Penelope Vance, her face streaked with tears, nodded to their request. She led them out of her home and down the quiet street to Katherine's house, a small, tidy place nestled among a row of similar-looking homes. Eleanor pulled a spare key from her purse, her hands trembling slightly as she unlocked the front door. A musty, stale smell greeted them, the scent of a room that had been closed up for too long, of a life abruptly put on pause.
"I didn't want to get rid of my remaining strength, by wailing." Penelope said, her voice catching as she stepped inside. "So I didn't come to the house. I wanted to only remember the good memories of my daughter and not the memories that would make me cry." She wiped her face with a handkerchief, her grief palpable in the silent room.
Miles's eyes were drawn to Ethan and Cecilia.
