; their mother weeded and trimmed, singing to her sunflowers; Cleo perched on her bed, sewing ribbons for a wind charm while whistling the jingle from her favorite TV show in an annoying loop; Calvin was memorizi
