Say Cheese and Die! (Classic Goosebumps #8) by R.L. Stine

Author:R.L. Stine [Stine, R.L.]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780545405836
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2011-07-31T16:00:00+00:00

18

Greg sat in the shade with his back against the tree trunk, the camera on the ground at his side, and watched the blue-uniformed policemen.

They covered the backyard and could be seen bending low as they searched around in the woods. He could hear their voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Their faces were intent, bewildered.

More policemen arrived, grim-faced, businesslike.

And then, even more blue-uniformed policemen.

Mrs. Walker had called her husband home from a golf game. They sat huddled together on canvas chairs in a corner of the patio. They whispered to each other, their eyes darting across the yard. Holding hands, they looked pale and worried.

Everyone else had left.

On the patio, the table was still set. The birthday candles had burned all the way down, the blue-and-red wax melting in hard puddles on the pink-and-white icing, the cake untouched.

“No sign of her,” a red-cheeked policeman with a white-blond mustache was telling the Walkers. He pulled off his cap and scratched his head, revealing short blond hair.

“Did someone … take her away?” Mr. Walker asked, still holding his wife’s hand.

“No sign of a struggle,” the policeman said. “No sign of anything, really.”

Mrs. Walker sighed loudly and lowered her head. “I just don’t understand it.”

There was a long, painful silence.

“We’ll keep looking,” the policeman said. “I’m sure we’ll find … something.”

He turned and headed toward the woods.

“Oh. Hi.” He stopped in front of Greg, staring down at him as if seeing him for the first time. “You still here, son? All the other guests have gone home.” He pushed his hair back and replaced his cap.

“Yeah, I know,” Greg replied solemnly, lifting the camera into his lap. “I’m Officer Riddick,” he said. “Yeah, I know,” Greg repeated softly. “How come you didn’t go home after we talked with you, like the others?” Officer Riddick asked.

“I’m just upset, I guess,” Greg told him. “I mean, Shari’s a good friend, you know?” He cleared his throat, which felt dry and tight. “Besides, I live right over there.” He gestured with his head to his house next door.

“Well, you might as well go home, son,” Officer Riddick said, turning his eyes to the woods with a frown. “This search could take a long time. We haven’t found a thing back there yet.”

“I know,” Greg replied, rubbing his hand against the back of the camera.

And I know that this camera is the reason Shari is missing, he thought, feeling miserable and frightened.

“One minute she was there. The next minute she was gone,” the policeman said, studying Greg’s face as if looking for answers there.

“Yeah,” Greg replied. “It’s so weird.”

It’s weirder than anyone knows, Greg thought.

The camera made her invisible. The camera did it.

First, she vanished from the snapshot.

Then she vanished in real life.

The camera did it to her. I don’t know how. But it did.

“Do you have something more to tell me?” Officer Riddick asked, hands resting on his hips, his right hand just above the worn brown holster that carried his pistol.

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.