The Stranger Next Door Read Online Free PDF Page A

SeaTac International Airport. As they entered the terminal, a man approached them. “Mr. Morris?” he said.
    “Yes,” Blake replied.
    “I’m Gus Franklin. I’ll be driving you to your home.” The two men shook hands, then Blake said, “This is my wife, Ginny, and my son, Rocky.”
    Rocky shook hands, too. He wondered if his family was going to have a driver forever.
    While they waited for their luggage, Mr. Franklin said, “Your furniture was delivered this morning. We’ll get you a car tomorrow.”
    *   *   *
    Alex poured maple syrup on his pancakes. He had just put the first forkful in his mouth when Benjie galloped through the front door, letting it bang shut behind him.
    “They’re millionaires!” Benjie yelled as he raced into the kitchen.
    Pete ran from the kitchen to the family room, then jumped on top of the piano. From there he could still hear and see what was going on.
    “Keep your voice down,” Mrs. Kendrill said, “and take your shoes off. You’re tracking mud across the floor.”
    Benjie removed his shoes. “The new neighbors are millionaires,” he said.
    “How do you know?” Alex said. “Have you met them?”
    “No, they aren’t here yet. But a big truck from a furniture store came and unloaded a whole bunch of new furniture: beds and a sofa and tables and some chairs and a television set.”
    “Are you certain it was new?” Mr. Kendrill said. “Maybe you saw a moving van.”
    “It said MASON’S FINE FURNITURE on the side,” Benjie said, “and the sofa and chairs were still wrapped in plastic. So were the lamp shades.”
    “How nice to have new furniture in their new house,” Mrs. Kendrill said as she looked at the scuffed tables and worn couch in the family room.
    “If these folks were wealthy,” Mr. Kendrill said, “they would more likely have bought a custom-built home, not one here in Valley View.”
    “Then another truck came,” Benjie said, “and brought a new washer and dryer. And then—”
    “I hope you stayed out of the way,” Mrs. Kendrill said.
    “I rode my scooter and watched. I asked the men from the furniture store who the neighbors are, but they didn’t know. Neither did the men from the appliance store.”
    “Just because they have new furniture doesn’t make them millionaires,” Alex said.
    “I bet they’ll have a new car, too.”
    “You mustn’t jump to conclusions,” Mr. Kendrill said. “Their financial status is none of our business, anyway, so don’t go asking them how much money they have.”
    Benjie looked offended. “I know better than to ask how much money they have,” he said.
    “Have some pancakes, Benjie,” Mrs. Kendrill said. “I was just going to call you.”
    “Is it okay if I sit on the front steps while I eat?” Benjie asked. “I don’t want to miss anything.”
    “Heaven forbid,” Mr. Kendrill said.
    “Maybe the quintuplets will all have fancy mountain bikes, and they’ll let me ride them sometimes,” Benjie said as he got a plate of pancakes. “Maybe they’re so rich they’ll all go to Florida for their vacation and invite me to go along.”
    “What quintuplets?” Mrs. Kendrill said.
    “The boys who are moving in next door,” Benjie said. “Five of them, all my age.” Then he carried his breakfast outside and sat on the front porch to eat.
    “I hope that’s another of his fantasies,” Mr. Kendrill said.
    “It is,” Alex said.
    “Good. I wouldn’t want to have to move when we’re barely settled.”
    Pete looked at his calm family, quietly enjoying breakfast, and decided it was time for a cat fit. He leaped to the top of the sofa, ran from one end to the other, jumped to the floor, raced into the kitchen, then hopped on top of the refrigerator. He reached a paw over the top and pushed at the magnets that held family pictures, a grocery list, and Benjie’s artwork. Two of the magnets fell to the floor; the pictures they had held fluttered after them.
    Pete jumped down. He batted one of the