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Authors: Francene Carroll
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inside.
“ Yes, quite a few times. There’s no answer on his mobile or the house phone.”
“That is a bit strange. Anyway I won’t be long.” He disappeared up the stairs and emerged a short time later wearing jeans and a t-shirt. The three of them were about to step out the door when, to Ursula’s intense annoyance, the phone rang and he was side tracked again. It was another twenty minutes before they finally got away.
The last rays of daylight were fading fast, and there were few stars in the sky as she followed them in her car. It got dark very quickly, and then the mist that seemed to be a permanent feature around the house enveloped them. Ursula was glad she could still see the taillights of the Jeep ahead of her because it was in this exact spot she’d almost had a head on collision. The memory still made her shudder. She remembered Damien’s comment about rain and mist being part of the curse of Colton Manor and she couldn’t help wondering if it was all tied up with the rumours that Edward Stanton had sold his soul to the devil.
Chapter Five
The house was in total darkness as she pulled up in the drive and joined Bonnie and Tom on the porch. Even Tom looked a little nervous. Damien’s car was exactly where it had been that morning, and it seemed he had not left the house all day.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m very worried about what we’re going to find in here,” said Bonnie with a tremble in her voice. “I really hope Damien is okay.” Ursula remembered that Bonnie had refused to come inside the house just a couple of days earlier, and she knew it took a lot of courage for her to be here, especially in these circumstances. She fumbled for her key and then put it in the lock. The door opened with a loud creaking sound.
“He’ll be fine,” said Tom in a hearty voice that echoed around the entrance foyer as they stepped inside. “He’s probably just in his room and hasn’t bothered to turn the lights on yet. You know how he feels about wasting electricity.”
“That doesn’t explain why he didn’t answer the phone or return our calls. That’s not like him at all,” said Bonnie. Tom didn’t reply. The house was as silent as a museum and it felt eerie and unnatural. Ursula felt along the wall for the light to the foyer and stairs, but in the dark she knocked over a vase on the hall table. She let out a scream that blended with the sound of the vase shattering on the tiled floor. For a moment they all held their breath, waiting to see if Damien would appear to find out what was happening. Nothing stirred.
“Well, I guess the first place we should check is his room,” said Tom, breaking the heavy silence that had settled back over the house. “That’s the most logical place for him to be.” When they reached the first floor Ursula saw that she had left in such a hurry that morning she hadn’t closed her door. All the other doors in the long hallway were open, except Damien’s.
“Is this his room?” asked Tom, pointing at the closed door. Ursula nodded without saying a word, and then watched as Tom knocked on the door. “Damien, are you in there? It’s Tom. Ursula was a bit worried about you so she asked me and Bonnie to come and check up on you. Damien? Damien?” His voice echoed down the hallway but there was no answer and no noise inside the room. After waiting for a few seconds Tom tried the door handle, but it was locked. “It looks like we’ll have to go in there. Do you have the key, Ursula?”
The keys! Ursula had been so preoc cupied that morning she could not even remember what she’d done with them when she left the real estate agency. She looked through her bag, hoping she’d slipped them in there, but they weren’t there. She turned her bag upside down and dumped the entire contents on the floor, not
“ Yes, quite a few times. There’s no answer on his mobile or the house phone.”
“That is a bit strange. Anyway I won’t be long.” He disappeared up the stairs and emerged a short time later wearing jeans and a t-shirt. The three of them were about to step out the door when, to Ursula’s intense annoyance, the phone rang and he was side tracked again. It was another twenty minutes before they finally got away.
The last rays of daylight were fading fast, and there were few stars in the sky as she followed them in her car. It got dark very quickly, and then the mist that seemed to be a permanent feature around the house enveloped them. Ursula was glad she could still see the taillights of the Jeep ahead of her because it was in this exact spot she’d almost had a head on collision. The memory still made her shudder. She remembered Damien’s comment about rain and mist being part of the curse of Colton Manor and she couldn’t help wondering if it was all tied up with the rumours that Edward Stanton had sold his soul to the devil.
Chapter Five
The house was in total darkness as she pulled up in the drive and joined Bonnie and Tom on the porch. Even Tom looked a little nervous. Damien’s car was exactly where it had been that morning, and it seemed he had not left the house all day.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m very worried about what we’re going to find in here,” said Bonnie with a tremble in her voice. “I really hope Damien is okay.” Ursula remembered that Bonnie had refused to come inside the house just a couple of days earlier, and she knew it took a lot of courage for her to be here, especially in these circumstances. She fumbled for her key and then put it in the lock. The door opened with a loud creaking sound.
“He’ll be fine,” said Tom in a hearty voice that echoed around the entrance foyer as they stepped inside. “He’s probably just in his room and hasn’t bothered to turn the lights on yet. You know how he feels about wasting electricity.”
“That doesn’t explain why he didn’t answer the phone or return our calls. That’s not like him at all,” said Bonnie. Tom didn’t reply. The house was as silent as a museum and it felt eerie and unnatural. Ursula felt along the wall for the light to the foyer and stairs, but in the dark she knocked over a vase on the hall table. She let out a scream that blended with the sound of the vase shattering on the tiled floor. For a moment they all held their breath, waiting to see if Damien would appear to find out what was happening. Nothing stirred.
“Well, I guess the first place we should check is his room,” said Tom, breaking the heavy silence that had settled back over the house. “That’s the most logical place for him to be.” When they reached the first floor Ursula saw that she had left in such a hurry that morning she hadn’t closed her door. All the other doors in the long hallway were open, except Damien’s.
“Is this his room?” asked Tom, pointing at the closed door. Ursula nodded without saying a word, and then watched as Tom knocked on the door. “Damien, are you in there? It’s Tom. Ursula was a bit worried about you so she asked me and Bonnie to come and check up on you. Damien? Damien?” His voice echoed down the hallway but there was no answer and no noise inside the room. After waiting for a few seconds Tom tried the door handle, but it was locked. “It looks like we’ll have to go in there. Do you have the key, Ursula?”
The keys! Ursula had been so preoc cupied that morning she could not even remember what she’d done with them when she left the real estate agency. She looked through her bag, hoping she’d slipped them in there, but they weren’t there. She turned her bag upside down and dumped the entire contents on the floor, not
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