Peeled Read Free Page B

were found asphyxiated in the garage, with packed suitcases in the car; the garage doors had been locked from the outside. The old man was questioned for years about the deaths but never convicted. The deaths were labeled an accident. Ludlow dismantled the freestanding garage, planted apple trees over the spot, and grew steadily crazier, never again leaving his property and only coming outside at night. Eventually he was found dead by the grove of apple trees and now haunts the property, seeking to kill again. “We got something living there, no doubt,” said one lifelong resident. “It ain’t too keen on company, I can promise you that.”
    **For bus tours of our ten top haunts, please call early for reservations.
    I was sitting at the desk along the wall. The VERITAS sign hung crooked in front of me—
veritas
is the Latin word for “truth.” I grabbed some Doritos from the food heap as Royko, this week’s fly, buzzed overhead—he was named for Mike Royko, a Chicago columnist who won the Pulitzer Prize. Last spring we had an ant named Mencken, named for H. L. Mencken, a famous journalist of the forties. We try our best to honor the greats.
    My mess of notes spread before me, I typed,
An early morning break-in at the old Ludlow house on Farnsworth Road was stopped Friday when a neighbor heard voices on the property
and called the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Metcalf said he would be issuing a statement about the incident; it appears that at least one man was arrested.
    I checked my notes. What else did I know for sure?
    On Thursday, the house was named #6 on the Internet site Top Ten Haunted Houses in Upstate New York. Ghost stories about the house and Mr. Ludlow are not new, but concern in town is growing as strangers begin to congregate at the Ludlow property, disturbing the neighborhood and frightening the children.
    How do I put this?
    Many neighbors wonder about the safety of the house; some say they have heard ghostly noises. Others expressed concern about declining property values on Farnsworth Road. Words of wisdom and caution came from our own
Jeopardy!
master, Eaton Ebbers, a Farnsworth Road resident: “Fear changes people,” he said. “When people are scared, they look for something to blame.”
    Not bad for a start. Of course, I needed more, like who was arrested. If the sheriff wouldn’t talk to me, how could I find that out?
    It would have helped if we’d had an adviser. Mr. Loring, our beloved adviser, took early retirement last June and moved to Florida.
    How he could leave us, I’ll never know.
    Darrell stomped in, enveloped by journalistic passion. “This just in, Hildy. The man arrested in the break-in is going before Judge Forrester today at two o’clock.”
    Darrell checked the chart on the wall where he’d taped the staff’s class schedules.
    “Perfect. You have a study hall from 1:50 to 2:45 today,” he noted. “Are we on top of this or what?” Darrell looked at me with emotion as the overhead fluorescent light flickered. “I want the story behind the story. So get over to the courthouse and let them know who we are!”
    “The bold voice of Banesville High,” I mumbled.
    Darrell jabbed the air as Royko buzzed around his head.

Chapter 3

    I’d never been in a courtroom before. A man in a brown suit sat at one of two tables in front of the judge’s elevated desk. I had no idea what to do, but jumping in with both feet is one of my endearing qualities.
    “Excuse me,” I said to the man. “Are you here about the attempted break-in at the Ludlow house? I’m supposed to cover this for my high school newspaper.”
    “I’m waiting for the judge,” he said dismissively.
    Nobody takes teenage reporters seriously.
    A uniformed man walked into the courtroom and announced, “All rise.”
    Judge Forrester walked in, looking stern. He was the father of Nathan Forrester, my first former boyfriend, who cheated on me with Leandra Penn.
    I waved at the judge and he looked surprised to