Page 78 of The Whispering Night
And when Winnie and Jay went in the forest and found that granite hole, Winniefeltthe Whisperer wake up nearby… And oh no, if she goes back—way, way back—to the first time she sensed the Whisperer, it was that night on her first trial.And Jay was there.
The only night she can’t line up is the night the Whisperer killed all those vampira in the forest. But what if Jay was there then too? What would it mean if he was always nearby when the Whisperer was hunting?
Winnie’s teeth stop clicking. For the first time since she got locked in here, since L.A. and Trevor, Bretta and Erica, and everyone else dragged her from the museum, she has hope. It makes no sense because nothing on her conspiracy wall would suggest Jay is still alive. Or that her family will come out of this mess unscarred. Or that Winnie has any future filled with photons ahead of her.
But for some reason, she feels a feathery spark brightening in her chest because maybe, just maybe…
“Okay,” she murmurs to the door, a cold, metal thing across the room. In four strides, she reaches it. “I’ll talk now!” she shouts, her voice rebounding off the metal into her face. Her breath ain’t great, but at least it ain’t pickles. “I’ll talk now, but only to Isaac Tuesday!”
It is very clear that Isaac was expecting Winnie to summon him. Or if notexpectingit, he certainly imagined this scenario, and so now he is taking steps to mitigate harm to himself. His steps look like:
• Shutting himself alone in the interrogation room with Winnie.
• Leaning so far over the table that when she leans as well, they are basically touching heads.
• Whispering so no one outside can hear them.
• Turning off the usual recording device so truly,no onecan hear them.
“What do you want from me?” he asks. His eyes skate frantically around, and Winnie’s face is so close to his she can see where he missed a spot shaving.
“You know what I want, Isaac. I need to get out of here.”
He gulps. “I can’t do that. As bad as those photos I took might be for my future, if Ihelpyou out of here…” He gulps again, and this time his eyes close as if he might pass out.
Winnie places a hand on his. “Hey now, Isaac. Let’s stay in the present moment. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to describe the layout of this underground nest to me. Then you’ll escort me back to my cell”—she waves to the door, metal and cold just like her own—“and tell whoever is in charge right now that we’re finished.”
“The Lead Hunter. Mason Tuesday. He’s the one in charge.”
“Great,” Winnie says. “Tell him, then.” Part of her wants to add,And please tell his partner Ms. Morgan that I’m here because she said she’s always on my side.Except Winnie is 99 percent sure Ms. Morgan didn’t havePrison Buston her list ofWays to Help Winnie.
“Once you reach the cell, Isaac, you’ll push me in, but then you won’t lock the door behind you.”
His eyes are still closed. He swallows loudly once more, and Winnie takes pity on him. “Hey,” she murmurs. “Look at me, Isaac.”
He opens his eyes.
“Am I correct in thinking most Tuesdays are up at the Olympics right now? That there’s a skeleton crew down here because Jeremiah probably doesn’t want anyone to notice the drama happening underground?”
Isaac nods. He’s sweating now.
“So just tell me how to get out of here, what spots to avoid, and I’ll do the rest. Allyouneed to do is escort me, tell Mason I had nothing to say, and forget to lock the door. Super easy.”
“Then… then we’re even?”
Winnie lifts one hand. “I swear. On my mom, on my dad, on my brother: I swear, we’ll be even then.”
“And your friend, the one with the photos—she’ll delete them?”
“Absolutely. Although… speaking of Erica, do you know what she told Jeremiah? Or what anyone else from the party said to him about what they saw?”
“No—I don’t have access to that kind of information. Like I’ve said before: I’m at the bottom of the food chain in here.”
“So you’re a cockroach.”
“Huh?”
“That’s what scorpions eat.”
