Murder in the Devil's Cauldron Read Online Free PDF Page A

noises. Plus there were other sounds she
couldn't even begin to identify yet.
    Then there were the different smells. What
she noticed most was the scent of wood burning from someone's
fireplace or campfire. Under that, and much fainter, was something
moist and earthy. And mixed in to all that was a faint smell of
pine like it was Christmas.
    This place didn't even remotely look like
anywhere she had ever been. Instead of cheek by jowl apartment
buildings and convenience stores, Starr saw hints of other cabins
nearby, but they were each surrounded by trees so they were barely
visible. It felt weird not to see another house right next to hers,
but in a nice way. It was almost as if no one else lived here.
Starr knew getting to live in the cabin was one of the reasons her
mother had accepted the job here. It had been hard to find a job
and place to live after Starr's father had taken off three years
earlier. Most of the apartments had been in neighborhoods where
walking to the corner, let alone all the way to school, was a major
challenge. Even taking the bus was fraught with danger and she
always breathed a sigh of relief when she made it to her
destination without being accosted.
    On the other hand, she had discovered that
she could run really fast. No matter how big the kid was who wanted
to snatch her backpack, take her lunch or beat her up, she was able
to outrun them. There might be things here she wasn't wild about,
but she sure as heck wasn't going to miss running the gauntlet
several times a day.
    She looked at the other cabins and wondered
about the other people who were going to be their neighbors.
Wouldn't it be great if another girl her age lived here and they
could be friends?
    Even though it wasn't dark yet and the stars
hadn't come out, Starr took a deep breath, closed her eyes and
wished. Please let this work out. Please let us stay here.
    She stood as still as she could for a long
time, eyes closed and fingers crossed as she waited for her wish to
take hold, hoping that if she concentrated extra hard for a really
long time, maybe it would work even without a star. Finally, afraid
her mother might come back while she was still standing there,
Starr opened her eyes. The stars still weren't out and it wasn't
dark yet, so she didn't know if it had worked. She gave a last look
around and then went back inside. She'd get holy hell if the
unpacking wasn't done by the time her mother came back, so she'd
better take care of that. She could always try her wish again
later.
     
     
    It didn't take long to put everything in the
kitchen away, so Starr tackled the suitcases in her room next. She
loved her new bedroom. It was the nicest one she had ever had.
Instead of carpeting, the floor was wide planks of dark wood that
gleamed in the late afternoon light. It was large and had room for
a real bed, a desk and - thrill of all thrills - a big bookcase.
The closet was kind of small, but considering she didn't have a lot
to put in there, it was more than enough. As she put away her
t-shirts, Starr realized she wouldn't have to run any more unless
she wanted to. The reality of leaving her old way of living behind
was finally beginning to sink in and she pushed the dresser drawer
closed slowly. She went back to the window. Her smile was sudden
and wide and nearly lit up the room with joy.
    She put the suitcase in the far corner of the
closet and checked her watch. There might be time to explore, but
she decided to wait until later. There wasn't that much time
and it would be really easy to lose track of time, especially when
there was so much to see. Then she'd be late and Starr knew that
wouldn't be a good idea on her first day here.
    Instead, she went through the cabin to make
sure she hadn't missed anything and saw her duffel bag still
sitting on the living room couch. She kicked around the idea of
letting it wait until later, then thought about what her mother
would say if she came back and saw it wasn't done. Starr sighed