**This blog contains adult language.**
Warning: Spoilers Ahead!!! This is a recap blog which means I read the book and tell you everything that happens so you don't have to read it yourself. Please do not continue to read if you don't want to know who the “bad guy” is.
From the Back of the Book: Get Rick Quick! The bold print seems aimed at her directly: “Detail-oriented student for cataloging personal library”. But when Robin Bailey answers the ad she is surprised that she has already been recommended the job by Parker Swanson, the gorgeous new boy at school. Parker's grandfather will pay her to organize the collection of antique books that belonged to Parker's stepmother, a Medium who died by her own hand. Suddenly Robin is plunged into Parker's dark and twisted family saga, trying to protect his stepsister Claudia who is haunted by visions of her evil mother and driven to desperation. Parker says Claudia is crazy. But Robin has heard and seen the ghost! Now her part-time job is a full-time nightmare!
TRIGGER WARNING📢: There are several mentions of suicide in this book including a specific description of self-harm that some readers might find triggering. No book is worth your mental health, so skip this one if you need to.
This book was published in 1993 and I'm pretty sure I read it back in the day. I remember nothing about it but that might change as I read along. I love the cover but I usually love all the 80's and 90's PH covers. They went hard back in the day.
We begin with our protagonist Robin walking to the school bus stop with her friend Faye. Faye has a bad feeling about the day but Robin dismisses it because Faye often has a bad feeling about the day. Right away we learn that Faye is dating a boy named Zak but she's not committed. Her eyes are all over the place and she enjoys flirting with other boys. There's nothing wrong with that as long as Zak is aware. I'm not sure he is.
Robin reminds Faye that they're going dress shopping after school for an upcoming dance but Faye tells her that she's going out with Zak instead. Robin complains that Faye keeps canceling on her and Faye responds with: “Well, can I help it if you don't have a boyfriend?”
Which, one, doesn't even make sense in this context and, two.....
Robin lets that slide without much of a reaction so I'm getting the feeling that Faye often treats her like that. Faye changes the subject to an upcoming trip their friend group is taking over the Thanksgiving break. Robin tells her that she can't afford to go and Faye refuses to understand this. Faye's parents are paying and Robin's single mother would love to but can't. Faye obliviously asks why Robin can't pay with all the money she's earned babysitting and tutoring and Robin replies that she had to spend most of that money on school clothes and supplies.
Faye is obnoxious, y'all.
I swear PH authors couldn't write a good best friend to save their damn lives.
They end up missing the school bus by like half a block and Faye whines that they're going to be late for their math test if they have to walk. Robin suggests a shortcut which means crawling through a fence and cutting through the yard of a house called Manorwood. Faye says it's occupied now by the Swanson family and they might get caught. This would be particularly humiliating because the new boy, Parker, lives there and might find out that they trespassed. Parker is super gorgeous and already popular. Faye is involved in some kind of bet with another girl to see who can date him first. Robin says they don't need to worry about Parker judging them, if they get caught trespassing the caretaker Skaggs might just shoot them.
Not the best way to convince her to take the shortcut, Robin.
Apparently Skaggs is your stereotypical alcoholic menace who works both at the school as a janitor and at Manorwood as a caretaker. They pause for a minute to say some awful things about Skaggs that insinuate he might be a predator and then decide to risk it and take the shortcut so they won't be too late. Faye goes through the hole in the fence first, leaving Robin standing alone on the sidewalk. A sports car pulls up, splashing mud all over Robin's shirt. Parker leans out, asking her if she wants a ride. She's pissed and turns him down with extreme prejudice. He laughs and drives off. Faye crawls back through the fence to chew Robin out, accusing her of not thinking of anyone but herself.
They go through the fence and start cutting across the yard. Robin trips or something and drops all her books on the ground. When she bends over to pick them up, she sees some footprints and drag marks in the mud. When she looks closer, she sees red smears in the mud and clumps of hair snagged on twigs. Horrified, she calls Faye over to look.
Robin wants to call the police or at least tell the Swansons but Faye says no one will care about an animal getting killed on their property. Robin is surprised that Faye thinks the hair belongs to an animal because she's convinced it's human. The drag marks are too big to be made by an animal and the footprints indicate a person was walking through there. Faye ignores all this and nags at Robin to get moving.
They eventually make it to school in time for their test. Barely. When Robin slides into her desk, another new boy named Walt teases her about gracing them with her presence. Walt didn't get blessed with Parker's instant popularity but Robin thinks he's pretty cute with his long, wavy blonde hair. She seems to like him more than Parker but maybe that's just because Walt didn't splatter her with mud.
Between classes, Robin checks out the school bulletin board where people post all kinds of notices about things. She finds the notice that was described on the back of the book and makes note of the phone number. She thinks it sounds like her dream job and she's still hoping to make enough money somehow to go to Florida with her friends.
Robin manages to miss the bus after school as well and she ends up having to walk home. She's still freaked out by what she saw on the grounds of Manorwood and gets even more spooked when she comes home to an empty house. Her mother is taking a night class and is rarely home in the evenings, thus fulfilling her requirements as a PH parent. Robin decides to call the number from the ad. The man who answers tells her to come to an interview at 7:00 and gives her the address. Then he says “Hope you don't scare easy” and hangs up. This naturally terrifies Robin but she decides to go anyway.
Protagonist seriously needs to listen to a few true crime podcasts to learn what NOT to do? Check
The address leads her right to Manorwood because of course it does. She's standing at the gates when a disembodied voice tells her to come inside.
{{{GASP}}}
LOLZ
There's an intercom attached to the gate. Robin slowly makes her way up the long drive, telling herself that she'd doing something extremely stupid the entire way. She's not wrong. Going into a stranger's house after answering an ad is a good way to get yourself murdered. The door to the house is standing open and a tiny old man with wild white hair greets her. Robin thinks to herself that he looks like some kind of magical troll. She's not subtle about staring at him and he notices and calls her out on it.
I feel all of the second-hand cringe.
The man introduces himself as Hercules Swanson (Herk) and explains that he's Parker's eccentric grandfather. He's energetic and gregarious and Robin thinks he's super weird but he just seems like a fun guy to me so far. Herk tells her that the family usually keeps him locked in the attic but he managed to escape to do this interview and she actually believe him.
Herk tells her that Parker put a good word in for her already, calling her the smartest in their class. He ushers Robin into a library full of books that are just kind of laying everywhere. Robin is creeped out by the entirely normal room and by the effervescent Herk. She thinks about making a run for it but a maid named Winifred comes in before she can. Winifred seems annoyed that she didn't know they were going to have company but Herk jovially waves her away.
Robin is about to turn down the job when Herk offers her $100 a week. She stupidly doesn't ask how many hours she'll be expected to work though. Herk says that she'll be cataloging Lillith's book collection so it can be appraised and donated. Robin asks if Lillith will be helping her and Herk says that will be pretty impossible. Lillith is dead.
TRIGGER IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH. SKIP IF YOU NEED TO. START READING AGAIN AFTER THE PICTURE.
Herk directs her attention to a macabre portrait on the wall of a beautiful blonde woman in a slashed, bloody white dress. The woman has a horrified look on her face and she's plunging a knife into her chest. Apparently Lillith painted it herself, saying that she was going to die young. Robin asks what happened to her and Herk says that Lillith committed suicide by slashing her wrists and jumping into the sea. He thinks she regretted it at the last minute because nearby fisherman heard her screaming for her daughter but they couldn't reach her in time.
So here's a quick family recap for you. Herk's son is named Gardner. Gardner is Parker's dad. Lillith is Gardner's second wife and Parker's stepmother. Lillith has a daughter named Claudia who is Parker's stepsister. Got all that? Good.
Claudia is around Robin's age but Herk says she hasn't started school yet because she's traumatized by finding her mother's body. Robin thinks that sounds reasonable but Herk seems to think Claudia is a drama queen. He didn't like Lillith and he doesn't seem to like her daughter either. He says that Lillith was an evil woman and the world is better off without her. Robin is shocked by all of this. To be fair, I would be too. It's a lot of family drama to drop on a stranger.
Robin tells Herk that she needs to get home now. Herk asks her if she's going to take the job and Robin says she'll think about it. On the driveway outside she runs into Skaggs. He's drunk and he grabs Robin by the arms and gets all up in her face. She shoves him away and threatens to call the cops on him. He says he'll just tell them that he thought she was a robber. She threatens to tell the school and he says it's not their place to care what he does on his own time. I'm not sure that's accurate but whatever.
We skip to the next day. Robin decides to take the job so she can pay for her trip to Florida. She's still a little freaked out by what happened during the interview but she's also insanely curious about the family – particularly about Claudia for some reason.
As they're walking into the school building, Faye lets the door shut directly in Robin's face, cutting her lip and making her drop all her books. Robin drops her books a lot. Parker helps Robin up and then pushes her up against the wall, pinning her with his body, and grabs her chin to tilt her face up to his.
Robin tries to shove him off but he won't move and he won't let go of her face. This has gone from presumptuous to assault at this point. Parker tells her that she doesn't know what she's getting into by taking the job. He doesn't release her until the bell rings. Faye is jealous and tells Robin that she's lucky she just got non-consensually manhandled in the hallway. When Robin disagrees, Faye tells her that she needs a brain transplant.
What she needs is a new friend.
And a restraining order.
They go to class and the teacher announces that pretty much everyone except Robin failed that math test from the day before. Faye is pissed at her for doing well because Faye is THE WORST. After class, Walt teases Robin for showing them all up. Faye is jealous that Robin's getting male attention again and flirtatiously asks Walt if he wants to study with her sometime. Walt says 'no' and Faye is stunned and then pissed. Apparently she doesn't get turned down often. She stomps away and Robin tells Walt that he should have agreed to study with Faye.
Um....why?
Walt says he didn't want to study with Faye which is reasonable. Some students rush by and push Robin into Walt accidentally. Robin says she's sorry but Walt says he isn't. At least he doesn't touch her against her will and he's flirty about it but not creepy.
The bar is in hell.
Robin heads toward her next class and is horrified to find a girl crumpled up at the bottom of the stairs. She looks a lot like the portrait of Lillith so Robin concludes that this must be the mysterious Claudia. She rushes to check on her and Claudia tells her that she was pushed. Robin offers to get the nurse but Claudia refuses.
Parker shows up and asks what happened. Claudia acts like she's afraid of him and tells him that he knows what happened. He looks resigned and says he's going to get the nurse. He asks Robin to stay with Claudia and she agrees. As soon as he's gone, Claudia asks Robin if she saw the woman on the stairs. Robin doesn't know what she's talking about. Claudia says “she pushed me”. Robin asks who but Claudia says she doesn't want to talk about it anymore.
The nurse arrives with Parker and checks Claudia out. She's fine. The nurse asks if she wants to go home and Parker offers to drive her but Claudia refuses so the nurse takes her back to the infirmary. Parker makes some kind of comment to Robin about his “crazy family” and Robin is instantly bristly. She says that Claudia isn't crazy. Parker says Claudia is just like Lillith. Robin counters that Claudia is clearly a very traumatized girl and Parker sneers and says it's all an act that Claudia uses to manipulate people. Robin calls him disgusting and tries to walk away but Parker follows her. He continues to try to flirt with her but it's unwelcome and creepy.
I'm a little confused as to why Robin is sticking up for Claudia so strongly here. She doesn't know Claudia at all. I mean, Parker's an asshole and I'm inclined to argue with every single thing he says too but we don't know that he's wrong here.
Even predatory assholes are right sometimes.
At lunch Faye tells Robin that a classmate named Vicki is missing. She's the one Faye has a bet with about dating Parker. Her parents didn't even know she was missing until the school called because she didn't show up for first period. Vicki's boyfriend Todd said she was supposed to sneak out the night before and meet him but she never showed.
So both Vicki and Faye have boyfriends but they're betting who can date Parker first? I hope Todd and Zak know they aren't exclusive.
Robin is concerned but Faye blows it off saying Vicki is always talking about hitchhiking to California. Faye figures Vicki will be back when she gets bored. Besides, she's the one who is organizing this Florida trip so she has to come back before that. Robin is overwhelmed by all the strange happenings of the day and she leaves the cafeteria to take a walk outside. She finds Claudia sitting alone on the bleachers by the track.
Robin approaches her but Claudia is wary. She tells Robin that if she's only being nice to get into Parker's pants, she's wasting her time. Robin is taken aback by this. Claudia half-ass apologizes saying she can never be too sure of people's motives because everyone wants Parker. I don't know why. He's an asshole. Robin tries to befriend Claudia but the girl is standoffish. Robin is undeterred.
I do not understand her attachment to Claudia.
Claudia finally makes the connection that Robin is the one who's been hired to go through her mother's books. She tells Robin that Lillith was a medium and she could talk to the dead. Robin is predictably freaked out about that because Robin is freaked out about everything. Claudia sighs and says that everyone hates her except Gardner and he's away on business. She says her mother married Gardner after Parker's mother died in a car accident and Parker resents them because of it. This is all getting to be too much for Robin so she says they should go inside because it's cold out there. Claudia replies that the cold is nature's way of getting them ready to die.
Claudia asks Robin if she believes in fate – that things will happen even if you try to stop them. Robin thinks that the intensity in Claudia's eyes reminds her of the portrait of Lillith in Manorwood's library. Claudia gets freaked out by Robin's staring and yells “don't look at me” before running off.
We skip to that afternoon. Robin is reporting for work but freaked out about it. Naturally. Winifred lets her in, saying the family isn't at home at the moment. Winifred takes her jacket, escorts her to the library and then leaves to go make her some cocoa. Robin gets right to work, finding the books in the boxes fascinating. At one point she hears a door closing in the distance and she checks the clock to see it's suddenly 6:30. She's surprised she lost track of time. She quickly finishes the box and calls out for Winifred. There's no answer.
Robin hears a creaking sound and.....you guessed it.....gets freaked out. A woman's voice starts calling out for help. Robin follows it, thinking it's Winifred. Then the voice says “Help me....Claudia...” and she sees something glowing at the other end of the hallway. She follows it. It leads her to a secluded stairway. She can hear someone moving around overhead. She follows the sound and ends up in a bathroom. In the tub she can see someone with long blonde hair submerged in the “dark frothy water”.
Um, Robin, you just walked in on someone in the bath.
Claudia appears behind her and starts screaming that she knew “she would come for me” over and over. Claudia runs out and Robin follows without checking to see what exactly is in the bathtub. The lights in the hall flicker and go out. Robin starts stumbling around in the darkness trying to find a phone to call the police. Eventually she runs into Parker who asks her what she's doing. She says she has to call the police and he asks why. She tells him what she saw in the bathtub and Claudia appears saying “I told you”. Apparently she tried to tell Parker but he didn't believe her. Claudia faints and Parker carries her to a couch.
Winifred appears with a candle and is horrified to see Claudia unconscious. She asks if Claudia is dead and if Lillith came back for her like she promised. Parker is annoyed. He tells Winifred not to talk about Lillith around Claudia. He goes to get a glass of water for Claudia and then makes her drink it when she comes to.
At this point, Cusick tells us that “Mr Swanson” comes into the room but she doesn't specify whether it's Herk or Gardner. I'm guessing it's Herk since Gardner is supposed to be away but I don't know why we're suddenly calling Herk by his last name. Robin tells him that they have to go check out the bathtub in the room upstairs. He tells Parker to go check it out. Parker reluctantly agrees. He gives Robin a flashlight and they set out. When they get there, the only thing in the tub is some curtains that Winifred is hand washing. Robin insists that she saw a woman in there and Parker tells her that the darkness had played a trick on her.
Except.....the lights went out AFTER she saw the woman in the tub.
Keep track of your story, Cusick.
Claudia insists that her mother has come back for her. Herk/Gardner threatens to have her locked up if she continues to say such nonsensical things. Claudia says it won't matter if he does because Lillith can get to her no matter where she is. Robin tries to back her up, saying she definitely saw a woman in the tub but no one believes her.
Is Parker trying to gaslight Claudia into either psychosis or suicide so she won't end up inheriting any money or what?
Parker offers to drive Robin home but it turns out he locked his keys in his car. He offers to walk her home because it's dark. As they walk, they talk about what happened. Parker still thinks Robin mistook the curtains for a person in the darkness and that Claudia influenced her to believe it was a ghost. He again says that Claudia is manipulative and that she has mental issues. He says he tried to befriend Claudia when their parents first got married but she blew him off so he quit trying.
Parker changes the subject and asks if Robin is going to get into some kind of trouble for being home late. Robin tells him that her mom is rarely home and won't notice. Parker seems really interested in the fact that she's home alone most of the time.
Did no one ever tell Robin that she's never supposed to admit she's home alone?
Parker leaves her at her house, telling her to call him if she “needs protection”. Robin decides to read her History book in the bathtub as you do and realizes she's brought home Claudia's book instead. Somehow. There's an envelope inside that immediately falls into the bathtub forcing Robin to open it in order to dry the contents.
Seriously, Cusick? That's why you had her do this in the bathtub? Because you needed a reason for her to open the envelope that wasn't because she's a nosy bitch?
The writing is “wild” and “manic” and the ink is reddish brown like dried blood. It says “Claudia, I'm coming for you.” and is signed Mother.
Cusick is really being heavy handed in this one.
Robin's mom comes home and we get a couple of pages describing their evening. It's riveting content. Robin goes up to bed but struggles to sleep. She debates whether or not Claudia is “crazy” and if she is, does that mean Robin is too? After all, Robin saw a woman in the tub.
Eventually she falls asleep and then wakes up groggy the next morning. When she opens her front door, Claudia is sitting on her front porch looking just as exhausted as Robin is. Robin sits next to her and tells her about the letter. Claudia is instantly hysterical. She truly believes her mom has some kind of mystical powers and that she's out for revenge because Claudia didn't help her. Robin says that someone is probably playing a cruel joke on her. Claudia latches onto that and runs with it, saying both Parker and Herk hate her enough to do it.
Claudia mentions that she's due an inheritance from her mom and Gardner wants to divide the Swanson assets between her and Parker evenly which Herk is protesting. She says that if she wasn't around, Parker would get the entire Swanson fortune. Robin thinks that might be enough motive to try to drive Claudia crazy but Claudia says that it's definitely her dead mother who is after her and not Parker.
Wait. Didn't she just say it could be Parker or Herk? I'm confused.
The girls start to walk to school. Along the way, Robin notices a car that seems to be following them. It disappears for a few seconds but then comes back, heading directly toward them. Claudia freezes in fear and when Robin gets a look at the driver, she does too. She tells us the driver has no face. It's a skull with black eye sockets. To her horror, Claudia spreads her arms out, smiles and steps directly into the path of the car.
Walt comes out of nowhere and tackles Claudia out of the way of the car. Everyone is shaken up but fine. Claudia says the car looks like her mother's car. It was sold after Lillith's death. Robin wants to report the incident to the police – which THEY SHOULD – but Walt says there's nothing to report really. The car was driving too fast and in the wrong lane but Claudia is the one who stepped in front of it. They can't prove the car was trying to hit anyone.
Robin asks Walt what he's doing in her neighborhood and he tells her he'd stopped by Jim's house to ask if there was any news about Vicki. I guess Jim is her brother. There's been no contact with her and the police are stating to investigate.
They walk to school and Walt mentions that Parker is in his drama class. Claudia says he's a really good actor. He was in lots of plays at their former school and really made his roles believable.
I see what you're doing here, Cusick.
They get to school. After homeroom, Walt comes up and asks if he can talk to her. Robin ducks him for some reason that no one bothers to explain. Later, Robin passes the bulletin board and realizes some pictures have been removed. There were pictures of Vicki and of Robin at a class picnic up there and now they are gone.
After gym, Robin introduces Claudia around. All the girls are nice to her. Probably because everyone wants to get in Parker's pants. Because of all the socializing, they're the last ones in the locker room. They head to the showers and Claudia is immediately freaked out. She feels like someone is watching her and she keeps thinking she hears voices. Robin dismisses her. Then Robin hears someone call for help again. She goes to check on Claudia who is cowering in her shower stall because the water coming out of the shower head is red like blood.
They both start screaming and Walt hears them from the hall. He yells that he's coming in so they grab towels to wrap around themselves. Walt goes to check out the shower and finds that someone put some kind of red powder in the shower head. Robin asks him why he happened to be outside the girls' locker room and he says he was helping Parker look for Claudia.
When did the two of them become friends?
Suddenly Parker is there too and he says that he was supposed to give Claudia a ride home so he asked Walt to help him track her down. Why Walt? I have no idea. Claudia argues that she never asked him for a ride but Parker says she asked him before she left for school that morning. She denies it and he acts like she's always forgetting things.
Robin says they'd like to get dressed and Parker replies “don't let us stop you” which is expected. Walt says they should find the gym teacher and report the shower head prank. Parker tells him to go ahead. He'll stay and watch over the girls.
ONE OF THEM IS YOUR STEPSISTER, YOU CREEP.
Walt hauls Parker out by his shirt and I'm definitely on Team Walt, y'all. I hope he doesn't betray me in the end.
They get dressed. Robin tries to assure Claudia that none of this was supernatural but Claudia is convinced it was Lillith's doing. She takes off and Robin tries to follow her but gets stopped by Skaggs who calls her “little girl”.
He tells her that she shouldn't be in the gym after hours and then asks if she wants to party with him. He's so gross. Robin asks him if he saw anyone hanging around the locker room but he's no help. Walt shows back up with Claudia and Skaggs is forced to let Robin go now that there are witnesses.
Walt offers them both a ride home. Apparently he went home at lunch and picked up his car so he'd have it. He drives them both to Manorwood and Robin thanks him for the ride and the help. She invites him over to her house for supper later and he says he'll pick up Chinese food.
Parker drives up as they're heading into the house. He makes fun of Claudia and Robin defends her. She ends up slamming the door in his face. He grabs her and drags her into the living room, throwing her down on the couch. He tells her that Lillith was a witch and that she preyed on innocent people by pretending she could communicate with their deceased loved ones. She was the Swanson housekeeper when his mother was alive and after his mother died, Lillith offered to contact her through seances. Gardner believed everything she said and she eventually manipulated him into marrying her.
Robin tells him that the things that have been happening to Claudia aren't entirely in her head because Robin has experienced them too. He says there's a reasonable explanation for everything that's happened. She doesn't like that response.
Robin goes to work but she's distracted. Herk brings her some tea and tries to cheer her up. He sings Parker's praises and insults Claudia. It's sad because I wanted to like the cheerful old guy but he's pretty awful. He mentions the inheritance and how he wants to keep Claudia from getting any Swanson money. It's all super boring but I guess I should try to pay attention because it's probably the motive for whatever is happening here.
Herk theorizes that Claudia is having such a hard time right now because she feels guilty about being glad her evil mother is dead. But then he says she's just crazy so I don't know what he really believes.
Herk offers to get Parker to take Robin home when she finishes for the evening but she refuses because Parker is a menace. As she walks home, she hears someone following her and then someone calling her name and asking for help. She starts to run and ends up grabbed by Skaggs again. Things get a little rapey for a few paragraphs but Parker shows up and pulls Skaggs away, telling him to never touch Robin again. She takes off running.
This is a lot, Cusick.
Robin gets home and Walt arrives a few minutes later. He can see she's shaken up and he's worried about her so he escorts her to the kitchen and has her sit down. He pours her a Pepsi and then asks what's wrong. She recaps the entire book for him. Walt thinks it's weird how Parker keeps showing up when bad things happen. So does Walt but I'll let that slide because I like him so far.
Walt says that Parker has the hots for Robin. She pretends it's a ridiculous idea but she's flattered. Dumbass. Robin asks him what he thinks about the situation and Walt says that he's worried she might be in danger too. He produces a note and says he found it on her front door. It says “stay away from Claudia or you'll be next”.
I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that he didn't find it on her door at all and he's the one who wrote it. You might be right.
But I hope not.
Walt proposes the theory that someone might be gaslighting Claudia to make it look like she's crazy. Robin admits that there's some inheritance fuckery going on in the family. Parker is the most likely suspect but Walt urges her not to jump to conclusions. Robin is conflicted. On one hand, she wants to quit her job and never see any of them ever again but on the other hand she feels responsible for Claudia.
WHY???
We skip to the next day. Saturday. Claudia arrives at Robin's house at 8:00am which should be illegal. She says she found a hand on her pillow when she woke up that morning. She insists it was her mother's hand. Robin tries to question her but Claudia starts screeching that no one believes her. Robin calms her down and gives her coffee. Claudia says she ran to get help and found Winifred. When they got back up to Claudia's room, the hand was gone. Robin is sure the hand was some kind of prop that Parker left there and removed.
I know I haven't been doing odds. It's not because I remember what happened or anything. Not a single thing in this book has been familiar to me so I don't think I read it after all. A lot of these books were pretty similar and I get them confused all the time. I haven't been doing odds because it's really 50/50 whether Parker is doing this to gaslight Claudia out of her inheritance or whether Claudia is doing all these things to herself for some reason. I know it's not Herk or Walt. Having a 50/50 split makes for boring odds.
I do think Skaggs might be responsible for Vicki's disappearance though. Cusick isn't really focusing on it so it seems like a secondary character is going to turn out to be the bad guy on that one.
Anyway, back to it I guess.
Claudia says she dreams about standing on a cliff with her mother far below urging her to jump. She says she told Parker, Winifred and Herk about the dreams but they dismissed them as simple nightmares. Claudia thinks it's fate and she's destined to die that way. She thinks it will be a relief because it's horrible living life like this.
Claudia goes back home and Robin heads straight for the police station. It's not a good experience. They pretty much laugh in her face. She walks to Manorwood and gets there in time to see a mud-streaked Parker zoom away in his car. Winifred is leaving the house as Robin walks up. She stops to discuss Claudia for a bit. She admits she's heard Lillith calling for help herself and tells Robin that Lillith was trying to teach Claudia how to be a medium. She thanks Robin for being Claudia's friend and then leaves to catch a movie. It's her day off.
Robin goes to the library and gets to work. She's super sleepy and ends up falling asleep on the desk. She wakes up several hours later to find a decaying hand on the desk beside her head. Claudia appears in the doorway and they both hear a voice saying “no one can help you now”.
Do you think Lillith taught Claudia how to throw her voice as part of her medium training?
Robin thinks there might be some kind of intercom in the room. She tells Claudia that she thinks Parker is trying to make her look crazy so he can have all the inheritance. She promises not to let anyone hurt Claudia.
A storm kicks up outside and sends a tree branch through the window, scaring the girls. Claudia takes off leaving Robin all alone. Robin hears doors banging and realizes Claudia has run outside through the French doors. She follows like an idiot. She runs through the woods and finds Claudia's shoe. The storm is getting worse and Robin slides on wet leaves and mud. She ends up falling and lands right next to Vicki's rotting body.
Skaggs appears and some things happen that might be a TRIGGER for some of you. Skip to the picture if you need to. He says: “She's pretty, ain't she. You're gonna look just like her. All nice and soft and tender to the touch....just like girls are supposed to be, right?” He says he didn't mean to kill Vicki but he's going to kill Robin on purpose. Robin asks where Claudia is and Skaggs says he'll take her to her. He drags her through the woods to a shack and throws her inside. He says she has a “date with an accident” but asks if she wants to be "friends" with him first. He starts to take his shirt off and brags about hurting Vicki and then says something so disgusting that I'm not even going to type it here. None of you need to read it.
Claudia appears behind Skaggs and stabs him in the back with some shears. He falls and I'm not sure if he's dead or just unconscious. Claudia says they have to get out of there before Parker comes back. She says Parker has been using Skaggs to do his dirty work.
How did she find that out?
Sigh.
It's Claudia isn't it? I really wanted it to be Parker because he's an asshole.
Claudia says that Parker is going to make it look like she went crazy and killed Skaggs for no reason. Robin says they'll hide the body until they figure out what to do. She starts mopping up the blood with her sweater.
Why? In what world does that seem like a thing you should do?
For some reason they then tie the sweater around Skaggs. Maybe we're trying to frame Robin now. Claudia gives Robin her sweatshirt to wear and Robin puts it on. Claudia says she knows where they can hide the body. She and Robin grab him and drag him out to the cliffs. Robin is horrified and says they can't just throw him over.
Because that's somehow worse than stabbing him? And who cares about that fucking guy anyway? He's a murderer and quite possibly a rapist.
Claudia pulls a gun on Robin. She says this has all been an elaborate plan to get Parker out of the way. When the police find Robin in Claudia's sweatshirt, they're going to believe that Parker pushed Robin off the cliff thinking it was Claudia. Which makes zero sense because they look nothing alike but whatever. Claudia says Robin played into her hands by going to the police to tell them her suspicions about Parker so that's going to lend everything some legitimacy. Claudia wants revenge for how Parker and Herk treated her mother.
Claudia starts to babble, saying she desperately wanted her mother to love her so she worked hard to make it happen. She even killed Parker's mom so her mother could have Gardner. She stepped out in front of the car and Parker's mom swerved to miss her and went off the cliff.
Robin points out that it will be suspicious if both she and Skaggs end up going over the cliff. Claudia says she plans to bury Skaggs in the woods. No one will miss him. He has a reputation for being a drunk so everyone will believe he just ran off or something. Robin asks her how she managed to do the voice thing and Claudia says her mom taught her how to throw her voice as part of her training.
At least I was right about something.
Oh, and Skaggs. Two somethings. Not bad.
Robin begs for mercy. Claudia says she has to do this for her mother because Lillith killed herself because of them. Winifred appears out of nowhere saying that she's the one who killed Lillith.
Well, that was unexpected.
Winifred says that she couldn't let Lillith hurt her family so she did what she had to do. Claudia is pissed. She hits Robin with the gun causing Robin to lose her balance. Robin grabs Claudia to try to save herself and ends up dangling over the side, holding onto Claudia's leg. Walt appears out of fucking nowhere and grabs Robin, pulling her back up. This causes Claudia to go over the side and she hangs there for a moment. Parker appears and tries to grab her to pull her to safety but she jerks away from him and falls on purpose.
None of that really made any sense.
Whatever.
Some time passes. The police come and go. Parker, Walt and Robin gather to recap. Apparently Parker found Vicki's body in the woods that morning and called Walt for some reason. They decided to go to the police. I don't know what happens next. They kind of drop the story to start flirting with Robin. Both of them. She seems okay with it. The book ends without telling us which one she chooses or if they become a thruple.
I still think Parker's an asshole.
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