Page 127 of Evil Bones

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“Should I buy you a helmet?”

“Hilarious,” I said.

“You smell good,” he murmured, drawing me close.

“Thanks.”

“I’m crushed. The Bird wants no part of me.”

“That’s odd.” It was. My cat adores Ryan.

I called Birdie’s name.

No cat appeared.

“Birdcat,” I tried again.

Nothing.

“I didn’t forget him outside, did I?”

“You did take a hit to the noggin.”

Throwing back the comforter, I got up and checked the other upstairs rooms. Finding no cat, I hurried downstairs, repeatedly calling his name.

Nothing.

I probed the shadows of the hallway with moment-long sweeps. The parlor.

Entering the dining room, I noticed that the swinging door to the kitchen was closed.

Had Ryan done that? I always left it open.

Tiptoeing to it, I pressed my ear to the wood.

Heard only silence beyond.

I know the Annex as well as I know the lines on my face. The creeks and groans of her worn floorboards. The hum of air blowing through her old-fashioned vents. The clicks and taps of her outdated pipes.

My gut tightened.

The silence beyond the old door was wrong.

CHAPTER 29

I hesitated.

Enlist backup?

No way. I’d had enough drama for one day. Besides, I wanted no damsel in distress dynamic with Ryan.

Easing the door open, I peered through the crack.

Moonlight oozed in from the window, sparking the stainless-steel appliances and brightening the porcelain sink. Digits on the stove glowed neon orange.

The kitchen looked normal.

Until my gaze reached the back door.

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