Page 103 of Haunting the Deep

Alice:Update?

“Time is running out,” I say, and force myself to turn toward Redd’s door and away from his demanding eyes. “I need to go.” My voice is barely a whisper.

I grab the handle. It immediately twists in my palm. Redd would never leave her door open, would she? I slip inside, closing the door behind me and closing Elijah out.

“Redd!” I yell, and my voice cracks.

There’s no answer. I follow the zigzagging wall to the curtain and push it open.

Redd is on the floor, blood leaking from what looks like a knife wound in her chest.

“No!”

I press two fingers into her neck. No pulse. She holds a silver pen in her hand. The room spins. The words of the invitation come rushing back to me:Sign your name to the dance card….I fear I will not be the only one who is disappointed.

Panic throbs in my temples. Redd told me not to come back here. She said she was serious. Did she know this would happen? Is this my fault?

I look down at Redd’s still face. I can’t let this happen to someone else. What if my dad and Mrs. Meriwether are next?

Me:Get me out of here and call 911

I grab the dance card out of my hoodie pocket, not bothering to cover my hands with my sleeves this time. The blood on my fingers tints the cream pages. There is a pull to it, like the dress but stronger. I scan the room, but there’s nothing to write with other than the blood-soaked pen in Redd’s hand.

I take it from her and sign my name on the top line.

Ismile at the bronze cherub statue and start up the Grand Staircase. I take each step slowly so that I don’t trip on the hem of my green silk dress. The main landing is directly ahead. Above it is a huge wrought-iron-and-glass dome, from which a chandelier hangs.

I stop on the platform next to the elaborately carved clock. It depicts two angels.Honour and Glory Crowning Time. Someone told me it was called that. Or maybe I read it somewhere?

I scan the stairs above and below me. I’m meeting someone, but for the life of me I can’t remember the details.

“Twelve steps, just as I said!” Uncle Harry says to Mr. Stead and the two generations of Jessups as they approach the bottom of the staircase. His voice is bright, and he holds an amber-colored drink. I smile down at the group of men, but they are too caught up in their conversation to noticeme.

“But I ask you, my dear fellow, does the Grand Staircase not includeallthe levels?” Alexander’s father asks, sweeping his hand up and down dramatically.

My uncle turns to Mr. Stead. “What say you? Is the Grand Staircase the entirety of the stairs, or is it this, the dome, clock, and cherub? Symbolism or literalism? This should be an easy answer for a writer.”

Mr. Stead scratches his white beard.

“Come now, think carefully. Can you take the legs from a horse and still call it a horse?” prods Alexander’s father. He holds a wad of money in one hand and a drink in another.

I laugh. They’re gambling, no doubt. Aunty Myra would be furious if she knew. But I’m not going to tell her. They look so happy. And it’s a wonderful, sparkling night. Who am I to spoil their fun?

Alexander looks up and sees me grinning down at them. I immediately look away. I don’t want him to think I’m staring. But when I look back, he’s walking up the stairs toward me.

Alexander bows, his blue eyes twinkling. “How is it that you are all alone this evening, Miss Mather?”

“I’m meeting someone,” I say, although I’m not sure why since I can’t remember who it is.

“Would that someone mind if I borrowed you for a stroll?”

I scan the people at the bottom of the staircase again, where Uncle Harry, Mr. Stead, and Alexander’s father still argue.

Alexander smiles. “They won’t even notice if you and I wander off. They have been at it all night. Holed up in the smoking room, where the women will not reprimand them.” He laughs. “Next they will be betting how many portholes there are.”

“Do you want to go outside?” I look up at the railing above us. “I would love to get…”

Bruce Ismay approaches the balcony and leans over it, scanning the people below. By his side is someone who looks familiar. He wears a butler’s uniform and is strangely unshaven. Young, maybe early twenties.How do I know him?