This was what Buddy and Darlene had been wearing the first time Frankie and Ryan had encountered them. The goat was Buddy and the fox was Darlene.
There was no doubt.
‘Have you got your phone?’ she whispered to Ryan.
He nodded and pulled it from his pocket. It was, as she already knew, one of the newer iPhones. He did exactly as she’d hoped, zooming in as far as he could go. Frankie looked over his shoulder and examined the image on the screen. They looked like rubber masks, the kind that covered the whole face.
Ryan took a photo. The phone made the camera-shutter sound. And the person wearing the crow mask whipped his head round to face them. Buddy, the goat, and Darlene, the fox, did the same. It was so quiet here that the sound of the shutter must have carried across to them. Or maybe the crow had sensed something.
Frankie found herself transfixed, unable to move. The phone clicked. Ryan had taken another picture. She stared at the masked figures. Buddy and Darlene were on their feet now. Then they stooped . . . What were they doing?
It only took a moment for her to realise.
They were picking up rocks.
‘Run!’ Frankie said.
Chapter 26
Nikki looked terrible, like she’d been awake since I’d seen her last night. There were shadows around her eyes and worry creases on her forehead.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked. ‘Why were you looking in the window?’
‘I just wanted to see if you were here. Check you’re both okay after last night. Where’s Frankie?’
‘She’s with Ryan.’
‘Oh. They made up? That’s cool. That’s really cool.’
She took a seat but didn’t relax. She leaned forward, her elbows on her knees.
‘Do you want a drink?’ I asked. ‘Coffee? Wine?’
‘Water would be great.’ She took her cigarettes out of her bag and was about to light one until she remembered where she was.
‘You want to go out on the deck?’
‘No!’ she said. ‘I mean, no, I’m good.’
I filled a glass of water and handed it to her. There was very clearly something wrong but I didn’t think I’d get very far if I demanded to know what it was. She would clam up.
‘I came by the bookstore earlier,’ I said, ‘but it was closed.’
‘Sorry about that. I overslept. Were you coming as a customer or . . .’
She met my eye then looked away.
I momentarily forgot what we were meant to be talking about.
‘Tom?’ she prompted.
‘Oh. I was hoping you might be able to show me where you found Frankie, so I could look for her phone.’
‘Ah.’
‘But it’s okay. I bumped into Carl, the archery teacher here, and he helped me look. With no success. Also, I spoke to Greg and told him about last night and everything that’s been going on with Buddy and Darlene. Wait, did I already tell you about that?’ I was rambling. ‘I hope he sorts it out. I really don’t want to have to get the police involved. Do you know him?’
‘Who?’
‘Greg. He’s about your age, I think.’
‘Yeah. Everyone knows—’
‘—everyone round here. I get it. So I guess you know Buddy and Darlene too?’
Nikki stared at me like she hadn’t been listening. ‘What?’ Then, to my surprise, she stood, went over to the window and peered out, then drew the blind.
‘What’s going on?’ I asked.
She turned to me and smiled. ‘Nothing. The sun was in my eyes.’
I was confused. She was staring at me and seemed nervous. Had she shut the blind because she was about to try to seduce me? I wasn’t sure what I would do if she did. I liked her. She was gorgeous. But Frankie could be back any minute and Nikki was acting strangely, pacing around in front of the window and chewing on her thumbnail.
‘I like you, Tom,’ she said.
‘I . . . I like you too.’
Were we going to kiss? I waited, so out of practice I wasn’t sure what to do. Make a move? Wait for a sign?
‘I think you should take Frankie and leave,’ she said.
I hadn’t expected that. ‘What? Why?’
‘Because I don’t know . . . I don’t know if it’s safe.’
‘Okay, now you’re scaring me.’
She exhaled, a kind of shuddering laugh with no mirth in it. ‘Bad things happen here, Tom. I have . . . I just have this feeling that it’s going to happen again. If I were you I would pack up and get out of here. Take your daughter as far from the Hollows as you can. There are things going on . . . things that go back a long way.’ She trailed off, as if she’d said too much. ‘I really like you, Tom, and I don’t want to see you get hurt. Frankie too. Please, pack up the car and go.’