The Skeleton Haunts a House by Leigh Perry Read Free Book Online

However, I know where she hides a spare key. So I divested myself and put the costume into the backseat, but here’s the embarrassing part.” He looked properly embarrassed. “I was in such a hurry to make it back to the conveniences that I must have forgotten to lock the car door behind me. By the time I returned, the costume was gone.” He turned to me. “Don’t worry, dear. Nothing else was taken.”
    â€œDid you call 911?” Louis asked.
    â€œNo, though I probably should have. I rather thought that the theft must be on the order of a prank—there were a lot of students drinking. I hoped that if I wandered through the crowd, I’d locate the costume and retrieve it myself.”
    â€œIt would have been wiser to call for help,” Louis pointed out.
    â€œIndubitably, but I hated the idea of a prank getting astudent into serious trouble. At any rate, I never spotted it, and had decided to go find Georgia when I heard rumors of an incident at McHades Hall. Then I saw the police presence here, and thought I’d make my report of the missing costume in person, arriving just in time to hear you ask Georgia about it.” He beamed at his good luck. “Now you say somebody took my suit into McHades Hall? Does that mean you caught the thief?”
    â€œI’m afraid not. We found the costume abandoned, and have been trying to find who was wearing it.”
    â€œWhy would anybody take off a costume in the middle of a haunted house?” Phil asked innocently.
    â€œThat’s what we’d like to know.”
    There were a few more questions, during which Phil elaborated on his tissue of lies. Had I not known he was making it all up as he went, I’d have been taken in completely. My father was a law-abiding guy for the most part, but he was also a child of the sixties. So while he didn’t mistrust the police as a general rule, neither did he feel they needed to know every little detail in every circumstance.
    The only thing I thought Phil had overlooked was the ticket the imaginary thief had used to get into McHades Hall without having to wait in line, but when Louis asked, he said he’d left it on top of the costume because he didn’t need it in the bathroom. Louis seemed convinced, though obviously annoyed that Phil hadn’t immediately called the police. Eventually he decided that Phil and I could go, though Deborah and Madison had to stay with the rest of the McHades crew. I didn’t like leaving my daughter, but I thought it would be good to get Phil out of there before he added any more quirks to his story.
    I did insist on hugging Madison good-bye, and she whispered, “What about Sid?”
    â€œSweetie, he was smart enough to dump the costume—he’s smart enough to stay still while cops are around. There’s nothing we can do other than keep our fingers crossed that nobody realizes he’s a real skeleton. We’ll get him back as soon as we can.” I wasn’t happy about the situation, and figured that Sid wouldn’t be, either, but I didn’t have any other options.

5
    T he crowd at the Howl had dwindled to nearly nothing, with the midway shut down and the parking lot mostly empty. Still, I waited until we were safely in my car before saying, “Phil, what are you and Mom doing back in town? Not that I’m not delighted to see you, of course, but we weren’t expecting you until after the first of the year.”
    â€œI know, we should have warned you, but it was a sudden change in plans. Your mother and I had intended to return to Edinburgh and to possibly spend more time in Cardiff as well, but one of Dab’s doctoral students called with an emergency. They tried to work out the problem by e-mail and phone, but Dab realized that nothing short of a personal appearance would rectify the situation. She offered to return alone, but I was ready to come home. As lovely as the trip was, I’ve