directly at me as if to acknowledge my notice. The sensation was so creepy and invasive I took a step back, my heart flailing.
As I stood there enthralled, she threw back her head and opened her mouth wide as if to call to someoneâor to somethingâunseen. But the sound that sprang from her throat was more insect than human. Like the rattle of a cicada, plaintive and chilling.
Thirteen
S everal moments passed and still I couldnât tear my attention from the wall, even though the silhouette had disappeared into the deeper shadows.
Nelda Toombs was still chatting away beside me, oblivious to anything amiss. But suddenly it came to me that the smock-like jacket she wore over her dress not only covered her shriveled body, but also disguised what most would assume was a dowagerâs hump on her back.
One of the twins died. The other was so distraught that she tried to hide her sisterâs passing by using cloves to cover up the smell.
Even as Dr. Shawâs words came back to me, even as I turned to once again search the shadows, I reminded myself that sometimes the things I saw and heard and smelled really were products of my imagination. The sun had clouded my eyes and the shadowy form had been fleeting. Woods surrounded the cemetery. Wasnât it possible that Iâd heard an actual cicada?
But what of that insect husk on my nightstand? What of that face in the stereogram, the voices in my head?
Logic wasnât going to work. I knew what I knew.
âAre you all right?â Nelda asked in concern. âYou look quite pale all of a sudden.â
âIâm...still shaky from the fall, I guess. It was a little more serious than I let on to Dr. Shaw. In fact, I was just released from the hospital this morning.â
âBless your heart. I donât wonder youâre shaky. Perhaps you should be home resting.â
I managed a faint smile. âIâll be fine. Iâm enjoying our conversation. And I must say, Iâm very curious about the woman you say I look so much like.â
Neldaâs expression turned wistful. âRose was everything to us. Our protector and champion and the closest thing to a mother that Mott and I ever knew.â
âMott was your sister?â
âShe was so much more than that, Miss Gray. We were born conjoined, you see. She was a part of me. Closer even than a mirror twin.â
I swallowed past the foreboding that bloomed in my throat. âMott is such an unusual name. I donât believe Iâve ever heard it before.â
âWhen we were little, I couldnât pronounce Maudette so she became Mott and I was Neddy. We lost her many years ago.â
âIâm sorry.â
âThank you, but in some ways it was a blessing. We had a difficult childhood, you see. Shunned and bullied because we were different. But...â An apologetic smile flashed. âThat was a long time ago and, as Louvenia said, it has no bearing on why weâve come to see you today. Besides, Iâve rambled on long enough and I think sheâs ready to leave.â
I glanced down the path to where Dr. Shaw and Louvenia still lingered. She scowled in our direction as though worried about what her sister might tell me.
Nelda leaned in suddenly and put her hand on my arm. For a breathless moment, the scent of cloves overwhelmed me. âCome see me when you get to Isola. There are things about that cemetery you should know before you agree to the restoration.â
âWhat things?â
âNot here. Not with him watching.â
I thought at first she meant Dr. Shaw, but then I noticed a young man just inside the gates. He stood with arms folded, back resting against the wall as he stared down the path to where we stood talking. I felt a chill go through me as our gazes connected, and I could have sworn I saw him smirk.
He looked to be just shy of six feet and so slender he might have seemed delicate except for the undercurrent of
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