Invitation to a Stranger Read Online Free PDF Page B

remember she had been so scared of a little thing like a darkened house, and seeing Brod again. Maybe Drake was just unfriendly because he didn’t want them to have to deal with him again?
    Then the subject got around to bands and Jasmine’s MP3 player and they experimented with Katie’s latest makeup. After that Ronnie’s mother put her head around the door.
    â€œ Soup and hot scones for lunch,” she said. She stared more closely at Katie. “You look as if you need a good night’s sleep. You’re too young to have those black bags under your eyes.”
    â€œIt’s my new eye make-up, Mrs. Campion,” Katie explained.
    â€œHumph,” said Mrs. Campion.
    â€œYeah, they call her goggle eyes at school,” Jamie jeered.
    Katie breathed deeply. “Any cheek from you, young Jamie Campion, and do you know what I’ll do?”
    â€œI’m shaking with fear,” Jamie said.
    â€œI’ll come over to the junior school and kiss you in front of all your mates,” Katie promised.
    â€œYou wouldn’t.” Jamie went white.
    â€œI would,” Katie assured him.
    â€œI was only joking,” Jamie said in a subdued tone.
    The three girls were still giggling as they finished their lunch of soup and hot scones, and then help do dishes and tidy up the kitchen.
    So it was well into the afternoon by the time they had finished riding around the district to put up their “lost” posters. As it happened they finished putting up their posters just near the big Demento mansion.
    Someone had been working on the house during the week. The shrubs and trees had been pruned, and the lawn freshly mowed. The front porch had been repaired; there was new guttering, and the windows and shutters freshly repainted. The house didn’t look creepy any more. It looked well cared for and welcoming.
    â€œMust’ve spent some money on it to get it cleaned up so quickly,” Jasmine remarked.
    â€œAre we going to visit Drake?” Ronnie asked . She wasn’t sure if she wanted to meet Drake again , but then she wasn’t sure if she didn’t. “No car in the front .”
    â€œWhat if Brod is still around?” Jasmine asked.
    â€œI’m not scared of Brod,” Katie said. “He won’t try anything stupid with the three of us around.”
    Ronnie was doubtful. She remembered the hatred in his eyes as he was dragged away. He was a very uncool sort of guy and he could still get very nasty with them. Still, Jasmine and Katie didn’t seem that worried, so they opened the brand new gate and wheeled their bikes up the driveway.
    The big covered freshly painted porch along the back of the house was now furnished with porch swings, tables and chairs and even a barbecue. The porch overlooked the fenced off pool, and the yard behind, jungle like with overgrown trees and creepers.
    â€œThe pool still looks a mess,” Katie said.
    â€œAnd they haven’t got around to pruning back the back yard,” Jasmine remarked. “Maybe Sing could be down there somewhere.”
    She went around the fenced pool to the start of the overgrown yard.
    " Sing,” she called. “Here Puss, Puss, Puss.” She pushed further in among the trees and vanished, her voice still faintly calling. “Here, Puss, Puss, Puss.”
    â€œMaybe everyone’s out.” Ronnie started to feel uneasy again. For some reason she didn’t like this well-kept for house any better than the local kids had when it looked like a haunted mansion.
    â€œNo,” Katie said as she went up the steps to the porch. " Someone’s sleeping in the porch swing.”
    Ronnie followed Katie reluctantly up the steps on to the porch. The back door was shut, and the windows overlooking the porch looked blank with heavy dark blinds pulled right down. It definitely looked as if no one was home.
    â€œIt’s one of the twins, Sam or Dan.” Katie leaned over and