Read Online The Academy (Moving In Series Book 6) by Ron Ripley - Free Book Online Page A

downstairs. He’d been beaten severely. It almost didn’t look real. There was,” Mitchell’s voice caught for a moment and then he continued. “There was so much blood. His face was extremely swollen. The paramedics say he’s lost most of his teeth. They think he may have swallowed them, so they’ll have to check when they x-ray him.”
    Brian shook his head. “He didn’t swallow them.”
    “How do you know?” Mitchell asked.
    Brian opened the book and read to his cousin the section on Gregory Weston.
    “How is that even possible?” Mitchell asked in a low voice. He stared down at his desk. “How can a ghost attack a man? How can he steal teeth?”
    “Ghosts can do all sorts of tricks,” Brian said grimly. “Many of them aren’t nice at all.”
    “This Gregory Weston,” Mitchell said shortly. “He’s a bad man.”
    “Yeah,” Brian said. “That’s one way to put it.”
    “I,” Mitchell hesitated before he said, “I spoke with him.”
    Brian looked at his cousin and waited for the man to continue.
    Mitchell nodded. “It was only ten minutes or so before you came in here. He knocked at my door. Knocked, for heaven’s sake, Brian. He told me to stay out of the basement. He told me to tell everyone to stay out of the basement.”
    “Then that’s what we do,” Brian said. “Close it off. Don’t let anyone down there.”
    “Do you really think so?” Mitchell started.
    “I know it,” Brian said. “He’s laid his claim, and he’s shown us what he can do. There’s no reason to risk anyone else. Not yet.”
    “Alright,” Mitchell said, “if you think so.”
    “I do,” Brian said. “I was wondering, Mitchell, can I see the safe that the ambrotype was in?”
    “Of course,” Mitchell said. He looked around the desk and frowned.
    “What?”
    “The ambrotype, did you take it?” Mitchell asked as he opened his desk drawers.
    “No,” Brian said. “It’s gone?”
    “Disappeared,” Mitchell said. A note of anxiety entering his voice. “Brian, it’s gone.”
    Brian resisted the urge to curse. Weiss is bound to the photo.
    “Listen,” Brian said, “let’s not worry too much about it right now. What I need is to see the safe. Then we’ll worry about the ambrotype and what’s happened to it. Fair enough?”
    Mitchell nodded as he pulled open the last drawer. Angrily he closed it, stood up, and said briskly, “Come on, Brian. Let’s go see the damned safe.”
    Brian followed Mitchell out of the building, back across the quad, and over to Deer Stag House. Mitchell let them both in and soon they were down in the cellar. A large, industrial blower was running, drying the room out. Several work lights illuminated the farthest wall and the safe which had been hidden there.
    Mitchell gestured at it, and Brian walked closer.
    The safe was small, and lined with lead.
    Brian sighed.
    “What’s wrong?” Mitchell asked.
    “It’s lined with lead,” Brian said, turning away from it.
    “Is that important?” Mitchell said.
    Brian nodded. “About the only way you can contain a ghost, is to place whatever it's bound to in a lead container. Evidently, Nathaniel Weiss was bound to his photo. Someone who knew enough about ghosts made the effort to lock Weiss away, and then hide the safe.”
    “That’s good, though, right?” Mitchell asked. “All we have to do is get the photo back into the safe.”
    “Sure,” Brian agreed. “We just have the one problem of finding the damn photo.”
    “It can’t be that hard,” Mitchell said. “It must have been moved to someplace in my office.”
    “Maybe,” Brian said. “But you had a janitor break the display case, and then a student summon a ghost.”
    “So?” Mitchell said, confusion in his voice.
    “So,” Brian said, sighing, “Nathaniel may have gotten someone to remove the photo.”
    Mitchell’s face paled. “Are you serious?”
    Brian nodded.
    “Why?” Mitchell asked softly. “Why is this happening?”
    Brian walked to his