Halversham by RS Anthony

Author:RS Anthony [Anthony, RS]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2016-06-10T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

The robins were singing when Andy headed to Mr. Milton’s the following day. He had an early breakfast, spent some time with Mort, and left home at half past ten to make sure he wasn’t late. When he reached his usual spot, he called out to Brutus, and the dog climbed out of the big rock, yawning and stretching. Andy crouched on the ground and offered him treats.

“Good boy,” he said, patting the dog’s head. “I’ll come back in the evening and you can have dinner, okay?” Andy climbed the stairs to Mr. Milton’s and let himself in through the back door as instructed. He glanced around the kitchen. The clock on the wall showed 11:15 and the dishes were exactly the way they were yesterday, piled high except for a few additional bowls and plates on the counter. The stove was covered in grime, and the walls were marked with splashes of gravy and other indistinguishable condiments.

Andy walked along the hallway, casting a passing glance at the dining room, and headed for the main hall. The house was dark and quiet except for the hum of the refrigerator and creaking floorboards. Since he was alone on the ground floor, Andy checked the house out one more time at his own pace. He crept slowly to avoid upsetting Mr. Milton with the creaks and squeaks of the old house.

Once in the main hall, Andy stepped closer to the wine racks and read the labels without touching them. He leaned forward and saw a few good red wines he had heard his father rave about. A second later, he chuckled. What did he know about wine? But if the good ones were here, what was in the basement?

The stairs creaked and a pair of legs shuffled down the stairs. Andy’s heart pounded in his chest and he scanned the hall for something plausible to do. It would be too late to run back to the kitchen, so he walked to the table in the middle of the room and gathered the dirty wine glasses.

“So, you’re here,” Mr. Milton boomed, holding an empty jar. Even his hands were covered with large, darkened lumps.

“Yes.”

The man looked as chilling as he did yesterday, and Andy’s knees wobbled as he stood face-to-face with him. What if the creature turned and attacked him? Nobody would even know until it was too late.

“Good. Get back to work. I just came down for some water,” he said, bumbling along the hallway, and Andy’s heart calmed down. He arranged the empty glasses on one side of the table and stacked up the coasters. There were eight glasses, requiring two trips to the kitchen. Mr. Milton was refilling his jar when Andy walked to the kitchen sink. He left the glasses on the counter without a word and went back to get the rest. When he returned, Mr. Milton was done. Andy nodded and the old man left with a grunt.

When he was alone again, he washed the entire dirty pile that had accumulated in and around the sink.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.