in the attic. The same type of small, round window as in Mrs. T.'s closet was also in the attic, only there were a half-dozen and they did little to light the room. The attic was as hot and stuffy as the closet, but the windows were too high up for me to open.
I spotted a single, naked light bulb dangling from the ceiling and pulled the long chain. The room was flooded with light, and I could see how jammed packed with crap it was. There was broken and outdated furniture, empty appliance boxes, an old mattress, rusted-out window fans, stacks of metal folding chairs, card tables, and boxes of books and old magazines. Lining the walls were shelves with dusty ceramic figurines, chipped flower vases, and dented wicker baskets. One corner of the attic was crammed with trunks and pieces of luggage. I spied a large brightly colored duffel bag sitting on top of an old trunk and went over to investigate.
The duffel bag was purple, pink, and yellow plaid. The name M. Lake was written on the bag's thick, wide, yellow strap in black magic marker. This was Morgan Lake's bag. The bag was so heavy I could barely lift it and so full when I pulled back the zipper; stuff came spilling out all over the attic floor. There were several pairs of jeans, a dozen tops, a couple of skirts, a dress, pajamas, socks, and lots of underwear. There were also four pairs of shoes, a full make-up bag, music CDs, and a frosted pink flip phone with the name Morgan spelled out in tiny hot pink crystals. I turned on the phone but it was dead. I sat down heavily on a nearby trunk wondering why in the world Morgan Lake would leave all of this stuff behind if she'd truly left the Tarpley Estate like they all claimed. I didn't have time to wonder for long.
"What are you doing up here?" Devon was standing in the main doorway of the attic. I hadn't even heard her open the door, let alone noticed the rush of cooler air coming from the hallway.
She was still dressed in her bikini but with an oversized T-shirt as a cover up. When she saw Morgan's things lying all over the floor, she rushed over and started stuffing them back into the duffel bag.
"This isn't your stuff! You have no business being up here!"
"I was just looking around. What's the big deal? What are you all trying to hide?" I jumped up from the trunk.
"Hide? What are you talking about?" Devon stood to face me. She was looking at me like I was crazy. It ticked me off so bad I was no longer scared of what they might be up to. I wanted answers and I wanted them now.
"Cut it out! I know you all are hiding something from me."
Devon laughed nastily. "Are you crazy? What would we be hiding?"
"For starters, if Morgan Lake left then why did she leave so much stuff behind?"
"Probably because she didn't want this crap anymore. Duh! She lost weight and the clothes didn't fit and she bought new ones. She got the butt ugly pink flip phone for her birthday from Mrs. T. and she hated it. And she dyed her hair before she left, which made her make-up all the wrong colors. Got any other questions, Einstein?"
I didn't say anything. I felt silly for letting my imagination get the best of me again, and could feel my face flush with embarrassment. Devon noticed and laughed hysterically.
"Did you seriously think we killed her, cut her up into little pieces, and fed her to the cat? You are so pathetic!"
"Then what about all those locked doors on the third floor? What's in those rooms?" I refused to give up.
"Only all of Dr. Tarpley's important research papers, as well as a collection of valuable artifacts from his digs, which Mrs. T. loans out to museums." She sounded totally bored and flipped a piece of hair over her shoulder.
"Well, what about the labyrinth?" I countered angrily.
"What about it?" she snapped, putting her hands on her hips.
"I overheard Mrs. T. telling you all to keep me out of the labyrinth. And you all have been breaking your necks to keep me busy and out of the labyrinth all week long. You all
I spotted a single, naked light bulb dangling from the ceiling and pulled the long chain. The room was flooded with light, and I could see how jammed packed with crap it was. There was broken and outdated furniture, empty appliance boxes, an old mattress, rusted-out window fans, stacks of metal folding chairs, card tables, and boxes of books and old magazines. Lining the walls were shelves with dusty ceramic figurines, chipped flower vases, and dented wicker baskets. One corner of the attic was crammed with trunks and pieces of luggage. I spied a large brightly colored duffel bag sitting on top of an old trunk and went over to investigate.
The duffel bag was purple, pink, and yellow plaid. The name M. Lake was written on the bag's thick, wide, yellow strap in black magic marker. This was Morgan Lake's bag. The bag was so heavy I could barely lift it and so full when I pulled back the zipper; stuff came spilling out all over the attic floor. There were several pairs of jeans, a dozen tops, a couple of skirts, a dress, pajamas, socks, and lots of underwear. There were also four pairs of shoes, a full make-up bag, music CDs, and a frosted pink flip phone with the name Morgan spelled out in tiny hot pink crystals. I turned on the phone but it was dead. I sat down heavily on a nearby trunk wondering why in the world Morgan Lake would leave all of this stuff behind if she'd truly left the Tarpley Estate like they all claimed. I didn't have time to wonder for long.
"What are you doing up here?" Devon was standing in the main doorway of the attic. I hadn't even heard her open the door, let alone noticed the rush of cooler air coming from the hallway.
She was still dressed in her bikini but with an oversized T-shirt as a cover up. When she saw Morgan's things lying all over the floor, she rushed over and started stuffing them back into the duffel bag.
"This isn't your stuff! You have no business being up here!"
"I was just looking around. What's the big deal? What are you all trying to hide?" I jumped up from the trunk.
"Hide? What are you talking about?" Devon stood to face me. She was looking at me like I was crazy. It ticked me off so bad I was no longer scared of what they might be up to. I wanted answers and I wanted them now.
"Cut it out! I know you all are hiding something from me."
Devon laughed nastily. "Are you crazy? What would we be hiding?"
"For starters, if Morgan Lake left then why did she leave so much stuff behind?"
"Probably because she didn't want this crap anymore. Duh! She lost weight and the clothes didn't fit and she bought new ones. She got the butt ugly pink flip phone for her birthday from Mrs. T. and she hated it. And she dyed her hair before she left, which made her make-up all the wrong colors. Got any other questions, Einstein?"
I didn't say anything. I felt silly for letting my imagination get the best of me again, and could feel my face flush with embarrassment. Devon noticed and laughed hysterically.
"Did you seriously think we killed her, cut her up into little pieces, and fed her to the cat? You are so pathetic!"
"Then what about all those locked doors on the third floor? What's in those rooms?" I refused to give up.
"Only all of Dr. Tarpley's important research papers, as well as a collection of valuable artifacts from his digs, which Mrs. T. loans out to museums." She sounded totally bored and flipped a piece of hair over her shoulder.
"Well, what about the labyrinth?" I countered angrily.
"What about it?" she snapped, putting her hands on her hips.
"I overheard Mrs. T. telling you all to keep me out of the labyrinth. And you all have been breaking your necks to keep me busy and out of the labyrinth all week long. You all
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