“We’ll talk later,” I whispered to Marion, touching her hand as I stood to go. She nodded, distracted by the loving scene between father and son. Sidra had taken a step back and was waiting somberly in the corner.

“It was so cool, Dad,” Carlos was saying as I left. “The bus broke down, and we got to stay an extra day! The driver was really mad ’cause somebody from the other team put water in our gas tank and—”

“Carlos, we have something to tell you,” Derek interrupted. “Let’s go in the living room where we can sit down and talk about it.”

“Why?” Carlos said. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, son,” Derek answered. “It’s about your grandfather.”

Fifteen

I headed upstairs, picked up my keys and my briefcase, and then came back down and went outside, away from the emotional scene that was taking place with Carlos. I went out through the kitchen and walked along the rear of the house, beside the pool. I passed the greenhouse and had just reached my car when I overheard two angry voices speaking in a foreign language. It sounded as if the voices were coming from the back side of the garage. I put my briefcase in my car and then quietly shut the door and followed the sounds.

My intention was to eavesdrop and try to make out what they were saying, but I was spotted before I could get close enough to listen. Just as I rounded the corner, Nick came striding out from behind the garage, gesticulating wildly in the air.

He stopped short when he saw me, his face turning red.

“Are you alone?” he asked.

“Who is it?” a female said from behind him. Angelina stepped out and looked at me. “Is anyone with you, Callie?”

I shook my head, wondering what could possibly be going on.

“What is it?” I asked. The two of them looked at each other, then motioned for me to follow them. Apprehensively, I walked around behind the greenhouse, past a row of trashcans, to the back side of the cabana.

“Nick saw it when he was putting out the garbage,” Angelina said, gesturing toward the trash cans nearby. “He wants to alert the family, but I say this is not the right time. They are in the house now, telling Carlos that his grandfather is dead. I do not think they need to know about this right now, too.”

We stopped walking when we reached the cabana, and I stared, stunned, at what I saw. The back side had four windows across the wide expanse of the building. There was nothing remarkable about the architecture or the landscaping, nothing remarkable about the building at all, except for one thing: The sills of each of the four windows was now coated and dripping in a dark, red liquid that looked very much like blood.

I gasped, taking a step closer.

“It is not real blood,” Nick said. “Just food coloring in Karo syrup. Derek had it tested the last time.”