The Reappearance of Rachel Price

“No, no, no.” Bel looked down at the black, empty screen.

“Shh,” Ash hissed. “She might hear you.”

“This isn’t fair, this was supposed to be it.”

“I’m sorry,” Ash offered, but it wasn’t enough, not nearly enough.

“No.” Bel handed him the iPad, useless to her now. “She’s not winning.”

“Where are you going?” Ash grabbed her hand.

“I have to know what she came here for.”

“Bel,” her name shaped by a gasp, but she was already running from him, across the road. Jumping over the line of shadow to the left side of the house, crouching below the front windows.

She curved around the corner, hand to the wooden slats to steady herself, heart trying to drag her back. She wouldn’t listen, her head winning out, telling her this was her chance to take Rachel down.

Bel hurried three more steps, then dropped to her knees below the window, the one on the far wall of the living room, beside the fireplace, over the sideboard.

If Rachel was distracted, looking for whatever she was looking for, she wouldn’t see Bel. She planted her feet and slowly, slowly, rose up, straightening her legs.

She stopped when her eyes broke above the ledge, looking through the very bottom corner of the glass.

Her own reflection got in the way, obscuring the room beyond.

Bel moved closer, pressed her nose against the window, cupping her hands around her eyes.

The room came into view.

And so did Rachel, dead still, staring right back at her.

Bel’s heart told her so, escaping out her chest.

Rachel angled her head.

“Annabel?” she called, voice muffled by the glass.

Fuck.

Bel stood up the whole way, eyes still cupped against the window. “Hi!” she leveled her voice, smoothing the fear out of it. “I thought someone was inside.”

Rachel smiled. It didn’t reach her eyes.

“Come around.” She gestured toward the hallway and the front door, her fingers walking through the air.

Double fuck.

“OK!” Bel smiled, backing up until she could only see herself again, and that smile didn’t even convince her.

She walked around the corner, planning her excuses, discarding the ones that wouldn’t do, the ones Rachel would see through.

Ash must have spotted her now. Bel waved her arm in his direction, telling him to get out of here. Swiping her hand across her neck twice to tell him it was over, she was dead, double dead. Rachel had taken the bait, but the plan had fallen apart.

She trudged up the steps and the front door opened, Rachel standing in the heat beyond, an unreadable look on her face.

“Hi.” She moved back to allow Bel in.

“Hi,” Bel said, brighter, to throw her off. “That’s funny,” she said, still not sure what she was going to say or how it was funny.

“What are you doing here?” Rachel asked.

Bel was backed into a corner, came back with a lie.

“I couldn’t find my water bottle. I thought maybe I’d left it here yesterday. Did you see it inside?” Bel wandered through into the living room. “Wait.” She narrowed her eyes on purpose. “What are you doing here? You had a doctor’s appointment?”

Because Rachel might have caught Bel, but Bel had also caught Rachel here. A stalemate, a trial for both of them. Bel felt like she’d passed. Rachel’s turn.

“Oh, I got the day wrong,” Rachel said, leaning double-handed on the back of Grandpa’s chair.

“Did you?”

“Yeah. So I came over for Grandpa’s walk. Guess I just missed them.”

Bel nodded, like that made sense. Then she stalled, chin pointed up, like a new thought held her there. “How come you were inside, then?”

Rachel shuffled, clammy hands against the leather. “When I realized they weren’t here, I let myself in with the spare.” She paused. “It’s Pat’s birthday next week and I wasn’t sure what to get him. I thought I’d have a quick look around, see if I could figure out what he’d like.”

Bel completed the nod. Not quite as good a lie as hers.

Rachel pointed toward the bookshelf. “Although I think I’ve been caught. I noticed there’s a camera on the shelf.”

Bel’s eyes followed the line of Rachel’s finger, spinning, searching, as though she didn’t know exactly where it was. “Oh, that.” A dismissive wave of her hand. “Dad put that in months ago, to check up on Grandpa during the day, before the second stroke. I think it’s disconnected; hasn’t been turned on since Yordan got here.”

Rachel flexed her chin. “Makes sense.”

Yes, it did. Bel was pleased with that.

“Why were you at the window?” Rachel said, throwing it back to her.

“I thought I heard someone inside,” Bel countered. “And the spare key wasn’t under the frog.” Rachel wasn’t going to trip her up.

“You didn’t see my car parked out front?” Rachel narrowed her eyes.

“I saw a car, didn’t realize it was yours, don’t know the license plate yet. Lucky it was only you,” she said, with a breathy laugh, as though Rachel was safe, as though Rachel wasn’t the most dangerous person to her.

“Yeah, lucky.” Rachel glanced behind her, through the open doorway into the hall. Her eyes fixed on the stairs, climbing them one by one, as the silence stretched between them, growing teeth.

Bel studied Rachel’s face, looked for the signs she was learning, the twitches, the lines. Did Rachel know? Who had really caught who here?

“We should probably head home, hey?” Rachel said, breaking the deadlock, offering a way out. “Want a ride?”

Bel couldn’t say no.