The Abandoned by Douglas Clegg

Author:Douglas Clegg [Clegg, Douglas]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: thriller, Suspense, Horror, ghost, occult, Hudson Valley, chiller, Douglas Clegg, Harrow Haunting Series, supernatural, paranormal activity, terror, Harrow, (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)
ISBN: 9780984975662
Publisher: Alkemara Press
Published: 2012-06-13T06:00:00+00:00

4

Norma Houseman went to the door as soon as the doorbell chimed. Opening it, she looked out onto the porch.

“Veronica?” she asked.

“Ronnie couldn’t make it,” Lizzie Bond said.

“Oh. You two look so much alike.”

“Twinsies,” Lizzie said, smiling. “She had an accident.”

“Did she?” Norma said. “Well, this is unusual.”

“I’m as good a sitter as she is,” Lizzie said, glancing around to see behind Norma. “Where are the little rascals?”

“What kind of accident did she have?” Norma asked.

“Just an accident. Nothing bad,” Lizzie said.

“What do you have behind your back?”

“Nothing.”

“Elizabeth,” Norma said as formally and snappishly as she could. “What are you hiding?”

“It’s a secret.”

“Something’s wrong with you,” Norma said suddenly, as if she had just sensed something by the unusual look in Lizzie’s eyes. She tasted something bitter in the air. “Something’s not right.”

“Everything’s fine,” Lizzie said, rocking her head back and forth so that her ears nearly touched her shoulders. The effect was somewhat comical, but Norma began to wonder if Lizzie Pond wasn’t disturbed in some way. Her hair was over her eyes too much, her skirt looked like it had rips in it, and her knees were smudged with dirt.

“Well, I appreciate your coming by to tell me,” Norma said, nudging the door shut.

Lizzie’s stepped up so that the door could not be completely closed. “I’m here to substitute.”

“I’m sorry?”

“For Ronnie. I’ll take her place. I can babysit.”

“I think I’ll just cancel my plans,” Norma said.

“Oh please, Mrs. Houseman; Don’t do anything drastic like that. I love your kids. You know I’m as responsible as Ronnie is. And she’s hurt.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I love being around kids. We can play games like Tag and Hide and Go Seek. I can even help them with their homework,” Lizzie said.

“No, I meant you said she’s hurt. Did she fall?”

“Oh, no. She just had a little mishap. It’s nothing serious. Really. It was at the bookstore. You know that awful placewhere those two ... well, you know those two who run it... anything can happen in that place, and I bet it usually does.”

“Look, dear,” Norma said, and an icy feeling moved along her spine. She didn’t like the way the Pond girl kept looking around her as if she were ... hunting.

That’s what Norma thought. It was as if the girl was hunting for the children.

“Look, I didn’t want to tell you this,” Lizzie said, looking up at her with the face of absolute sweetness. “But Ronnie sometimes drinks a little. Not enough where most people would notice it. But I do. And I think it’s terrible. Just terrible. Our father was an alcoholic. You knew that, didn’t you? An awful man. He used to do terrible things to Ronnie and me when we were just toddlers. I don’t like the smell of liquor because of him. But Ronnie, well, she’s a little too much like him.”

Norma opened the door a bit. Now, the one thing about Norma Houseman was that she loved bad news about other people. And she loved the inner secrets of those around her.

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