The Dead Man in Indian Creek Read Online Free PDF

of Sylvester Stallone in his Rambo getup. Somewhere out there in the darkness beyond my windows was a murderer, and I wasn't going to feel safe again until he was in jail.
    As Mom stood up, I grabbed her hand to stop her from leaving. "George Evans was on the bridge. Parker and I saw him just before we found the body."
    "What could George have been doing there?" Mom sounded puzzled.
    "Parker thinks he killed that man and threw him into the creek."
    Mom stared at me. "For heaven's sake, Matthew, that's the silliest thing I've ever heard. George is a very nice person."
    I sat straight up, almost too shocked to speak. "You think Evans is
nice?
"
    "Matthew, what's gotten into you? George has been very generous to this town. Why, he donated several hundred dollars to the high school band when he heard they needed new uniforms, and he also contributed a great deal to the fund drive for the new library. I can't believe Parker would say such a terrible thing."
    "If Evans didn't have anything to do with the dead man, what was he doing on the bridge?"
    "I'm sure there's an explanation, Matt," Mom said.
    "He could have been jogging or just walking, who knows? You and Parker were both there too-do you think anyone suspects you?" She laughed and gave me a little hug.
    Then she drew back and thought a moment. "Isn't Pam dating George?"
    "How did you know?"
    "Woodcroft is a small town," Mom said. "It's common knowledge he's taking her out."
    "Well, so what if he is? What's that got to do with anything?"
    "You know how Parker feels about his mother." Mom patted my hand. "Don't you think he might be a little jealous?"
    When I didn't answer, she added, "In other words, Parker could be trying to make George look bad, honey. Just bear that in mind, and don't let your imagination run away with you." She gave me a quick kiss. "Now you get some sleep," she said. 'Tin sure you need it."
    As Mom closed the door behind her, I slid down in bed and wondered about what she'd said. Was that the explanation? Parker was jealous of Evans?
    But there was more to it, wasn't there? We'd seen Evans on the bridge–or had we? After all, the morning had been foggy. Maybe Parker had just thought it was Evans. True, the car had sounded like the MG, but it could have been some other car with a bad muffler.
    While I tried hard to remember every detail of the man's appearance on the bridge, a branch scratched against my window, making a sound like a bony hand knocking on the glass. Once again, I saw the dead man's face under the water, his hair floating around his head like weeds. Pulling the covers up to my chin, I rolled over and shut my eyes. I wasn't going to think about Evans or the dead man or anything else. I was going to fall asleep and forget it all.

6
    L ATER THAT NIGHT I woke up moaning from a nightmare. Parker and I were at the creek again, but this time the dead man got up from the water, all dripping and horrible, and started chasing us. It was one of those dreams where you try to scream but you can only go "Uh uh," and you try to run but you can only hobble.
    Lying there with my heart thumping, I thought I heard somebody creeping up the stairs-the dead man maybe, or Evans-and I was too scared to move. I just watched the door and wished I'd locked it. Then a breeze billowed the curtains, and I thought Evans was trying to climb through my window. Telling myself to grow up, I squeezed my eyes shut, but the dead man kept flashing in front of me, staring at me with those awful eyes.
    Turning over on my stomach I pressed my face into my pillow. If only Parker and I had never gone camping at Indian Creek.
    ***
    Monday morning, I picked up the
Woodcroft Sentinel
and almost lost my appetite for breakfast. The murder was on the front page, along with a picture of Parker pointing at the place where we'd found the dead man. I was standing beside him looking fat and sad, and Otis was in the background. Julius Fisk had garbled everything Parker and I told him, so we