The Midnight Test

“Dad,” she said slowly. “Where did that tape come from?” Ben didn’t answer right away. He stared out at the lake like something old and ugly had his throat in a fist. “If you heard anything tonight,” he said, “don’t go looking for Ruth Bell.” Across town, Cedar Lake’s surface was calm, then tightened into a ring of tiny ripples with no wind at all, as if something below had tapped a finger against an invisible line.