Read Online Spell of the Screaming Jokers by R.L. Stine - Free Book Online

them everything—right now! The sooner we tell them, the sooner they can help Frankie!”
    â€œThat makes sense,” I said. “I’ll catch Mrs. Davidson before she hangs up.”
    I ran down the hall. As I neared the kitchen, I heard Mrs. Davidson’s voice through the door.
    â€œNo, Officer,” she was saying. “These kids wouldn’t lie! They wouldn’t say their friend had been kidnapped if he hadn’t been!”
    Mrs. Davidson sure was sticking up for us!
    I pushed open the kitchen door. Mrs. Davidson had her back to me.
    â€œWhy, Officer!” she exclaimed. “That’s a terrible thing to say. I assure you these kids are not making this up!”
    I opened my mouth to say something to Mrs. Davidson.
    Then I closed it.
    I stared at Mrs. Davidson.
    I tried to make sense of what I saw.
    But I couldn’t.
    â€œYes, Officer,” Mrs. Davidson said. “You have my word.”
    Mrs. Davidson was talking.
    But she wasn’t on the phone.
    The phone hung on the wall across the room from Mrs. Davidson.
    It was an old phone.
    Too old to be a speakerphone.
    â€œCan you come and talk to these kids, Officer?” Mrs. Davidson asked. “Yes, right this minute. The sooner you get here, the sooner you can get to work on this case.”
    But Mrs. Davidson wasn’t talking to the police.
    She wasn’t talking to anyone!

22

    I stood there, frozen.
    I stared at Mrs. Davidson’s back as she pretended to talk to the police.
    I stared at her beautiful apple-green blouse and her dark green slacks . . . and her green suede shoes . . . .
    And gasped.
    You play her game! She’ll make you pay!
    All red and black must bow to green . . . .
    For she alone is now our queen!
    I backed silently out of the kitchen. I let the door close without a sound.
    Then I turned and charged up to Max’s room. I shut the door behind me.
    â€œBrittany!” Louisa cried. “What’s wrong? You look pale.”
    â€œI—I went into the kitchen,” I croaked. “Mrs. Davidson didn’t see me. She was talking—telling the police to come. But, Louisa—she wasn’t on the phone! She was only pretending to make the call!”
    Now it was Louisa’s and Jeff’s turn to look scared.
    â€œMax?” I said. “Does this make sense to you?”
    â€œThat’s what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Max cried. “She’s crazy!”
    â€œYou mean you were talking about your mom?” I demanded.
    â€œShe’s not my mom,” Max whispered.

23

    â€œW hat?” Jeff, Louisa, and I all cried.
    â€œI’m not sick either,” Max went on. “I never had pneumonia. I’m her prisoner. She uses me to get players for her card games. She’s some kind of evil sorceress.”
    â€œDoes she have magical powers?” Louisa asked. Her voice trembled.
    Max nodded. “Her magic depends on the jokers. The more jokers she has, the stronger her powers are.”
    â€œI can’t believe this!” I cried. “Mrs. Davidson is so—so nice! She’s always smiling!” I put my hand to my head, trying to piece things together. “And Mrs. Marder! You’re telling us Mrs.Marder isn’t behind any of this. It’s Mrs. Davidson!”
    Max nodded sadly.
    Then I had a horrible thought. I gazed from Louisa to Jeff to Max. “Oh, no! Frankie! He must be part of her army of jokers now!”
    â€œYes, he is,” Max said. “It’s horrible. She tricks kids like you into playing cards. Then she makes sure one of you draws a joker. Once you draw a joker, the attacks begin. For every attack, the jokers mark you with a card suit. When you have all four suits, you turn into a joker too.”
    I started shaking badly. I sat down on Max’s bed.
    â€œAre the jokers all under her power?” I asked.
    Max nodded. “They’re completely