part of the cleaning process. I think the Luminol picked up two different substances.”
“So there was blood,” Hi said. “And bleach was used to clean it up?”
I nodded. “Someone spent a lot of time and energy cleaning that area. My guess is, they were concealing evidence.”
“Of a violent crime,” Shelton finished. “Oh Lord.”
Hi gulped. “The Gable twins didn’t run off, did they?”
I shook my head. “I think somebody snatched them. Or . . . worse.”
I didn’t want to finish that thought.
“What should we do?” Ben asked.
I considered our options. “We already took pictures. Now we treat this entire room like a crime scene. I’ll dust the door for prints, while—”
A loud bang broke the stillness.
My head whipped to the windows facing the backyard.
I saw a dark form kneeling in the grass outside.
Watching.
“Whaaaa!” Shelton wailed.
Cooper lunged across the room, baying at the apparition.
Hi dove behind a couch. Ben pulled Shelton under the pool table.
I froze, staring at the shadowy figure.
The basement lights reflected off the glass, blurring the scene outside. Our observer was kneeling, stone still, ignoring Coop as he growled below the sill.
As I watched, the figure rose and vanished, a moment before Ben slapped off the lights.
Hiram’s head popped from behind the couch. “Tory, what should we do?”
“That wasn’t a cop!” Shelton shrieked. “Believe that!”
“Relax!” Ben moved to the bottom of the staircase and peered up. “It’s probably a neighbor. They likely saw Sewee and came to—”
An ear-shattered wail sounded from upstairs. All five of us jumped.
“The alarm!” I shouted.
“Someone must’ve set it off!” Ben yelled. “From inside the kitchen, too!”
My eyes shot to the door so recently cleaned with meticulous care. “Out this way!”
I jammed everything into my bag and bolted for the door. Frazzled moments passed as I scrambled to throw the deadbolt. Finally, the way swung open.
Cool air flowed around me as I paused on the threshold, scanning the darkness for any sign we weren’t alone. The blaring alarm rattled my concentration.
“Go left.” Hi was crouching beside. “We have to get to the boat.”
“Through the backyard?” Shelton hissed. “That’s where the dude was!”
“Move!” Ben ordered from behind us. “I think someone’s coming down the stairs!”
That clinched it. Time for a sprint.
But, turning to go, I noticed Coop stalking back toward the steps. Ears flat. Tail rigid.
I felt a rush of panic. “Coop, no! Here!”
Coop growled, his entire posture expressing reluctance.
I slapped my side. “Heel, boy! Now!”
With a last snarl at the staircase, Coop spun and bounded to my side.
“Go, go, go!” I pushed the boys ahead of me, one by one, then grabbed Coop’s collar just to be safe. Together we raced into the night.
A dozen strides brought me to the corner of the house. The boys were halfway across the yard, sprinting toward the dock.
Porch lights flicked at houses adjoining the Gable property. Neighbors. Alerted by the commotion.
Coop needed no further prodding. Side by side, we pounded after the other Virals, shooting across the yard, down the dock, and aboard Sewee.
Hi and Shelton frantically untied the lines, then piled aboard.
Ben gunned the engine and threw it into reverse.
Sewee lurched from the pier, spun a tight 180, and then fired into the river, leaving behind nothing but choppy wake and a lightly rocking dock.
Wednesday
I rose early the next morning.
The moment my eyelids opened, there was no going back.
Last night’s scare had soured my dreams.
So I sat on my bed, half asleep, examining the photocopied Man with Snake. I turned the page this way and that, hoping a change in orientation might trigger some insight. Nada.
On a whim I grabbed my laptop and tried a few Googles, but quickly gave it up.
Searching “Old Man + Snake + Toga” is not an exercise I recommend.
A
“So there was blood,” Hi said. “And bleach was used to clean it up?”
I nodded. “Someone spent a lot of time and energy cleaning that area. My guess is, they were concealing evidence.”
“Of a violent crime,” Shelton finished. “Oh Lord.”
Hi gulped. “The Gable twins didn’t run off, did they?”
I shook my head. “I think somebody snatched them. Or . . . worse.”
I didn’t want to finish that thought.
“What should we do?” Ben asked.
I considered our options. “We already took pictures. Now we treat this entire room like a crime scene. I’ll dust the door for prints, while—”
A loud bang broke the stillness.
My head whipped to the windows facing the backyard.
I saw a dark form kneeling in the grass outside.
Watching.
“Whaaaa!” Shelton wailed.
Cooper lunged across the room, baying at the apparition.
Hi dove behind a couch. Ben pulled Shelton under the pool table.
I froze, staring at the shadowy figure.
The basement lights reflected off the glass, blurring the scene outside. Our observer was kneeling, stone still, ignoring Coop as he growled below the sill.
As I watched, the figure rose and vanished, a moment before Ben slapped off the lights.
Hiram’s head popped from behind the couch. “Tory, what should we do?”
“That wasn’t a cop!” Shelton shrieked. “Believe that!”
“Relax!” Ben moved to the bottom of the staircase and peered up. “It’s probably a neighbor. They likely saw Sewee and came to—”
An ear-shattered wail sounded from upstairs. All five of us jumped.
“The alarm!” I shouted.
“Someone must’ve set it off!” Ben yelled. “From inside the kitchen, too!”
My eyes shot to the door so recently cleaned with meticulous care. “Out this way!”
I jammed everything into my bag and bolted for the door. Frazzled moments passed as I scrambled to throw the deadbolt. Finally, the way swung open.
Cool air flowed around me as I paused on the threshold, scanning the darkness for any sign we weren’t alone. The blaring alarm rattled my concentration.
“Go left.” Hi was crouching beside. “We have to get to the boat.”
“Through the backyard?” Shelton hissed. “That’s where the dude was!”
“Move!” Ben ordered from behind us. “I think someone’s coming down the stairs!”
That clinched it. Time for a sprint.
But, turning to go, I noticed Coop stalking back toward the steps. Ears flat. Tail rigid.
I felt a rush of panic. “Coop, no! Here!”
Coop growled, his entire posture expressing reluctance.
I slapped my side. “Heel, boy! Now!”
With a last snarl at the staircase, Coop spun and bounded to my side.
“Go, go, go!” I pushed the boys ahead of me, one by one, then grabbed Coop’s collar just to be safe. Together we raced into the night.
A dozen strides brought me to the corner of the house. The boys were halfway across the yard, sprinting toward the dock.
Porch lights flicked at houses adjoining the Gable property. Neighbors. Alerted by the commotion.
Coop needed no further prodding. Side by side, we pounded after the other Virals, shooting across the yard, down the dock, and aboard Sewee.
Hi and Shelton frantically untied the lines, then piled aboard.
Ben gunned the engine and threw it into reverse.
Sewee lurched from the pier, spun a tight 180, and then fired into the river, leaving behind nothing but choppy wake and a lightly rocking dock.
Wednesday
I rose early the next morning.
The moment my eyelids opened, there was no going back.
Last night’s scare had soured my dreams.
So I sat on my bed, half asleep, examining the photocopied Man with Snake. I turned the page this way and that, hoping a change in orientation might trigger some insight. Nada.
On a whim I grabbed my laptop and tried a few Googles, but quickly gave it up.
Searching “Old Man + Snake + Toga” is not an exercise I recommend.
A
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