"Running away has never solved anything," the older woman said. "Haven't you learned that yet? Haven't we all-"
"There are two children dead," Cassie's mother said. "And if Cassie wants to leave here, we will."
Cassie looked from one to the other in bewilderment. What were they talking about? "Mom," she said abruptly, "why did you bring me here?"
Her mother and grandmother were still looking at each other-a battle of wills, Cassie thought. Then Cassie's mother looked away.
"I'll see you at dinner," she said, and just as suddenly as she'd appeared, she slipped out of the room.
Cassie's grandmother let out a long sigh. Her old hands trembled slightly as she picked up another root.
"There are some things you can only understand later," she said to Cassie, after a moment. "You'll have to trust us for that, Cassie."
"Does this have something to do with why you and Mom were estranged for so long? Does it?"
A pause. Then her grandmother said softly, "You'll just have to trust us..."
Cassie opened her mouth, then shut it again. There was no use in pressing it any further. As she'd already learned, her family was very good at keeping secrets.
She'd go to the cemetery, she decided. She could use the fresh air, and maybe if she found Melanie's crystal she would feel a little better.
Once there, she wished she'd asked Laurel to go along. Even though the October sun was bright, the air was nippy, and something about the dispirited graveyard made Cassie uneasy.
I wonder if ghosts come out in the daytime, she thought, as she located the place where she and Deborah had had to throw themselves facedown. But no ghosts appeared. Nothing moved except the tips of the grass which rippled in the breeze.
Cassie's eyes scanned the ground, looking for any glint of bright silver chain or clear quartz. She went over the area inch by inch. The chain had to be right here... but it wasn't. At last she gave up and sat back on her heels.
That was when she noticed the mound again.
She'd forgotten to ask her grandmother about it. She'd have to remember tonight. She got up and walked over to it, looking at it curiously.
By daylight, she could see that the iron door was rusty. The padlock was rusty too, but it looked fairly modern. The cement chunk in front of the door was large; she didn't see how it could have gotten there. It was certainly too heavy for a person to carry.
And why would somebody want to carry it there?
Cassie turned away from the mound. The graves on this side of the cemetery were modern too; she'd seen them before. The writing on the tombstones was actually legible. Eve Dulany, 1955-1976, she read. Dulany was Sean's last name; this must be his mother.
The next stone had two names: David Quincey, 1955-1976, and Melissa B. Quincey, 1955-1976. Laurel's parents, Cassie thought. God, it must be awful to have both your parents dead. But Laurel wasn't the only kid on Crowhaven Road who did. Right here beside the Quincey headstone was another marker: Nicholas Armstrong, 1951-1976; Sharon Armstrong, 1953-1976. Nick's mom and dad.
It must be.
When she saw the third headstone, the hairs on Cassie's arms began to prickle.
Linda Whittier, she read. Born 1954, died 1976. Suzan's mother.
Died 1976.
Sharply, Cassie turned to look at the Armstrong headstone again. She'd been right-both of Nick's parents had died in 1976. And the Quinceys... she was walking faster now. Yes. 1976 again. And Eve Dulany, too: died 1976.
Something rippled up Cassie's spine and she almost ran to the headstones on the far side of the mound. Mary Meade-Diana's mother- died 1976. Marshall Glaser and Sophia Burke Glaser. Melanie's parents. Died 1976. Grant Chamberlain. Faye's father. Died 1976. Adrian and Elizabeth Conant. Adam's parents. Died 1976.
Nineteen seventy-six. Nineteen seventy-six! There was a terrible shaking in Cassie's stomach and the hairs on the back of her neck were quivering.
What in God's name had happened in New Salem in 1976?
Chapter Eight
"It was a hurricane," Diana said.
It was Monday, and Diana was back in school, still a bit sniffly, but otherwise well. They were talking before American history class; it was the first chance Cassie had had to speak to Diana alone. She hadn't wanted to bring the question up in front of the others.
"A hurricane?" she said now.
Diana nodded. "We get them every so often. That year it hit with practically no warning, and the bridge to the mainland was flooded. A lot of people got caught on the island, and a lot of people got killed."
"I'm so sorry," Cassie said. Well, you see; there's a perfectly reasonable explanation after all, she was thinking. How could she have been so stupid as to have freaked out over this? A natural disaster explained everything. And when Cassie had asked her grandmother about the mound at the cemetery last night, the old woman had looked at her, blinking, and finally said, was there a mound at the old burying ground? If there was, it might be some sort of bunker-a place for storing ammunition in one of the old wars. Again, a simple explanation.
Laurel and Melanie came in and took seats in front of Cassie and Diana. Cassie took a deep breath.
"Melanie, I went back to the cemetery yesterday to look for your crystal-but I still couldn't find it. I'm sorry; I guess it's gone for good," she said.
Melanie's gray eyes were thoughtful and serious. "Cassie, I told you that night it didn't matter. The only thing I wish is that you and Adam and Nick and Deborah hadn't run off without the rest of us. It was dangerous."
"I know," Cassie said softly. "But right then it didn't seem dangerous-or at least, it did, but I didn't have time to think about how dangerous it really was. I just wanted to find whatever killed Jeffrey." She saw Melanie and Diana trade a glance; Melanie surprised and Diana rather smug.