02 — The Room That Stayed Dry

The woman at the door wore a grey cardigan and no shoes. She introduced herself as Mrs. Bell, a name Leena knew from a gravestone at the top of the hill.

'Tea?' Mrs. Bell asked. 'We have very little time.'

The room was perfectly dry. A newspaper lay folded beside an armchair. On the mantelpiece stood seven photographs, each showing the same house at a different tide. In the oldest, a girl sat on the steps holding a camera exactly like Leena's.

'Who is she?'

Mrs. Bell turned the photograph face down. 'Someone who asked the wrong question.'

Leena kept her hand on the door. Outside, a ribbon of water was winding through the gate. The tide had already turned.

'What is the right question?' she asked.

For the first time, Mrs. Bell looked frightened. 'Not who lived here,' she said. 'Who is keeping it here.' Beneath the floorboards, something knocked three times.