به زیر زمین نزدیک نشو فصل چهاردهم

Stay Out of the Basement, Chapter 14

Margaret uttered a shriek of terror and spun away from the plants to find her brother.

“Help!” Casey cried.

Gripped with fear, Margaret took a few steps toward Casey, then saw the small, gray creature scampering across the floor.

She started to laugh.

“Casey, it’s a squirrel!”

“What?” His voice was several octaves higher than normal. “It—it grabbed my ankle and—”

“Look,” Margaret said, pointing. “It’s a squirrel. Look how scared it is. It must have run right into you.”

“Oh.” Casey sighed. The color began to return to his ash-gray face. “I thought it was a… plant.”

“Right. A furry gray plant,” Margaret said, shaking her head. Her heart was still thudding in her chest. “You sure gave me a scare, Casey.”

The squirrel stopped several yards away, turned, stood up on its hind legs, and stared back at them, quivering all over.

“How did a squirrel get down here?” Casey demanded, his voice still shaky.

Margaret shrugged. “Squirrels are always getting in,” she said. “And remember that chipmunk we couldn’t get rid of?” Then she glanced over to the small ground-level window at the top of the opposite wall. “That window—it’s open,” she told Casey. “The squirrel must have climbed in over there.”

“Shoo!” Casey yelled at the squirrel. He started to chase it. The squirrel’s tail shot right up in the air, and then it took off, running through the tangled plants. “Get out! Get out!” Casey screamed.

The terrified squirrel, with Casey in close pursuit, circled the plants twice. Then it headed to the far wall, leapt onto a carton, then onto a higher carton, then bounded out the open window.

Casey stopped running and stared up at the window.

“Good work,” Margaret said. “Now, let’s get out of here. We don’t know what anything is. We have no idea what to look for. So we can’t tell if Dad is telling the truth or not.”

She started toward the stairs, but stopped when she heard the bumping sound. “Casey—did you hear that?” She searched for her brother, but he was hidden by the thick leaves of the plants. “Casey?”

“Yeah. I heard it,” he answered, still out of her view. “It’s coming from the supply closet.”

The loud thumping made Margaret shudder. It sounded to her exactly like someone banging on the closet wall.

“Casey, let’s check it out,” she said.

No reply.

The banging got louder.

“Casey?”

Why wasn’t he answering her?

“Casey—where are you? You’re frightening me,” Margaret called, moving closer to the shimmering plants. Another tomato plopped to the ground, so near her foot, it made her jump.

Despite the intense heat, she suddenly felt cold all over.

“Casey?”

“Margaret—come here. I’ve found something,” he finally said. He sounded uncertain, worried.

She hurried around the plants and saw him standing in front of the worktable beside the supply closet. The banging from the closet had stopped.

“Casey, what’s the matter? You scared me,” Margaret scolded. She stopped and leaned against the wooden worktable.

“Look,” her brother said, holding up a dark, folded-up bundle. “I found this. On the floor. Shoved under this worktable.”

“Huh? What is it?” Margaret asked.

Casey unfolded it. It was a suit jacket. A blue suit jacket. A red-striped necktie was folded inside it.

“It’s Mr. Martinez’s,” Casey said, squeezing the collar of the wrinkled jacket between his hands. “It’s his jacket and tie.”

Margaret’s mouth dropped open into a wide O of surprise. “You mean he left it here?”

“If he left it, why was it bundled up and shoved back under the table?” Casey asked.

Margaret stared at the jacket. She ran her hand over the silky striped tie.

“Did you see Mr. Martinez leave the house yesterday afternoon?” Casey asked.

“No,” Margaret answered. “But he must have left. I mean, his car was gone.”

“He didn’t drive, remember? He told Dad he got a lift.”

Margaret raised her eyes from the wrinkled jacket to her brother’s worried face. “Casey—what are you saying? That Mr. Martinez didn’t leave? That he was eaten by a plant or something? That’s ridiculous!”

“Then why were his coat and tie hidden like that?” Casey demanded.

Margaret didn’t have a chance to respond.

They both gasped as they heard loud footsteps on the stairs.

Someone was hurrying down to the basement.

“Hide!” Margaret whispered.

“Where?” Casey asked, his eyes wide with panic.