Olivia had a fire going a couple hours later. They sat around it in the backyard, holding steaming cups of hot cider in the chilly March air. “This is nice,” Cleo said, taking a sip and wincing as she burned her tongue. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” Olivia asked, glancing over […]

Dr. Degas walked into the exam room with a rueful smile. “Hello, Andrew,” she said. Andrew sat on the exam table in an ill-fitting cotton gown. “Hi, Dr. Degas,” he said. “So the rumor I heard was correct then,” she said, setting down her clipboard and sitting down in her desk chair. “How long have […]

The basement storage unit was a little dim. He’d have to remember to change the bulbs out of the dangling light fixtures once he finished this. It was no problem, Noah could keep going all day. The loose piles of shit from the far corner were now bagged piles of shit in the near corner […]

Cleo walked into the restaurant with a little hesitation. It was a beautiful steakhouse in one of the towns around Worcester, classy and far more sophisticated than she’d anticipated when she’d rented a car for the night to drive there. Oh God, was she on a date? Was this an actual date between her and […]

Iris walked into Forest Charms and her heart sank as she surveyed the damage. It had regularly been a mess since Roland found his way into her life. But right now it looked as though a hurricane had ripped its way through her store. Entire shelves were ripped off the walls and expensive merchandise was […]

It was quiet at Keegan’s. Not that this was unusual for a Tuesday afternoon, but the quiet itself was almost distracting. With not a single customer in the store and everything beyond the usual paperwork done, the silence pressed down on Olivia as she sat at her desk in the back room. She and Noah […]

Cleo has been back in Massachusetts for three days now. She’d finally told the others she was home and had been in regular contact with Andrew and Olivia. But they hadn’t asked her when she was coming back to New Winslow and she hadn’t brought it up herself. She’d had every intention of going back […]

“What do you mean, it doesn’t smell right? Like the last person took a shit in your fridge or something?” Cleo rolled her eyes, switching her phone from one ear to the other as she picked up the whistling kettle and poured the boiling water over the tea bag and into the mug. “Don’t let […]

Iris had been lingering outside the library for ten minutes now. It was freezing in the parking lot and the sun was going down. But every time she tried to go inside, her nerve failed. If Judith had been that mad at her, she could only imagine how pissed Alicia was. And there was absolutely […]

Cleo stepped into her empty apartment and closed the door behind her as she glanced around. Whoever had stayed here last definitely was getting a good rating. The place was immaculate, and even the blankets were carefully folded on the back of the couch and her chairs. She dropped her bags, sat down on the […]