Unforeseeable Events

It's My Party and I'll Die If I Want To - Sarah Part 4

"Okay, Alex, I think it's time to tell us about this Avery person." I wanted to find out but was almost too frightened to ask.

"Avery was my little sister," Alex began. "It was the day of her sixth birthday and my family was giving her a huge party in the backyard. I was almost twelve at the time. Even though it was close to Halloween, the weather held out and it stayed warm and sunny until about five o'clock. We had a pony, a clown and a magician who did escape artist tricks."

"Okay, what happened next?" Maddie asked.

"Well, everything was happening at once. Emma Stone was in charge of the pony rides happening way out near our barn. The magician was handcuffed inside a trunk and children were standing around screaming and laughing. The clown was making balloon animals in the basement playroom. When it came time to open presents, I went to find Avery. First I checked the pony ride area. Emma Stone was introducing the pony to a fearful little girl who didn't want to get up on the pony's back."

"Avery wasn't at the pony rides?" I asked.

"No, so I plowed through the pony ride crowd over to the magician's performance area. He had just made a death-defying escape from the trunk and was twiddling with the handcuffs."

"Sounds exciting. Get to the point," Arielle snarked. 

"The point is my sister died that day. She was murdered and the crime's never been solved." Alex said.

Everyone gasped and before they could collect their emotions and calm down, a sharp scream sliced through the air like a guillotine blade. Everyone froze, eyes wide. No one made a sound. The scream slowly faded away and the room lay in complete silence and darkness. Then a whisper landed like a quiet bomb all around us. "No, Avery, come with me, where you'll be safe. He's still looking for you."

Above us footsteps pattered across the floor fast as mouse feet but loud as llama hooves. 

"The third floor! Something's up there!" I pointed to the ornate ceiling.

"We're not allowed up there," Arielle warned. "It's locked." 

"My grandma is the president of the historical society. She has a key. Tonight after she falls asleep I'll steal it out of her purse. Sarah, you can drive. Pick us up right after dusk and we'll break in and go up to the third floor to explore. Who's in?" Arielle asked.

Arielle added, "Everyone can't fit in the car, so some of us won't be able to come. I'm coming and Alex has to come."

Alex said, "I'm not going unless Ashley comes with us. She's the bravest one here."

"I can only fit seven in my mom's minivan." Sarah warned.

"That's okay. I have ukulele lessons tonight anyway," Adelaide said.

"Bring the key, Ashley, it might unlock something on the third floor. You never know."

                                                             ***

As soon as dusk fell and the Queset House closed for the evening, I drove around to everyone's houses and picked them up. Arielle squeezed in next to Alex in the back seat and then Ashley squished herself in-between them. Ashley actually climbed over Alex and plunked herself down, practically flattening Arielle. Finally I yelled at them to buckle up and shifted into drive. 

The house looked way different after dark. Arielle jumped out first and shone her flashlight over the front of the building. "Look!"

We all climbed out and looked. A light flickered on and off in a pattern of short and longer bursts of illumination. I started to jump up and down. "Wait! I know what that is. We learned it in Girl Scouts about a hundred years ago. It's Morse Code. Quick, someone write down these letters as I decipher them."

"I'll type the letters into my phone as you tell them to me." Arielle said.

"Okay, one fast flash must be one dot, that's easy. 'E'," I said.

"The most frequently used letter of the alphabet," Ashley added.

"Stop showing off, Mia. We know you're brilliant and it's obnoxious." Arielle punched Ashley lightly on the bicep.

"Next letter: dot, dash, dot, dot. L." I continued to announce each letter until the upstairs window went dark. "What does it spell,  Ashley?"

"El Trasho," she answered.

"I've seen his tag somewhere. He does amazing bubble letters. There's one on that rock inside the park," Maddie said. "Who is he? Does anyone know?"

"Let's go in and see if he's up there," Alex said.

"Okay, I have both keys, the one I stole from my grandma when she was napping and the one we found on the floor earlier today. Let's go!" Ashley said.

We venture inside and head straight up toward the third floor. Alex went first with the flashlight, followed by Arielle, followed by Ashley like some kind of demented wild-haired train. Alex jiggled the doorknob and whispered, "It's locked." He stepped aside and shone his flashlight on the keyhole of the door to the third floor chambers. Ashley stepped forward with the key. 

With a quiet jingle and a click, she turned it in the lock and pushed. Slowly it creaked open.