The Ghost of Thomas Packard by Dave Benneman

Author:Dave Benneman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dave Benneman

Chapter Twenty-Three

Flanked by his parents, Frank walked through the school corridor. He prayed no one would see him. His parents hadn’t taken him to school since the first grade, but his father had insisted they go as a family, so they could “get to the bottom of it.”

“Good Morning, Francis,” Mrs. Spencer said as Frank and his parents entered the office.

“Good Morning, Mrs. Spencer. These are my parents.” Frank nodded toward them. “This is Mrs. Spencer.”

“Yes, of course. I’ve met your mother many times.” Mrs. Spencer stood and came over to shake hands. “And you must be the famous Mr. Bordeaux. It’s very nice to meet you. Mr. Brady will be with you shortly.”

“Famous. I didn’t realize.” Frank’s father shook Mrs. Spencer’s hand and blushed slightly.

“Your work at the NADC is widely known in some circles,” Mrs. Spencer said.

“Not too widely known, I hope. It is mostly classified.”

“Oh dear, of course not! I only know what I read in American Scientific Journal about your work with advanced robotics.”

Frank watched the bizarre exchange in amazement. Mrs. Spencer seemed giddy, fawning all over his father like he was Elvis or somebody. Frank took a seat next to his mother while Mrs. Spencer and his father continued to talk.

The main door to the office swung open with a bang, and a harried-looking woman with a scarf tied around her head shoved a stroller into the room.

“Mrs. Spencer, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Yes, Mrs. Hashberger, please have a seat. Mr. Brady will be with you shortly.”

“Mrs. Spencer, could you keep an eye on Susan for me while I meet with Mr. Brady? She’ll be no trouble in her stroller.”

“I-I guess she’ll be all right,” Mrs. Spencer looked doubtfully at the little girl in the stroller.

“Thank you, You’re very kind. He’s in here, then?” Mrs. Hashberger reached for the doorknob.

“You can’t go in there!”

Billy’s mother had already gone through the door, though, and Frank saw Mr. Brady lurch to his feet, the telephone still pressed to his ear.

“I know, Mr. O’Riley, but could you hold for one moment, please? Can I help you?” Mr. Brady growled.

“You must be Mr. Brady, I’m Maude Hashberger, Billy’s mom. I’m pleased to meet you.”

“I’m sure. Can you wait outside until I’m finished here, please?” He strained to look around her. “Mrs. Spencer!”

“Right here, Mr. Brady.” Mrs. Spencer quickly came in and took Mrs. Hashberger by the elbow. “Please, Mrs. Hashberger, come with me. Mr. Brady will see you as soon as he can.”

Mrs. Hashberger pulled away from Mrs. Spencer. “No, I will not wait outside. You summoned me to appear at nine o’clock.” She pointed to the large clock on the wall. “As you can plainly see, the big hand is on the twelve, and the little hand is on the nine. Right now. Maybe you could put down the phone and explain to me why I’m here.”

Frank’s father’s jaw hung open. His mother sat there as if everything were completely normal while she cooed at the little girl in the stroller.

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.