Chapter 2
The crack was maybe two inches wide. Cold slipped through it and lifted the hem of my robe against my bare ankles. The chain hung straight down from the top of the door, swaying a little. It had not been like that ten minutes earlier. I'd set it myself after Daniel left for the warehouse, the way I always did, sliding it until it clicked.
The blue light from the lock washed the wood floor. Beyond the crack I could see a narrow slice of dark porch and a smear of pink. Not moving. Small.
I didn't open the door wider. I didn't reach for the handle again.
"Hey," I whispered. My voice came out smaller than I meant it to. "Who's out there?"
For a second nothing happened. The wind moved through the porch light and I could hear my own breathing too loud in my throat. Then the pink shifted.
A little voice answered. Very quiet. "It's me."
It was a kid's voice. High and careful. The age Emma was, that thin seven-year-old voice that tries to sound older than it is.
My stomach dropped, but I kept my hand where it was, fingers hovering near the trim, not touching.
"Who's me, honey?" I whispered. "You need to tell me your name so I know."
The figure didn't come closer. I could see the edge of what looked like pajama sleeve, pink with a darker cuff, and one small hand gripping the outside handle. The porch was too dark to make out a face.
"Mom?" the voice said, even smaller this time. Not sure if it was a question or a check.
I didn't answer that yet. If I said her name and I was wrong, I'd plant it. If I opened the door and it wasn't her, I'd lose the only barrier I had while the girls were upstairs asleep.
I looked back at the lock. The display still said DOOR OPENED FROM INSIDE 2:29 AM. My hand was shaking enough that I had to steady it against the door frame to press the little up arrow.
The screen blinked. It scrolled.
2:29 AM DOOR OPENED FROM INSIDE
2:26 AM UNLOCKED FROM INSIDE
2:26 AM UNLOCKED BY: EMMA 2:26 AM
That was it. Three lines. No earlier entries from yesterday, no 11 p.m. or midnight. I pressed up again and it looped back to the top. Nothing else. No one had tried the code from outside. No failed attempts. Just Emma's code at 2:26 and then the inside handle.
That didn't make sense. Emma didn't know chain. She could barely reach the lever without her step stool.
Outside, the small hand moved. "Are you mad?" the voice said through the crack.
"I need you to stay right there for me, okay?" I said, still whispering. I kept my eyes on that slice of pink while I reached up with my other hand. The chain was cold. I pinched the end between my thumb and forefinger. My fingers felt clumsy. "I'm going to fix the chain. I'm not closing the door on you, I promise. You stay where I can see you."
I lifted the chain. It clinked. The track at the top was empty, the little slide gap open. I could see where it should catch but I didn't slide it home yet. If I seated it I'd have to pull the door toward me, and the crack would close. I'd lose sight of whoever was on the porch.
So I held it. Chain in my left hand, right hand flat against the door to keep it from moving in the draft. The blue light made my knuckles look pale.
"Can you take one step back so the light hits you?" I whispered. "Just one."
The figure didn't. The hand tightened on the handle out there. I could hear the soft scuff of bare feet on concrete.
"Please?" I added.
No answer this time. Just breathing, faint, on the other side.
May you like
Upstairs the house was quiet. Too quiet. I thought of the hallway runner, the two bedroom doors at the end. Sophie slept with her sound machine on. Emma slept with her door cracked. Either of them could be up there, or neither.
I held the chain loose in my hand and kept the door cracked and kept looking at that pink sleeve, trying to decide who I needed to check first.
