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Authors: Amy M Reade
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one of the windows and I could see Pete on the balcony below, just outside my room, using some sort of tool on one of the railing slats. I must have been so engrossed in the books that I hadn’t heard him working.
I needed to check on Alex and see if she was ready to go for that walk, so I put the books back the way I had found them and started downstairs. I had already decided that I would try to peer inside my room, as though I were an Industrial Age entrepreneur spying on one of my guests. At the bottom, though, I gave a start when I saw that the door to my room was already ajar.
I cautiously opened the door further and looked around for whoever had been here while I was upstairs. The person must have entered the turret from the balcony—that must have been the noise I had heard. Nothing seemed to be amiss, but I took a quick look around anyway. I noticed with dismay that the nightstand drawer was partially open and I knew before I looked inside what was missing.
My album was gone. Why? Who would have taken it? It was of interest only to me, for I was the only person who knew any of the people in the pictures. Thinking of all the pictures of me and my parents that had been in the album, I grew very upset. Then I got angry. I wanted that album back. I didn’t know where to start looking, though. Then I remembered that I had seen Pete on the balcony while I was up in the turret. But why would Pete call attention to himself if he were going into my room? And why would he take an album full of pictures of strangers? It didn’t make any sense. Of course, maybe it hadn’t been Pete. It could have been anyone else on the island: Stephan or Will or Vali or Leland. Not Alex, since she couldn’t have gotten up to the balcony. I was getting more confused. I checked my room quickly to see if anything else had been taken, but everything else seemed to be untouched. I let myself back into the turret stairway, locked my bedroom door from inside the stairway, then went out onto the balcony, locking that door behind me, too.
I went back into my room, then headed downstairs to talk to Alex. On the way, I met Vali dusting in the library. She scowled at me. “If I were you, I wouldn’t go disturbing Miss Hallstead constantly like you’ve been,” she said. “She likes to be left alone while she works.”
I was already flustered by the loss of my album, and I had no patience right now for Vali’s insolence. “I’ll let Alex tell me that herself, thank you.” And I left her glowering after me.
I found Alex still at work in her office. Stephan was with her. I asked her if she was ready to take a break and go walking with me, and she smiled and agreed. Stephan excused himself from the room and Alex and I set out. Though it was a beautiful day outside, I was preoccupied by my missing album and Vali’s admonition in the library. I broached the subject of Vali’s warning.
“Alex,” I began, “would you prefer that I not disturb you when you’re working? I thought that perhaps you would rather summon me than have me just show up unannounced.”
“No, Macy. I want you to feel comfortable coming to get me at any time—and for any reason. Anyone is welcome to pop in without giving me advance notice. Why do you ask?”
“No particular reason,” I answered, deciding not to reveal my brief conversation with Vali. “I was just wondering.”
We walked in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the beautiful afternoon. The sunlight slanted through the trees, dappling the flagstones where we walked. The breeze carried a slight chill, reminding us that colder weather would be here soon.
Finally Alex spoke. “This weather reminds me so much of Forrest. This was his favorite time of year. He didn’t like really hot weather, so he was happiest when it started getting cooler outside.”
I thought of the portrait of the man above the living room mantel and smiled. “I think I know just how he felt,” I told her. “Fall is my
I needed to check on Alex and see if she was ready to go for that walk, so I put the books back the way I had found them and started downstairs. I had already decided that I would try to peer inside my room, as though I were an Industrial Age entrepreneur spying on one of my guests. At the bottom, though, I gave a start when I saw that the door to my room was already ajar.
I cautiously opened the door further and looked around for whoever had been here while I was upstairs. The person must have entered the turret from the balcony—that must have been the noise I had heard. Nothing seemed to be amiss, but I took a quick look around anyway. I noticed with dismay that the nightstand drawer was partially open and I knew before I looked inside what was missing.
My album was gone. Why? Who would have taken it? It was of interest only to me, for I was the only person who knew any of the people in the pictures. Thinking of all the pictures of me and my parents that had been in the album, I grew very upset. Then I got angry. I wanted that album back. I didn’t know where to start looking, though. Then I remembered that I had seen Pete on the balcony while I was up in the turret. But why would Pete call attention to himself if he were going into my room? And why would he take an album full of pictures of strangers? It didn’t make any sense. Of course, maybe it hadn’t been Pete. It could have been anyone else on the island: Stephan or Will or Vali or Leland. Not Alex, since she couldn’t have gotten up to the balcony. I was getting more confused. I checked my room quickly to see if anything else had been taken, but everything else seemed to be untouched. I let myself back into the turret stairway, locked my bedroom door from inside the stairway, then went out onto the balcony, locking that door behind me, too.
I went back into my room, then headed downstairs to talk to Alex. On the way, I met Vali dusting in the library. She scowled at me. “If I were you, I wouldn’t go disturbing Miss Hallstead constantly like you’ve been,” she said. “She likes to be left alone while she works.”
I was already flustered by the loss of my album, and I had no patience right now for Vali’s insolence. “I’ll let Alex tell me that herself, thank you.” And I left her glowering after me.
I found Alex still at work in her office. Stephan was with her. I asked her if she was ready to take a break and go walking with me, and she smiled and agreed. Stephan excused himself from the room and Alex and I set out. Though it was a beautiful day outside, I was preoccupied by my missing album and Vali’s admonition in the library. I broached the subject of Vali’s warning.
“Alex,” I began, “would you prefer that I not disturb you when you’re working? I thought that perhaps you would rather summon me than have me just show up unannounced.”
“No, Macy. I want you to feel comfortable coming to get me at any time—and for any reason. Anyone is welcome to pop in without giving me advance notice. Why do you ask?”
“No particular reason,” I answered, deciding not to reveal my brief conversation with Vali. “I was just wondering.”
We walked in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the beautiful afternoon. The sunlight slanted through the trees, dappling the flagstones where we walked. The breeze carried a slight chill, reminding us that colder weather would be here soon.
Finally Alex spoke. “This weather reminds me so much of Forrest. This was his favorite time of year. He didn’t like really hot weather, so he was happiest when it started getting cooler outside.”
I thought of the portrait of the man above the living room mantel and smiled. “I think I know just how he felt,” I told her. “Fall is my
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