The evening shadows had swallowed the last traces of twilight when 18-year-old Nancy Settler stepped into the dimly lit hallway of the Jamison residence. A palpable heaviness hung in the air, thick with the lingering scents of aged perfumes and an eerie silence. Nancy had tried to decline the offer to babysit the Jamison boy-the mother's text had been abrupt, almost desperate-but her desire to fit in as the new girl on the block overrode her reluctance.
As...