02 - Stay Out of the Basement Read Online Free PDF Page A

a lock had been installed on the
door.
     
    The next Saturday afternoon, Margaret was up in her room, lying on top of the
bed, talking to her mom on the phone. “I’m really sorry about Aunt Eleanor,” she
said, twisting the white phone cord around her wrist.
    “The surgery didn’t go as well as expected,” her mother said, sounding very
tired. “The doctors say she may have to have more surgery. But they have to
build up her strength first.”
    “I guess this means you won’t be coming home real soon,” Margaret said sadly.
    Mrs. Brewer laughed. “Don’t tell me you actually miss me!”
    “Well… yes,” Margaret admitted. She raised her eyes to the bedroom
window. Two sparrows had landed outside on the window ledge and were chattering
excitedly, distracting Margaret, making it hard to hear her mother over the
crackling line from Tucson.
    “How’s your father doing?” Mrs. Brewer asked. “I spoke to him last night, but
he only grunted.”
    “He doesn’t even grunt to us!” Margaret complained. She held her hand over
her ear to drown out the chattering birds. “He hardly says a word.”
    “He’s working really hard,” Mrs. Brewer replied. In the background, Margaret
could hear some kind of loudspeaker announcement. Her mother was calling from a
pay phone at the hospital.
    “He never comes out of the basement,” Margaret complained, a little more
bitterly than she had intended.
    “Your father’s experiments are very important to him,” her mother said.
    “More important than we are?” Margaret cried. She hated the whiny tone
in her voice. She wished she hadn’t started complaining about her dad over the
phone. Her mother had enough to worry about at the hospital. Margaret knew she
shouldn’t make her feel even worse.
    “Your dad has a lot to prove,” Mrs. Brewer said. “To himself, and to others.
I think he’s working so hard because he wants to prove to Mr. Martinez and the
others at the university that they were wrong to fire him. He wants to show them
that they made a big mistake.”
    “But we used to see him more before he was home all the time!”
Margaret complained.
    She could hear her mother sigh impatiently. “Margaret, I’m trying to explain
to you. You’re old enough to understand.”
    “I’m sorry,” Margaret said quickly. She decided to change the subject. “He’s
wearing a baseball cap all of a sudden.”
    “Who? Casey?”
    “No, Mom,” Margaret replied. “Dad. He’s wearing a Dodgers cap. He never takes
it off.”
    “Really?” Mrs. Brewer sounded very surprised.
    Margaret laughed. “We told him he looks really dorky in it, but he refuses to
take it off.”
    Mrs. Brewer laughed, too. “Uh-oh. I’m being called,” she said. “Got to run. Take
care, dear. I’ll try to call back later.”
    A click, and she was gone.
    Margaret stared up at the ceiling, watching shadows from trees in the front
yard move back and forth. The sparrows had flown away, leaving silence behind.
    Poor Mom, Margaret thought.
    She’s so worried about her sister, and I had to go and complain about Dad.
    Why did I do that?
    She sat up, listening to the silence. Casey was over at a friend’s. Her dad
was no doubt working in the basement, the door carefully locked behind him.
    Maybe I’ll give Diane a call, Margaret thought. She reached for the phone,
then realized she was hungry. Lunch first, she decided. Then Diane.
    She brushed her dark hair quickly, shaking her head at the mirror over her
dressing table, then hurried downstairs.
    To her surprise, her dad was in the kitchen. He was huddled over the sink,
his back to her.
    She started to call out to him, but stopped. What was he doing?
    Curious, she pressed against the wall, gazing at him through the doorway to
the kitchen.
    Dr. Brewer appeared to be eating something. With one hand, he was holding a
bag on the counter beside the sink. As Margaret watched in surprise, he dipped his hand
into the bag, pulled out a big handful