Shadow Girl by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page A

bulb hanging from the ceiling flashed on.
    Blinking against the bright yellow light, I glanced around.
    The room was not much bigger than a closet. It was completely bare, no furniture at all. The ratty brown carpet had a long tear in it. The gray paint on the walls was peeling.
    A window on the wall across from us was covered by a wide black shade. A single wooden shelf was built into the wall next to the window. It appeared to have something resting on it.
    Stan pulled off his ski cap and shoved it into hiscoat pocket. His brown hair was matted to his forehead.
    “Why would Jada come in here ?” he asked. “It’s just an empty closet.”
    I shrugged. “Beats me. I’m totally confused. I thought we’d find something really interesting.”
    I stepped past Stan and crossed to the shelf on the wall. I saw a dark pile of cloth folded neatly on the shelf.
    No. Not cloth.
    I pulled part of it down and unfolded it. A long blue-black cloak.
    I held it out in front of me. “Check this out, Stan. It’s like a cape with a hood.”
    “Weird,” he said, studying it. He pulled the rest of the stuff off the shelf. “Look.” He held up a pair of black tights. Long, silky black gloves. An oval-shaped blue pendant on a chain. And then a mask. A black mask with two cat-eye holes cut into the front.
    “Must be some kind of Halloween costume,” he said.
    I took the mask from him and rolled it around in my hands. “Why would anyone leave a Halloween costume back here in a hidden room?” I asked.
    I slid the mask under the hood of the cloak. And then another idea struck me. “It looks like some kind of superhero costume,” I said. “ The Masked Cape Person! ”
    Stan still had the black tights in his hand. “Yeah.Well, I guess that’s what superheroes wear, right? Tights and a cape?”
    I raised the cloak in front of me. “Do you think this is Jada’s? Think she wears this stuff?”
    Stan shook his head. His face was knotted in confusion.
    I laughed. “Maybe Jada has a secret life that no one knows about. Maybe she sneaks in here at night and puts on this costume, and pretends to be the Masked Cape Person!”
    Stan shook his head. “This is just too weird,” he said again.
    And then his expression changed. His eyes went wide. He suddenly turned pale. “Selena—” he whispered, staring at the mask in my hand.
    “What? What’s wrong?” I asked.
    “What if—what if that’s a burglar costume?”
    I let out a gasp. “Excuse me?”
    “It looks like something a burglar might wear,” Stan said. “And didn’t they say on the news—”
    “That the person who has been robbing houses in Elmwood wore a mask and a cape?” I cut in.
    Stan nodded excitedly.
    “But that’s totally insane!” I cried. “Jada a burglar? That’s too stupid, Stan. She’s a twelve-year-old girl, like me. She doesn’t put on a costume and sneak out in the middle of the night to rob houses.”
    I moved to the window and tugged on the shade until it slid up. Gray light washed into the room. Thewindow had been left open a crack.
    I peered outside. A high tree branch rested right outside. It would be easy for someone to climb out this window onto the tree branch—and then climb down to the ground.
    What was I thinking?
    “You are so not right,” I told Stan. “No way my cousin is a burglar!”
    Stan nodded. “Yeah. It’s a stupid idea. Don’t ever tell Jada I said it.”
    He started to fold up the tights. “I don’t think we solved the mystery, Selena.”
    “We made the mystery even more mysterious,” I said. I tugged down the shade. Then I started to fold the cloak.
    “Hey—is anybody home?” a voice called.
    Stan and I both gasped.
    Jada’s voice. From downstairs.
    We were caught!

20
    Stan and I both dove for the door. We reached it at the same time and bumped each other hard.
    I heard Jada’s footsteps on the stairs.
    “Hurry—go!” I gave Stan a push. Then I stumbled out of the little room behind him.
    “Selena—are