Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 01 - Bogey Nights Read Free Page B

bathrooms. At the rear of the house sat a master bedroom with a walk-in closet. I opened the door and looked inside. I could tell that renovations had already been done to the house, but obviously a very long time ago. And a house this size, built in the twenties, must have been built by someone with money.
    “Max,” I said, “ I noticed a door outside, near the rear of the house. Where does it lead to?”
    “There’s a cellar back there, but it was never finished. It’s pretty dirty down there. Do you want to see it or would you rather wait until you’re dressed for dirty?”
    I laughed . “Now is good.”
    Chris and Max walked outside and around the house with me . I lifted the door and two large dogs raced past me and flew down the stairs.
    “Hey, you two . Come back here!” I had no idea what was in the cellar, but images of spiders and mice ran through my mind’s eye.
    “There’s a light down there,” Max said, “but the electricity isn’t on right now.”
    “I’ve got a flashlight in the car,” Chris said. “Be right back.”
    A cellar would make a perfect place to store things once we finished it off. I wondered how much work it would require. I envisioned shelves for storage and maybe a section for wine and other liquors. It would need sturdier doors, too.
    “So you and your husband want to convert this house into a restaurant?” Max asked.
    “That’s the general idea,” I replied . “It seems like we’d have an awful lot of work to do to make that happen though.”
    I waited impatiently while Chris was gone, worried about Sherlock and Watson. I felt really antsy when I heard Watson begin to whine.
    “What’s going on down there?” I called, wishing they could answer me. It was too dark to enter the basement.
    Chris returned with a flashlight and turned it on, carefully climbing downstairs. I followed close behind him. “What’s wrong with the dogs?” he asked.
    “I have no idea, but let’s get them out of here.”
    Chris turned the light on the dogs and Watson was scratching at a patch of cement in the corner of the cellar. There was a large old barrel sitting on top of it. I wondered if something might have leaked out of the bottom. I noticed another patch on the other side of the cellar. It appeared that at some point in time someone had thought about finishing off the cellar.
    “Watson, leave it,” Chris ordered. Leave it was a command we’d learned when training them, along with take it . It was a good lesson in patience for them.
    Not only did Watson ignore Chris, but Sherlock began whining, too, and the scratching continued.
    “Out,” Chris ordered . “Right now!” He was using his authoritative voice, but the dogs weren’t listening. He grabbed Sherlock’s collar and pulled. He repeated his command and the dog reluctantly obeyed, heading for the stairs. Watson was more stubborn, but finally obeyed and followed Sherlock.
    I felt like all the time and energy we’d spent training them had been a waste, but they usually obeyed us.
    “I wonder what that was all about,” I said.
    “Probably a dead body buried down here,” Chris said.
    “ Not funny, Bogey Man.”
    He smiled at my use of his nickname . “I was joking. Those dogs are always getting into things. If we buy this place I’ll get rid of the barrel and that should solve the problem.”
    “I hope you’re right,” I said.
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Three
     
    C hris and I spent the next couple of days discussing the pros and cons of buying the house and converting it into a restaurant. I don’t know if the pros actually won out or not, but it was something we really wanted to do. We’d had a taste of the restaurant business and liked it. I had to chuckle when we talked about it because part of the reason I enjoyed it was that I was a boss, not a waitress. Continuing on with that same train of thought, I knew how to treat our waiters and waitresses because of my background. I