Not Scary,
You have the basics, now it’s time to dress up your graveyard. How about a shovel leaning against a tree? Drop a plastic yard bag in the shape of a fresh grave and mound mulch and dirt over it. Place black flower bouquets on a couple of the gravestones. Perch a crow or two on top of one, too. Plant a plastic hand below one tombstone so it appears to be reaching out of the grave. If you have solar garden lights, prop them up behind the tombstones so there’s an unearthly glow around them at night!
—Sophie
Vegas jumped up to peer in the bag. “Those dolls creep me out! Where did you get this?”
“Someone left it at the front door.”
“Our door?” asked Jen, wide awake. Her eyes met Vegas’s in a frightened glance.
“It was on a pumpkin by the front door,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“That’s not good.” Jen backed away from the bag. “I don’t even want to touch it.”
Vegas shivered. “I will. We have to know.” Holding the bag with one hand, she dipped the other one inside, probed something, and screamed, dropping the doll and the bag. “It has a vampire bite on its neck!”
Jen’s cheeks flared red. “It’s a message from him.”
I picked up the doll. “Him who?”
Jen gave me one of those impatient teen looks, like I was too dumb to live. “The vampire!”
Nina hurried over to look at it. “Gross! You mean it’s a message, like—you’re next?”
A spidery shiver inched down my back. I had almost been the next victim last night. Had he come back and left the doll as a warning to me?
Vegas wrapped her hands around her neck protectively. “Well, duh. What else would it be?”
“A prank?” I asked hopefully. I wanted it to be something else. Anything but a threat. No matter how much the girls insisted there was a vampire, if it was a threat, it came from an ordinary, but dangerous, person.
Nina shook her head and mouthed, “Better call Wolf.” She grinned at the girls. “Probably left by a boy who wants to scare you.” She took the doll, closed the top of the bag, and stashed it on the console in the foyer where we wouldn’t have to look at it.
I was still shaken, and I feared seeing those dead doll eyes in my dreams the way Vegas had seen Viktor. I poured a bracing mug of coffee for myself and took a few slugs in the hope it would settle my nerves. Nina resumed her place at the table, but I could see she was concerned.
“Well?” demanded Natasha, who had declined breakfast but evidently had no qualms about stealing the banana monster finger off Vegas’s plate. “Did you see a vampire bite on Patrick’s neck, Sophie?”
“There were two spots, but that doesn’t mean he was bitten by a vampire.”
Nina stopped eating, her eyes wide. “Good heavens! I think I saw the killer without his mask last night! I was looking for that black cat in the alley when a kid in a Dracula outfit ran by. I didn’t make the connection because everyone is dressed up for Halloween.”
“A kid?” I said.
“You lost your cat?” asked Jen. “I would just die if I couldn’t find Jasper or Alice.” She frowned. “Maybe I should call the cat sitter and make sure they’re okay.”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” said Nina. “At the shelter we don’t let anyone adopt black cats around Halloween—to protect them from people who might be cruel. We’re rounding up black cats just to be on the safe side, and there’s a big tomcat who continues to be elusive.”
“Which way was he going?” I asked.
“He’s been hanging around this neighborhood recently, but we’ve had reports of sightings down by the river, too.”
Trying not to sound frustrated, I grumbled, “I meant the vampire, not the cat.”
“Oh.” Nina waved her fork. “He was running along the alley behind the Harts’ house.”
“Think you can identify him?” I bit into a crunchy piece of toast.
“There aren’t any streetlights in the alley, so it was dark, but I might recognize
You have the basics, now it’s time to dress up your graveyard. How about a shovel leaning against a tree? Drop a plastic yard bag in the shape of a fresh grave and mound mulch and dirt over it. Place black flower bouquets on a couple of the gravestones. Perch a crow or two on top of one, too. Plant a plastic hand below one tombstone so it appears to be reaching out of the grave. If you have solar garden lights, prop them up behind the tombstones so there’s an unearthly glow around them at night!
—Sophie
Vegas jumped up to peer in the bag. “Those dolls creep me out! Where did you get this?”
“Someone left it at the front door.”
“Our door?” asked Jen, wide awake. Her eyes met Vegas’s in a frightened glance.
“It was on a pumpkin by the front door,” I said. “What’s going on?”
“That’s not good.” Jen backed away from the bag. “I don’t even want to touch it.”
Vegas shivered. “I will. We have to know.” Holding the bag with one hand, she dipped the other one inside, probed something, and screamed, dropping the doll and the bag. “It has a vampire bite on its neck!”
Jen’s cheeks flared red. “It’s a message from him.”
I picked up the doll. “Him who?”
Jen gave me one of those impatient teen looks, like I was too dumb to live. “The vampire!”
Nina hurried over to look at it. “Gross! You mean it’s a message, like—you’re next?”
A spidery shiver inched down my back. I had almost been the next victim last night. Had he come back and left the doll as a warning to me?
Vegas wrapped her hands around her neck protectively. “Well, duh. What else would it be?”
“A prank?” I asked hopefully. I wanted it to be something else. Anything but a threat. No matter how much the girls insisted there was a vampire, if it was a threat, it came from an ordinary, but dangerous, person.
Nina shook her head and mouthed, “Better call Wolf.” She grinned at the girls. “Probably left by a boy who wants to scare you.” She took the doll, closed the top of the bag, and stashed it on the console in the foyer where we wouldn’t have to look at it.
I was still shaken, and I feared seeing those dead doll eyes in my dreams the way Vegas had seen Viktor. I poured a bracing mug of coffee for myself and took a few slugs in the hope it would settle my nerves. Nina resumed her place at the table, but I could see she was concerned.
“Well?” demanded Natasha, who had declined breakfast but evidently had no qualms about stealing the banana monster finger off Vegas’s plate. “Did you see a vampire bite on Patrick’s neck, Sophie?”
“There were two spots, but that doesn’t mean he was bitten by a vampire.”
Nina stopped eating, her eyes wide. “Good heavens! I think I saw the killer without his mask last night! I was looking for that black cat in the alley when a kid in a Dracula outfit ran by. I didn’t make the connection because everyone is dressed up for Halloween.”
“A kid?” I said.
“You lost your cat?” asked Jen. “I would just die if I couldn’t find Jasper or Alice.” She frowned. “Maybe I should call the cat sitter and make sure they’re okay.”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” said Nina. “At the shelter we don’t let anyone adopt black cats around Halloween—to protect them from people who might be cruel. We’re rounding up black cats just to be on the safe side, and there’s a big tomcat who continues to be elusive.”
“Which way was he going?” I asked.
“He’s been hanging around this neighborhood recently, but we’ve had reports of sightings down by the river, too.”
Trying not to sound frustrated, I grumbled, “I meant the vampire, not the cat.”
“Oh.” Nina waved her fork. “He was running along the alley behind the Harts’ house.”
“Think you can identify him?” I bit into a crunchy piece of toast.
“There aren’t any streetlights in the alley, so it was dark, but I might recognize
Similar Books
