“I was thinking about picking up Max after the operation. There’s no need for him to stay there, is there? Locked up in a small cage, feeling woozy, waking up all alone…”
“He’s not alone. Vena is there, remember? And the other pets.”
“Yeah, but still.”
“Let’s ask Vena. She probably knows best.”
“Yeah, she probably does,” she relented, then sniffed the air. “Something smells good in here, and it’s not paint or bleach or wallpaper glue.”
He grinned, more widely this time.“I decided to surprise you with a nice home-cooked meal. To celebrate the end of phase one of our home renovation project.”
She closed her eyes with relish.“Oh, thank you thank you thank you. I’m starving.”
She hadn’t realized it before, but she really was starving. They’d painted the guest bedroom ceiling that afternoon, then she’d brought the cats to the vet, and she now realized she hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast.
Moments later she hopped up onto the high kitchen stool and enjoyed the sight of her boyfriend placing a plate in front of her. It was spaghetti bolognese, the special sauce probably her mother’s, microwaved from the freezer. She didn’t care, though. She was grateful Chase had put in the work, and she appreciated the gesture.
In a corner of the kitchen the television was softly playing, and she now focused on the image of a familiar figure.
“Isn’t that the lottery guy?” asked Chase, pointing to the screen with his fork.
“Yeah. Looks like he went missing.”
“Weird,” said Chase, twirling spaghetti around the tines of his fork like an expert.
“Why?”
“Missing person in Hampton Cove? And your uncle didn’t think to tell me?”
“He’s keeping his promise, Chase. He told you to enjoy your vacation, and that he wouldn’t trouble you with work, and that’s exactly what he’s doing. As promised.”
“Still. It would be nice to be kept in the loop.”
“Enjoy being out of the loop for a change.” But she understood where he was coming from. She hated to be out of the loop, too, and wondered why her boss, Dan Goory, hadn’t told her about the missing Elon Pope.
But then she decided to put the whole thing out of her mind. She was home, she was with Chase, and other people were probably out there, scouring the countryside for the missing kid. So she dug in, and ate with relish.
Chapter 4
Nicky and Jay were kicking the ball around in the backyard when suddenly Jay gave it a mighty kick and it flew over the hedge and sailed straight into the neighbor’s yard.
“Oh, darn it!” Nicky yelled. “Now look what you did!”
Both boys stared at the forbidding hedge, which was high and impossible to scale. Nicky’s mom and dad had planted it when they bought the house, long before Nicky was born, so they wouldn’t have to see the neighboring house, which was an eyesore.
“We have to go and get it, Nicky,” said Jay. “That was our last ball.”
“Yeah, I know, I know,” said Nicky without much enthusiasm.
Then an idea occurred to him. His dog Marcia had recently dug a hole underneath the fence, and had managed to sneak through. Mom and Dad had caught the reprobate, though, and had plugged the hole. But wasn’t it possible they’d done a sloppy job?
“Come on,” he said. “I think I know how to get our ball back.”
They ran to the end of the backyard, then behind the rose bushes, and Nicky crouched down next to the hole Marcia had dug. He was right. Dad had done a lousy job. All he’d done was put a piece of cardboard in front of the hole, and call it a day.
Both boys shared a look, then Nicky said, with a resolute frown,“Let’s do this, Jay. Let’s get our ball back.”
Jay didn’t look convinced. “It’s just an old house, right?”
Nicky gulped.“Yeah, just an old house.”
Neither dared to mention that the old house was haunted, and that no one had been in there for many, many years. Or that a weird smell drifted from the house when the wind sat in that direction. A smell of rot and decay and… death.
They carefully removed the piece of cardboard, and found themselves staring into the next-door yard. It was a real jungle out there, just as Nicky had expected. The house had been empty for at least the last twenty years, and the grass probably hadn’t been cut for a decade. At first the real estate agency had hired a gardener to keep the progress of nature in check, hoping to sell the house, but when no buyers had showed an interest they’d given up, and allowed nature to run its course, which it had—with a vengeance.
“Let’s go,” said Nicky, and pushed his way through the hedge. Weeds and grass reached to his chest, and the backyard was full of brambles and nettles, but he had a pretty good idea where the ball had dropped, and made his way over with some effort.
“Where is that darn thing?” asked Jay as he stared at a buzzing bee as big as a marble.
“I can see it!” Nicky called out, but when he looked back, he saw that Jay was staring at something. He retraced his steps and joined his buddy. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
In response, Jay raised his hand and pointed at something in the middle distance. Nicky, turning to look, gulped when he saw what his friend was pointing at. It was the meanest-looking dog he’d ever seen, its fur mottled, its fangs dripping with saliva, its eyes glowing red. And it was making a low growling sound at the back of its throat.
“He’s going to attack, isn’t he?” said Jay in a quivering tone.
“No, he’s not,” said Nicky, though he had a pretty good idea that Jay was right.
Then, suddenly, the dog pushed itself off and lunged for them!
“Run, Jay, run!” Nicky screamed, and took off like a hare.
Both boys raced to the hedge, but even before they could reach it, suddenly a large bearded man blocked their retreat, and before they could stop they’d run straight into him. The man grabbed first Nicky, then Jay, and pressed some piece of cloth against their mouths. Moments later, Nicky suddenly felt mighty weak, and then he passed out.
The last thing he thought was that now they’d never get their ball back…
[Êàðòèíêà: img_2]
Uncle Alec was not having a good day. First word had reached him that the lottery kid had gone missing overnight, and then frantic parents of some other, younger, kid, had told him that their son had gone missing, too, possibly along with his little buddy.
Great. He’d hoped the week would be quiet, with Chase out of the office, and Odelia, too, but of course it hadn’t turned out that way. So he’d dragged his tired ass from his chair, had put on his belt and had walked out of his office.
“I’m going to follow up on that missing kid business, Dolores,” he said as he walked past the police station’s trusty front desk officer.
Dolores made a saluting gesture in his direction.“Aye, aye, sir,” she said with her usual raspy voice. The smell of cigarettes always hung heavy in the air whenever Dolores was around, and Alec frankly hated it. Not that he begrudged her a smoke, but he was a cigarette addict, too, and it had taken him a lot of effort to stop smoking. Being around other smokers, especially heavy smokers like Dolores, always made him crave a drag.
“And if anyone asks, tell them to take a break from crime,” he added.
“Sure, I will tell all the rapists, murderers and other scum of the earth to lay off for now, chief,” said Dolores. “Tell them that the long arm of the law is tired and cranky.”
“I’m not cranky, Dolores.” But he was tired, though.
He hadn’t realized before how much he’d come to lean on Chase, and with him gone, and some of the other officers on vacation, too, his workload had suddenly tripled.
“Say, chief!” said Dolores as he put his hand on the door handle.
“Yah?”
“Why don’t I simply tell them that crime doesn’t pay? Maybe they’ll see the light! Maybe they’ll even get back on the straight and narrow, huh?”
“Smartass,” he grunted, and Dolores’s raspy laugh escorted him out the door.