Ghost House Revenge (25 page)

With Liza’s address memorized, he drove up to the first person he saw and asked for
directions to her street. Liza’s
apartment, he found, was on the top floor of a comfortable-looking house. He went
up to the door and rang the bell.

“Can I help you?” a middle-aged Italian woman asked, opening her window.

“I’m Owen Crewe,” he replied. “Liza’s brother. Is my sister home?”

“Wait a minute,” the woman said. She shut the window and came out to the steps. “Liza
didn’t tell me you were coming. Besides, I haven’t seen her today. She didn’t come
home last night.”

“No?”

“You don’t see her car, do you?”

Owen looked past the newly mowed lawn.

“I wouldn’t know it, anyway,” he said. “Look, could I wait in her apartment until
she arrives?”

The woman eyed him suspiciously. “How do I know you’re really her brother? She’s a
young woman alone, you know.”

“I’m glad you’re so protective,” Owen said, smiling. “Here’s my driver’s license—it
has my name on it, see? And here’s a family picture of us.”

The woman nodded, convinced. She unlocked the upstairs door for him and held it open
while he carried his suitcases upstairs. After setting them in the living room, Owen
went to the kitchen. He’d have a beer and watch TV until his sister came home.

Nancy, her blond curls catching the early morning sunlight, tugged on her mother’s
sleeve as she walked with her family to the bay. It was Sunday, and they were going
to have a picnic.

“I forgot my yellow rabbit, mommy,” she said. “I want to bring him with me.”

“Can’t you live without that dumb rabbit?” Kyle asked.

“I want it!” Nancy wailed.

“Yeah, well I wish Lad was coming with us,” Kyle said. He
was in a bad mood because the dog had disappeared in the night.

“Don’t worry about Lad,” Gary said. “He’ll probably show up on the beach in a while.”

“Mommy, my rabbit!” Nancy cried.

“Okay, okay,” Melanie said, handing Gina the basket she was carrying. “I’ll go up
and get it. Wait here for me.”

“He’s on my bed,” Nancy told her.

Melanie unlocked the door, smiling at the idea her daughter needed her toy so badly.
Oh, to be a child again
, she thought.
If only a simple toy could make me feel secure!

Well, that was what this picnic was all about. It had been Gary’s idea—something to
prove they were nothing but an average American family. Mother, father, and kids.
All they needed was the dog, but no one had seen Lad that morning. He wasn’t at the
breakfast table looking for handouts.

“He’s probably digging up the garden,” Melanie had reassured the children.

Melanie pushed open the door to Nancy’s room. She hardly took a step inside before
she started choking. A horrible stench filled the air, permeating her nostrils even
when she tried to hold her breath. Holding her hand over her mouth and nose, Melanie
walked carefully into the room. What the hell was that?

She found it in Nancy’s doll carriage.

Don’t scream
, she thought.
Don’t get the kids up here
.

It was Lad’s body, stuffed somehow into the little carriage. One paw was pushed up
against the cover, making a dent. Lad’s head was bent into his chest.

“Not again,” Melanie whispered, unable to take her eyes from the hideous sight.

Pictures flashed in her mind: Sarah’s face, a crashing bus, her own car spinning in
circles. And through these, she saw Lad’s body. Was she justified in her fears that
evil had descended once more upon their home?

“Oh, dear God,” she prayed. “Don’t let that be happening again.”

She ran from the room and down the stairs, her heart pounding. In the kitchen she
stopped and leaned heavily against the refrigerator. She had fought tears until now,
and though her head ached, she didn’t want the children to see her crying. They were
so happy today—nothing would spoil that. She heard Kyle’s laughter, high and sweet.
Hold onto that
, she told herself.
There are good things in this house, too
.

She took a very deep breath, then let it out slowly before opening the back door.
Her calm voice belied the pounding of her heart as she called, “Derek, could you come
in here?”

“Is anything wrong, honey?” Gary wanted to know.

“Nothing,” Melanie insisted. “I—I just want Derek to help me with something.”

Derek hurried up to the house. He couldn’t help staring at Melanie, wondering why
her face was so pale. Silently she motioned him toward Nancy’s room. The color drained
from Derek’s face when he saw Lad’s corpse. He looked up into her blue eyes, his own
very wide. Melanie returned the gaze, wondering how he could ignore the terrible stench.
She didn’t know it was meant for her alone and that Derek was unaware of it.

“How did this happen?” he asked, returning his gaze to Lad.

“I don’t know,” Melanie said. She blinked away tears. “I called you in because there
isn’t anything Gary can do about it. Please, Derek, can you get ri—put him somewhere?
If the children saw him . . .”

“Of course,” Derek said gently. “Can you get me a sheet?”

Melanie nodded and went to the linen closet. It was all she could do not to burst
into tears.

“You’ll have to tell them,” Derek said, taking the sheet from her.

“Tell them what?” Melanie asked. “That their pet was murdered?”

“Somebody killed him,” Derek said, feeling a twist in his stomach. He recalled the
pleasure he’d had with Janice and was sickened.
She
was responsible for this.

“I know that,” Melanie said. “And I’m frightened, Derek. But I don’t want to spoil
this day for the kids. They don’t need to know he’s dead. I—I’ll tell them tomorrow
that he ran away.”

“Thank you,” Melanie said. “For taking care of Lad.”

Derek walked downstairs, carrying the wrapped body. Melanie waited a few moments at
the top of the stairs, until she heard the front door open and close. Then, forcing
a smile on her face, she hurried down and went out the back door. By the time she
crossed the vast lawn to her waiting family, she had relaxed, if only a little.

“Is everything okay?” Gary asked.

“Sure,” Melanie said, handing Nancy her rabbit.

“Where’s Derek?”

“He’ll be out in a minute,” Melanie said. She looked up to where the children were
racing ahead.

“Lad’s dead, Gary.”

Gary’s head snapped around. “What?”

“Someone killed him,” Melanie went on, still fighting tears. “I—I asked Derek to hide
the body from the kids.”

“Melanie, what do you mean?” Gary asked. “Who killed Lad?”

“I don’t know,” Melanie answered. “I found him in Nancy’s room, in her doll carriage.”
The horror of it finally struck her, and tears began to fall. “Oh, my God, Gary! If
Nancy had found him!”

“She didn’t,” Gary said soothingly, his own grief taking second place to shock. “It’s
okay.”

“It’s not okay,” Melanie cried. “Nothing’s been okay for the past month! It’s starting
again, Gary. I know it is!”

Gary looked past the trees to the house. Huge and white, it looked beautiful to him.
How could it harbor so much evil? How could it be responsible for so much sorrow?
Lad dead? But he was just a puppy—bought for the children when Gary came home from
the hospital a few months earlier. He was barely eight months old.

“Gary, we have to do something,” Melanie said.

“No,” Gary said. “We’ll tell the children he ran away, and leave it at that.”

“I already figured that out,” Melanie said. “I mean, I don’t know what to do about
the house.”

“Melanie,” Gary said stiffly, “there is nothing going on there. Not again. We’ve discussed
this before, and my beliefs are unchanged.”

“Damn, you’re stubborn!” Melanie hissed. “After all that’s happened—”

Gary cut her off. “You know what I think? I think the culprit behind all this is mortal.
Someone so filled with hatred that she’ll do anything to hurt others.”

“Who are you talking about?” Melanie asked quietly.

“Alicen,” Gary said simply.

“Oh!” Melanie cried. “Gary, that’s just ridiculous! She’s a little girl. I won’t have
you accusing—”

“Listen to me,” Gary interrupted. “You can’t deny Alicen isn’t like normal children.
She keeps to herself for hours, and her mind always seems to be off somewhere when
anyone tries to talk to her. Haven’t you ever noticed that?”

“Why does it make her a murderer?”

“She’s trying to get back at her father,” Gary said. “Derek ignores her too much,
and she’s rebelling.”

“I can’t say I blame her,” Melanie said. “But I refuse to believe she’d do all these
things. Sabotage my car? Murder a dog? Damn it, Gary, she’s thirteen years old!”

“That doesn’t matter,” Gary said. “And in spite of your doubts, I think our problems
will be over once we get rid of her.”

“Gary, we’re not sending that child away,” Melanie said. How could he be so stubborn?
Couldn’t he see what was happening? He of all people, who stood there a cripple because
of supernatural evil?

Before Gary could answer her, the sound of running feet silenced him. Kyle came up
to them and tugged Melanie’s arm.

“Aren’t you coming?” he asked.

When Melanie turned, Kyle backed away at the sight of her bloodshot eyes.

“What’s the matter, mommy?” he asked.

Melanie forced a smile. “I got something in my eye, and we had to stop a minute. But
I’m all right now.”

“Oh?” Kyle sounded unconvinced. But his excitement about the picnic soon overcame
his doubts, and he cried, “Come on!”

He took his mother’s hand and pulled her forward. Hating to leave things unfinished,
Melanie looked over her shoulder and shook her head a little at Gary. Then she saw
Derek coming up behind him. Seeing him made her think of Lad, and she had to turn
away to keep from crying again.

“Melanie told you?” Derek asked Gary.

“Yeah,” Gary said.

“I wish I had some explanation,” Derek answered.

I’ll bet you do
, Gary thought.

Derek did have one, but he kept silent, even though the urge to tell Gary was strong.
Poor Lad. Derek had found a pit in the grounds of the gray mansion that might have
once been a duck pond. Thick with ivy and weeds, it was a perfect place to hide the
dog. Infuriated that such a thing could happen, and at the same time moved with sorrow,
he had dumped the body and marked the grave with Lad’s chain.

Melanie had been wise to keep the truth from them, Derek realized as he sat on a rock
and watched the children playing in the water. Even Alicen looked happy today. Derek
was surprised to find himself admiring her. She had grown prettier.
Her hair was neatly combed, and even in her bathing suit, she was no longer fat. But
at such a cost . . .

“Aren’t they wonderful?” he heard Melanie say. “They make you think everything’s going
to be all right.”

“They’re having a great time,” Gary agreed. “Look, even Alicen’s laughing.”

Melanie shot him a glare, embarrassed. But Derek said, “Yeah, isn’t that something?”

He stood up, curling his toes in the sand. “I’d like to take a walk with her. How
long until lunch?”

“At least half an hour,” Gary said. “Although I’m not very hungry.”

Derek nodded, then went to his daughter. Gary, keeping his eyes on the therapist,
said, “He knows something.”

“Gary, please.”

To make her happy, Gary said nothing more. He kissed her lightly on the cheek and
went back to the barbecue.

Derek tapped Alicen on the shoulder. She turned and smiled at him.

“Want to go for a walk?” he asked.

“Sure!” Alicen cried. She took his hand. “Just me and you?”

“If the other kids don’t mind,” Derek said.

Gina shook her wet head. “Go on.”

“I’ll see you at lunch,” Alicen said.

When they were a few dozen yards away, Derek spoke to his daughter. “Alicen, do you
know anything about the VanBuren’s dog?”

“No,” Alicen said. “I told Mrs. VanBuren that at breakfast. Why?”

“He’s dead, Alicen,” Derek said softly.

He heard the choking sound of her breath stopping.

“What do you know about that?” Derek asked.

Alicen was wide-eyed. “Nothing!”

“Don’t start crying, please,” Derek said. “The other kids don’t know about it, and
we’re going to tell them he ran away.”

“I didn’t kill him,” Alicen said.

“I know.”

She looked up at him, surprised. “You do?”

“Yes,” Derek said. “Alicen, did you hear anyone talking about hurting Lad? I mean,
not one of the VanBurens—but someone no one else knows but you?”

Alicen gazed into his eyes for a long time, not speaking. They had stopped at a jetty,
the dividing line between the
VanBuren’s private beach and the public one. Alicen climbed up on the rocks and sat
down. She brought her knees up under her chin and gazed at a boat passing on the bay.

“Mommy told me to kill him,” she said finally, distantly.

Derek stiffened. “Mommy told you?”

“She told me to put this funny-smelling stuff in his dish,” Alicen said. There was
no trace of remorse in her voice. She was simply reporting an order obeyed. “She said
she wouldn’t come see me any more if I didn’t do it.” Alicen looked up at her father,
all innocence. “Mommy went away once. I don’t want her to go away again.”

Derek nodded slowly. He understood now why he had heard Alicen talking in her sleep
so many times in the past weeks. She hadn’t been dreaming at all; she, too, was under
the spell of the woman who controlled him. Innocent little Alicen, who sought in her
dead mother the love she lacked from her father.

A pang of guilt made Derek’s throat tighten. Would it have been so hard to be kind
to the child? It might be too late, but—

Suddenly he turned and pulled Alicen very close to him. Alicen returned the embrace,
resting her head against her father’s warm chest.

“Isn’t it wonderful, daddy?” she asked. “Mommy’s back, and we can be a real family
again.”