long as the police officer didnât hear it, I didnât care. It wasnât like I could really hurt Sid anyway.
Once the officer was back at his post, Deborah said good-bye, adding, âTell Mom and Dad that if they donât have plans for dinner, Iâll come over and weâll order pizza.â
âSounds great,â I said, hoping I didnât sound as phony to the cop as I did to myself. As Madison and I went out, I kept waiting for the long arm of the law to reach for me, but we made it safely to the car.
I just hoped none of the police had taken pictures of the room where Sid had been hiding, or at some point they might wonder why there was one fewer skeleton than before.
8
M adison and I barely got in the front door when Sid started yelping, âPut me down, I want out!â
âStop rocking,â I said as I gladly put down the heavy duffel in the front hallway.
The bag unzipped from inside, and in a process that always entertains me, the bones reassembled themselves and Sid stood up. With a joyful rattle, he bounded into the living room where my parents were on the couch going through mail that had arrived in their absence.
âDr. T! Dr. Mrs. T!â Sid said, jumping between them so he could hug one with each arm. âYou two are a sight for sore eye sockets!â Iâd told him on the way home that my parents had returned.
âThank you, Sid,â Mom said. âYouâre looking well yourself.â
âI think Iâve lost weight since I saw you last. Does it show?â
âItâs very becoming.â
âTell us about the trip. I want to hear everything! Which place was your favorite? Did you like the food? Did you make it to Shakespeareâs house? Did you see the Rosetta Stone? What about 221B Baker Streetâyou did go there, didnât you? And Scotland! Tell me about Scotland!â
âSid, they canât tell you anything if you donât stop asking questions,â I pointed out.
âSorry, sorry. Was the White Tower awesome?â
Mom and Phil laughed and started telling stories ranging from spotting a rainbow in Stratford-upon-Avon that seemed to end at Shakespeareâs grave to viewing the Crown Jewels but somehow finding the reproductions at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum more impressive to the near-religious experiences of visiting the British Library and Trinity College Library in Dublin.
I was as interested as Sid was, and even Madison stopped texting now and then to listen in, but I grew more and more distracted as time went on. As fascinating as the wonders of the Jane Austen tour were, my mind couldnât help but wander back to the murder at McHades Hall. So as subtly as I could, I pulled out my cell phone to start checking the Web.
The police hadnât given out much info to the press other than the fact of the victimâs death and the usual âinvestigations are proceedingâ line, but a murder in a haunted house was lurid enough to spawn a lot of interest. Add in the facts that Kendall Fitzroy had been young and pretty, and seemed to have no shadows on her background, and it was an irresistible story. There were grief-stricken quotes from her family, boyfriend, and friends, including the trio of high school buddies whoâd been with her the night of her death.
Apparently they had a tradition of attending the Howl together, and even though three of them were attending college out of town, theyâd all come home for the festivities. An enterprising reporter had found a photo from a previousHalloween of the four of them dressed as Disney villainesses. I couldnât decide if it was poignant or morbid.
Another reporter had researched deaths occurring in haunted houses, which turned out not to be unheard of, but all the others were suicides or accidents. I couldnât imagine why anybody would have gone to the trouble of committing murder in such a public location. Sure, it was dark and