“I managed to track down Dr. Hicks’s research assistant,” Julia went on. There was no stopping her now. Vi recognized the excitement in her voice, the pride. She’d been able to follow the trail and uncover what she needed to know. A kindred spirit. “And it turns out she’s the one who runs the Inn here, Dr. Hildreth.”
“Gran,” Iris said.
“She’s your grandmother?”
“I’m Violet Hildreth,” Vi said. “My brother Eric and I live with Gran.”
“And what about you?” Julia asked Iris.
“Her too,” Vi answered before Iris could speak. “She’s our sister, Iris.”
“So Dr. Helen Hildreth is your grandmother?”
Vi nodded. “Yeah.”
“Maternal or paternal?”
“Paternal. My father was Jackson Hildreth.”
“Jackson Hildreth,” Julia repeated, saying the name slowly. “And all three of you live there, in that house with Dr. Hildreth?”
“Yeah.”
“For how long?”
“Since our parents died. Like…” Vi calculated. “Eight years ago now.”
“I’m sorry for asking… but would you mind telling me how your parents died?”
“Car accident.”
They made their way slowly down the hill as the rain drenched them, and all the while, Vi was thinking about how disappointed Eric was going to be when he learned his ghoul wasn’t a ghoul at all but some state college student. Maybe, she thought, maybe it’d be better if he didn’t know.
“So why are you spying on us?” Vi asked.
“I’m working on a story.”
“By sneaking around in the woods, harassing kids?” Iris asked.
“Listen, I tried the usual route, really I did. I went to the Inn, talked to Dr. Hutchins and Dr. Hildreth, but they didn’t have much to say. In fact, they threatened to call the police and have me hauled off for trespassing if I came back.”
“That’s why you put on the mask?” Iris asked.
“Uh-huh. I didn’t want to take the chance of Dr. Hildreth recognizing me.”
“Is the story you’re writing about eugenics and Dr. Hicks?” Vi asked.
“It started out that way, but things have changed. The story has grown. The Dr. Hicks thing might have just been a door that led me to the true story, the bigger story.”
“Which is?” Vi asked.
Julia stopped walking and winced a little. Vi wasn’t sure if it was because of pain or because of the question.
“I think,” Julia said, her voice level and slow like she was choosing her words carefully, “that I’ve said enough for now.”
“You’re writing about the Inn,” Iris said. “You know there’s something strange going on there.”
“Shut up, Iris,” Vi warned.
Julia turned and looked steadily at both girls. “You two wouldn’t know anything about that, would you? About something strange going on over there? Experiments, maybe?”
“The Mayflower Project,” Iris said.
Vi grabbed Iris’s arm and gave it a twist. “Shu-ut uu-p!” she growled.
Even in the darkness, Vi could see that Julia’s jaw had actually fallen open and her eyes were all buggy like a cartoon character’s.