Read Online Ghost House Revenge by Clare McNally - Free Book Online Page A

cereal bowl, trying to make herself believe it had been
     a dream. But it had seemed so real!
    Across the table, Derek was also thinking about it. He recalled the series of nightmares
     Alicen had had after hermother died. Was that happening again? Or was his daughter overly impressed by tall
     tales of a young boy? Funny, Melanie had seemed a little unnerved about it all, more
     than she should have been if it was only a dream. He looked over the rim of his coffee
     cup at her. She was reading an art magazine, nibbling on a piece of toast. Derek recalled
     the strange way she had behaved the night before. He wondered if she had been hiding
     a secret—something to do with the murders Alicen had spoken of. But that was just
     ridiculous, Derek thought. Melanie had flatly denied it, and the VanBurens were hardly
     the types to be involved in murders. No, it was just a dream. That was all there was
     to it.
    “Mom, you have to sign a permission slip for me,” Gina said then, interrupting his
     thoughts. She pulled a piece of blue paper from between the pages of a book.
    “What’s it for?” Melanie asked.
    “The eighth grade is going on a trip to Vanderbilt Planetarium,” Gina explained.
    “Are you going?” Derek asked Alicen.
    Alicen nodded and produced her own slip of paper. Derek and Melanie read and signed
     them. Gina smiled at Melanie. Alicen did not smile at her father.
    “We’ll have to do something special for your graduation,” Gary said. “Maybe we could
     have a family reunion.”
    “What a good idea!” Melanie said. “Our family hasn’t really seen this house yet.”
    “You never had a housewarming?” Derek asked.
    “Well, we were kind of—
busy
the first months,” Melanie faltered.
    Alicen stirred her cereal. Without raising her head, she looked up at Melanie. What
     were they busy with? Murders?
    “What’s the matter?” Gina asked her.
    “Nothing,” Alicen said, shoving a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.
    Later Gary and Derek left for a session of therapy and Gina and Kyle went out to the
     bus stop but Alicen dawdled, fingering the counter and finding excuses to delay. She
     bent down to tie a shoe that was already tied. Then she leaned heavily on the counter,
     finding a place for her elbow amid all the dishes and propping her chin on her hand.
     She looked up at Melanie.
    “Do you think I could have another bedroom?”
    “Why?” Melanie asked. “Because of last night?”
    Alicen nodded. “I saw a face—I know I did! It had blond hair, and it was
ugly
. I don’t want to stay in that room.”
    Melanie put her hand against Alicen’s cheek.
    “Honey, it’s just a dream,” she insisted. “This house is as safe as can be.”
    “Jamie Hutchinson said—”
    “Jamie Hutchinson is a big fibber,” Melanie said. “And if I get hold of him I’ll—well,
     never mind. Just realize that boys often make up stories to impress the girls they
     like.”
    “They do?”
    “They do,” Melanie said. “Hey, here comes the bus! You’d better hurry and catch up
     with the others.”
    Alicen started to run out the door, but before she did she turned and kissed Melanie
     on the cheek. Melanie watched her race down the hill, thinking her weight made her
     look much younger than thirteen. She wasn’t happy to hear about that boy teasing her.
     Wasn’t it obvious that Alicen had enough problems? A mother who was dead, a father
     who had no patience with her?
    Melanie went to the sink and tried to concentrate on the breakfast dishes. Somehow,
     alone in the kitchen with Alicen’s “dream” on her mind, she was taken back to the
     night when Gary had been hurt. She saw a tall, dark-haired intruder fighting with
     her husband. She heard Gary’s scream, then glass shattering.
    Somehow, she could believe that Alicen had really seen a face. What had she said?
     That it was blond-haired and ugly? Now Melanie closed her eyes and saw a face herself.
     It was of a young, pretty blond woman. She