14 Fearless Fourteen Read Online Free PDF Page A

rather
not name, and watched me drive away.
    I got back to Morelli's house a little after midnight. Morelli's
porch light was on and a nightlight was burning in the hall leading
to the stairs. The rest of the house was dark. I unlocked the front
door and stepped inside. The house was quiet. Everyone was asleep,
including Bob Dog.
    I didn't need light to find my way around Morelli's house. I
spent a decent amount of time there, and it was almost identical to
the house where I grew up. I made my way into the kitchen and
checked the fridge for leftovers, hitting the jackpot with
pepperoni pizza.
    I put the pizza box on the counter, and the cellar door crashed
open next to me. A stocky guy jumped out, ran for the back door,
and instantly was gone into the dark night. I was too startled to
scream, too freaked to move. After a second or two, my heart
resumed beating and brain function kicked in.
    “What the-” I said to the empty kitchen.
    I heard footsteps on the stairs, and Morelli sauntered into the
kitchen. He was wearing a T-shirt and boxers, and his hair was
tousled.
    “I thought I heard you come in,” he said. “How was Brenda? And
why is the back door open?”
    I was breathless. “Some guy... some guy charged out of your
basement and ran out the back door.”
    “Yeah, right.”
    I had my hand over my heart in an effort to keep it from jumping
out of my chest. “I'm serious!”
    Morelli went to the door and looked outside. “I don't see
anyone.”
    “He ran away!”
    Morelli closed and locked the door. “Someone actually was in my
cellar?”
    “He scared the bejeezus out of me.”
    “Anyone we know?”
    “It was dark. He was chunky. Dressed in dark clothes. I didn't
see his face. It happened so fast, I didn't get a good
look.”
    “Hair?”
    “He was wearing a knit hat. I couldn't see his
hair.”
    Morelli opened a kitchen drawer, removed a gun, and stepped to
the cellar door.
    “Wait,” I said, “maybe we should call the
police.”
    “Cupcake, I am the police.”
    “Yes, but you're my police, and I don't want you to get
shot.”
    “I'm not going to get shot. Stay here in the
kitchen.”
    No problem with that. I had no desire to follow Morelli into his
spooky basement.
    Morelli flipped the light switch and padded barefoot down the
stairs. He stood for a moment, looking around, and returned to the
kitchen.
    “I can't imagine why anyone would be in my basement,” he said.
“There's nothing down there. Just the furnace and the water
heater.”
    “Sometimes people have offices or playrooms down there,” I said.
“Maybe he was looking for something to steal.”
    “My laptop is on the table. He didn't take it. He left the Xbox
and television in the living room.”
    I took a piece of pizza from the box and tried to get it to my
mouth, but my hand was still shaking. “Maybe he didn't get to it.
Maybe he started downstairs, and I scared him off.”
    Morelli dialed dispatch and reported the break-in.
    “Ask someone to do a couple drive-bys and keep their eyes open,”
he said.
    Bob trotted into the kitchen and stood looking at the pizza box.
He couldn't hear a burglar break into the house, but wave a piece
of pizza around and he was there. Pink and green fluorescent paint
glowed in the dark on Bob's back.
    “The label on the spray paint said it would wash off with water.
I'll hose him down tomorrow,” Morelli said.
    I fed Bob my crust, and Bob smiled and wagged his
tail.
    Morelli draped an arm across my shoulders. “There's a way you
could make me look that happy.”
    “Someone just broke into your house. How can you think about
sex?”
    “I always think about sex.”
    “Mario is in the guest room!”
    “Yeah, you'd have to try to control yourself and not make a lot
of noise.”
    “He's just a kid. You need to set a good
example.”
    “Which means what?”
    “The couch. Zook's in the guest room, and you wanted me to spend
the night, so I assumed you'd sleep on the couch.”
    “You assumed