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

asked, sounding surprised.
    Brian rolled his eyes. “Doctor and Jenny’s orders.”
    Mitchell nodded in understanding and the two of them stood up. Brian followed his cousin out into the hall and stopped.
    A teenage boy stood directly in front of the display case, so close he could have leaned into it if he had wanted to.
    Before Mitchell could say anything, the boy whispered a name.
     

Chapter 15: The Name
     
    Herman had woken up before his parents. He had eaten quickly, left a note on the dining table, and escaped before either of them came down for their morning coffee with Irish Cream.
    Once more, he had gone to the school, getting there a little after seven and slipping into the library. He must have fallen asleep because he dreamed of Mr. Weiss again. They were in the library, in Mrs. Alcott’s office, and they had talked about the book. At the end of their conversation, Mr. Weiss had suggested Herman go to the Admin building. The display, the old man, had said, had been particularly well done.
    When Herman woke up, shortly before ten in the morning, he remembered the dream, smiled, and thought, I should go see the display.
    As he packed up the book, a name echoed in his thoughts. Gregory Weston.
    Vaguely, Herman wondered if he had read about someone named Gregory Weston, but he couldn’t recall.
    He hummed happily to himself as he left the office, and then the library. He had no fear of being seen, because he knew, somehow, that no one would. Feeling pleased with life in general, and for apparently no reason at all, Herman had walked briskly to the Admin building. The main door was unlocked, and when he went in, he saw someone had broken the display case.
    All sorts of antiques and artifacts hung from wall mounts or were displayed on shelves. There was yellow caution tape set up to keep people away, but Herman ignored it.
    Gregory Weston .
    Yes, Herman thought, slipping under the slight barrier, Gregory Weston.
    When he stood close to the case, he looked around it, saw a framed letter and leaned closer. The letter was on yellowed paper. The script, neat and precise. In the upper right-hand corner was the date,
    12 April, 1918 .
    Herman didn’t bother to read the letter. His eyes went directly to the bottom of the page, to the signature.
    Gregory Weston , written in a large, bold hand.
    Herman smiled. He heard a door open, and someone said something to him, but he really didn’t know what. Or care.
    Herman leaned a little closer and whispered, “Gregory Weston.”
     

Chapter 16: In the Admin Building
     
    The temperature in the room plummeted as the boy spoke the name, “Gregory Weston.”
    “What?” Mitchell asked, looking around, confused.
    Brian couldn’t answer. He was watching the boy, and the display case. From a framed letter, a hand appeared, followed by a second. A head and then a torso. In a matter of moments, a male ghost stood in the room. Neither Mitchell nor the boy noticed, of course. But Brian did, and he couldn’t look away. The man was short and squat. His face looked like that of a professional boxer’s, his nose flattened and broken at some point. His jaw was square, his brown hair clipped short. The man’s right ear was a mass of twisted and mangled cartilage. The dark gray, pinstriped suit he wore reminded Brian of the gangster movies of the thirties and forties.
    But he’s the real deal, Brian thought.
    The ghost turned around, reached into the frame and when he withdrew his hand he had a gray fedora. The man, who Brian suspected was Gregory Weston, put the hat on, looked around and stuffed his hands into his suit coat pockets.
    Gregory turned his attention from the boy to Mitchell, and finally to Brian. The man’s eyes fixed on him for a moment, but Brian looked through Gregory, hoping the newly arrived specter would ignore him.
    Gregory did. With a shrug of his shoulders, he left the room, passing easily through a wall and vanishing from sight. The temperature in the room