close to theirs. “Me neither.”
Raven grinned. “Gotcha.”
“Very funny.”
“Thanks a lot.”
Raven laughed softly. “Come on.”
They crept to the first window and peered in. The room beyond—it looked as if it was supposed to be a bedroom—was empty. They made their way to the next window, then the next, finding the same thing. An empty laundry room, breakfast room, kitchen.
Then they hit pay dirt. A chair. A single, high-backed, wooden chair, the kind you’d find at a desk or dining table. Only there was no table or desk, no television, lamps or anything else in the room.
It looked strange, parked there, a sort of centerpiece. Andie tipped her head. No, not a centerpiece. A kind of audience to an empty stage.
Andie shivered. “This is the one. I’ll just bet.”
“Me, too.” Raven turned to Julie. “Are you sure no one bought this house?”
“Positive.” She rubbed her arms. “My mom was talking about it with Mrs. Green just a couple weeks ago. All four of these houses are still available. Mrs. Green was really weirded-out about it, ’cause there’s a chance Mr. Green’s going to be transferred and she’s afraid they won’t be able to sell.” Julie sucked in a deep breath. “Besides, the For Sale sign is still in front.”
“What now?” Andie whispered. “A few pieces of furniture doesn’t mean some ax murderer has taken up residence in an empty house.”
“Let’s try the door.”
Andie held her breath as Raven did, letting it out when she saw that it was locked. Next, her friend tried the windows. They, too, were locked.
“Come on, Raven.” Andie glanced around nervously. “I don’t think this is such a good idea.”
“Just a sec.” Raven stood on tiptoe and ran her hand along the top of the door frame. “Bingo,” she said, holding up a key.
“Where did you learn to do that?” Andie shook her head. “And isn’t this against the law?”
“Is it?” Raven arched her eyebrows. “We have a key. That’s not like breaking and entering or anything.”
“People go through model homes all the time,” Julie piped in. “That’s all we’re doing.”
Raven inserted the key into the lock. Andie took a step back. “You guys, what if somebody really lives here? What if they’re home?”
Raven made a face at her. “Wiener. Chicken out if you want, Julie and I are going in.” She looked at Julie. “You’re with me, right?” The girl nodded, and Raven eased open the door.
Andie watched her two friends slip through the door, then disappear inside the house. She waited, heart pounding. The moments ticked past with agonizing slowness. What were they doing? What did they see?
“Guys,” she whispered, “what’s going on?”
They didn’t answer. Andie inched closer to the door, straining to hear her friends inside. When she couldn’t, she peeked around the doorway. Still nothing. Feeling like the wiener Raven had called her, she followed them inside.
The door opened onto the kitchen. Adjacent to it was the family room with its one chair, and beyond it, the entrance foyer and dining room. A hallway led to what Andie supposed were the bedrooms.
Creepy, she thought, hugging herself, chilled. Obviously empty, yet something about it felt occupied. She turned slowly, taking in the fast-food bag on the counter, the cups in the sink; hearing the hum of the air conditioner.
“Rave?” she called softly. “Julie?”
“Here,” Raven answered. “Come see what we found.”
Andie went down the hallway and found her friends in the master bedroom. It was a large room with a vaulted ceiling and exposed wooden beams. There wasn’t a bed, just a couple of big floor pillows and a stool, the kind her mom had at the breakfast bar in their kitchen.
And a tape deck. A nice one. Andie crossed to it, squatted and popped open the cassette holder. Nothing.
“The boom box proves it.” Julie looked from one of her friends to the other. “This is where the music was coming from. Somebody’s using this house.”
“But for what?” Andie shook her head. “There’s something really weird about this. I don’t like it.”
“No joke. Let’s get out of here.”
They started back toward the kitchen. Andie peeked in the bathroom as they passed it. It, too, showed signs of limited occupation. A shower curtain, a cup by the sink. But no towels or toiletries.
Back in the kitchen, Julie shivered. “It’s like someone’s living here, but not. Like a ghost, or something.”
“A ghost?” Raven repeated, pointing to the McDonald’s bag on the counter. “Get real, girl. Whoever’s using this house is a flesh-and-blood human being.”
Which made it all the more scary, as far as Andie was concerned. She crossed to the gently humming refrigerator, opened it and peered inside, squinting at the sudden light. A bottle of wine and a six-pack of beer, some cheese and a bunch of grapes.
Raven peered over her shoulder and grinned. “Beer?”
“Oh no you don’t. If you take one, they’ll know we were in here.”
“So what?” Raven reached around her. “It’s not like they’ll know it was us who—” She stopped, frowning. “What’s that rumbling sound? It’s kind of like—”
They all froze, as if realizing simultaneously what it was. The automatic garage door. Opening.
“Oh shit.” Andie looked at her friends. A door opened then slammed. A car door. “What do we do?”
“Hide,” Raven managed to say, her voice a frightened croak. “Now!”
Andie looked wildly around, her heart in her throat. She grabbed Julie’s hand and darted for the walk-in pantry door. She pushed Julie inside, then ducked in behind her, not having time to get the door completely shut before a man entered the kitchen.
Andie held the knob to keep the door steady, her heart hammering nearly out of control. Cracked open about an inch, she was able to watch the man’s progress.
He didn’t turn on a light, so she couldn’t make out his face or features, only that he was tall, dark-haired and dressed casually. He went to the refrigerator and opened it. Light flooded the dark kitchen, though his back was to her. A moment later she heard the pop and hiss of a can being opened. He was drinking beer. Thank God they hadn’t taken one. He would have known they were here.
He shut the fridge and turned, staring straight at the pantry. He stood unmoving a moment, his eyes seeming to meet hers.
