I rolled my eyes. “Why would I scream? I knew it was you up here – I found your badge downstairs.” I took it from my pocket and tossed it over to him. “And your bolt cutters. You know you almost frightened my little brother out of his wits! He told me there was someone in his room, but I didn’t believe him.”

Will frowned. “I didn’t go into his room. Why would I? I came straight here.”

I shook my head, not believing him. He’d probably ended up in Charlie’s room by mistake at 95some point and just didn’t want to admit it.

“Why are you up here?” I asked. “My dad will go nuts if he finds out.”

“I wanted to see the old logbooks,” Will replied. “From the keepers who worked here. You should look yourself. It’s Jess, right? These accounts prove what I’ve been trying to tell you – that there’s something rotten and evil here. That there always has been. Even the first lighthouse keepers were aware of it, back when this place was new.”

“You still haven’t answered my question,” I said impatiently. “If the lighthouse is as dangerous as you say, then why are you here? This is trespassing and criminal damage.”

I glanced down at the desk, and a few lines from the nearest logbook jumped out at me.

96With a jolt, I realized that the book was referring to Cailean’s grandfather – the keeper who’d fallen to his death. Other words and phrases leaped out at me from the page: mood swings, vivid nightmares, violent outbursts, Strangers’ Room…

“What’s the Strangers’ Room?” I asked.

To my surprise, Will flinched. “Don’t go into the Strangers’ Room,” he said sharply.

I raised an eyebrow. “How can I when I don’t know what it is?”

“It’s here in the lighthouse. You’d know if you went inside,” he replied. “It’s not like the other rooms. It’s… Look, we shouldn’t even be talking about it.”

“Is that… Is it where your sister died?”

He froze for a moment, and when he finally looked up at me there was such an icy look of anger on his face that I almost took a step back. “What do you know about my sister?” he asked.

“Only … only that she died here,” I said. “Cailean told me.”

“Did he now? Well, she didn’t die in the Strangers’ Room, but she might as well have. She fell from the window up there and landed on the ground below.” 97

The colour drained from my face. I couldn’t imagine witnessing something like that. Just the thought of it happening to Rosie made me feel ill. No wonder Will was a bit unhinged and so obsessed with the lighthouse.

“I’m sorry,” I said, even though I knew the words were horribly feeble. “What a terrible accident.”