The Unkindness of Ravens by M. Hilliard (readera ebook reader .txt) 📗

above my head. The books on them were not, creating openings of various sizes, from peephole to window. I found a good vantage point, where I could see without being seen. With most of the lights off, the reading room was dim but comparable to the hall. I saw nothing moving. Directly across from me, the trees outside the raven room swayed in the wind, creating shifting bands of light and dark. Satisfied, I moved forward as another gust rattled the windows, leaving a silent stillness in its wake, a stillness broken by the soft click of a door latch sliding into place.

I froze, going cold right down to my bones even as my pulse kicked up. I sucked in air, whirled and sprinted to the Circ desk and the secondary alarm panel behind it. No lights flickered on the motion sensor except for the zone I was in. What I heard, or thought I heard, was close by—no one could have gotten out of range of the sensors in the few seconds it took me to cross the room, and I’d had a clear view of the front entryway and hall. I was alone.

Still. Even Bernie the Burglar knew when it was time for a quick exit. I had the information I needed—Sadie’s presence was most likely unnoticed by whoever went up the stairs the night Joanna was killed.

I worked my way around the rest of the room, touching every lock and hyper alert to very sound. Each window and latch slid easily into place, as if the manor itself wished to speed me on my way. The wind keened as it wound around the building. Darkness fell, leaving me in a dimly lit cocoon.

I grabbed my things and decided to leave the remaining lights on until I got to the main panel by the rear exit. Keys in hand, I tested the front door. The inner fire doors were shut and locked, and through them I could see the dead bolt was shot on the original wood doors of the manor. The wind rattled and knocked, but the old wood held firm. I got to the back door and eyeballed the motion detector display once more. Nothing. I set the alarm and reached for the door.

The handle was pulled from my grasp and the door flung wide. I staggered. A cold wind whirled me around. I regained my balance and turned in time to see the door slam shut, rattling on its hinges as the wind swirled. I fought the currents of air long enough to check the lock, then turned toward the parking lot. Another gust of wind buffeted me from behind, pushing me along and tugging my hair loose. I ran. I made it to my car as the rain started.

I turned the ignition and shifted into drive. A warning light flashed into angry red life on the dash. I groaned. I drove a BMW so old it could have registered to vote, but it had been Danny’s pride and joy. The car was still solid, but there was some kind of short in the electrical system and I never knew if the warnings were real or phantom. The last time I’d ignored one, the water pump had died in the middle of a busy road. I shifted back to park and waited to see if the light flickered back off.

I leaned back and studied the façade of the manor. Rain streaked the old stone walls. Shifting shadows danced across the slate roof. The scudding clouds lit the scene in shades of black and gray, like an old movie. The place would look foreboding to anyone who had not experienced its welcoming hum.

“It was a dark and stormy night.” No, that didn’t do it justice. As my eyes ranged over the craggy walls and shimmery windows of the manor, I remembered the best haunted house book ever written. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It had scared me silly when I first read it, and some of the lines were with me still. The ending in particular. I paraphrased as I looked at the house, “silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Raven Hill Manor, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”

But not tonight.

There was a face at the window.

I had not been alone, and whatever walked there had not registered on the motion sensors.

Chapter Ten

I blinked, hoping it was a trick of the light, but the face was still there. I was being watched. I stared back, grabbing for my phone. There was a flash, some movement to one side, and the figure pitched forward and dropped out of sight. I pictured Joanna tumbling down the stairs, lying in the dark. Had she been aware at any point during that long cold night?

I grabbed my keys and swung out of the car, dialing 911 before my feet hit the ground. I’m no hero, neither am I stupid. I was the last one out of the manor—if another body was found I was done for. I didn’t want to be the next body, either, so I gave the emergency operator a play by play as I went. I fought the wind and rain all the way to the door, shoving my key in the lock. It wouldn’t turn. I rattled the handle. No luck. The operator told me to stay outside.

“Someone’s hurt. I’m the only one here!”

The lock gave a last protesting whine. The key turned. I yanked open the door and kicked down the stop. I left the alarm engaged and hit the panic code as well. I’d flipped every switch on the light panel and grabbed the heavy utility flashlight we kept on top of it when the alarm delay ran out. The entire building shrieked. Anyone up to no good would know they’d been busted.

I scanned the main hall and saw no one. I took the back stairs, the fastest route to where I’d seen the face at the