The Unkindness of Ravens by M. Hilliard (fastest ebook reader txt) 📕

bridge. We turned and waited for it to emerge. It took longer than I would have thought, but then it popped out at an angle and shot downstream, bouncing energetically until it disappeared once again, right where the Ravens Kill curved out of sight into the woods.

“It always does that,” said Nate, the middle Barrett child. “It goes under right there and you never see it come up.”

Things that appeared and disappeared without rhyme or reason seemed to be the norm in Raven Hill, I thought, remembering the click of a door latch and the blank motion sensors.

“Some of them get stuck under the bridge,” Sadie added, “like there’s a beaver dam under there or something.”

“There’s no beaver dam,” Nate said, rolling his eyes in the manner of older brothers everywhere. “The whole kill would be clogged up if there were.”

Jake played diplomat.

“There is a little dam forming, but not from a beaver. It’s from all the trees that came down this winter.”

“Why does it sink there by the bend?” I asked him.

“It doesn’t, at least not permanently. It only gets sucked under for a while, and washes up farther down. I’ve marked some with vegetable dyes and gone looking for them. This is going to be my science fair project.”

Jake rattled on in a way that would make his academic father proud. I leaned over the footbridge as he made a point about the formation of rapids. The rail gave under my weight, and I pulled back.

Child drowns in Ravens Kill.

The muttering black water now seemed more ominous than academic.

“You guys need to be careful—” I started, but Pierre began to bark.

“Here comes Mr. Prentiss,” Sadie said.

Matthew Prentiss was jogging toward us. He gave a friendly wave and slowed, jogging in place as he greeted us, the reflective tape on his running togs winking even on this cloudy day.

“Are you training for the Tri-City Triathlon?” Nate asked.

“Not this year. Too much going on.”

He gave me a meaningful look and turned back to the kids.

“What brings all of you out on this cloudy day?”

“Science fair project,” Jake answered. “I’m studying currents.”

“Good luck with that. The currents have always been strange in the Ravens Kill.”

The Barrett kids went back to their experiments and Matthew turned back to me.

“Your little buddy is with you a lot these days,” he said, patting Pierre and receiving a curious sniff in return.

“Henri is out, and I can always use the exercise.”

“Good stress reliever.” Matthew glanced over at the kids, still busy tossing sticks. I kept an eye on the rickety rail.

“I’m glad to see you out and about, Greer,” Matthew said in a low voice. “I heard what happened last night. I’m glad for Vince’s sake that you went in, but I want you to be more careful. I cannot even begin to imagine what is going on.”

He sounded both frustrated and mystified. He looked toward the manor.

“I’m told the police are done there. I’m going to check the locks and such on my way by. I need to get a handle on this one way or another,” Matthew said.

He turned back to me.

“I want you to feel free to call me directly, any time, if you think there’s something going on that I should know about. Even if it’s just something that makes you nervous, or that seems strange. Please.”

I nodded to show I understood. He took it as assent and gave my arm a pat as a low rumble sounded in the distance.

“That’s my cue,” Matthew said loudly. “I’ve still got some miles to cover.”

He set off. I wondered if he intended to do more than check the locks. Though the police would have discouraged a solo visit to the manor by anyone, Matthew had a reasonable excuse—a board member’s concern that the building was secured properly. If he had another, more sinister motive for visiting the old house, I couldn’t fathom it, and I couldn’t follow him without the risk of being seen. That invitation to call about anything unusual might be a desire to get a heads-up on any looming scandal that would impact his political career, or a genuine desire to get to the bottom of things. I was curious, though, and made a mental note to find out where Matthew Prentiss was both last night and the night of the murder. And the night after, I thought, remembering the jogger I’d heard. Matthew’s office was down the street from my apartment. He could have decided to check on me, or check up on me. Or, it could have been a coincidence. I had no way of knowing, short of asking, and I didn’t think that was wise.

Another rumble sounded, closer this time.

“You should get going, too,” I said to the kids. “You’ll get caught out in the storm.”

“We’ll be okay, Ms. Hogan,” Sadie said. “We can cut through the woods. We know all the shortcuts and how to find the secret paths.”

“How to find the secret paths?” I asked. “Are they different than the hiking trails and shortcuts?”

“Sometimes. You only find them when you think about where you need to go, and just look out of the corner of your eye.”

I smiled at her. She was more of a wood sprite than I’d guessed. “I’ll keep it in mind.”

She gave Pierre a final pat and got on her red bike. Her brothers did the same. Amidst a chorus of goodbyes I watched them pedal away. Within seconds they had disappeared. I gave the rail of the footbridge one final shake. I needed to let Helene know, although I wasn’t sure who was responsible. This wasn’t technically manor property. I looked into the kill, thinking how mesmerizing the soft sounds and constant motion of the water were.

“Come away, little lass, come away to the water,” I sang the opening of a Maroon 5 song as I tossed a stick over the rail and watched it disappear.

Child drowns in Ravens Kill.

Thunder sounded again, and the wind picked up. I shivered and