Todd’s suite was located in the second set of apartments. His
neighbor, Ryan, managed the Oasis Hotel. Judy, the receptionist at the hotel
and Gregg’s girlfriend, lived in the following apartment. The last unit belonged to Edward and Tom, who owned the
town’s hardware store. They were the youngest members of their group, having graduated this year from college. Mike, David, and Louise were twenty-four—just like her and Shana.
Gregg, Ryan, Judy, and
Todd had grown up together in town. They were in their late twenties but somehow, Todd appeared older and more mature.
According to rumors
circulating through town, Todd owned not only his own office building in town, but all of the new
stores along Main Street—which were being rented by Linda and her friends—and the entire apartment complex by the beach. Linda had never asked Todd whether the rumors
were true or not; he had never volunteered information about his personal life
and she was too hesitant to ask him.
At her apartment, Linda
checked the mailbox for the invitation. A huge black envelope with the End
House return address drew her attention. While thinking that black was too
morbid a color for a party, she unlocked the door and threw the mail—along with
the curious invitation—onto the hall table. The mirror hanging above the table
revealed her very tired-looking reflection.
It was Friday and she’d
worked a long week already. She’d been planning to work the whole weekend—even on Sunday—to catch up on her mounds of paperwork. She had to finish
stocking her shelves with the piles of books that were stacked up high in her
office still in their original cartons.
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