Sunset. Only the telescope on the hill ruined the skyline. Briar Creek in summer.
It would be completely peaceful, if only…
Mary-Lynette started to walk up the hill, lugging a new telescope with her. Okay, was it normal to want to compare the views? Her old one wasn't as bulky as this one, and it wore her out dragging it with her. But she had to test it. It was a present from Jade, Rowan and Kestrel for her birthday. She treasured it, and right now – what was she planning on looking at? Vega. The brightest star in the sky.

Mary-Lynette faced east and turned the telescope with her, directing it so she could see right into the heart of the Trifid Nebula. It made her own heart pound with longing, knocking against her ribs painfully. She could see the nebulae with her new lens and she wondered for the millionth time how breathtaking it would be to see them with her naked eye.

She was fully aware that she was crying, not just for the sky but for someone else too. Bitterly, she swung her gaze over Burdock Farm beneath her and automatically brought the binoculars in front of her eyes.

Mark and Jade were in the back garden, slow dancing to something on the radio. Tiggy was chasing a moth on the porch, clawing the air.

It wasn't the stars Mary-Lynette missed. Not at all.

It was late by the time she got home. The moon had risen but she'd decided to take a little detour out into the night in her new Nissan. Her new car. The one she treasured more than the last. Because this time – it actually worked! And she didn't need a knife to prise the gas cap cover off. She hardly had reason to take it to the garage other than fill it up. Which was good, even though it didn't matter much because Jeremy didn't work there anymore. He'd been gone for around a year now.

As for her little trip? Where else did she go other than the spot where Beavercreek and Hazel Green Creek collided. Where she took Ash the night Jeremy died. The night they kissed and exchanged blood.
Mary-Lynette cried while she drove. It had been a mistake to send him away like that – did she really expect he would do anything? He'd probably just start partying again – there was nothing there to stop him. She missed him. What if he never came back?

She found herself walking, brushing past the Douglas firs and rhododendron bushes, touching the bark of the trees as she passed. It was this one I pushed him up against … this one we kissed against… this one… This one what? It wasn't exactly a monument, a milestone in her life. Or was it? What exactly was her turning point where she finally hit reality? When she became an adult?
Where she killed?
Or where she kissed?
She couldn't decide. Her insides were too strewn up.

To interrupt her recollecting memories, her mobile phone started ringing in her pocket. She didn't scowl, didn't pay any attention. Her hand, moving on automatic, retrieved it and put it to her ear. She sighed painfully.
"Hello?" she murmured, turning to walk back to her car.
"Mare? Mare, it's me…" Mark. He sounded panicky, his voice went high-pitched whenever he was embarrassed or frightened and it was high now. Mary-Lynette stopped and frowned. What could her brother possibly want?

"What is it, Mark?" she asked, looking down at her feet. She kicked a forked branch a couple of inches away from her right foot.
Now she was frowning. At least her brother had someone to snuggle up to.

"Mare, the police are here, they… they wanna talk to you," Mark replied, his voice tight. Mary-Lynette stiffened, and started in a brisk pace to her car, keys in hand.
"Why?" she asked, eyes wide. She was thinking: Oh my God, they know about Jeremy – I'm going to be sent down for murder. But then she began to reason that it was something else. The police shouldn't be at her house. They had a sheriff. Sheriff Akers. So they couldn't be local… right?

A bad feeling was turning her stomach into knots. She didn't know what to think – but black thoughts swam around in her mind. Black, scary thoughts that even you can't imagine you're thinking.

"I'm coming home," she replied. There was a hesitation and a rustling sound. Mark was moving the phone to his other ear. "Uh, Mare? They're at Burdock Farm,"

Oh God no. They're Night People… they want to kill me, they're gonna kill me, they're…
Mary-Lynette nodded, even though Mark couldn't see and hung up on him. She was at her car now, and she was shaking. Whatever she was preparing herself for was nowhere near the truth when she actually arrived to talk to the police.

Jade answered the door and her lips were puckered, her eyes red with crying.
CLICK went Mary-Lynette's mind, but she was too panicky to process this.
Kestrel was sat on the three-seater sofa with Rowan. She was quiet, head bowed, whereas her elder sister had a hand to her head and was taking deep breaths, almost gasps.

As far as Mary-Lynette could see, the police seemed normal. Nothing hiding under the surface. Just… human looking – if there were such thing. There were two – both men. One had a crop of black hair that shone almost blue in the light, the other had hair the same colour as Kestrel's. They had pursed lips, looking very solemn and uncomfortable in this poky little house.

Jade brushed past Mare and put a hand on her arm as she went. Their eyes locked and Jade looked so… so sorry. Sympathetic. It was as if she was preparing her for something.
CLICK, again – but Mary-Lynette couldn't see. Couldn't think.
She sat down into the high-backed chair that was once Mrs Burdocks. It had the same green pattern as the other sofas. It was usually comfortable, but not now. Mary-Lynette had a very, very bad feeling that continued to grow with every breath.

The black-haired police officer looked up, his mouth in a tight line. "Mary-Lynette Carter?" he asked, brushing back his hair, feeling awkward. Mary-Lynette nodded.
"My name's Dave Thomas, police." It was a bit informal of him, but Mary-Lynette had a feeling that she wasn't going to be sentenced for anything.

"This is going to be a big shock for you…" he sighed and looked her straight in the eyes. By now, the three Redfern sisters were all close to tears – heads bowed in unison, slight movements of their shoulders shaking as they cried, silently.
CLICK.
"You have been identified as a well a kind of next of kin," he told her. Mary-Lynette was trembling.
CLICK.
They came faster, all these signs – but no. They didn't mean anything, it could be anything.

"I'm afraid there was an accident,"
CLICK
"about four miles down Chiloquin Road. This road."
Like he had to say that – Mare had lived off this road all of her life! She'd often gone around the block to visit Mrs Burdock along this road.

His companion, blondey on the right, forced himself to look at Mare, and he started reading details from a notepad.
"A black Porsche, registered to someone by the name of John Quinn, was involved in the accident," he was speaking softly, comfortingly.
CLICK.
"Now your friends here have confirmed that they know him. There was a crash involving this car and another car – a Range Rover. The oncoming driver was not local," he added, referring to the Range Rover guy.

He paused, cleared his throat and continued. "The driver of the Porsche was not John Quinn,"
CLICK.
Mary-Lynette was trembling violently. Everyone in the room could see. For the first time, she noticed Mark was standing in the kitchen doorway. His skin was almost completely white. He was biting his lip and watching Mary-Lynette intently.

"The driver… was your boyfriend. Ash Redfern,"

Mary-Lynette took a deep breath and looked down at her lap. Black dots swam in her vision. "A-Ash?" she managed to choke out. Tears were streaming down her face. She clenched her fists, looked around at the room of faces turned towards her, and then she screamed for all she was worth.