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

spiked, and the teenager blinked.
    “What just happened?” Mitchell asked nervously. “Why did it get so cold?”
    “A ghost,” Brian said, and he walked to the boy.
    “Hey,” Brian said gently.
    The teenager turned to face him with a dazed expression. After a second or two, the boy smiled and said, “Hi.”
    “How are you?” Brian asked.
    “Um,” he scratched his head. “I don’t know.”
    “Fair enough,” Brian said, and then he introduced himself and offered his hand.
    “Herman,” the boy said, shaking it. He yawned, glanced over at Mitchell and stiffened. “Mr. Roy.”
    Mitchell nodded. “You’re a freshman, aren’t you, Herman?”
    “Yes, sir,” Herman answered.
    “Why are you here?” Mitchell asked. “There’s no school today. Don’t you know that?”
    Wordlessly, the teenager nodded.
    “Herman,” Brian said, “do you know what happened?”
    “No,” Herman replied.
    “You said something,” Brian continued. “You don’t remember?”
    Herman shook his head.
    Brian looked over to Mitchell, who shrugged.
    “Go home, Herman,” Mitchell said finally. “You’ll receive an automated call when it’s time to return to school.”
    “Yes, sir,” Herman said softly. Without another word, he hurried out of the building.
    “Brian,” Mitchell said, “you saw a ghost?”
    “Yeah,” Brian answered. He stepped closer to the broken display and looked at the picture frame Gregory Weston had materialized from. It contained a framed letter from World War One. Without asking, Brian took it down. “He came out of this.”
    He brought it over to Mitchell and handed it to him.
    Mitchell frowned. “This is from an Academy graduate who fought for the French. He volunteered. And how, on God’s green earth, Brian, could a ghost come out of a letter?”
    “Too much to explain right now, Mitchell,” Brian said, looking at the wall Gregory had passed through. “What I need to do is find out more about him, and about Nathaniel Weiss.”
    “Go to the Weiss Library,” Mitchell said, taking out a key ring. He sorted through them for a moment, then when he had found a particular key, he held it out to Brian. “Here.”
    “Thanks,” Brian said.
    “Oh,” Mitchell added quickly, “there’s also a security code to type in when you enter the building. It’s one-zero, zero-six, two-zero.”
    Brian repeated the number, and Mitchell nodded.
    “There’s a display of books about the Academy,” Mitchell said. “Check there.”
    “I will,” Brian said. Without another word, he left for the library.
     

Chapter 17: In the Basement
     
    Larry had his door locked, and he had moved his office around. He could now sit at his desk and look at whoever, or whatever entered the room.
    Candy had called from Bruce’s hospital room. The younger man was okay, but he was being kept overnight for observation. And so Larry was alone in the office.
    Nothing’s gone right since we found that damned picture, Larry thought morosely. He looked at his computer, considered turning it back on, and then changed his mind. He didn’t want to do anything.
    Ah Christ, I have to go to the damned meeting, he realized bitterly.
    He didn’t want to. There was a sense of safety and security in the basement. A feeling that nothing could happen to him in the room.
    The fluorescent light over the door flickered several times and went out. As soon as it did, the next light did the same. Larry’s heart beat irregularly as bulbs continued to darken until the only one still illuminating the room was above his head.
    It, too, went out. Larry’s own breathing was loud in his ears.
    “Your door was locked,” a voice said from the darkness directly in front of Larry’s desk.
    It was a man’s voice, hard and brutal. A harsh note of violence to it.
    “I don’t like locked doors,” the man continued. “Who are you?”
    With a shaky voice, Larry said his name.
    “Larry, huh?” the man said. “I’m Gregory. I don’t want you