Trisha sank down on the double bed that took up just about all the space in the room. She lay on her back and drew a hand through her hair. Looked up at Michaela and tried on a smile.

‘Guess it’s time,’ she said.

Michaela was feeling torn between wanting to hear what was going on and simply picking up Trisha and dragging her way the hell out of it all. Back to the hotel room for starters, then out of Dodge all together.

But it wasn’t going to be the second option. She’d seen the way Trisha had looked at her sister – a fierce pride and a desperation that the girl be okay. Michaela leaned over and kissed Trisha lightly on the lips then settled down on the bed too, a waiting expression on her face.

Trisha scrunched her eyes closed. ‘I don’t know how to start,’ she admitted. ‘It’s going to sound crazy no matter how I put it.’ She opened her eyes and Michaela was worried at the defeated look she saw in them. Trisha shrugged. ‘I don’t know what to do, babe,’ she said.

Michaela stroked Trisha’s hair. ‘Isn’t that why you asked me to come out. So we can figure out whatever it is, together?’ She smiled. ‘We already know we make a pretty good team. Whatever it is, it can’t be worse that we’ve dealt with before.’

Trisha sat up. Her hand snaked out and grabbed Michaela’s arm. ‘It is worse. Michaela it’s worse because I don’t know what’s doing it! It’s all smoke and mirrors, you know?’

Michaela shook her head. No, she had no idea, but it was time to find out. She unhooked Trisha’s hand and kissed the white knuckles. ‘How about we make a coffee, sit down together, and you can fill me in. From the beginning.’

Trisha nodded, leaned her head against Michaela’s shoulder. ‘Glad you’re here, babe. Because I sure don’t know what to think anymore.’

There was a knock at the bedroom door. Trisha jumped up and opened it. Caro stood in the hallway, a backpack in her arms.

‘Trish,’ she said, a hesitant smile on her lips as her eyes flicked past Trisha to Michaela. She cleared her throat. ‘I’m just going down to the library to study, okay?’ She lowered her voice to almost a whisper. ‘I hate being here now, okay? I want to get out of the house.’

Trisha nodded. ‘Make sure you’re home in time for tea, all right? Do you have your phone with you in case I need to get hold of you?’

Caro nodded and backed away down the narrow hallway, giving a tiny wave to Michaela. Trisha looked after her, then turned around and sighed.

‘Let’s make that coffee,’ she said.

The kitchen was tiny. Trisha apologised for it only being instant coffee and Michaela nodded, not minding at all. She was far more interested in finding out what was on Trisha’s mind.

‘Do you mind if we take these outside?’ Trisha asked carrying the mugs out of the kitchen. ‘It shouldn’t be too cold out. And I would feel much better talking about all this outside of the house.’

Michaela took one of the mugs and nodded, following Trisha out a back door and into the yard. Down the back, a wooden table and chairs looked like they’d been placed as far from the house as possible. Trisha led her toward them and sank into one of the chairs with a tiny groan, rummaging through the pockets of the jacket she’d grabbed on the way out. She drew out a battered pack of cigarettes.

Michaela took the other chair and shivered. There was a cool breeze, despite the bright blue sky.

‘I’m going to go inside and get my jacket,’ she said. ‘It’s a bit chilly out here.’

Trisha nodded, cupping a hand around the flame as she bent to light her cigarette. Michaela patted her on the shoulder and headed back to the house.

One of the other doors in the hallway was open and Michaela poked her head in out of curiosity. She guessed it was Caro’s room. The walls were papered in posters from the Twilight and New Moon movies, pretty, pale-skinned vampires looking down at her. Other than that it was a poky, dark little room and Michaela felt a pang of guilt for being nosy. She turned back and walked the rest of the way to Trisha’s room, wondering if she really shouldn’t just take a room at the hotel again. There wasn’t going to be any such thing as privacy in this house.

She looked around for her jacket. She would wait until Trisha had explained what was going on before she decided about the hotel room. She found her jacket on the floor and glanced down the hallway.

What was that? Michaela blinked and looked again. Just a shadow. For a minute she thought something had been there, watching her from, from where? The doorway of Caro’s room? Michaela rubbed at her sleeves. The hairs on her arms were standing up. She looked down at herself, then swung her head back towards the hallway.

Something moved there. She was sure of it. She stepped over to the doorway and put a hand on the door jamb, eyes scanning the dim hallway. Nothing there. Except for the prickling on the back of her neck. She debated shrugging it off, picking up her jacket and going back outside where Trisha sat smoking, and where her coffee was going cold.

Instead she took a few steps forward, moving slowly, cautious. With the doors closed, it was almost dark. Had it been this dark before? Michaela wasn’t sure. She walked down to Caro’s room and pushed the door open wider. The room was full of shadows.

Ignoring the faces on the walls, Michaela stood still, only her eyes moving as she looked around the room.

There. Over there beside the bed. Michaela could feel her heart beating against her chest. There was something there. Something that didn’t belong, shadows piled upon shadows. One dark, tall, vaguely human shaped.

Michaela looked around; there must be something in the bedroom to throw that shadow. But she knew already she wouldn’t find anything, this wasn’t anything ordinary, and the hairs standing up on the back of her neck seconded the opinion.

She watched it. And as she watched it she would have sworn it was staring right back at her. She refused to move, watching it, refused to blink and all at once it shrank back into the corner of the room, into the shadows cast by the furniture, and disappeared.

Michaela backed out of the room in shock.