Free The Bloodwater Mysteries: Skullduggery by Mary Pete/Logue Hautman

to have Brian Bain clinging to her backpack. Much as she liked him, the kid could be a real pain in the butt. All that stuff about her being in love with Eric Bloodwater . . . ridiculous!
    Let Brian listen to Dr. Dart’s senseless babbling. Roni would go straight to the heart of the matter. She pulled over to the curb and looked up at the mansion known as Bloodwater House.
    Bloodwater House was the biggest home in Bloodwater, and one of the oldest. It had been built in the 1890s by James J. Bloodwater, the son of Zebulon J. Bloodwater, who had founded the town back in 1867. Built entirely of native limestone, Bloodwater House had four enormous pillars on either side of the front door. There were more than thirty rooms inside. The house was completely surrounded by a ten-foot-tall wrought iron fence. Each vertical bar was topped by a large iron spear point.
    Roni shuddered. Bloodwater House held some very scary memories for her. It was there that she and Brian had solved the mystery of the Alicia Camden kidnapping. Alicia and her parents were gone now, but the sight of the house still sent a chill up her spine. Everyone who had ever lived there had come to a bad end, and now, for the first time in half a century, the home was once again occupied by Bloodwaters.
    Roni walked up to the front gate and rang the bell. A few seconds later the front door opened and two identical blackhaired heads looked out at her, blinking blue eyes. The two boys stared at her for several heartbeats, then pushed the heavy door all the way open and ran down the walk to the gate.
    â€œWho are you?” they asked with one voice.
    Roni smiled down at the two boys, obviously twins. “My name’s Roni,” she said. “Is Eric home?”
    â€œEric is our brother,” said one of the twins. They looked to be about seven years old.
    â€œI thought so,” said Roni. “What are your names?”
    â€œSamOwen,” said the twins. She couldn’t tell which boy had said which name.
    â€œOkay, SamOwen, is your brother home?”
    One of the twins unlatched the gate, and both of them tore back down the walk to the house and disappeared inside, leaving the door open. Roni walked up to the house and looked in through the door. The twins had disappeared.
    She stepped into the cavernous marble foyer. The house smelled like moist stone and old dust. “Hello?” she said.
    â€œBet you can’t find us!” A voice echoed down the hall.
    Kids, Roni thought. Brian would fit right in here.
    She crossed the foyer and entered a long hallway. Most of the doors lining the hall were open.
    â€œHello?” she called out. Her voice sounded small. She moved deeper into the house, peeking into each doorway as she passed. Most of the rooms were empty—not even a stick of furniture. She supposed that it would cost a fortune to furnish a house of this size.
    She raised her voice. “Eric!”
    She heard laughter that seemed to come from inside the walls.
    Roni continued through the house and eventually reached a large room with windows from floor to ceiling. Several dozen potted plants were clustered near the windows, which overlooked the five-sided swimming pool in the backyard. Roni had once fallen into that pool. She shivered, remembering the cold water closing over her head. But now the pool was dry, its sides green with dry algae.
    â€œHey.”
    Roni whirled, startled by the voice. It was Eric.
    â€œHow’d you get in?” Eric asked. He was dressed in baggy shorts and a red tank top. His hair was tousled and off-center, as if he’d just awakened from a nap.
    â€œYour brothers let me in,” Roni said.
    â€œThey’re not supposed to do that,” Eric said.
    â€œOh. Sorry. I didn’t know. Are you babysitting?”
    â€œNot really. My mom’s upstairs taking a nap. What are you doing here?”
    â€œI . . . um . . .” Roni realized that she hadn’t quite thought out