His muscles tensed.
"Did she tell you about the palm reader?"
He nodded. "I know it sounds crazy, but I think I'm starting to believe her. Either that or it's like those cults where they brainwash their members into believing aliens are going to take them to their home planet."
"Right? What's up with that?" I wracked my brain trying to remember his name.
"That still doesn't explain what you're doing in my house. Unless, like Erin said, you are here to kill our baby." His hand tightened around the pan again, and he started pushing buttons on his phone.
"What? She said I would try to kill your baby?"
"Not in so many words, but she said just the fact that you're here has put her in danger."
It finally came to me. "I'm here to try to save her, Billy. To try to figure out what's going on."
"Mm-hm." He held up an index finger to put me on pause, then scrolled though his phone. I heard elevator music in my mind until he said, "Yes, I'd like to report a break-in."
My jaw dropped open. "Billy!" I whispered, rushing toward him. Prison orange did not look good on me. "Just give me a chance. I can see things others can't. I can see a woman in the pictures of your daughter. An old woman with white eyes and -"
"Never mind," he said into the phone. "I thought someone was breaking in across the street, but they were just leaving a note." His entire demeanor changed in a heartbeat, and he went from scowling at me to gaping at me, only in a really cute way. Seriously, the kid could have been a supermodel. "Yes. No, yeah, I understand. I'll keep an eye out. Sorry about that."
He talked his way out of the call and put his phone down.
"You've seen her, too?" I asked. "In the pictures?"
"No. In the house."
Fuck. I was right. She was here.
"Okay, tell me exactly what you saw."
He'd grown a little pale and had to sit down. We walked back into the living room and sat on their very used but terribly comfy couch. It was probably a hand-me-down. They clearly couldn't afford much. Their decor was sparse but prettily placed.
They worked hard for what they had, and I admired them both.
"So, I got up one night about a week ago to check on Hannah. Just this weird tug inside me."
I wondered if he might be a little touched as well.
"I was half asleep, but when I got to Hannah's room, I could have sworn I saw someone standing over her. An old lady. I asked her what she was doing in my daughter's room, and she -" He stopped as though gathering himself. "She turned and just came at me. I fell back, but when I looked again, she was gone."
"That's awful." I wanted to share. I wanted to tell him about being chased by the headless horseman and how this customer at work had a demon tucked inside him, but now was not the time for group therapy. "What did you do?"
"I ran to Hannah and picked her up. I thought … I was worried she'd done something to her. By the time Erin got up, I'd decided I'd dreamed it all."
"I'm just glad Hannah was okay."
"But when you said the part about her eyes … This woman's eyes were solid white. That's all I saw, and I haven't slept well since."
While I was totally glad not to be handcuffed, I was still at a loss. What if the woman really was haunting Erin? What if she really killed the babies? What then? Could one really hire an exorcist? If so, how? From what I understood, the Catholic Church tended to drag its feet about these things. Hannah was in danger now. Especially since I – aka the girl with no past – showed up.
"Where's the baby now?" I asked.
"With Erin's aunt."
I nodded and walked over to the pictures on the mantel.
"Are these all of Hannah?"
He stood. "No, these two are of her first two babies, Hailey and Carrie."
All I saw was the creepy old lady. It was like a horror film on pause.
"What exactly do you see?" he asked me.
"In every picture of the children, I only see the old lady. In the others, though, I see you guys and other assorted family members."
"Are you sure?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, how would you know? You can see past the woman, right?"
"True."
"Okay, then point to the ones where you see the old lady."
I pointed to the first one. He nodded. The second. Another nod. The third, and so on. Erin was so into family, it was charming. We walked to the pictures on the wall. She had them artfully arranged and all framed in white.