It Begins Read Online Free

And then Irene had brought her here.
    “We’re your family now, Lucy,” Irene had announced in her cool, businesslike way. “This is your home.”
    And
some home
, Lucy had thought in awe,laying eyes on the house for the very first time. Compared to the size and comfortable shabbiness of her old apartment, this new place seemed like a mansion, with its white brick walls and tall front columns, its circular driveway, its swimming pool in back. Yet surrounded as it was by thick woods, and only a short walk to the lake, Lucy would have sworn they were in the middle of a vast, lonely wilderness if Irene hadn’t assured her that town was only a few blocks away.
    Lucy had decided immediately that her life—and her happiness—were over …
    “Looking for you is
not
how I planned to spend my evening.”
    With a jolt, Lucy came back to herself. She had no idea how long she’d been buried in her thoughts or how long Angela had been talking. She glanced at her cousin, but those dark-ringed eyes were focused on the rhythmic movement of the windshield wipers.
    “I talked her out of calling the police, you know,” Angela added.
    “The police?” Lucy’s tone was grim. “Ithought nothing unpleasant ever happened in Pine Ridge.”
    “Who told you that?”
    “Your mother,” Lucy mumbled, wishing they could just leave. She didn’t want to sit here any more, here where she could see the cemetery right across the street. She didn’t want to sit here knowing what she knew, and she didn’t want to remember anything that had happened tonight because she was cold and hungry and exhausted, and if her 911 call
had
been traced, then she
especially
didn’t want to be here when the police showed up.
    But Angela took another long puff and glanced at Lucy with a tight smile. “How funny.”
    “What?”
    “Nothing unpleasant ever happening here. And Irene—of
all
people—saying so.”
    Lucy frowned. “What do you—” she began, but Angela cut her off, gesturing vaguely toward the parking lot.
    “So what were you doing just now? Trying to call somebody?”
    Lucy stole a quick look at the phone box outside the car. How long did someone have tostay on the line for a call to be traced? How long did it take the police to find someone in Pine Ridge?
    “Yes.” Her mind was racing; the smoke was making her feel claustrophobic. “I was trying to call your house, but … but I couldn’t remember the number.”
    “Well, I don’t know where you were walking,” Angela said matter-of-factly, “but you look like a zombie.”
    Lucy cringed. She thought of the girl in the grave. A sick taste of guilt welled up inside her, and she swallowed hard, forcing it down. “Can we please go?”
    “Oh, great. You’re not gonna get sick in my car, are you?”
    “I hope not.”
    To Lucy’s relief, Angela instantly buzzed down the driver’s window and flicked her half-smoked cigarette out into the rain. Then she rolled the window up again, sat back, and turned up the heater full blast.
    “Thanks,” Lucy said. “I appreciate it.”
    “I didn’t do it for you. I did it for my car.”
    Of course you did. What was I thinking?
Lucytensed, listening. Was that a siren she’d just heard in the distance? Or only a muted sound from the radio?
Please … please … let’s just leave …
    “Look, let’s get this straight. If you came here expecting money, Irene’s not gonna change her will. You’re not gonna get one bit of the inheritance.” Angela’s voice was stony. “Just so you know.”
    Lucy faced her in surprise. “I didn’t come here for your money. I didn’t come here for anything, Angela. I didn’t even
want
to come here—it wasn’t
my
idea. Your mother
made
me come here.” She hesitated, then said, “Just so
you
know.”
    “She’s not my mother,” Angela muttered.
    “What?”
    “I said, she’s not my mother. She’s my stepmother.” Reaching over, Angela readjusted the heater again, then leaned back with an exasperated