Tia Lugo Speaks No Evil by Danette Vigilante

Author:Danette Vigilante
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUVENILE FICTION / Diversity & Multicultural / Horror / Legends, Myths, Fables / Caribbean & Latin American
Publisher: North Star Editions
Published: 2021-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Mr. Butler’s address was two doors down from Jonathan’s

apartment building. It wasn’t long after I rang Mr. Butler’s bell that he buzzed me inside.

The hallway lighting was dim and the air humid. The light fixture hummed and was obviously broken. Both things reminded me of the botanica and of Celia and the bath I’d take as soon as I got home.

As I made my way toward 1C, Mr. Butler’s apartment, somewhere nearby a lighter flicked. Just as I passed 1B, I slipped on a wrinkle in the carpet and almost fell.

“Careful,” a gruff voice said.

I froze mid-step, my body suddenly rigid with fear. Looking around frantically, I noticed a man standing near the top step of the staircase. Only his legs were visible, and his black pants and sneakers told me nothing of who he was, or what he might’ve looked like.

“Or you’ll get hurt,” he continued.

I ignored my shaky legs and slowly began to move closer to Mr. Butler’s door. Instead of an ordinary apartment door, I saw safety.

The man sighed noisily, then said, “And nobody wants that.”

I made it to Mr. Butler’s door and knocked a little too hard, which caused Potato to go nuts. She may have been small, but she sounded fierce.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Mr. Butler to open the door.

Mr. Butler held Potato in his arms. “Okay, sweet girl,” he said. “Calm down, it’s only Tia.”

Potato promptly slathered Mr. Butler’s face in wet dog kisses. Her pink tongue resembled a slice of baloney.

“That’s right. I know we don’t get much company,” Mr. Butler said as he put Potato down. “But we do have to give Tia a chance to come inside.”

At first, the idea to walk Potato had seemed perfectly safe, but as I stood outside the door of a stranger, I suddenly felt nervous. Mr. Butler appeared completely harmless and kind, yet I thought about what Julius said while we were in the botanica. Freaks stay undercover.

I looked over my shoulder and half expected the man from the staircase right behind me. Mom told me to not go inside Mr. Butler’s, but she didn’t know about the threatening stranger on the stairs.

Mr. Butler must’ve sensed my apprehension. “Are you all right?” he said.

I considered him for a few seconds and searched for signs of an evil fiend, but I saw only concern and kindness on his face. I looked beyond him and into his neat and tidy apartment, and I saw nothing worrisome. It even smelled like fresh brownies, which made my stomach toss and turn like I was starved.

Torn, I teetered at the threshold until the man on the staircase coughed like he wanted to remind me he was there. I stepped through the doorway. I obeyed my parents’ rule the best I could and left the door partly open just in case something went wrong.

Mr. Butler handed me a poop bag for cleanup, which was something I hadn’t thought about, and Potato’s leash. When I reached for it, Potato yelped and did a little circle dance, which made it nearly impossible for me to get it fastened.

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