The Portrait of Doreene Gray by Esri Allbritten Page B

her arms across her satin-clad middle. “What are you doing?”
    â€œLooking to see if the slime trails lead back to any one point,” Michael said.
    Suki took advantage of Doreene’s inattention to take some pictures.
    Michael sat back on his heels and stared at the ceiling. “There’s a vent up there. Could someone have gone into the attic and dropped slugs into the room from up there?”
    â€œThere’s another floor above us,” Doreene said.
    â€œOh, right. Lupita sleeps up there.” He resumed crawling across the floor.
    Angus crossed the room and gripped the top of Michael’s head, stopping him. “The explanation is pretty obvious to me.”
    Michael slapped at Angus’s hand. “Let go!”
    Angus grabbed his wrist and tugged Michael to his feet. “Lupita said that, night before last, she saw spirits of the dead crawling through the woods. Last night, they must have reached the house.”
    Reynaldo crossed himself. “ Cara, you have to get rid of the painting!”
    Doreene rolled her eyes. “I’m selling the damn painting, Rey. Would you rather I put it out by the curb?”
    Michael headed toward the windows that looked out on the front lawn, evading Angus’s reaching hand. “Two of these windows are unlatched, and there are no screens. What do you bet someone just opened one and tossed in leaves and slugs?”
    â€œOn the second floor of the house?” Angus asked.
    â€œEver heard of ladders?” Michael asked drily.
    â€œThese leaves are pretty spread out,” Suki said. “Wouldn’t someone have to come inside the room to do that?”
    Michael picked up one of the leaves. Another one followed, dangling several inches below it on an almost invisible thread of mucus. “I think the slugs are responsible for distributing the leaves.” He dropped the leaves and wiped his hand on his pants.
    Angus went to the window and looked out. “Wouldn’t Doreene or Reynaldo have heard something? A bunch of slugs hitting the floor must make some noise. And if someone used a ladder, that wouldn’t be exactly silent.” He thought of the thump he had heard during the night.
    â€œI take sleeping pills,” Doreene said. “I wouldn’t have heard a thing. And Reynaldo sometimes pulls the covers over his head.”
    â€œBecause it is cold,” Reynaldo said. “But I did wake up last night.” He looked at Michael thoughtfully. “I thought I heard a door closing in the hall. Then I went back to sleep.” His frightened look eased.
    â€œIt’d be an awful risk,” Angus pointed out. “What if Reynaldo had got up and looked outside?”
    â€œI’m sure they waited a while after putting the ladder up to see if any lights came on,” Michael said.
    â€œAlso, that window is on the street side of the house,” Angus said. “Anyone might have seen them and called the cops.”
    â€œHe’s right,” Reynaldo said, looking frightened again. “It would be very risky.”
    Michael rolled his eyes. “So you think it’s more likely that actual skeletons put slugs in the room than that someone propped a ladder against the house in the middle of the night?”
    Reynaldo bit his lip. “But why would someone do that?”
    â€œWhy would skeletons scatter gastropods across the carpet?” Michael countered.
    â€œBecause they are messengers from the Devil,” Reynaldo said.
    Doreene pointed a finger at him. “I swear, Reynaldo, if you start yapping about the Devil one more time…” She went to a side chair and grabbed a robe from the back of it. “I never did get to pee.” She passed Lupita, who had returned in her uniform, carrying an empty bucket and a whisk broom. “ Finally. Make sure you check under the bed and on the curtains, Lupita. And we’ll be eating out today, so don’t get any bright