Hangman's Curse by Frank Peretti

Author:Frank Peretti
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2010-09-10T04:00:00+00:00

7

a my and

crystal

Julia Baynes, Leonard Baynes’ mother, was hardly presentable when Nate, Sarah, and Tom Gessner knocked on her door. She hadn’t had a shower, she reeked of cigarette smoke, and years of alcohol had noticeably dampened her wits. The fact that she had no husband did not help matters any, and now, to top it all off, her son was in critical condition in the hospital.

“Hello, Mrs. Baynes,” said Gessner. “You remember Nate Springfield?”

She stared at Nate blankly.

“From the hospital?” Gessner prompted.

It registered. “Oh! Yeah! Hi.”

“This is his wife, Sarah.”

“Hi.” She shook Sarah’s hand, then looked at Gessner. “So, what’s up?”

Gessner spoke gently. “We made an appointment, remember? To see Leonard’s room?”

“Yeah, right. Come in.” She stood aside, hardly looking at them.

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Baynes,” said Sarah. “We’ll try not to be long.”

Nate had Mr. Maxwell at his side. “Do you mind if our dog comes in to help us search?”

She shrugged, lighting another cigarette. “I like dogs. Take all the time you need.”

“Could you show us Leonard’s room?” Nate asked.

She drew a breath through the cigarette and the smoke came out her mouth as she said, “This way.”

They passed through the small, messy living room, stepping through old magazines and junk mail that littered the worn carpet, and down a narrow hall. Leonard’s room was at the end.

“Sorry for the mess,” Mrs. Baynes said.

“It’s quite all right,” said Sarah, surveying the cramped, cluttered bedroom. “Are any of Leonard’s—” When she turned, Mrs. Baynes was walking away from them, up the hall. “Uh, Mrs. Baynes?”

Mrs. Baynes hesitated as if someone may have called her name. “Huh?”

“Are any of Leonard’s things—you know, coats, hats, things he takes to school—would they be anywhere else in the house besides here in his room?”

She said, “I dunno,” and shuffled around the corner into the kitchen.

“I’ll see what I can find out,” said Gessner, going up the hall to speak with Mrs. Baynes.

Nate and Sarah exchanged a knowing look, then slipped on some surgical gloves and turned to the task at hand.

“Okay, Max,” Nate said.

Max started sniffing around the room, going along the floor, poking his nose under the bed, sniffing the dresser.

The room was a mess, with clothes scattered everywhere. It would take a while to sort through it all—as if they had “a while.” As far as they were concerned, Shawna Miller was next. But her parents were very proud of her perfect attendance record and didn’t want it jeopardized. With Shawna’s careless attitude, there wasn’t much they could do to keep “it” from happening to her.

As for Crystal Sparks, she was absent from school today and couldn’t be found at home either, so they couldn’t question her further. The search through her locker told them she was into black, slithery clothing, dark makeup, and weird art, but that was all they learned about her—except for a certain scent Max found. Again, he didn’t alert as if he’d found drugs, but he was keenly interested in whatever it was.

They found

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