The Old Willis Place

bad."
    Lissa raised her eyebrows at that. "Why does he hate me so much?"
    "I told you, he doesn't hate you. He's just scared of breaking the rules and being punished."
    "What would your parents do to him?" Lissa stared at me. "If they beat him or anything like that, they could be arrested for child abuse."
    No matter what I said, Lissa came up with questions I couldn't answer. In an effort to avoid her probing eyes, I looked across the lawn toward the woods, still hoping for a glimpse of Georgie. The wind was blowing harder, whipping the treetops back and forth. Eddies of dead leaves swirled toward us, spiraling up like phantoms from the corners of the terrace.
    "A storm's coming," I said. "Maybe we should go to your place. Your dad will be worried."
    Lissa pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head and drew the drawstring tight under her chin. "Oh, don't worry about Dad. He's at Home Depot, the most boring store in the world. It's jam-packed with tools and plumbing fixtures and nails and screws and I don't know what all. He'll be there for hours."
    "But look at the sky." I studied the clouds' dark shapes—flocks of lost sheep straying across a desolate wasteland, blown to rags and tatters by the wind. "It will rain soon."
    "Just wait till you see what I have." Lissa reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a rusty key. A small tag hung from it. "I took this from Dad's key ring. Guess what it's for?"
    I shrank back, my heart racing like a wild thing. It was a big, old-fashioned house key, maybe one that my father had carried on his key ring.
    Lissa leaned close to me, her eyes gleaming. "It opens the back door. We can go inside."
    On the other side of the brick wall I sensed Miss Lilian listening, her head up, like a hound on the scent of something.
    "I think we should leave," I said. "Now. Before its too late."
    Lissa ignored me. "The old woman who used to live here died in the parlor," she went on. "Dad told me nobody found her body for a week. Isn't that gross?"
    "Lissa." I tugged at her arm. "Let's go."
    Dropping her voice to a whisper, Lissa pulled me closer. "She never left the house, not even to buy groceries. Her hired man did the shopping for her, but she wouldn't let him in the house. No one was allowed in there. It was filthy, Dad said—cats peeing anywhere they liked, her garbage piled up everywhere, cockroaches, mice, even rats. She was crazy."
    "I've heard that." I worked to keep my face blank, my voice expressionless. My own mother had said the same often enough, but she'd never been able to convince my father. Eccentric, he'd argued, but harmless. He should have listened to Mother. She knew Miss Lilian far better than he did.
    Lissa waved the key. "You and I could go inside and see the very room she died in. Right now."
    "Your father told us not to," I said. "It isn't safe."
    "Dad isn't here," Lissa reminded me. "He won't know."
    Rain began falling, softly at first, speckling my blouse and skirt with wet spots.
    "Come on, Diana." Lissa got to her feet and tugged at my hand. "We'll get drenched out here."
    "It's dark inside. You won't be able to see a thing." I didn't want to go into that house again, no matter how hard it rained. Where was Georgie? If he were here, he'd pull me away.
    "I already thought of that." Lissa pulled a small flashlight out of her pocket and brandished it.
    "We could fall through the floor and end up in the cellar—with the snakes."
    "You're afraid!" Lissa laughed. "You think it's haunted, don't you? You're scared of Miss Willis!"
    I wanted to cover her mouth to keep her from saying that name. "It's against the rules, Lissa," I blurted out. "I can't go in there! You mustn't go in either! You don't understand—"
    "Your parents won't know you broke their silly rules," Lissa cut in.
    Before I could stop her, she ran to the door and stuck the key in the lock. With a great deal of effort, she managed to turn it. It made a loud rasping sound. Shoving with her shoulder, she forced the door open.The hinges screeched in protest.
    From where I stood, I felt cold dead air rush out to meet me. It smelled of cat pee, garbage, mold, mildew, all the stale odors that had been locked in the house with Miss Lilian.
    MacDuff stuck his nose inside. When he caught the whiff of rot and decay, his hackles rose and he whined.
    Lissa watched the dog back away from the door. "Mac-Duff," she said, "you silly thing. What's the matter with you?
    Listen to him, I thought, he's smarter