Ms. DeVeau’s Marley was a house. And the idea of a town. Broader than the Marleys I knew, but still the same girl. Facets of the prism I’d never examined. There was still so much to know about Marley Bricket.

“Anyway,” Ms. DeVeau said, pulled back from the edge of her memory. “Did you?”

“Did I what?”

“Finish the adventure.”

I shrugged. “Kind of hard to tell.”

“If it’s my daughter’s plan, it’s never done.”

A phone started ringing. It went on for three long, shrill shrieks before Aidy realized it was hers. “Dad left it for me on the counter,” she said, fumbling around in her purse. “I totally forgot.” Harrison’s name flashed up on the screen. “I’m going to grab this, if that’s all right,” she told Ms. DeVeau.

Marley’s mother flicked her wrist, happy to gain an unexpected moment to gather herself. “Go ahead.” She blotted her eyes with the edge of a napkin.

“Hello?… What do you mean?… Where at?… We’re still here, but I think we’re done… Okay… Yeah, we’ll come right over.” Aidy hung up and looked at me, her eyes so wide that pink veins were visible.

“What did I tell you?” Ms. DeVeau said with the ghost of a laugh.

We thanked her for the lemonade. I promised to come by and help with the garden. Aidy complimented her hat. Ms. DeVeau stood in repose, lips pressed into teeth, barring her from saying any more. When I turned around to steal one last glimpse, she was standing in her door frame, a hand across her chest, clutching at her heart.

I couldn’t keep up with Aidy. She glided, using the many inches she had on me to her full advantage. She went fast, but she wouldn’t run. Every time her pace came close, she did a little hop to slow up.

“What is it?” I begged. She wouldn’t answer.

Into the mouth of the haunted house we went. We hurried up the stairs and down the hall to the bedroom.

Nick and Harrison stood over a floorboard that had been wedged loose. In his hands, Nick held a yellowed piece of loose-leaf paper.

“On the map,” Harrison panted out. “Was this place marked?”

“Of course,” I said.

“What did you put here?”

I pulled open cabinets in my brain. Shuffled through piles of memories. Had I forgotten this place? I hoped Aidy would hold her party here. That’s what I planned around its marking on the map.

“Nothing,” I said, touching my lips as the syllables released, taking shape in front of me. I didn’t do this. Marley did. Marley did. Marley did.

Nothing was happening.

It was real.

Nick cleared his throat and began to read.

Dearest Nicky Cline,