“It’s like he wasn’t alone,” Ashley said. “There was something else there. I could hear it outside, whispering.”
Logan scratched her scalp. “Who would it be, though?”
“I don’t think it was a person.”
Logan arched a brow.
“I don’t think it was human.”
“I just don’t get it,” Logan said. She kicked a smooth oval stone into the lake. “Was it just Brandon?”
“Just Brandon that I could see. I heard something talk to him, though.” Ashley closed her eyes, conjuring up the voice in her memory. “It said they’d be ‘happy again.’ I don’t know why. It kinda … sounded like someone died.”
“Is this just you filling in blanks?” Logan asked.
“What?” Ashley asked. “I’m not making it up. I’m just telling you what I saw. And what I saw looked like they were grieving someone.”
Logan pressed her palm to her forehead. “Who, though?”
“Maybe family?”
Logan scoffed.
“When I heard our parents talking, my mom told your dad she was sorry for his loss,” Ashley said. “Did your dads … ever mention someone dying? Maybe before you were adopted? I know you don’t wanna talk about it, but—”
Logan stiffened.
“—that grave at Pioneer Cemetery.”
“No.”
“If they lost someone, maybe that’s why they left.”
Logan shook her head. “No. It’s literally not possible. They would’ve told me. Alejo would’ve…”
Logan didn’t finish her thought. They sat in silence for a moment. The lake ebbed up along the shore, carrying dust out into the water with each pulse. Logan wanted to believe Brandon had nothing to do with the deaths, but his footsteps were everywhere they looked. He was the only thing that’d changed in Snakebite.
“I thought we were supposed to be looking for Tristan,” Logan said. “We’re supposed to be clearing this up, not making it worse.”
“I don’t think this is someone just killing people,” Ashley said. “The voices I heard outside were … what if they’re connected to all this?”
“You think something paranormal is behind it.” Logan said this like a statement, not a question.
“It wouldn’t be weirder than everything else going on.”
Logan pinched the bridge of her nose. “I know it looks like Brandon is involved, but … let me talk to my dads and see what I can find out. I don’t wanna jump to any conclusions. Please.”
Ashley’s frown was involuntary. There was desperation in Logan’s face, but she wasn’t sure if it was desperation for Brandon to be innocent or desperation because she thought he wasn’t. Logan’s straight black hair rippled with the wind. She cupped a hand over her mouth.
“Okay,” Ashley said. “I can ask my mom some more stuff, too. But we don’t know how long it’ll be before someone else goes missing. There’s not that many kids here. It could be one of my friends. It could be one of us.”
“Promise me you won’t do anything until I’ve talked to them,” Logan said. “Just trust me.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed, glassy like she might cry. Ashley looked beyond her to the cabin. The cold under her skin was almost gone now, but the weight in her stomach still pushed her down. It felt like she was sinking. She closed her eyes.