Author Anon

“She’s not here,” cries Leslie.

“Where could she be?” asks Carrie. “Do you think we labelled the alarms wrong?”

“Wait a minute! Where is the alarm?”

“It’s gone! Do you think she took it and ran with it?”

“But she agreed to stay put, so we could witness the ghost as well,” says Leslie.

“Then that means someone may be playing a trick on us.”

“We’d better check the house,” says Leslie.

A few minutes later they discover Melanie sprawled out in bed.

“Mom! Mom!” they call, waking her up.

“Oh!” cries Melanie. “She was here! I rang for you but you didn’t come! Where were you?”

“We were downstairs because that’s where it rang from!”

“That’s impossible!” says Melanie.

“Let’s go check our charting,” suggests Leslie.

When they enter the girls’ room, Melanie presses her button and an alarm rings out on the wall.

“See,” says Melanie. “There’s the alarm.”

“Oh, no,” gasps Carrie. “The house is haunted.”

Suddenly the alarm from the living room sounds. The three huddle together.

“There’s no button in that room right now,” says Leslie. “We checked.”

——————————————————————————————–

“What is this you printed in the paper?” demands Gavin.

“Since the police investigation is now insignificant, I’ve decided not to press any charges against Carl as well. I talked it over with Cody and we thought we should print it up to get Carl into the open.”

“Without discussing it with me?” asks Gavin, angrily. “If he starts seeing people watching him, he’ll run again.”

Nicholas smiles. “Belle was right. You’re angry just because it wasn’t your idea.”

Gavin frowns, wrinkling his forehead. “So, Belle has something to do with this. What did she want?”

“She wants Carl flushed out. She admits she has something but she doesn’t know its significance. So, she’s waiting for him to approach her.”

“What?!” Gavin explodes. “And you agreed to this? What if something happened to her?”

“She’s willing to take her chances,” says Nicholas. “She’s as stubborn as you.”

“We’ll see about that.”

——————————————————————————————–

“Valentine’s is coming up, Ashley,” says Chloe. “What are my chances of getting hooked up with Paul?”

“He claims he’s not holding out for Tracy,” says Ashley. “But I haven’t seen him make any move on anybody else.”

“I’ve already offered my services but he declined.”

Ashley laughs. “Maybe it was too soon. With Valentine’s approaching, he might take a different view.”

“There’s no harm in trying again, I guess.”

——————————————————————————————–

“What were the conditions of Julia’s new will?” asks William.

“I’m sorry,” says Michael. “I’m not at liberty to discuss that.”

“Aren’t we allowed to know what conditions she has set? After all, she is dead and we cannot have any idea how our behavior may affect her will.”

“If you knew her and understood her desires, you will know what she expected.”

“Blanche is being very generous,” says Robert. “When does she expect to come on board?”

“Mrs. Albright has left that up to you,” explains Jerome. “She would like one of you to come to her directly.”

——————————————————————————————–

“Hello, Blanche,” says Marie. “I guess I should call you Aunt Blanche.”

“Whatever you wish,” says Blanche. “I’ve been expecting someone from the family, but I didn’t think it would be you. Have you come to scare me away?”

“No,” says Marie. “I came to give you my support.”

“Really?” asks Blanche. “Are you telling me there is opposition?”

“Actually, no,” says Marie. “Well, there is, but it’s not important. But it’s why I came.”

Confused, Blanche says, “Perhaps you can explain.”

“The family did argue over the issue and I will admit I initially opposed the idea. But now we have all agreed to welcome you on board. I’m sure one of them will come to you, soon.”

“What changed your mind?” asks Blanche.

Marie smiles. “Melanie Black. My father’s so-called wife. Although she has no shares and no say, she can influence him. She wanted you out of it. Naturally, I cannot stand the idea of supporting her. I hope when you join, you will make it very difficult for her to gain anything with her marriage.”

——————————————————————————————–

Filed under: All That Glitters