Read Online The Demon Notebook by Erika McGann - Free Book Online

dozens of cats in here,” whispered Adie. Then she tapped Jenny lightly on the elbow. “Hey, did you look into that kitten’s eyes?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œAnd?” Adie pushed.
    â€œAnd what?”
    â€œDid you see something in its eyes?”
    â€œYeah,” breathed Jenny.
    Adie froze. Jenny smiled.
    â€œConjunctivitis.”
    Adie scowled and followed the others into the ramshackle kitchen at the end of the hall. The smell was even stronger in there. Cat beds and litter boxes lined the edges of the room. On the kitchen table, a wire cage housed a very sorry-looking animal. It hissed angrily at them, baring its yellowed teeth and arching its back, making its balding, patchy fur look even more unsightly.
    â€œThat cat looks a little mangy,” Rachel said to the old woman. “What’s wrong with it?”
    â€œMange.”
    â€œOh. Well, shouldn’t you let it out to get some exercise or something, so it can get better?”
    â€œI can’t let it out, you fruit loop,” the woman snapped. “It’ll infect the others. Have to keep it isolated while it’s being medicated.”
    â€œHow come you have so many cats?” asked Grace.
    â€œSome are mine. Some are fostered. They go to new homes when they’re socialized and healthy. Any more questions about general animal welfare, or are you going to get to the point?”
    Given the woman’s testy mood, it didn’t seem like a good idea to launch into the witch question, so the girls asked a series of awkward and uninteresting questions about the history of their school and the surrounding area.
    â€œAttended Saint John’s myself,” Mrs. Quinlan said, a little more relaxed now as she sat, gently stroking the orange kitten in her lap.
    â€œIt was built back then?” Jenny asked.
    â€œYes, it was built back then ,” the woman snapped. “I’m not that old, you know.”
    Looking at her this closely, Grace could see that Old Cat Lady was, in fact, not nearly as old as they presumed her to be. She could have been in her early fifties, or even late forties, though her sallow and weather-beaten face made her look that much older. It didn’t help that she dressed like she’d just stepped out of a trash can.
    â€œIt was a different place then, of course.” Mrs. Quinlan gazed at the ceiling. “None of these new technology things, PC computers and all the rest. We learned the good old-fashioned way—with blackboards and chalk.”
    â€œWe have interactive whiteboards now,” said Rachel.
    â€œAnd the teachers didn’t take any lip,” the woman continued, ignoring the interruption. “The kids weren’t rude like they are nowadays. If you caused any trouble, you were given a good beating. And you didn’t cause trouble again.”
    She pursed her lips and gave them all a look.
    â€œWhat happens nowadays, hmm?” she went on. “The parents are called, and the teachers and the students all talk about their feelings , and why the brat misbehaved. It’s all that psycholosophy garbage now. Don’t know how to raise kids anymore, that’s the problem! Bring back the ruler, that’s what I say.”
    She fell silent, still staring into the distance as if she could see the old schoolrooms right in front of her. Grace let this heartwarming sentence settle before going on with her questions.
    â€œAnd what sort of hobbies did you have?”
    â€œHobbies? The usual, I suppose. Sports, though I wasn’t much for that. I liked reading a lot.”
    â€œReally?” said Grace. “What sort of books? Mysteries, thrillers, horrors…the occult?”
    â€œThe what?” the woman snapped, narrowing her eyes at Grace.
    â€œOh, I was just wondering what sort of books you liked reading.”
    â€œI got that much, Einstein.”
    â€œRight, well…um…nowadays everyone our age is big into the