第2章 第10節 エドウィンとは誰か
Who Is Edwin?
"But one man wanted the fire," Marion said on the tape.
"One man gave the orders and kept his hands clean."
Nora leaned toward the machine, waiting for the name.
"His name," her mother said slowly, "is Edwin."
The word seemed to change the temperature of the room.
Gabriel, hearing it, reached out and stopped the reel.
"That name must never be spoken loudly here," he warned.
"Who is Edwin?" Nora asked. "He must be still alive."
"He owns this town," Gabriel said. "He owns its too."
"Your mother feared no one in the world except him."
Nora felt the old crawling up from the tape.
Edwin might be the reason her mother had to die twice.
"He can't still be watching," she said, "after all these years."
Gabriel's told her that he certainly could.
Gathering the tapes, they prepared to leave the station.
Nora needed to return to the inn before the town woke.
Walking back through the fog, she felt watched at every step.
The inn was dark, its narrow windows like closed eyes.
She climbed the creaking stairs, holding her breath.
Reaching her door, she stopped, her blood turning to ice.
A man was standing in the of her room.
He was tall, , and smiling as though he owned the night.
In one hand he held the key to her locked door.
"You must be Nora," he said, his voice and warm.
"I am Edwin. I believe you have something that belongs to me."
Smiling still, he stepped aside and invited her in.