Angel Manor (Lucifer Falls Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

surprised she died if she was living like this. That stuff looks toxic.” Bam pointed at a nearby crack and the glistening brown substance, her mouth pulled in a grimace.
    “I’m utterly gobsmacked.” Oliver leaned against the doorframe, his hand covering his mouth. Bam nuzzled her face against his arm, looking even shorter than usual.
    Bam licked her lips. “You know I said no interior could scare me? I was wrong.”
    “My aunt was a bit, erm… batty. I expected the place would need some work, but this…” The words trailed away, replaced with a wave of nausea.
    “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Bam looked as though she was about burst into tears.
    “Who could have done this? Why did they break all the furniture?” Tears welled up in Freya’s eyes.
    “Look at the cobwebs. This wasn’t done recently. Maybe your aunt was burgled, or suffered from vandals or something.” Bam shrugged her shoulders in defeat and looked at Freya with a sad expression on her face.
    “Suffered from vandals? You make it sound like a rodent problem.” Oliver rolled his eyes. “Whatever happened, your aunt didn’t bother to clean it up.”
    “I knew she was depressed. She’d lost all her kids in her lifetime. Who wouldn’t be a little depressed? But to be honest, this is worse than I could have imagined. How could anyone live like this?”
    “Did she live here all that time? I mean, she didn’t go live with relatives, or check into a motel or something?” Bam’s voice sounded muffled through Oliver’s shirt.
    “Yes, she lived here, right up to the very end. In fact, they found her dead in this house. No one told me it was in this state though. She died of a heart attack as far as I know.”
    “This place feels bad, Freya.” Bam looked at her, and Freya could see that all the eagerness had drained from her face. “Oh hush.” Oliver nudged her.
    “I come from a long line of crazy people, Bam. That’s all. Don’t worry too much about it.”
    Oliver looked around and pointed at the debris on the floor. “Is there another way in? The dust looks undisturbed. I can’t imagine anyone having passed through here for at least a few years.”
    “There are lots of entrances, so that could be possible. She was nuts, but I find it hard to imagine her living like this. Don’t think she could abide cobwebs. The place was always a bit cluttered, but very clean, though I don’t see how this could be undisturbed. The paramedics must have used the front entrance.”
    “Maybe they got in through a back door too?” Bam bit her lip.
    Oliver shrugged. “Big house might have gotten the better of the old lass? If she was mentally unstable to begin with? You said she was depressed. Big house, all her kids dead… maybe she went loopy and embraced the filth?”
    He gently pushed Bam aside and stepped into the entrance hall. With care, the three friends picked a path between broken chairs, vases, lamps, and even a rotted settee, while broken porcelain crunched under the soles of their feet. When Oliver opened the door to the main hall area, a stale smell assaulted their nostrils.
    The main hall area was as disorganised as the entrance, with a large chandelier, made from hundreds of crystals, lying forlorn in the centre of the room. More broken furniture was scattered across the floor, and there was barely any wallpaper left on the walls.
    “This place is depressing.” The spark seemed to have left Oliver’s eyes, and his shoulders slumped. “‘Batty’ doesn’t even begin to cover this. I dread seeing what the rest of the house looks like.”
    The young man shrugged and shook his head. He walked to the white doors to the East Wing and opened them.
    “What the fuck?” Oliver’s voice sounded hollow. “Why is that walled up?” He stepped aside to reveal red brick and friable grey mortar.
    “My aunt… she was pretty paranoid about this place. Not sure what about, but she was always acting crazy about it.” Freya shot