Solid Walls

Chapter Nineteen

Nell took her time heading back to the house. She finished investigating the gravestones and tree house, then she continued all the way to the fence marking the end of the property. The sounds of life, the buzz of insects and chirps of birds, had returned when Chloe left, sunlight again dancing across the flower-filled sinkholes.

She came across no other graves or monuments or anything else left by human hands. She passed trickling creeks and two more small ponds. She paused beside a rocky ravine, where she could imagine a hiker slipping and perhaps breaking a collarbone, but by no means being lost to a search and rescue party.

On the way back, Nell heard footsteps crunching toward her. She thought for a moment it might be Chloe returning to make up, but she dismissed the idea—she knew Chloe's short, tripping gait too well. She knew Chloe herself too well. Her friend may tend to break a silence first, but she was rarely inclined to admit her own failings if there was still any other option. Instead, Sam O'Keefe appeared from around the corner, smiling shyly.

"Hi," she said. "I'm glad I found you."

"No work this morning?"

"Nope, off today. Kind of makes up for losing half my Saturday tomorrow afternoon."

"How did you know I'd be out here?"

Sam frowned. "Ed. He came running into the living room a little bit ago laughing his head off, and he told me what he'd done to you guys out by the tree house. He's done the same kind of thing before, with, like, the paranormal investigator people? For what it's worth, I really chewed him out for it, and I think he's sorry. He can be a real asshole sometimes."

"We're grown-ups," Nell said as they started down the path together. "We can handle a little prank."

"Well, I figured you could," Sam said. "But your partner looked kind of shaken when she came in the house earlier. I just wanted to make sure you're both okay."

"We are. Thanks for checking up."

"Good. So you found the old graveyard, huh? Kind of spooky, isn't it?"

"Mmm. Interesting, though. Did you ever look closely at the stones? Ever wonder who those people were?"

"Um, I guess a little...though to be honest I don't know if I ever thought of them as actual graves, you know? They always just seemed like part of the land, like all our other landmarks, like the dock in the pond or the tree with the big burl nose. The clearing was always a great spot for playing when we were kids—good climbing trees, close enough to the house so no one would worry, but far enough so it felt like our own private world. Grandpa and me built that tree house back when we first moved in. My first real construction project, I guess."

"Did Willa ever play with you two out there?"

"She's always been an indoor girl, too afraid to climb up to the tree house. And Ed didn't really like her hanging around when we were kids 'cause she was so much younger—he'd call her a crybaby. Still, I did sometimes take her out to the graveyard, and we'd play pretend. The little angel was our friend who got turned to stone by a wicked sorcerer. I guess that's kind of morbid, isn't it? Since it's an actual marker. Even if it's from a long time ago, it means somebody really did die, right?"

Nell nodded but didn't respond. She seemed to be mulling something over. Sam cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Um, so there was actually another reason I wanted to talk to you," she said.

"Mmm?"

"I don't know if it'll be helpful or anything, but I was thinking about what you said before, at the hardware store? About if I saw anything weird when I was cutting the holes in the walls upstairs?"