“He was still working in the nineties and still very cute. In fact, he really hasn’t aged very much.” Poppy contemplated that information with pursed lips.
“He could be a vampire,” Annabel said. “That would make this situation infinitely more interesting.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t live here anymore,” I pointed out. “So he’s, like, hunting in a new place now.”
“Very funny.” Poppy gestured toward the gate. “We’re getting in there. We just have to look harder.”
Yasmine was on the other side, searching the rocks there. I joined her.
“Anything else come in from Kelly?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she replied from behind a midsize rock. “I can’t help but feel like she’s ghosting me. My friend Marley said she’s reliable and nice. But the remote is clearly not here. Maybe we’re in the wrong place and we should find a motel for the night and come back in the morning.”
I glanced at the end of the gate we were closest to. There was a gap between it and the hedge line. “Or we can leave the car here and slip through that gap and see if we’re in the right place. If we’re not, we can leave quietly. We’re all small enough to make it through.”
A grown man wouldn’t fit, but I was betting we all could.
Yasmine glanced at the possible way in, then back at me. “Do you think we should?”
I shrugged. “Why not? We have permission from the daughter of the couple who owns this place to stay here. We’re not breaking and entering. If we’re at the wrong house, once we get there, we can just explain what happened.”
“Breaking and entering where?” Annabel asked, walking up.
I gestured at the gap. “We can get through right there if we leave the car here.”
“This Kelly girl told us to use the remote, not sneak in.” Annabel broke out into a full grin. “But I’m all for it. We’re all basically in a travel coma. We need to sleep, and life is nothing without a little adventure.”
“I totally agree,” Poppy said, joining us. “We can fill our pockets with snacks. Yasmine, grab your letter and pocketknife, and let’s get in there. I’d bet my life we’re at the right house. Excuse me, mansion.”
“You and your snacks,” Annabel muttered as we all walked back to the car.
“I’m making sure we all survive, which is more than I can say for you,” Poppy said. “It’s not like there’s a fully staffed diner in there with juicy burgers and malts waiting for us.”
“Eating their food would be weird,” I said. “I’m happy to have the snacks.”
We opened the car doors and retrieved our essentials. We wouldn’t be able to fit luggage or duffels through the gap, but we could definitely take our purses, toothbrushes, and jammies.
It would have to do.
Poppy pulled the car closer to the gate before shutting it off.
Once she turned off the headlights, we were in the dark. Not a streetlight for miles.
One by one, we turned on the flashlights on our phones.
“Okay, who’s going first?” I asked.
“Annabel,” Poppy offered.
“I will,” Yasmine said at the same time. “I dragged you all here in the first place. It’s only right I should go first.”
“Did you just offer me up as a sacrificial lamb?” Annabel asked her sister.
“Of course,” Poppy replied, unfazed. “With your Amazonian strength, you’ll be able to fight off the Dobermans that are probably patrolling the yard, giving us regular humans with short, stubby legs enough time to escape.”
“A Doberman could fit through that gap,” Annabel said knowingly. “But on the other hand, a Rottweiler might have a harder time.”
I giggled. “Come on, you two, Yasmine’s already halfway through.”