The Hole in the Hallway by R S Merritt

Author:R S Merritt [Merritt, R S]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25: A Surprise Visitor

Mr. Haplan was nowhere to be seen when Seth got off the bus the next day. Dragging his feet on the walk home he waited for his elderly friend to pop out of the brambles or appear from one of the walking trails. When he hadn’t shown up by the time that they made it home Seth began to get worried.

Standing outside with Charlie until Debbie and Naomi had disappeared into the lighthouse Seth decided to take a quick walk down to see Mr. Haplan and make sure everything was ok. In addition to being worried something may have happened to Mr. Haplan he was also eager to find out if Mr. Haplan had gotten any information out of his contacts that he could share. Once his parents got home, he’d have to wait a whole day for another chance to find out anything.

After assuring Charlie that he’d bring him back cookies, Seth took off for the path leading down to Hap’s Manor. Fueled by an urgency he couldn’t quite put his finger on Seth sprinted down the well-maintained path to the picturesque cottage. Completely out of breath he skidded to a stop on the front porch. Raising his fist, he struck the door to knock on it. The door swung inwards at an angle.

The deadbolt had been smashed through the doorframe leaving the interior door handle dangling out of its mounted position. The hinges were all messed up. The door tilted downwards as it opened until the corner hit the floor. Seth stepped into the house and pushed the door a little further open to keep it from closing on him. Fearful of what he was going to find he nevertheless stepped into Hap’s Manor ready to help. The thought of running away never entered his mind.

He'd only gone a few steps into the cottage when he heard a car pulling in on the gravel driveway. There was a road connecting the cottage to the main road that wrapped around the island. It was on the other side of the cottage from the path to the lighthouse. Seth nervously looked around the living room. In the kitchen he saw a smashed telephone lying in a puddle of liquor from an overturned scotch bottle. The smell of alcohol permeated the room.

There were muddy tracks converging on the kitchen counter from every direction. Looking around now Seth saw more examples of forced entry all over the place. Windows were broken, doors were leaning crazily out of their frames, and furniture had been tossed out of the way as if it weighed nothing. Seth took a few more steps into the house and saw a pair of legs sticking out from behind the counter. He had no doubt in a few more steps he’d see Mr. Haplan sprawled out on the ground.

“Are you Seth?” A man’s voice asked from the doorway behind him.

Seth had completely forgotten about the car that’d pulled into the driveway. Heart hammering in his chest like a rabbit hiding from a low flying eagle he spun around to see who was addressing him.

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