“To see what they looked like. I wasn’t actually planning on accosting them.”

He throws his hands up. “Well, that’s good, at least.”

I glare at him. “Anyway. The police said it might just be some kid who thought that nobody was on the island and were looking for somewhere to drink or smoke up.”

That explanation seems to calm Ezra down but only a little bit. “I guess,” he says, but he sounds unconvinced.

“But then how do you explain the record player? And what about the dead birds? It seems a bit coincidental, don’t you think?”

“It does seem like a coincidence, those two things happening back to back like that. And you seeing someone on the island lurking around at night. But both the birds and the record player can be chalked up to cottage things. There are a lot of birds in the area, so dead birds are not so unexplainable. Old funny wiring in a cottage, also normal up here.”

“And there was this one night when I got locked in my bedroom and had to climb out on the roof to escape.”

“What? Why haven’t you told me about that before?”

“I don’t know. It’s kind of embarrassing but also really weird. I climbed out on the roof and over to the fire escape, and when I got back into the cottage, I found the key in my bedroom door, like someone had locked me in there.”

“Old fussy locks. Another cottage thing.”

I shake my head. “I know what you’re saying, and if anyone likes a no-drama, practical explanation for things, it’s me. It’s just …”

“What?”

“I feel like someone must have done all of those things. It’s just too random to blame them all on cottage things.” I make air quotes.

“Unfortunately, I agree. I want to tell you that it’s nothing, but it sure sounds like something. Either kids fucking around with you due to the whole haunted-island thing or maybe Leslie Swann, although her being in Boston doesn’t explain the dead birds.” He bends down to kiss my knee. “I’m thinking you should just move in here. Problem solved.”

I shove my hand deep into his thick hair. “I’ve already lost too much time at Avril Island. I’m not going to lose more.”

He nods. “I understand.”

I move my hand down to his neck and gently massage it. “How about you come and stay with me instead?”

“I would, but there’s the issue of my very senile, prone-to-outbursts, elderly mother to consider.”

“Was it really bad last night?”

“It took me a while to get her back in the house. She kept insisting that she had to go see my father.”

“How did you calm her down?”

“I just told her that he was going to be home soon. That we needed to go inside and wait for him.”

“And that worked?”