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“He’s keeping his promise, Chase. He told you to enjoy your vacation, and that he wouldn’t trouble you with work, and that’s exactly what he’s doing. As promised.”

“Still. It would be nice to be kept in the loop.”

“Enjoy being out of the loop for a change.” But she understood where he was coming from. She hated to be out of the loop, too, and wondered why her boss, Dan Goory, hadn’t told her about the missing Elon Pope.

But then she decided to put the whole thing out of her mind. She was home, she was with Chase, and other people were probably out there, scouring the countryside for the missing kid. So she dug in, and ate with relish.

Chapter 4

Nicky and Jay were kicking the ball around in the backyard when suddenly Jay gave it a mighty kick and it flew over the hedge and sailed straight into the neighbor’s yard.

“Oh, darn it!” Nicky yelled. “Now look what you did!”

Both boys stared at the forbidding hedge, which was high and impossible to scale. Nicky’s mom and dad had planted it when they bought the house, long before Nicky was born, so they wouldn’t have to see the neighboring house, which was an eyesore.

“We have to go and get it, Nicky,” said Jay. “That was our last ball.”

“Yeah, I know, I know,” said Nicky without much enthusiasm.

Then an idea occurred to him. His dog Marcia had recently dug a hole underneath the fence, and had managed to sneak through. Mom and Dad had caught the reprobate, though, and had plugged the hole. But wasn’t it possible they’d done a sloppy job?

“Come on,” he said. “I think I know how to get our ball back.”

They ran to the end of the backyard, then behind the rose bushes, and Nicky crouched down next to the hole Marcia had dug. He was right. Dad had done a lousy job. All he’d done was put a piece of cardboard in front of the hole, and call it a day.

Both boys shared a look, then Nicky said, with a resolute frown,“Let’s do this, Jay. Let’s get our ball back.”

Jay didn’t look convinced. “It’s just an old house, right?”

Nicky gulped.“Yeah, just an old house.”

Neither dared to mention that the old house was haunted, and that no one had been in there for many, many years. Or that a weird smell drifted from the house when the wind sat in that direction. A smell of rot and decay and… death.

They carefully removed the piece of cardboard, and found themselves staring into the next-door yard. It was a real jungle out there, just as Nicky had expected. The house had been empty for at least the last twenty years, and the grass probably hadn’t been cut for a decade. At first the real estate agency had hired a gardener to keep the progress of nature in check, hoping to sell the house, but when no buyers had showed an interest they’d given up, and allowed nature to run its course, which it had—with a vengeance.

“Let’s go,” said Nicky, and pushed his way through the hedge. Weeds and grass reached to his chest, and the backyard was full of brambles and nettles, but he had a pretty good idea where the ball had dropped, and made his way over with some effort.

“Where is that darn thing?” asked Jay as he stared at a buzzing bee as big as a marble.

“I can see it!” Nicky called out, but when he looked back, he saw that Jay was staring at something. He retraced his steps and joined his buddy. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

In response, Jay raised his hand and pointed at something in the middle distance. Nicky, turning to look, gulped when he saw what his friend was pointing at. It was the meanest-looking dog he’d ever seen, its fur mottled, its fangs dripping with saliva, its eyes glowing red. And it was making a low growling sound at the back of its throat.

“He’s going to attack, isn’t he?” said Jay in a quivering tone.

“No, he’s not,” said Nicky, though he had a pretty good idea that Jay was right.

Then, suddenly, the dog pushed itself off and lunged for them!

“Run, Jay, run!” Nicky screamed, and took off like a hare.

Both boys raced to the hedge, but even before they could reach it, suddenly a large bearded man blocked their retreat, and before they could stop they’d run straight into him. The man grabbed first Nicky, then Jay, and pressed some piece of cloth against their mouths. Moments later, Nicky suddenly felt mighty weak, and then he passed out.

The last thing he thought was that now they’d never get their ball back…

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Uncle Alec was not having a good day. First word had reached him that the lottery kid had gone missing overnight, and then frantic parents of some other, younger, kid, had told him that their son had gone missing, too, possibly along with his little buddy.

Great. He’d hoped the week would be quiet, with Chase out of the office, and Odelia, too, but of course it hadn’t turned out that way. So he’d dragged his tired ass from his chair, had put on his belt and had walked out of his office.

“I’m going to follow up on that missing kid business, Dolores,” he said as he walked past the police station’s trusty front desk officer.