Babysitting Nightmares_The Shadow Hand Read online

  “No, I’m sure it was because of the storm. It came on pretty fast and loud.” She moved down the hallway to the guest room and did a quick search. No critters.

  There was a long pause on the line. “What storm?” Mrs. Dunmore asked.

  Rebecca moved back to Kyle’s room to check one last time. “There was a really big storm not too long ago. Tons of thunder and lightning and just pouring rain. It even blew open one of the windows.” Rebecca poked uneasily at the mark on the windowsill. “I’m surprised you didn’t hear it from the restaurant.”

  “That’s what I’m so confused about,” Mrs. Dunmore replied. “It was so nice out that Scott and I ate outside on the restaurant’s patio. There hasn’t been a cloud in the sky here all night.”

  CHAPTER

  3

  “I STILL CAN’T believe that none of you heard that storm last weekend,” Rebecca said, closing her gym locker. “It was intense!” She smoothed her French braid and poked a few stray golden-brown strands back into place.

  “Oh yeah, a storm so intense that no one else saw it. Woooo, spooky moss!” Maggie joked. She bent over her rhinestone-covered backpack, searching for the zipper.

  Rebecca narrowed her brown eyes, irritated with Maggie’s teasing. “Look, I’m telling you, if you had been there, you would have lost it. That print looked exactly like a little hand with skinny, long fingers. Any minute I could have found myself face-to-face with some freaked-out raccoon or who-knows-what! Besides, don’t you think it’s even a little strange that a locked window was open all of a sudden?”

  “Did you at least get to use the water bottle lanterns?” Tanya asked, hoping to stave off an argument between her two headstrong friends.

  “No, the power came back on before I had a chance to.” Rebecca pulled her phone out of her pocket and tapped on the calendar. “Clio, are you sure you’re okay with babysitting Kyle next Saturday afternoon while I’m at my baking class?”

  Clio tightened the elastic around one of her Afro puffs and slipped her deep bronze feet into a pair of studded leather sandals. “Definitely,” she said, shrugging her vintage jean jacket over her striped sailor shirt and coral print skirt. “I’ve heard so much about this li’l cuddlebug; I’m dying to meet him!”

  “But aren’t you scared, too? I mean, what if there’s another storm?” Maggie asked sarcastically. Rebecca’s face darkened, and she opened her mouth for a sharp retort.

  “What’s the baking class this time?” Tanya asked quickly. She reached under the long wooden bench to pick up a stray silver sneaker.

  “Fondant,” Rebecca answered. “It’s this icing that’s like a sheet you lay over the cake for decoration. It tastes kind of gross, but it looks so amazing that it’s worth it.”

  “Nothing is worth a gross-tasting cake, Becks. I mean … it’s cake. Why mess with perfection?” Maggie looked across the bench to see Tanya waving the shoe she’d found. “That’s mine!” she chirped.

  “Of course it’s yours.” Tanya turned it over and showed Maggie what was written on the sole: Maggie Anderson Lost This. “Wow, your mom’s really getting creative with the labeling.”

  “I think she’s running out of ideas. I lost my math binder last week and didn’t realize it was missing until yesterday,” Maggie said.

  “Oh, Maggie, not again,” Rebecca said. “I color-code all my stuff by class, and it makes it really easy to stay organized. Do you want me to help you do the same thing?”

  “Nope!” Maggie slammed her gym locker with a flourish and turned to Tanya. “Hey, T, can I borrow your math notes to make sure mine are caught up?”

  “Sure,” Tanya said. She unzipped an army-green canvas backpack covered in buttons and pins, then pulled out a binder with a peace. love. math. bumper sticker on the front cover. “Just get them back to me before school tomorrow.”

  Maggie crammed the binder into her overflowing backpack. “Thanks.”

  Rebecca watched the two of them for a moment before Clio tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, what time next Saturday?” Clio asked, holding up her phone to check the calendar. Her latest phone case looked like the Rosetta stone. Her parents were history and archaeology professors at the local university, and the family had picked it out together on a summer trip to London.

  “From twelve until four thirty,” Rebecca answered. She couldn’t help envying Clio, who always seemed to have so much fun with her family. Last year the Carter-Petersons had spent the summer hiking through Peru and visiting Machu Picchu. Rebecca’s parents were doctors who shared a busy private practice. When the Chin family had gone to Boston last year, her parents had planned a “special surprise” during their trip. Rebecca wasn’t sure what she had been hoping for—maybe one of those cool private bakery tours that she’d read about online—but it certainly wasn’t a visit to the Warren Anatomical Museum. She had never known that something so boring could also be so disgusting.

  “Thanks a ton for covering. I’ll e-mail you all the info about his routines and stuff. I’ll have my phone, so you can call if you have any problems. But he’s honestly so easy, I can’t imagine you’ll need to.”

  “Sounds perfect,” Clio said, sliding her phone into the pocket of her multicolored embroidered backpack. Rebecca, Clio, Tanya, and Maggie left the locker room and walked outside just as the final bell rang. It was a perfect September day: fluffy white clouds dotting the bright blue sky, the sun shining. Maggie turned to the other girls. “Do you want to go get ice cream?”

  “I wish. But I’m saving up for a new phone,” Tanya said. Tanya’s phone was inherited from her older brother, Bryce. Even after she removed all of his weird gamer apps, it was still painfully slow, and the camera was broken.

  “I didn’t bring any money today, either,” Rebecca said.

  “I can’t right now. I promised my auntie I’d help her at her new costume shop. She just moved here from LA last Thursday, and the whole place is one big pile of boxes right now,” Clio said. “Do you guys want to come? It’s actually pretty fun; she has all these amazing clothes and a ton of really weird stuff to go through. If we help unpack, she’ll probably buy ice cream for all of us.”

  “Costumes … ice cream … solid plan,” Maggie said.

  A few minutes later, the girls walked down Coffin Street—an eclectic block of artsy little shops and cafés, modern-looking offices, and several older wooden buildings with peeling paint and FOR RENT signs in the windows. “We’re here,” Clio said, stopping in front of a faded white structure. Rebecca had pictured a shop like the ones that popped up at the mall every October, with bright lights, fluorescent orange signs, and inflatable ghosts. But this shop was nothing like that. The windows were so grimy with dust and cobwebs that Rebecca could barely see into the dimly lit building. A rusted sign that read ANTIQUES AND CURIOSITIES in faded, elegant lettering dangled precariously from one hook.

  Rebecca reached up to tap the crooked sign, and it swayed dangerously. “I thought you said it was a costume shop,” she said.

  “It is now.” Clio eyed the sign with frustration. “She was supposed to take that old sign down already.” Turning back to the other girls, Clio explained, “This used to be a pawnshop or something, but the old lady who owned it died a few months back, and everything was left inside. The landlord didn’t want to deal with clearing it out, so she told us we could keep anything we want.”

  “The old lady died?” Tanya said.

  “Like, inside the shop?” Maggie said.

  Clio shrugged. “I don’t know. I doubt it, though. Hardly anyone came in here. I don’t think it was open that much.”

  Maggie shuddered. “But she might have. She could have died right here, and nobody knew until some poor, unsuspecting stranger walked into that door and found a dead body. One that had been lying there for days. That is so creepy.”

  Clio rolled her eyes and pulled open the door. “It’s not creepy. I’ve been here every day after school, and you won’t believe all the cool old stuff I’ve
found. Come on.” Rebecca, Tanya, and Maggie followed reluctantly.

  Rebecca was surprised to see how spacious it was inside. A few old floor lamps glowed faintly, illuminating a worn parquet floor covered in a patchwork of moth-eaten Persian rugs. Dress dummies stood like statues in between the empty clothing racks. Some were bare, while others were draped haphazardly in rich-looking fabrics. There was a skeleton next to a pile of blank, white Styrofoam heads, and ornately carved bookshelves lined the left wall, leading to a long glass counter stretched across the back of the store. Behind the counter, a doorway to a dark hallway interrupted a gallery of brooding antique portraits in gilded frames. And in the center of the room, there was a mountainous labyrinth of cardboard boxes.

  “As you can see, we still have a lot of unpacking to do,” Clio said. She peered over the boxes. “Auntie!” she called. “I brought some friends to help!” There was no answer. “She’s probably in the back. Come on.”

  The other girls followed Clio through the narrow, maze-like path between the towers of boxes. Rebecca found herself keeping close to Clio, almost stepping on her heels. She could feel Tanya’s breath on her neck. The boxes blocked out most of the shop’s dim light, so Clio was little more than a shadow in front of her.

  Without warning, Clio stopped short and Rebecca almost knocked her over. “Oof!” Rebecca grunted, as she felt the impact of both Tanya and Maggie bumping into her from behind.

  “Sorry!” Tanya whispered. “I didn’t know we were stopping.”

  “Neither did I,” Rebecca whispered back. She peered over Clio’s shoulder to see what had frozen her friend in her tracks.

  There, behind the tower of boxes, lay the body of a woman.

  CHAPTER

  4

  REBECCA SCREAMED, CAUSING a chain of screams behind her.

  “What is it?!” Tanya shrieked.

  “It’s the dead lady!” Rebecca yelled.

  “I knew it!” Maggie wailed. The shadowy form of the dead woman stirred, and the girls’ screams grew louder.

  Her arms rose straight into the air, and she slowly sat up, her sightless eyes staring forward. With lurching movements, the zombie rose to its feet. “Beware…,” it moaned in a throaty whisper. Slow, shuffling steps led it closer and closer to the girls.

  Clio’s voice rose above the screams. “Very funny, Auntie! Now give it a rest; you’re scaring my friends!”

  The zombie stepped into the light. A twinkle appeared in her brown eyes, and her vacant expression sharpened into a delighted smile that lit up her coppery cheeks. “I’m sorry, y’all! I heard you talking outside, and I just couldn’t help myself!” She brushed the dust off her well-worn jeans and soft, gray Creature from the Black Lagoon T-shirt. She adjusted the black head wrap around the dreadlocks that were knotted in a large bun at the top of her head, and Rebecca noticed her short nails were painted black with a pattern of lacy, white spiderwebs. “It’s very nice to meet you, girls. I’m Clio’s aunt, Kawanna Carter, and scaring you was the most fun I’ve had all day.”

  Rebecca sank to the floor in relief. “Oh my gosh. I’ve never been so terrified in my entire life,” she gasped. Tanya and Maggie collapsed in giddy laughter.

  “I almost peed my pants!” Maggie squealed.

  “They came to help unpack, but I’m not sure they’ll want to stay after that performance,” Clio said. She folded her arms sternly, but a faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

  “I’m glad it was so convincing,” Kawanna said. She picked up a red feather boa from off the floor and draped it around her neck, striking a dramatic pose. “I guess it means I still got it.”

  “Aunt Kawanna used to be an actress,” Clio explained.

  “Ooh, a star of stage and screen!” Maggie said. “That’s my dream!”

  “I was hardly a star.” The woman laughed. “But I did manage to make it onto a few TV cop shows, and I was even in a Super Bowl commercial once! What I loved best, though, was acting in horror movies. I never get tired of making an audience jump.”

  “Obviously,” Clio said drily.

  Her aunt swatted her playfully. “Girl, you have always been way too serious!” She smiled at the other three girls. “Now let’s get introduced properly so we can start unpacking.”

  An hour later, the shop looked far more cheerful. The mountain of boxes was slightly smaller, and one of the clothing racks was now a riot of color, from scarlet to gold to brilliant turquoise. Leather-bound books adorned one wooden shelf, and jewelry sparkled in a glass display case next to a row of multicolored wigs.

  Rebecca nodded in satisfaction as she adjusted the collar of a purple velvet smoking jacket and hung it carefully on one of the racks. Across the shop, Maggie stood in front of a mannequin, smoothing the front of an intricate beaded poncho. She took a step back, then slipped a shaggy werewolf mask over the mannequin’s head. Clio hovered over a silver tea tray, carefully laying out neat rows of plastic vampire fangs. Rebecca could just make out Tanya’s head of sleek, dark hair bent over something near the bookshelves behind the counter.

  “What did you find?” Rebecca called.

  “Sorry; I keep getting distracted,” Tanya said. “These books are so cool.”

  “You say that about every book! Which one is it this time?” Clio said, peering over the counter.

  Tanya held up a slim red book. “It’s called Tales of the Night Queen,” Tanya replied. “It has all these crazy stories in it. There’s a drawing in here of a guy with crickets jumping out of his mouth!”

  “Oh, come on!” Maggie said. “Gross!”

  “Sorry, Mags, but it’s actually pretty interesting. And there’s this other book here called Ghostly Tales of Old Japan. There’s a whole chapter about fox spirits! Apparently that’s a thing,” Tanya said.

  “Where did these books come from, anyway?” Rebecca asked. “Were they the old lady’s?”

  Kawanna poked her head out of the back hallway. “Hey! Who are you calling an old lady?”

  “Sorry! I—I didn’t mean you,” Rebecca stammered. “I meant—”

  “Don’t mind her; she knows what you meant,” Clio said, raising an eyebrow at her aunt. “She’s just giving you a hard time.”

  “You girls just make it too easy.” Kawanna laughed. “But to answer your question, some of the books are mine. I’ve been a horror fan since I was a little girl. But there was quite a large collection already here when I moved in.” She walked over to Tanya and peered over her shoulder. “I’m still sorting through them. I thought I had everything, but there are some books here that I didn’t even know existed—like that one.” She pointed to the thin red book Tanya had been reading. “Will you leave it out for me? It sounds fascinating!” Her eyes widened as she took in the progress the girls had made while she had been working in the back office. “My goodness, what a difference. It almost looks like a real shop in here! Clio, your friends are welcome anytime. Now, who’s ready for some ice cream to celebrate all this hard work?”

  * * *

  Rebecca finished the last of her peppermint cone with one loud crunch and wiped her hands with a crumpled napkin. Next to her, Clio licked a cone of wasabi-flavored ice cream and Tanya used her spoon to poke at the melted remains of her cup of vanilla peanut butter. Although Maggie had long since finished her cookie dough sundae, she was blissfully unaware of the sticky glob slowly melting in her red curls. Rebecca was unsurprised. Typical Maggie. Rebecca leaned forward with a spare napkin. “Hey, Mags, you’ve got a little ice cream in your hair.”

  Maggie barely turned her head from her conversation with Kawanna. “Yeah, okay, thanks,” she answered, absently grabbing the napkin and waving Rebecca away as though she were a troublesome insect.

  Embarrassed, Rebecca glanced at the other girls to see if they had noticed the brush-off, and she was grateful to hear them talking quietly about an upcoming history test. She knew Maggie was kind of moody sometimes, but usually not in front of an adult. Of course, Kawanna wasn’t e
xactly a typical adult. How many adults went around pretending to be dead to prank their niece’s friends? Rebecca stifled a giggle, remembering how she and Maggie and Tanya had scrambled around, screaming and pawing at one another.

  Kawanna peered past Maggie to Rebecca, and her smile widened. “What are you laughing about over there all by yourself?”

  Rebecca grinned. “I just keep thinking about us freaking out and falling all over each other this afternoon. You really got us.”

  “You should have seen your face!” Maggie said to Rebecca. “I wish someone could have filmed it!”

  “What about yours?” Tanya challenged. “I thought your eyes were going to pop right out of your head and roll between those boxes, they were so bugged out!”

  Clio smirked. “I don’t know what you were thinking! Like I would invite you all into some haunted house or something? And do you really think a ghost would be dressed like that?” She pointed at the feather boa her aunt still wore around her neck.

  “Like you’ve never seen a ghost with a feather boa before?” Kawanna asked, straightening in her chair.

  “Please don’t get started on the ghost thing,” Clio answered. “They don’t want to hear it.”

  “Now, I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Li’l Bit,” Kawanna shot back. She turned to the other girls. “We were shooting a movie in an old mansion once, and I swear I saw some things that you wouldn’t believe.”

  Maggie’s eyes widened with curiosity. “Like what?” she whispered.

  Kawanna lowered her voice, and the girls drew nearer. “Well, the house had been abandoned for years before we got there, and it always felt like someone was watching us if we were on our own there late at night. But we just laughed about it, you know, joking the creepy feelings away.” She leaned in closer, her voice now barely more than a whisper. “Then little things started to go missing. Someone’s wig, a length of rope, things like that. Sometimes we would come in each morning to find props moved around, papers scattered everywhere. Now, we had security guards patrolling the set twenty-four seven, so we know that nobody was getting into that mansion, and nobody was getting out.”