Chapter One

Libby looked at the darkening sky. In her dream the sky had been black with crows. They'd covered the tree limbs, and then they had popped out of her mother's pumpkin pie, and she'd woken up in a cold sweat. It had been a long time since she'd had dreams like that. God, she hoped they weren't coming back after all these years. She was wondering what the dream meant-dreams like that always meant something-when she realized that her sister was talking to her.

"It's dark out," Bernie observed as she muscled the van around a turn.

Libby grunted. The wind had picked up. Leaves skittered across the road. "A storm's coming in."

"So you're saying it's a dark and stormy night?"

Libby looked at her sister and shook her head. "That was bad."

Bernie grinned. "But irresistible."

Libby smiled despite herself. Her sister could always make her smile. That was one of the things she loved about her. After a moment, Libby went back to looking out. The road they were on twisted its way through the woods as it went up the hill. Every once in a while, she caught sight of their destination floating above the trees. The view was not reassuring.

"You should have taken the main road," Libby said. Their van wasn't really equipped for driving on dirt and gravel.

Bernie shrugged. "It'll be fine. Nervous?" she asked.

"About the job?" The truth was Libby always got a little nervous before a catering job. It was just the way she was constituted.

"No. About working at the Peabody School."

"Why should I be?" Libby asked. It was not that she didn't know the ans

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