Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 03 - They Call Me Ace Read Online Free PDF Page B

and inserted it in the lock, turning it. The door slowly swung open.
    Judith looked at me over the top of Mikey’s head. “I wonder why I couldn’t get it to work.”
    I shrugged, and Judith stepped into the house ahead of us, motioning for us to follow her. It was dark and gloomy. Thunder and lightning ripped through the sky again and I jumped. Maybe this would have been an adventure better left for a bright and sunny day after all. I felt a chill as the wind whipped through the front door – just before it slammed shut.
    Mikey was chomping at the bit, ready to run wild through the house. “Yeah, Grandma, this is a cool old house.” His head was practically spinning as he tried to take everything in at once.
    I put my hand on his shoulder. “I don’t know how safe this place is, so you stick with me or your grandmother. No running off by yourself. Understand?”
    “Yeah.” I could hear the disappointment in that one word. “I mean, yes, ma’am.”
    “I’m going to start looking around upstairs.” Judith walked away from us, heading for the steps.
    “We’ll look around down here. Let me know if it’s safe to take Mikey up there.”
    “I will.” She took each stair step carefully at first, and realizing the stairs were in good shape, she hurried the rest of the way up. They creaked loudly, but I didn’t hear any wood splintering.
    “Come on, Mikey. Let’s start in the kitchen.”
    We walked through the house, looking for the kitchen, and I saw Judith had been right. There were several pieces of old furniture left in the house. After leaving the entryway, we found a living room with some side tables pushed up against the wall. I lifted covers while we toured the home. There was an old couch covered with a sheet, and tattered drapes hung
    in front of the windows. We passed a portrait that hung on the wall. I only glanced at it, but I assumed it was the one Judith had seen the night before. She’d described a mean-looking man, but in the semi-daylight he didn’t look nasty – just formal. We passed an old upright piano which looked like it hadn’t moved in at least fifty years.
    We walked from the living room into a formal dining room that was filled with a mahogany dining set and large sideboard. A hutch sat against the opposite wall from the sideboard. The hutch was maple and looked out of place sitting near the mahogany pieces. I could see the opening to the kitchen past the dining table.
    For some reason, I just love kitchens. I couldn’t wait to see what this old house had to offer in the way of cupboards and appliances, and I wondered if the appliances were still there. Years ago, kitchens had been a gathering place. People sat at the kitchen table and actually carried on conversations instead of lounging in front of the television or staring at a computer screen. That was one of the things I liked about our house – the kitchen was big enough for a table and chairs. And we made a point of enjoying the room.
    Before we could set foot in the kitchen, I heard Judith coming back down the stairs. It sounded like she was in a hurry.
    Mikey and I headed back to the entryway to see what was going on. Judith ripped open the front door, and without slowing down, she took hold of Mikey’s and my arms and rushed us out the front door. Her eyes were large, her face was red and she was breathing hard. I felt her hand shaking on my arm. She seemed to be frightened, and those little legs of hers could really move.
    “What’s wrong?” I asked, last night’s feeling of panic starting to return.
    After a glance at Mikey, she whispered in my ear, or at least she tried to. In her excitement, her voice was louder than
    she intended it to be, and Mikey overheard what she said.
    “There’s a dead body in the house?” Mikey didn’t understand death yet, and he was excited. “Wait until I tell Danny about this .” Danny is his best friend and, unfortunately, they share everything.
    Before I could stop him,