I thought about calling her, but what was the point? She was so far away and couldn’t help me with the situation here, and, anyway, could I trust her? Would Ash be in trouble if I told her he was alive? Would I be, considering I’d known for more than a week and hadn’t told them? Maybe this was just a ploy to find out where I was. How could I be sure they no longer suspected me? No, I decided, I wouldn’t call her, not yet. I needed a little bit more time, wanted to tell Ash the details I’d found out about Whitmarsh and see if it sparked a memory. Except he wouldn’t believe anything I said now, not until he understood what Maya was doing to him.

I wondered if I should call Sam for help, but he couldn’t do anything, either. I’d texted him about the side effects of clonazepam as soon as I’d got to the motel, and he’d filled me in a few minutes before Maya had knocked on my door with my sweater—a false pretext for a visit if I’d ever heard one. That’s when I’d realized she’d been giving Ash the pills. I thought about how she’d practically dared me to hunt for evidence relating to Ash’s departure from Newdale, something to incriminate her. She’d said there was none but...

I stopped pacing the room as another path crystalized in my mind. With Ash and Maya in Brookmount, the house would be empty. If I could get inside while they were away, I’d have ample time to search the place, see if I could find something that would help me convince Ash his sister was crazy. My mind raced ahead as I packed my things, deciding I’d have to make everyone believe I’d left town in case Maya asked around. There was a dirt track a few hundred yards before her house, an ideal place for hiding my car while I hunted through her things.

Fiona hadn’t been at the front desk when I’d checked in last night and wasn’t there when I dropped off my key. I was grateful. I didn’t want to explain how things hadn’t worked out with Ash, and I was going home. Thankfully, my credit card payment for the room went through, and within a few minutes I was in my car, heart thumping at the thought of breaking into Ash and Maya’s home. She wasn’t stupid, and she’d have moved the spare key, but I’d have to get in somehow, either by jimmying the door or a window. Whatever. I’d make it work.