“I did get in touch with your employer—what’s his name, David?” she calls from the other room.
Grace saunters back to the sitting area, and I nod as I shift position slightly. It’s enough to send a sharp twinge through my injured ankle. I prop it up on a pile of pillows set atop an ottoman in front of my chair. The cat lurks nearby, eyeing me like I’ve stolen his favorite lounging spot. Twice now, I’ve had to redirect him from licking the paste off my leg.
“He was very relieved to know you’re safe,” says Grace. “I guess a whole group was out looking for you. I told him I’d drive you home after we get that swelling down. I was surprised, though—he offered a reward, like I’m returning a lost pet or something.”
I harrumph in my head.A pet? At the very least, I’m a service animal.
While I don’t complain about David, I do share that I’m not the first female to go missing from his home this week.
“I heard about that woman, Fiona. It’s terrible,” Grace says as she brings me my drink. Her hand is shaky. The teacup clinks againstthe saucer as she sets both on an antique table within reach. Grace’s eyes are strained like she’s holding something back.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t seen her. It’s so distressing. A third missing woman…” Her voice trails off as she gets lost in thought. She peers at me as though just remembering I’m still in the room. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to scare you. I’m sure you’re safe. It’s probably just a bizarre coincidence.”
She doesn’t know I’ve read about her online and searched her sad history for my own investigative purposes. But this is exactly who I need to talk to, and I can’t miss this opportunity. I gulp, preparing to push her a little more.
“Three women vanished from this lake,includingFiona?” I say, playing dumb. “Do you know anything about the others?”
Grace’s mouth slips into a frown. “One was my sister, Anna,” she says, pointing to a picture on the wall, confirming my earlier suspicion. Heartbreak invades her eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” I say. “You were close?” It makes me queasy to ask questions I know the answers to, but I must build rapport.
“The closest,” she tells me. “I sometimes miss her more now than I did when she first disappeared. The longer I go on, the more I realize how much life she didn’t get to experience.” Grace releases a sad sigh. “But that was a long time ago. I have memories to comfort me, especially in this place, our old home. Never thought I’d be a year-rounder, one of the hearty few. But I love the quiet solitude of winter almost as much as I do the summer. This land has healing powers. Speaking of, how’s your ankle?”
I move the ice away and see that the swelling has subsided. The pain is better, too.
“I’m not surprised,” Grace says. “That concoction is quite potent. People don’t trust herbs enough. What we need to heal is growing all around us. My family doesn’t like me living out in the woods alone, especially because my memory isn’t what it used to be. I do have a nephew who checks on me, but that isn’t enough to appease my family. They want me to move. They don’t understand how importantit is for me to be close to nature. Besides, I’m worried my memories of Anna will fade like all my others if I leave the lake.”
“You and Anna lived here year-round?”
“No, this was a summer place for us, but when I inherited the house, I had it winterized. Not much has changed from when we were kids. The furniture is mostly the same. But after my sister went missing, my parents stopped vacationing here. They sold off anything that reminded them of her. I understood why, but I was the opposite. I liked having her things around. They reminded me of her and a better time in our lives. Over the years, I’ve found some of Anna’s belongings my parents sold or gave away to antique shops and thrift stores in the area. Anytime I saw something, I bought it, but it’s been a long time since that happened.”
My heart is heavy. I don’t have any siblings, but I can imagine the pain of losing someone so close to you.
“Who was the other woman who went missing?” I ask, my stomach tightening. Another lie, since I likely know more about the second disappearance than Grace does.
“She was a young girl named Susie Welch. I was in my forties when she disappeared, so I didn’t know her well, but I was living at the lake at the time. My parents had passed by then.” Grace pauses, and I allow her space to connect with that difficult time.
“Everyone at the lake looked for Susie, myself included. It was like Anna all over again. That’s when the lore started—murmurings thatthe lake takes them.”
I don’t tell her that I’ve heard the lore. “Do you think it’s a coincidence that three young women disappeared from the same lake exactly thirty years apart? Is the lake cursed or something?”
Grace focuses on her tea as she answers. “The world is full of mysteries. Nature is powerful. It takes as easily as it gives. We must respect it, always.” She dabs her eyes with a napkin. “Maybe it is the lake and not a person. The coincidences are hard to explain. All I know for sure is that you shouldn’t go digging, Izzy. Some secrets are best left alone.”
I smile weakly, knowing good advice I won’t take when I hear it.
Silence settles over us. I look around for something to keep the conversation going. This place is like a time capsule. A grandfather clock stands in the corner of the living room, with a glass front that allows me to peek at the weights and pendulum that help it keep time. The end table is adorned with lace doilies under antique crystal bowls, one filled with hard candy.
The shelves are stocked with old books and all kinds of knickknacks—a choirboy figurine, a ceramic cat and dog, other vintage glass animals, and a set of old-fashioned teacups. I wonder which of these items belonged to Anna, and if Grace recovered any of them on her quest to reclaim her sister’s possessions. I find myself taking a mental inventory of everything, and that’s when I see it. A shock reverberates through my system.
It’s a small wooden box with decorative metal edging and a delicate clasp. I can see the intricate pearl inlay that ribbons around the bottom, and I recognize the repeating pattern of vines and flowers. Iknowthis box, or at least one just like it. I’ve seen it before, but obviously not in Grace’s home. But where? I can’t place it. The answer is dancing just out of reach, like a terrible itch I can’t scratch.
Grace follows my eyes, perhaps noticing I’m spellbound.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she says. She carefully takes the box off the shelf, cradling it in her hands like she’s holding a valuable piece of art. “It belonged to Anna. Such a precious keepsake. It’s the last piece of hers I found. I got it at an estate sale nearby—bought it for three dollars, something like that. I just love it.” She hands the box to me, then asks if I’d like some tea.
I point to my cup, which is still pretty full.
“Oh, my bad. There goes my memory again. Lucky for you, I don’t seem to forget my way around the forest, but I do forget a lot of other things these days. I’ll go make myself a cup.”
