In the Shadows

“. . . burning right now. I saw them as I was walking by, and

when I turned around at the end of the pier, the building was

on fire.”

There was a clatter of chairs, and then Daniel sprinted out of

the building, followed by the sheriff. They ran in the direction

opposite Arthur and the others, heading for the small fire station

on the next street.

Arthur looked up to see Alden standing on the steps to the

office, looking down and smiling at them. He tipped his hat, then

walked at a leisurely pace back toward the boardinghouse.

“Oh, no,” Cora whispered. “We can’t go to Daniel now.”

“We’ll tell the truth! He’ll believe us!” Minnie wrung her

hands, the jacket Charles had given her slipping off one shoulder.

“Minnie,” Thomas said, shaking his head. “He already thought

we lied to him about Mary. And who would you believe: the well-

dressed, wealthy summer visitor, or five soaking-wet, smoke-covered

kids? Arthur’s bleeding from his head. Your hands are cut to pieces.

I have burns on my legs. We look guilty.”

“But who can we tell? Who will help us?”

“No one,” Arthur said, his heart as dark and heavy as the night

around them. He had hoped that the day would never come. It

was time to discover his father’s secrets and pray that they would

offer him a way out, a way to save those he loved.

The secrets that had killed his family were his only hope for

saving Minnie and Cora.

December 2, 1967

Two Weeks Later

eighteen

T

hom paced nervously, always keeping his brother in