"Darby...," I said once my fingers found the belt.

Mrs. Baxton's gaze snapped to mine. I froze, her hollowed face just inches from mine. So there was a part of her still in there if she recognized Darby's name. And she had come back to her familiar home.

"Huh?" Darby said from the backseat.

Mrs. Baxton's whispers stirred into a frenzy around our heads, but it didn't come from her pinched mouth that sagged open in a silent scream. It came from inside her, as if ...