Brushing her wavy brown hair out of her face, Rachael looked around with a smile, putting on a pleasant mask to disguise her feelings.

She followed Will through an extravagantly decorated living room to a large kitchen, all black granite and stainless steel; marveling at how neat and clean everything was. Too clean, especially for a family with a child living in a world at war with the dead.

A petite blonde woman, hair in a perfectly trimmed bob, was at the sink, arranging flowers in an Oriental vase. She turned as Will and Rachael entered, face registering polite surprise at the presence of a stranger in her kitchen.

“Will?” she asked, confused.

“This is Rachael, Abigail. She’s the girl who saved Thomas.”

Abigail Manners nearly knocked Rachael over with the force of her hug. Tears welled up in her large blue eyes as she squeezed Rachael tightly. “Oh, thank you. Thank you! You saved our boy . . . you saved my Tommy. How can we ever repay you for what you did?”

Rachael patted her back awkwardly, not sure how else to handle the crying woman. When Tommy’s mother finally released her from the hug, Rachael said, “I have a few questions about Happy Valley and was hoping you could answer them for me.”

“Oh, of course! Please, sit down.” Abigail gestured to the dinette on the side of the kitchen, carefully set with more flowers.

Rachael nodded graciously and took a seat, smiling her thanks as Will set a bottle of soda down in front of her, popping the cap off it, and one of his own before sitting across from her. Abigail sat down next to him, grabbing for his hand and holding it tightly as if she was afraid to lose him too.

Both of them looked as stereotypically upper-class suburban as Rachael could imagine. Will in his striped polo and pressed khaki slacks, Abigail in a soft pink cardigan over a white blouse. These were people accustomed to comfort, to a certain standard of living. She doubted they’d last a day outside the walls of Happy Valley, though one thing that Rachael had learned over the last six months was that people could and would surprise you.

She thought about what Paloma had told her.

People could and would surprise you, for good or for bad.

“So what can we do you for?” Will asked in a hearty voice that grated against Rachael’s ears.

“I’d really just like to know how you like living here. Are you some of the original residents?”