“Well, look who’s come home.”
“I’m not home.”
His smile disappeared.
I placed a copy of the guardianship petition on the table.
“Why did you sign this?”
He barely glanced at it.
“Because Rook needs somebody sensible managing his affairs.”
“He’s not mad.”
“That’s for a judge to decide.”
I looked at Merrick.
He was unusually quiet.
His left boot rested against the stove, the heel angled toward me.
A small crescent-shaped piece of leather was missing from its edge.
I remembered the mark in the snow beneath Gideon’s bedroom window.
My heart began pounding.
“Merrick,” I said, “where were you two nights ago?”
He frowned.
“What?”
“After midnight.”
His gaze shifted toward our father.
Silas pushed back his chair.
“Don’t come into my house interrogating your brother.”
I ignored him.
“Did you go to Gideon’s ranch?”
Merrick’s face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
I stepped closer.
“Were you standing outside our bedroom window?”
He stared at me.
My father rose.
“That’s enough.”
I pulled the preserving jar from my coat.
Miriam had returned it to me after examining the creature.
The leech curled slowly inside the glass.
Merrick recoiled.
Silas went completely still.
I placed the jar on the table.
“This came out of my husband’s ear.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Merrick whispered, “It was supposed to make him sick.
Chapter 1: The Creature Beneath His Skin 027
