ʺAll right, all right,ʺ Kelsey said, waving an impatient leg at her cousin. ʺI get it.ʺ

Ivy laughed. Beth glanced sideways and laughed with her.

Since their arrival on Cape Cod four days ago, it seemed to Ivy that Beth and Will, Ivyʹs boyfriend, were continually checking to see how she responded to things. Ivy suspected that she wasnʹt the only one thinking about Tristanʹs anniversary at the end of June. Ivy had loved Tristan more than anyone or anything in the world. Her joy with him was like nothing she had ever experienced. His love for her felt like a miracle. But June 25 marked one year from the start of last summerʹs nightmare, one year from the night that Ivyʹs stepbrother, Gregory, had tried to murder her and killed Tristan instead.

ʺFog is so creepy,ʺ Dhanya went on, ʺthe way it slowly invades a place, the way it hides things.ʺ

It had been foggy the autumn afternoon that Gregory had died, plunging to his death from a railroad bridge. At the end, his desire to destroy Ivy had been so intense, heʹd overlooked his own danger.

Now a menacing rumble caused Beth to glance over her shoulder. ʺWas that thunder?ʺ Kelsey sighed. ʺI wish it would storm and get it over with;ʺ ʺWhereʹs Will?ʺ Beth asked Ivy, sounding worried.

ʺPainting,ʺ she replied, glancing in the direction of the barn, where Will was staying.

The renovated barn — part of Seabright Inn was only fifty yards from the girlsʹ cottage. Tonight, with Will as its only occupant and his window facing away from the cottage, the building appeared dark. Across the garden, the lit windows of the main house were yellow smudges in the fog.

ʺI hate this weather,ʺ Kelsey said, pulling on her long auburn hair as if she could straighten it. She tossed it behind her shoulders. ʺIʹm getting a bad case of frizz. So are you, Ivy.ʺ Ivy smiled and shrugged. Her hair was always a yellow tangle.