The Twisted Window by Lois Duncan

him at the exact moment he saw her, and raised her hand in a gesture of greeting. "I was just trying to call you," she said as they drew abreast of each other. "Did you get the message I left for you at the motel?"
     
    "I got it this morning," Brad said. "I almost phoned you back, but I thought that might not go over too well with your folks."
     
    "You were right about that My aunt's scared you're going to 'make problems' for me." She gave a short, mirthless laugh. "The truth is, she's probably right. I just got finished talking to Sally Carver. She's hired me to baby-sit tomorrow night."
     
    "You did what?" Brad exclaimed, unable to believe his ears.
     
    "I would have called her last night, but I thought it would be safer to wait until Jim Tyler had left for Padre Island. That way the Carvers can't check on how well he knows me."
     
    "But, you told me you wouldn't do it," Brad said in bewilderment. "I didn't think there was anything that would change your mind."
     
    "I didn't either," said Tracy, "but then last night I got a letter. It made me realize all over again how rotten fathers can be."
     
    CHAPTER 10
     
    Doug Carver arrived at the Stevenson house at 6:05 on Friday evening. Tracy, who had been hovering in the second-floor hallway, ready to make a dash down the stairs and out the front door the moment the doorbell rang, was disgruntled to find her aunt positioned in the entrance hall when she reached the foot of the staircase.
     
    "I'm sure that's for me," Tracy said. "It's the people I'm baby-sitting for."
     
    "You're probably right, dear," Aunt Rene responded agreeably. "That's why I came out from the kitchen. I'd like to meet them."
     
    With a sigh of resignation, Tracy opened the door. She was greeted by the sight of the same heavyset man whom she had last seen seated at the dinner table in the Carvers' kitchen. Tonight, garbed for a more formal occasion, he was dressed in a suit and tie, and the collar of his dress shirt was clamped around his thick neck like a vise.
     
    "Hi there," he said. "I'm here to pick up Tracy Lloyd."
     
    "I'm Tracy," Tracy told him. She glanced over at her aunt, who stood waiting to be introduced, as placidly unbudging as a Jell-O pudding stuck in a mold. "This is my aunt, Irene Stevenson."
     
    "Doug Carver, here. Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Stevenson." A huge paw was thrust out for Aunt Rene to shake.
     
    "You look awfully familiar, somehow," she said. "You don't happen to live in the East Ridge subdivision, do you?"
     
    "How did you know that?" Doug Carver regarded her with amazement.
     
    "I'm the agent who sold you your house!" Aunt Rene said with a laugh, obviously tickled by his reaction. "As I recall, it was a charming little place with a maple tree in the back. I can even remember the street name—Sweetwater Drive."
     
    "That was back when we were first married!" exclaimed Doug Carver. "With all the people you must meet in your line of work, how can you remember us?"
     
    "Oh, I always remember the newlyweds," Aunt Rene said lightly. "How is your wife? Let me think now—her name was... Susie?"
     
    "Sally," Doug corrected. "We're both of us doing just fine. In fact, tonight we're celebrating our fifth anniversary."
     
    "And Tracy is going to be your sitter. Isn't that something! As I recall, when you bought your house, you weren't planning on a family."
     
    "We got a surprise package," Doug said. "Life sometimes hands you those." He turned to Tracy. "Well, little lady, are you set to go?"
     
    "All set," Tracy said, relieved to have the amenities done with.
     
    "Then we'd better get a move on. We've got a lot planned for tonight, and Sal and I are running on a tight schedule. First we're having dinner at a restaurant with friends, and then we're going to a play at the Community Theater."
     
    Once in the car with the engine running, Doug reached over to turn up the radio, which had burst into violent life with the twist of the ignition key. The drive out to the