Pale Phoenix by Kathryn Reiss Read Free Book Online

answer. "Not much ... these days." Her voice was still choked with tears. "But I used to play the harpsichord. A long time ago. And the piano."
    "Well, we have a piano," Miranda began, then stopped as Abby slid down from the window seat and crossed the room to the antique dollhouse in one corner.
    "This is beautiful!"
    "It's a replica of our house. It was left here by some people who owned the house before we did," explained Miranda politely. "I found it up in the attic when we moved here."
    Abby crouched on the floor and looked into the house, taking in the detail of miniature brick, hand-turned porch railings, and tiny drainpipes. "It's perfect."
    Miranda decided to be blunt. "Listen, why have you been stealing food, Abby? I saw you steal from the store the other day and from the cafeteria, too."
    "It's such a lovely house," whispered Abby.
    Miranda crossed the room to her. She saw there were tears on Abby's colorless lashes, "Why the food, Abby?" Miranda persisted. "Why?"
    Abby's long, pale hair swung forward to shield her face like a curtain as she bent over the house. "Look at the tiny brass knocker," she murmured, barely audible. "I've never seen anything like it...."
    Miranda gave up and left the room. She went into her parents' bedroom and slouched on the bed, relieved to be away from Abby. She picked up the phone and poked the buttons disconsolately. When Dan answered, she explained that their plans for dinner together must be abandoned. "I can still come over later, I think," she told him. "I'm really sorry. But I have to stay here now and find out what's going on with this weirdo."
    "Well," he said, sounding disappointed, "I'll save you some dessert if you promise to tell me all the gory details."
    "You've got a deal."
    "But Mandy?" He hesitated. "You'll come alone, won't you? I mean, you're not going to bring Abby, right?"
    "Do you think I'm crazy?"

    "There's enough lasagna here for an army," observed Philip when they were all sitting at the round kitchen table.
    Helen served the girls large portions and slipped her husband a small slice. "It's nonfat cheese," she assured him.
    He forked some salad onto his plate and passed the bowl to Abby. She piled her plate high. Then, keeping her eyes on her plate, she shoveled the beef, pasta, and cheese into her mouth. She. ate hurriedly as if to get her fill before one of them snatched her plate away.
    "Slow down," Helen told her gently. "There's lots of food. You can have seconds."
    A faint blush colored Abby's cheeks. "Sorry," she muttered.
    Helen asked Philip about his work at the museum, and he asked her about her work at the hospital. Miranda realized they must have made a decision not to talk about Abby's assault on their car until later. She joined the conversation, reporting on her classes at school. Only Abby remained silent, chewing steadily.
    When all four forks were placed on the plates to signal the end of the meal, Helen pushed back her chair. "There's an apple crumble for dessert—and applesauce for you, Phil. But let's wait a while and digest the lasagna." She raised an eyebrow at Abby. "And talk."
    "Really talk," said Philip.
    Abby sucked in her breath.
    "We're going to need some answers sooner or later, Abby," continued Philip. "Nice, clear answers. We don't want to go to the police about you, and we won't—as long as you'll tell us what's been going on. And we'll have to talk to your family. They need to know about this."
    "I think you should know, though," added Helen, "that I called the high school today to see if there had been a mistake with the address they gave us. But the Grove Street number is the one you gave them when you enrolled three weeks ago. Mr. Raphael was very upset to learn it's a false one. Then he contacted the school you told him you went to in Baltimore and discovered it doesn't have accurate records for you, either. It's all very strange." She frowned at Abby. "But does it need to be? What's going on? We only want to help