In the Shadow of Death

Trip to the Library

Kara came out of her bedroom late the next morning.

She entered the kitchen and quietly sat at the table. Her eyes red and swollen from crying, and lack of sleep.

Josh sat in his highchair, and Dad was feeding him.

He glanced over at her. His eyes, dark and sad.

"I've been hard on you the past few months. I'm sorry."

Kara shrugged.

What could she say to make him believe that she was not hearing or seeing things?

Dad set the baby spoon down, picked up a bottle of juice and handed it to Josh who took it happily.

"We're all going into town today as soon as you're dressed. I've got a few errands to run with Josh, but I want you to go into the library and take out as many books as they'll allow."

A smile formed on his thin lips. "From here on out, I will be assuming more responsibilities around here, okay?"

Not wanting to argue, she nodded.

They were on the way within the hour.

The rural winding road led them into the hamlet of Mallory Bush.

The town had only one general store, a post office, a small fire department and a gas station.

It had no traffic signal, only a single stop sign at the intersection of two highways.

Mallory Bush was nestled in a quiet valley surrounded with greenish-blue mountains.

Dad parked in the small parking lot of the general store.

"Will an hour be enough?" He asked.

"Yeah."

While Dad and Josh headed for the store, she crossed the street to the small building.

The library, housed in what used to be an old wooden school at the turn of the century, still held a working bell on its roof.

The moment she walked inside a strong musty odor nearly overwhelmed her.

It reminded her of their current home.

She browsed through the young adult section, but nothing interested her.

She moved on to the History section and pulled out a book with the title Mallory Bush's Notables.

At a table, she flipped through the old, leather-bound book.

At first glance, it was another boring book about the town's early history.

Until she noticed a picture of a farmhouse.

The same exact one that they're living in.

In the black and white photo, June 1945 typed below it, the house appeared to be in immaculate shape.

On the lawn in front of the house posed a prominent looking family of three adults and two children.

As Kara briefly read the paragraph underneath the picture, she learned that the first two adults were a Dr. Wilbur Bannard and his wife, Katherine. The other was a stern looking woman who stood almost as tall as the doctor.

She was identified as Ibis Crane, the family's nanny and maid. The children were Mary and David, ages eight and five.

Kara studied the young girl.

There was something vaguely familiar about her.

Why was that?

What she read in the next paragraph shook her to the core.

On a cold Christmas Eve morning the town police made a gruesome discovery at the Bannard house. The family had been brutally slain, and the nanny was at first missing only to be found a short time later lying in the pool of her own blood. Upon further investigation, the police concluded that the nanny murdered the family and then killed herself.

Jumbled thoughts raced through Kara's mind.

Could the faceless woman in her dream and the shadow she saw in Josh's room be Ibis?

And could the voice she heard and the girl she saw in the bathroom be Mary?

"He's in danger." The girl's voice echoed in Kara's head.

She suddenly sucked in a breath and held it.

Was Ibis trying to kill Josh?