Olive groans, Sam tightens his grip on the beer bottle he’s holding, and Sadie nods.
"Yes, let’s do that. It’s been restored, so we could just walk in like a couple of tourists and see what we find."
The Hollowell House was discovered this past fall after an old map of Mage Hollow was found in the city archives. We’d all known the house was creepy with its overgrown vines and decrepit roof, but the rumor was always that it had been abandoned by a judge’s wife when he was found guilty of some murders in the sixties.
When the map was found a few weeks after the Hollow Hearts Festival, the town went crazy. Several times during restoration, it was broken into by teens looking for a good scare. And there was one group of women who claimed to be descendants of Irina who protested the work by chaining themselves to the trees out front. After months of work and drama, it opened for tours this spring.
Gravel crunches under the tires of my truck as we pull into the parking lot. The front lawn, now cleared of trees, is expansiveenough to fit fifty vehicles. Today, there are only three—they all belong to us.
"This is kind of silly, right?" Sadie leans forward to glance out the front windshield. "This key could be completely random. Maybe it wasn’t even part of the message." Her voice goes up, and her knee bounces.
"Sadie, it’s probably related. But you’ve known Beth for years. It’s not like she’s going to harm you." My thumb grazes the back of her hand. "She said she’s doing this to help you."
"No, you’re right. I don’t know why I’m nervous. I guess it’s just that before the book thing seemed silly—like it was just a distraction." She takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly. "But hearing their voices in the bathroom, knowing they weren’t actually there—"
"It’s all real now?"
Her eyes dart to mine. "Exactly."
Howie, Olive, and Sam have exited their vehicles and are waiting by a lap rail fence built out of hemlock that lines the walkway to the door.
"Well, I made you a deal. We’re supposed to have fun in exchange for solving this mystery…" I hold up a finger to my brother in the universal sign forone second. "Why don’t we pretend we’re trying to solve a mystery that has nothing to do with your future?"
"Like Mystery Inc.?" Sadie asks, smirking.
"Who?"
"You know, Shaggy, Scoob…"
Her eyes widen, and her lips purse as if she’s trying to hold in a laugh, like she can’t believe I didn’t immediately know what she was referring to.
"Personally, I was thinking more like Mary-Kate and Ashley," I say, and Sadie bursts out laughing.
"Deal."
Hopping out of the truck, I help Sadie down, and we walk hand in hand toward the group.
"Took ya long enough." My brother checks the watch he isn’t wearing.
"Sorry. I needed a little pep talk from Mary Kate," Sadie says, dropping my hand and stepping up next to Olive.
"What? I thought I was going to be Ashley." Stomping my foot, I stick my bottom lip out in a pout.
Howie chuffs. "And you guys think I’m the weird one."
Our group approaches the entrance, taking the two steps onto the freshly lacquered porch. Olive sighs, commenting under her breath about how different it looks from her last visit. Sam reaches for the door handle, but a bubbly blonde flings it open. From the overly welcoming smile and the branded t-shirt, it’s clear she’s an employee.
"Welcome to the Hollowell House. Are you here for a tour?" She scans our group, likely not expecting such a big one on a random summer day. I imagine it’ll be much busier during fall, especially close to the Hollow Hearts Festival.
Olive extends her hand. "Hi, I’m Olivia Bowman. I work at Black Kettle Bindery." The girl shakes her hand. "We were hoping to have a look around… self-guided?"
"I’m Katie." Her gaze coasts across our group. "I’m not really supposed to let people do that. We usually walk you through and explain everything."
Sadie digs her elbow into my side, nodding her head toward the girl.
"Hi Katie." I glance at Sadie for reassurance, and she tips her chin so slightly no one else could’ve noticed. "Have I seen you around?"
Her cheeks blush, and her lashes flutter. "Oh, maybe? Do you hang out at the Iceplex?"