Spirit Seeker Read Online Free PDF Page A

wasn’t the press. I wasn’t a threat. For the moment I was invisible.
    Mr. Arlington gulped loudly, then said, “I wanted to look around the back of the house, in case the police missed something the murderer had left behind. And I wanted to see if there might be bloody fingerprints on the board fence behind the garage. You know, the fence that divides the Garnetts’ yard from mine.”
    Dad stiffened. “What fingerprints are you talking about?”
    Mr. Arlington held up his hands palms out andwaved them like two white flags. “Fingerprints that might have been left on the fence when the murderer climbed over and ran through my yard.”
    “You saw the murderer?”
    “Yes … well, no. I mean, not exactly.”
    Dad bent his head toward Mr. Arlington’s. “Tell me what you saw,” he said.
    Mr. Arlington nodded, gulped, and said, “It was so dark I wouldn’t be able to identify him. But he was tall and a well-built, muscular type. He practically flew over the fence between my house and the Garnetts’, then hoisted himself over my back fence.”
    “You’re absolutely sure of this?”
    Mr. Arlington gulped again and actually shivered, but he didn’t change his story. “I told you, it was dark, and I couldn’t make out details, but yes … I’m sure I saw someone go over that fence.”
    “When did you see him?”
    “As I came around the side of my house, crossing the Garnetts’ driveway on my way to knock at their front door.”
    “You could see all this from their driveway?”
    “Yes. I could see somebody jump over both fences.”
    Dad walked with Mr. Arlington to the exact spot and, of course, I did too. Poor Mr. Arlington, who looked more frightened by the minute, was right. It
would
be possible to see someone climb over both fences.
    That meant I was right! Cody
was
innocent. My heart pounded so loudly I could hear it in my ears.
    “Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?” Dad asked.
    “I should have, but I was afraid to,” Mr. Arlington said. “I thought the murderer would come back.” He shivered again as he added, “I still think so, and I’m still afraid, but I want to do what is right.” He pointed at a chubby woman, wearing purple shorts and top, who was standing with a group of onlookers across the street. “There’s Mrs. Rollins,” he said. “She lives in the house behind mine. Maybe she heard or saw something.”
    He motioned frantically to Mrs. Rollins, calling her to join them. After a moment of surprise, Mrs. Rollins, and a shorter, younger carbon copy, dropped from the group like a couple of overripe grapes and came toward us.
    Mr. Arlington repeated his story and said, “Did you hear anyone in your yard last night? Around nine or so?”
    Mrs. Rollins’s daughter poked the center of her chin with an index finger and said, “Was that when Tiger started barking, Mama?”
    “That stupid dog’s always barking,” Mrs. Rollins said.
    “But last night he was barking different. Remember? You even said a cat must have got in the yard.”
    Mrs. Rollins nodded. “I guess I did say that, Trudy, but I don’t remember what time it was.”
    “Was your dog loose in the yard?” Dad asked.
    “Yeah. Tiger’s more of a house dog, but he’s getting old and he needs to go out often. We leave him outside for a while before we go to bed.”
    Trudy grew so excited she bounced up and down on her toes. “So it wasn’t a cat!” she cried out. “Think of that! It was the murderer!” She giggled. “I wonder if Tiger got a taste of him!”
    “Tiger bites?”
    “Not real bad bites, but he nips if he thinks someone’s an intruder. He tore our plumber’s pants leg, and when the cable TV man came, he—”
    The reporters had edged closer and closer, and now their questions piled one on top of another in a confusing jumble, punctuated by Trudy’s squeaks and Mr. Arlington’s loud exclamations.
    Dad didn’t try to outshout them. He grabbed one of Mr. Arlington’s arms and led him