It did. Like mine, there was no explaining how, given the lack of battery power and signal. There were fragments of a few messages on the front screen from the same contact I had: Carter.
Where are you?????? Read the most recent one. The others sent slivers of panic through me.
No matter what - don't let him know why you're there.
I can't let this happen again. You WILL NOT go to …
I swiped my finger across the screen, alarmed at the idea there was some kind of danger here - one that Carter knew about and was refusing to share with me. To my frustration, the screen was locked by a passcode.
I set it down and reached for the next one. There were two messages on the screen from Carter.
How does he know who you are?
Get out. NOW.
I tried to unlock it but found it passcode protected, too. I picked up the oldest cell phone, certain there was no passcode on it. Its screen was tiny, dim, and cracked beyond repair, a reminder of how far cell phone technology had come in the past twenty years. There was no keypad, just numbers with letters, and a quick examination showed no camera, either.
A crack of lightning startled me. My eyes went to the window. I hadn't been outside all day and was surprised to see the sky still covered with dark clouds after the three days of rain. Lightning rippled through them in the distance, followed by a low grumble of thunder.
Not another storm! A gust of wind tossed the drapes into the air. I rose and crossed to the window, closing it. I watched the sky for a moment, eyes falling to the barn, and I wasn't able to stop the thoughts that formed.
Three phones. Three other women from my time had been in this room. Three voices in the well.
What was going on? I didn't want the truth to be what I was inching towards, that someone in this house had a hand in getting rid of my predecessors.
I returned to the armoire and took a picture of the three phones then carefully replaced them beneath the false bottom. Satisfied it look the same way it had when I found it, I closed the drawer and sat back on my knees.
"Who put you all here?" The questions swirling through my mind took a moment to crystalize. My heart was beating fast.
What danger lurked in the house or nearby town?
I can't let this happen again, Carter had said.
Fear blazed to life within me. Of all the mysteries, this was the one that scared me the most. I could see Philip being in on this but no one else.