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would be shut down for the parade and most opted to close up early that evening, leaving the windows dark. Little alcoves, indentions in the buildings for doors, and dark alleyways made for a barrage of terrifying possibilities and her imagination wreaked havoc on her. Noises bounced around the street and in some places were intensified by the features of the buildings.
    She couldn’t tell anymore if the footsteps were two paces or two blocks behind. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears when she finally spied the neon chopsticks blinking ahead not more than half a block away. A sigh of relief turned into a half-scream of terror when a hand pushed her hard into one of the doorways of a nearby store. She turned to face her pursuer, finding herself gasping again for air when a rather scary looking old man turned out to be the culprit.
    He smelled of cigarettes and his teeth were stained yellow from them. What hair he had was silver gray and wisps of it were strewn across his shiny, oddly-shaped head in a poor attempt to make it seem he had more hair than he really had. He was tall and bony, rather like a walking corpse in a designer suit of some indistinguishable color. He seemed to be catching his breath hoarsely when he exclaimed, “Ms. McKaye, I’ve been hoping to run into you.”
    “Who are you? You scared me,” she said finally catching her breath.
    “I did? So sorry. I’m Harold Morton,” he said, not sounding all that sorry to Ella.
    “Do I know you?”
    “No, but I knew your grandmother.”
    “Oh. I hope you didn’t stalk her on dark streets too,” she said sharply.
    “No, not to my knowledge. I just happened to see you and I hoped I might speak with you a moment.”
    “Um, well, I’m supposed to be picking up dinner so I really only have a moment,” she said before she could really think.
    “I’ll make it short then. I was hoping I might persuade you to sell Grey Manor and its surrounding property to me. After all, the house and its structures are in ill repair and attempts at repairing it will be quite costly. I’m willing to offer you its fair market value plus some. I don’t think you will get a better offer than that from anyone else for such a dilapidated old house. You could take that money and buy yourself a lovely home nearer to town or build yourself a dream house. What do you think; shall I draw up the papers and bring them to you to sign?”
    “Mr…Morton, was it? You’re the man who’s been trying to buy the house from my grandmother for years, aren’t you?”
    “Uhhh, yes. I am. Your grandmother was a most unreasonable woman. She just let the property sit there unused, unoccupied for years and years. She just refused to see any sense. I almost had her husband persuaded, then he up and died on me, but I’m sure you are a much smarter woman than your grandmother ever was.”
    “My grandmother was the smartest woman I ever knew and I wouldn’t sell you something she refused to sell you if I hadn’t a penny in the world,” Ella said angrily.
    “You are making a huge mistake, Ms. McKaye. I can make life in this small town very uncomfortable for you. I’m a powerful man around here and I have plenty of money to get what I want.”
    “That may be, Mr. Morton, but you won’t be buying my family’s property if I have anything to say about it,” she retorted.
    “Mark my words, Ms. McKaye, you will regret this decision. You can count on it.”
    “Is that a threat, Mr. Morton?”
    The old man glared at her with such hatred that Ella’s skin crawled. He turned and stomped off into the darkness mumbling something Ella couldn’t hear.
    When the man was out of sight, Ella took a deep cleansing breath and continued onto Chopsticks, picked up her order, and then headed home.
     
     
     

Chapter 8
     
    Ella yawned and stretched as she made her way down the hall heading for the stairs. She pulled a scrunchy from her robe pocket and pulled her long blonde hair into a makeshift bun