Page 41 of Strangers She Knows

“I assure you, I sleep with Max and he does not get up in the middle of the night and disappear to eat cake.” Kellen’s tone was gentle; her expression was as forbidding as Olympia’s.

“Of course not. I meant that Dylan person. He has the keys to the house. He always smells as if he’s been smoking marijuana.” Olympia pronounced each syllable. “And the list of goods Mrs. Conkle compiles never matches what’s in the basket. I assume he’s been eating all the way up here. I wouldn’t be surprised to find a raw chicken gone someday.”

It was sort of funny, but not.

Rae was paying attention now, watching the scene with her brow furrowed.

Max said, “We’re not in any position to change locks out here.”

“Send to the mainland,” Olympia said.

“I told you when we came here we wouldn’t be making contact except in the matter of life and death.” Which was not strictly true, considering Max’s weekly radio call to get a report on Mara, but Olympia didn’t know that and Max sounded implacable. “I’ll look for a bicycle lock in the garage. If I find one, I’ll attach it to the pantry door. In the meantime, why don’t you secret anything attractive like cake or cookies in a cupboard known only to you?”

“Humph!” Olympia banged her way back into the kitchen.

Kellen looked at Max and mouthed, “What a bitch.”

He said, “It’s not easy getting someone on short notice to cook and do light cleaning on a deserted island with none of the usual amenities.”

Kellen noted Max hadn’t disagreed.

“What’s happening?” Rae asked.

“Someone ate the cake last night from the pantry,” Max told her.

Rae wrinkled her nose. “It had coconut. I didn’t like it. Hey, would you tell Olympia to stop playing her music at night? It creeps me out.”

“She does have retro taste in music,” Kellen said.

Max looked at them both.

“I went to Rae’s room to check up on her after the fireworks. I thought she might…” Kellen gave Max the look that meant,have nightmares.“Music was wafting up the stairs. Old songs from years ago.”

“Like Ruby would have played!” Rae said.

Kellen hadn’t thought about that. “That’s exactly right.”

Rae slid off her chair. “Can I be excused? Can Luna and I go for a bike ride?”

“May I?” Kellen corrected her, then thought,Geez, I’m channeling my aunt.“Yes, you may be excused. And yes, you and Luna may go for a bike ride. First brush your teeth. Put on your sunscreen. Don’t take Luna too far and when you turn back, check her pads for thorns. We don’t want her limping again.”

“I’ll be careful!” Rae tore out of the dining room.

Max and Kellen looked at each other.

“Getting away has been good for her,” Max marveled.

“I was thinking the same thing. She’s strong and I’d swear she’s grown at least an inch while we’ve been here.” Kellen took a breath. “Except…I wonder if Rae is sleepwalking.”

“What? Why?”

“Olympia wouldn’t lie about stuff disappearing from the kitchen.”

“Rae wouldn’t lie, either. Or steal!”

“She tells the occasional fib.” Kellen lifted one finger to stop his protest. “We all do. Not the point. We tore her from all that was familiar and dragged her halfway across the world. She’s still suffering from nightmares. With all those hormones raging through her, sleepwalking is a possibility.”

“And sleep-eating?”

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