Liam opened the door. He stepped into a bath of warm, late-summer air. He beckoned to the dog. “Come on, girl. Let’s check out the new place,” Liam urged.

The dog did not budge. Instead, she backed away, pressing into Kelly.

Liam’s sister stirred, grumbled. “Shut up, Liam, will ya? I’m trying to sleep.”

She pushed the dog away.

Mr. Finn popped the trunk, moved around to the back of the car. The big moving van with all their belongings would be arriving tomorrow. “Don’t expect a palace,” Mr. Finn called out brightly. He pulled out three sleeping bags, pillows, a flashlight. “It’ll be fun, like a camping trip. Just remember, guys. This place needs a lot of work.”

A flicker of light caught Liam’s eye. He glanced up at the house. And a zipper of fear ran down his spine. Just darkness, silence, and an empty road. It was nothing, he told himself. But the sudden flash appeared again, a flicker of light from one of the windows. On, then off. Liam glanced at his father. Mr. Finn didn’t see it.

The light came from the window on the right. Maybe my bedroom, Liam guessed. It felt to Liam as if the house’s great eye had opened and shut. A wink. As if to say, I know a secret.

“There’s no one inside?” Liam asked.

“Don’t be a dweeb,” Kelly grumbled. She climbed out of the car, unfolding her long limbs. “I seriously doubt that anybody besides us would live in a dump like this.”

Liam ignored Kelly’s comment. The death of their mother had changed his sister. Nowadays, she seemed angry all the time. Liam missed his sister, the good times they used to share. These days she shut herself off, spending hours alone in her room. Maybe things would get better in the new place.

Ed Finn put a strong arm around his son’s shoulders. “This old house has been empty for two years,” he said. “It’s a fixer-upper. That’s why I got such a great price.”

2. A Moan, A Whisper

2

A MOAN, A WHISPER

From the first day, Liam heard noises. The groan of floorboards. The hiss of radiators. The clatter of wind pounding the shutters.

CREAK and SCREECH,

RASP and WHEEZE

and BANG.

And Liam sometimes thought he heard a muffled voice. A moan, a whispered something that caused him to turn up the television, loud.

His dad said it was the typical noises that come with an old, unfamiliar house. “You’ll get used to it,” he told Liam. “It’s what gives the place—I don’t know—character. Yeah, that’s the word. Character.”