Read Online No Ghouls Allowed by Victoria Laurie - Free Book Online Page A

Whitefeather,”
     he said, introducing himself while making it
really
clear whom I was currently attached to.
    Normally, I would’ve rolled my eyes at such manly theatrics, but the truth was, I
     was relieved Heath was acting as a buffer between me and that big embrace. I’d been
     through enough for one afternoon, and I wasn’t in the mood to be squished too.
    Plus, I still harbored a bit of a grudge against Robby.
    For his part, my old prom date stopped short and at first seemed puzzled by the fact
     that Heath had stepped in front of me, and then he seemed to get it. Shrugging slightly,
     he grasped Heath’s hand and squeezed hard enough for Heath to grimace. And then Heath’s
     already pronounced biceps bulged, and I knew he was squeezing back for all he was
     worth.
    I sighed and pointed to Robby’s truck. “Is your parking brake on?”
    Immediately Robby let go of Heath and whirled around, taking three steps toward his
     truck. “Wha . . . ?”
    I smiled and put my hand on Heath’s back. The ruse had worked, and judging by the
     white handprint on Heath’s already injured palm, not a moment too soon. “Oh, sorry,”
     I said. “Thought it was rolling forward.”
    Even though the truck clearly wasn’t moving, Robby headed there anyway and we heard
     him set the parking brake. Then he came back to us. “This is my fourth trip out here,”
     he said, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Looking nervously down the
     road toward the manor, which loomed large and formidable in the distance, he added,
     “Ever since they started working on this place, I been gettin’ at least a call a week.”
    “You have?” Gilley asked, expressing the surprise I think we all felt.
    “Yep. And every time it’s something really weird. First call was for Sean Cadet’s
     crew. M.J., you remember Sean?”
    “Vaguely,” I said. The Cadets had had six boys come up through our schools, but none
     of them had been in my grade. Sean, the oldest of the six, had been a senior when
     I was a freshman. “I remember his brothers Steve and Cal better.”
    Robby nodded. “Steve works construction for him now, and Cal went off to Florida to
     open up a fish shop. Anyway, Sean called me one afternoon and said he’d just gotten
     the job to fix up this old place. He was real excited, you know? He’s always been
     talkin’ about how much he wanted to see inside of that house, but the Porters, well,
     they was a weird bunch. Never invitin’ nobody over who wasn’t filthy, stinkin’ rich,
     like they couldn’t stomach the rest of us common folk or somethin’. And all along
     they was burnin’ through their money until there wasn’t much left for themselves.”
    I mentally sighed. Robby was taking a long time to get to the point, so I thought
     I’d help him. “You say something happened to Sean when he came to work here?”
    Robby blinked like he’d just remembered what he’d been trying to tell us. “Oh, yeah.
     So, anyhow, Sean calls me and says that he needs me to tow three of his trucks. I
     say, ‘
Three
of your trucks, Sean? What’cha all been doin’ out there?’ and he was like, ‘Weren’t
     us! There’s somethin’ spooky goin’ on with this here house!’ and I was like, ‘How’s
     that?’ and he was like, ‘Boy, you’d best come here and see for yourself!’ So I came
     and shoooeee! Three out of four of Sean’s trucks had bricks all over their hoods and
     smashed clean through their windshields!”
    I glanced sideways at Gilley, who’d made a small squeaky noise. He was staring bug-eyed
     and pale at Robby. “That’s what happened to our van! Well, except that it wasn’t bricks,
     but some pots from the balcony.”
    Robby nodded again, like he just knew we’d had trouble like that. “Good thing y’all
     didn’t get hurt. Sean lost three members of his crew before he finally called it quits.”
    I gulped. “They . . .
died
?”
    “Oh, sorry, no. I mean, three of his boys,