Free The Beast of Blackslope by Tracy Barrett Page A

corridor, and for a moment she lost him. When she caught up with him she saw that he was standing in front of a framed poster. It was a painting of a man with long flowing hair, a mustache, flared pants, and a loose flowered shirt. He was playing a guitar. The colors were all bright—hot pink, turquoise, yellow-green.
    â€œSo?” Xena couldn’t see the point.
    â€œLook!” Xander gestured to the loopy lettering along the bottom. Philip and the Philistines , it read.
    â€œWhat’s a Philistine?” Xena asked, but before Xander could answer she said, “Oh, you think this is his uncle? Oh, come on, Xander—it’s not really an unusual name. It could be any Philip.”

    Xander was shaking his head. “Nuh-uh. There were two men looking at it before, and one said something like, ‘The way they acted when Philip ran away to become a rock star, it’s surprising they have this poster of him,’ and the other said, ‘That was the parents. The present Lord Chimington always loved his brother. I’m sure he was very proud of him when he made that album.’ Then I asked them if this was Ian’s uncle and they said yes.”
    Xena stood still a moment. “Ian must have been trying to throw us off the trail! That means he knows something. If we see him again, let’s not tell him we know he lied, okay?”
    â€œGood idea,” Xander agreed. “Let him think he fooled us until we figure out exactly what he’s trying to hide.”
    â€œReady to go?” It was their father. He and Mrs. Holmes had come up behind them while they were talking. “We’ve been looking for you two everywhere!”
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    On the way back it started pouring, and there was no way they could ask to stop in the woods again. The rain cleared up just as they passed the WELCOME TO BLACKSLOPE sign. “Perfect timing,” Xena grumbled under her breath. Then she
got an idea. “How about if we go back into town and see if people are talking about the Beast?” she said to Xander. “We need to find out where it’s been sighted so we can try to gather more evidence about what it is. That little clump of fur and the howl don’t get us very far. Maybe somebody’s seen something that could tell us where it hides out when it’s not breaking things.”
    â€œSounds like a plan,” said Xander. “Could you please drop us in town?” he asked their parents.
    â€œI don’t know,” their father said. “What about that Beast?”
    â€œQuit teasing, Dad.” Xena glanced at her brother. “And anyway, we’ll be back before dark.”
    Their dad pulled over to the side of the road, and Xena and Xander climbed out.
    The stores were small and each seemed to specialize in only one thing. One sold knitting supplies, the next sold cookware, and the one past it sold children’s clothing. They stepped into every shop and Xena sidled up to anyone she saw engaged in conversation, but she didn’t hear anything connected to the Beast.
    â€œWaste of time,” Xander grumbled, but Xena said, “Let’s try that one.” She pointed at a store that looked a bit larger. Xander shrugged and followed her in. It turned out to be a general
store that had a little bit of everything—pots and pans and notebooks and clothing and camping gear and garden supplies.
    â€œHullo,” came a voice from behind them. Xena and Xander turned and saw Emma, the blond girl who had been carrying the mysterious black case. Now she was paying for a pack of batteries. “Been touring the area?”
    â€œWe went to Blackslope Manor today,” Xander told her. “And to the woods near it yesterday.”
    Emma frowned as she collected her change. “You really ought to try the other end of town. It’s a lot more interesting.”
    â€œWhy?” Xena asked, but the girl just waved at them and hurried out the