Sam gave me a small smile, nodded his understanding. “Here, use this next time.” He pulled out a bunch of keys from his pocket and took one off the ring before handing it to me. “I’ll fix the window first thing in the morning. Make sure nobody else can get in that way.”

“Thanks, Sam,” I said, trying not to shudder. Up to that point I’d considered spending the night in Jack’s bed, but now the thought made my skin prickle.

7

THE MAN FROM THE BEACH

When I woke up again a couple of hours later it was dark outside, and it took a while for my eyes to adjust, even longer to remember where I was. My entire body had gone numb from lying on the floor of the house, and my back popped as I sat up. The winds outside had increased, whistling an eerie tune through the walls, whooshing down the chimney and blowing an uncomfortable breeze onto my neck. I needed to get warm, and when I peered between the cracks of the boarded-up window, I saw the convenience store was still open.

Once I’d climbed back out the way I’d come in, I crossed the street and went inside the shop, sighing as the comforting warm air blanketed itself around me. As I stood in line behind another customer, waiting for him to pay, I glanced at the clock on the wall. Almost half past ten at night. The cashier wasn’t the man who’d given me the bathroom key earlier, and this woman had pink streaks in her short blond hair, her lips the color of cherries. When she looked at me, she narrowed her baby blue eyes and a shadow of a frown crossed her face, disappearing so quickly I decided I must have imagined it.

“How much for a coffee?” I said, curling my chilly fingertips into my palms. The woman didn’t move, and I pointed to the machine behind her. “Uh, a coffee, please?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure. It’s on special. Any size for a dollar.”

“Great. I’ll have the biggest. Can I have the bathroom key first?”