Chapter 16. Hannah carefully lifted the dog from a puddle of dark vomit and held him tightly against the front of her dress

H annah carefully lifted the dog from a puddle of dark vomit and held him tightly against the front of her dress. “He’s dead,” she muttered.

“No!” Julia cried in horror. “Hannah, he cannot be! He—” Tears formed in the corners of Julia’s gray eyes.

“Poor Fluff. Poor Fluff. Poor Fluff,” Hannah repeated quietly, still hugging the dead animal to her.

“No. I do not believe it!” Julia cried, shaking her head. “The dog was perfectly fine until—until—”

Both girls had the idea at the same time.

“The meat pies!” Hannah cried. Her eyes widened in horror, and she gaped at her sister. “Julia, did you—?”

Julia lowered her eyes to the pie beside her on the blanket. “No. I did not touch mine. You?”

Hannah shook her head. “Only Fluff. He was the only one to eat. And now the poor dog is dead.”

“Poisoned,” Julia muttered.

Hannah gasped. “What did you say, sister?”

“Poisoned,” Julia repeated the word as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Lucy. She poisoned the pies. She had to.”

“No!” Hannah cried, lowering the dog to the blanket, her features set in horror. “You don’t think—”

“Lucy,” her sister repeated, shaking her head. “She almost murdered us all.”

Hannah swallowed hard, her heart thudding wildly against her chest. She climbed quickly to her feet, her expression frightened. “Where are the boys?” she asked, searching the woods. “Julia, go fetch the boys and bring them home. I shall run to tell Father. He must know what Lucy has done—at once!”

As Hannah ran through the woods toward the house, tears rolled down her cheeks.

Poor Fluff, she thought. That poor, innocent dog. He looked so frightened, so confused.

Poisoned.

Poisoned by that villainous maid.

If only Hannah had told her father her suspicions about Lucy after finding the shard of glass in her shoe. Then Fluff would still be alive.

I’ll tell Father everything now, Hannah told herself. And the maid will be gone before—before she can kill again.

The back of the rambling Fear mansion came into view. Hannah slowed a little as she passed the burial plot. A closed pine coffin had been set down at the edge of the fresh grave.

Jenkins must be inside it, Hannah realized. The funeral will be held in a few moments.

Thinking of Fluff, a loud sob escaped her throat. Hannah turned away from the narrow coffin and ran the rest of the way to the house.

She burst through the door to the back pantry. “Father! Father! Are you downstairs?” she called breathlessly.

No reply.

In the kitchen bright sunlight streamed across the floor from the back window.

“Father? Father?”

No one there.

Frantically, Hannah started toward the hallway.

But a black-uniformed figure moved quickly to block her path.

“Lucy!”

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20