Silent Lee: And the Adventure of the Side Door Key by Alex Hiam

Author:Alex Hiam [Hiam, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635580129
Publisher: Webster Press, LLC
Published: 2019-04-30T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

Forced to Retreat

They came down the wide steps in front of the gallery and paused on the wet sidewalk. The rain had stopped as quickly as it started, and it was becoming a pleasant summer evening. Many of the businesses were open and bustling with activity. The sidewalk was busy and so was the road, but the three long, black SUVs parked a little way up the street caught their attention at once. And then Sie noticed that there were men, at least two, maybe three, lurking back in the shadows at the entry to 234—the building where they thought Aunt Gen might be.

“We can’t go there. Not now,” she said. “We can’t even walk past it. They’ll see us for sure. Come on.” She tugged Raahi out into a crowd of shoppers and, keeping in the middle of them, headed the other way down Newbury. At the Gloucester Street light, with a long block between them and the SUVs, she thought it would be safe to cross the street. The next block was where Aunt Gen’s brick house stood, its bow windows dark and empty. Sie hurried them up to it, then paused on the sidewalk. “Darn!” she said, fingering the key.

“Aren’t we going into your aunt’s house?” Raahi asked.

“I wanted to go in by the side door, but we didn’t go out that way.”

“What’s the difference?” Raahi asked.

“Notice any side doors?”

“Oh!” The building was hemmed in on one side by a similar brick house. On the other, a narrow alley ran beside it. The alley was fenced off and paved, and the wall of the house was covered with ivy and had neither door nor windows in it.

“When I go out the side door, that alley is part of our garden and there isn’t that big building shadowing it. Things are different.”

“We can always go in the front door,” Raahi pointed out. “Are you looking for something?”

“I’m looking for a place to stay,” Sie said. “And more clues. I want to look through Auntie’s desk and see if there are any other names I can try. Maybe one of her friends will be more helpful than Mr. Vose was. Also, assuming we can get in, I could use my side door key to go back again. I was thinking about going to my old school in the morning to ask my teachers for help. And I can’t go back to the cousins’ house, can I?”

“I could ask my mother if—”

“No, I’ll be fine. She must be expecting you for dinner. I’ll walk you home.”

Raahi looked insulted. “I’m the one who’s looking after you,” he insisted. “I assure you I can find my way around Back Bay.”

Sie smiled. “Thanks for helping me today,” she said. “I really appreciate it. And I know you’re better than me at getting around, at least in this world. But they saw you. In fact, they took your picture. I’m sorry I put you at risk, Raahi, but we have to face facts. It may not be safe for you to walk around here anymore.

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