“I guess,” I said cautiously.
“Why do you act so freaked out when we’re alone? Do you do that with every guy, or is it just me?”
“It has nothing to do with you,” I told him.
“Are you sure the rumors haven’t scared you?”
That piqued my interest. “What rumors?” I asked, watching him carefully.
“The name Ella Bristol doesn’t ring a bell?” he asked.
“No,” I said. I’d never heard the name before, but I had a hunch she was the girlfriend Maisie had briefly mentioned. “Who’s that?”
“Wow. I’m surprised Maisie hasn’t whispered it in your ear yet. Ella is a girl I went out with a few times the summer before last. She was great, but at the end of the summer, I had to go back to school. That fall, Ella ran away from home. According to social media, she’s somewhere in Manhattan, and everyone here thinks I lured her there.”
“Did you?” I demanded. I knew bad things could happen to trusting girls. But I also knew that gossip like that spread because it was scandalous—not because it was true.
Nolan screwed up his face as though the idea were ridiculous. “No! I was at school in Connecticut. And for the record, I’ve never lured anyone anywhere.”
My eyes narrowed. I was sure he was holding something back. “Then why would they think that?”
“Because every Little Red Riding Hood tale needs a Big Bad Wolf, I guess. No one can imagine that maybe Ella skipped town because she was an interesting girl and Louth is the most boring place on earth. So.” He cocked his head. “Are you sure that’s not the reason you’re so freaked out?”
I let the subject of Ella Bristol go for the moment. I could see I wasn’t going to get anywhere, and there were plenty of other subjects that seemed more promising. “Like you, I know better than to believe every rumor I hear,” I said. “There are a few floating around about me as well.”
“Really?” He seemed a little too interested. “Do tell.”
Before I could answer, Nolan’s phone chimed and his expression instantly darkened.
“Hold on one second.” He pulled the phone out of his pocket.
“What is it?” I asked.
Nolan’s face was grim. “The perimeter of the property is wired. Something just tripped the alarm.” He tapped at his security system app. “Don’t worry. Unless Nora’s broken loose again, odds are it’s a deer.”
I leaned in and saw that multiple cameras were transmitting live video to Nolan’s phone. He swiped through the feeds until movement in one overlooking the front yard caught our eyes. Three large figures in black were making their way across the grass toward the house. Ski masks concealed their faces, and though I couldn’t tell what they were holding, I could see that their hands weren’t empty.
“What the hell?” I gasped.
Nolan hit a button on the app, then grabbed me by the arm, dragged me down the hall, and pushed me into a windowless bathroom. “Lock the door and don’t come out until help arrives,” he ordered.
“What’s happening?” I asked, panic surging in my chest. “What do they want? Can they get inside?”
The last question was answered by the sound of shattering glass. “Don’t make a sound,” Nolan said before he shut the bathroom door.
The instant I turned the lock, I realized I’d left my bag at the table. Without my weapons, I had no way to defend myself if the men got inside. But there was no going back. It sounded like a tornado had just hit the house.
“Nolan!” I shouted over the din. I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t hiding, too.
There was no shouting, no screaming. Just the sound of glass breaking and wood splintering. A minute later, the racket came to an abrupt halt. I sat on the floor, my back against the wall. I could feel cold air seeping under the bathroom door. I knew I needed to check on Nolan, but my hands were shaking so badly that I couldn’t turn the knob. I heard the wail of sirens in the distance. They grew louder, almost deafening. Soon after, they were followed by the sound of boots on the porch and a banging on the front door. Then there were voices. I was relieved to hear Nolan’s among them.
I got to my feet, unlocked the door, and opened it to see the living room covered in broken glass. The windows around me were all shattered. Only a few jagged teeth protruded from the panes. An icy wind swirled around the room, lifting the drapes and rustling the pages of a magazine on the coffee table. As I made my way to the sound of Nolan’s voice, I hit something with the toe of my shoe, and a sharp pain shot up my foot. A brick was lying on the rug. It wasn’t the only one. Strewn around the room were a dozen others just like it. They had to be heavy, and the arms that had thrown them must have been strong.
Nolan was standing, arms crossed, in the entryway facing a middle-aged woman and a younger man—both of whom were wearing brown hats and uniforms trimmed in gold. The sight of them jolted me. Suddenly I remembered that it might be best for me to avoid the law.
I was backing out of the room, when the female officer’s eyes locked on me.
“It’s okay, Bram. They’re gone now,” Nolan said. “This is Sheriff Lee.”
“Who is this?” the sheriff barked as she flipped open a notepad. She did not seem happy to see me. “You didn’t mention you had a guest. What’s your name?” she asked me.
“Bram Howland,” I told her.
“James Howland’s niece?” she asked without looking up.
“Yes,” I said. Then after a pause, I added, “Ma’am.”
My attempt at politeness made zero impression.
“Is there anyone else in the house?”
“No,” said Nolan. “My father is in the city tonight.”
“And which city is that?” the sheriff asked flatly. “There’s more than one. Albany? Buffalo?”
“He’s in Manhattan.” I could hear the frustration in Nolan’s voice, and I understood why. He’d just been the victim of a serious crime. There was evidence lying all over the floor. And yet somehow Nolan was the one being questioned. The injustice of it made me furious.
“Shouldn’t you be taking our statements?” I demanded. “Don’t you want to know what we saw?”
The sheriff glanced up at me with the strangest expression. “Mr. Turner has already provided all the information we need. I’ll talk to the neighbors and examine the footage from his security cameras myself, but it sounds like the vandals did a pretty good job of concealing their identities.”