The Crooked Sixpence Read Free Page A

kitchen slipped out, she caught a strong whiff of damp dog.
Strange
. The kitchen never smelled of anything other than baking.
    The lights were already on, even though Ivy was certain she’d turned them off before they got into the ambulance. Her heart raced as she inched forward. To her left, the kitchen cupboards were minus their doors. Fragments of wood, exploded food cans and torn packets lay scattered across the worktops, and smashed crockery filled the sink. A dirty patch on the wall was the only evidence of where the fridge used to stand. It now lay belly-up on the kitchen tiles, its contents pooling out like vomit.
    Ivy took a few steps forward, crunching over spilled breakfast cereal and vegetables. Her gaze fell upon a set of muddy animal tracks trailing across the kitchen floor.
    Seb’s voice was faint. ‘Over there . . .’
    Ivy drew her eyes away from the prints and followed his hovering finger . . . Right across the opposite wall three words had appeared:
    WE CAN SEE
    Each of the letters was the size of a dinner plate and appeared to have been scratched into the pastel wallpaper, which now revealed the blood-red of the previous decor.
    The implement inflicting this damage, she saw, was a feather – large, glossy and black.
    As it continued to write, it hovered in the air like a wasp; then, after scoring two further words into the wall, it disappeared with an indignant puff. In its place, a tiny silver coin materialized, dropping to the floor with a
ping
.
    With a gasp, Ivy read the words in all their bloody glory:
    WE CAN SEE YOU NOW

Chapter Three
    Seb paced up and down the kitchen floor, carving a path through the smashed glass and food tins with his trainers. He was holding what remained of Granma Sylvie’s only telephone. The receiver was broken and the cord had been ripped out of the base.
    Ivy steadied herself against the back of a chair. Her skin was prickling with shock. ‘You saw it flying too – right? What was it?’
    â€˜I don’t know.’ Seb’s face was stony. He rubbed his hands down the back of his jeans. Ivy could see sweat forming on his brow. ‘What does
We can see you now
even mean?’ He gestured around the room. ‘And the break-in doesn’t make any sense. I’ve checked the other rooms downstairs but it doesn’t look like anything’s been stolen. Whoever was here, they’ve just trashed the place.’
    Ivy scanned the room again, picking out what remained of her granma’s unique furniture, old books and favourite photos. Her throat swelled. Most of what Granma Sylvie had collected over the years was irreplaceable. Ivy couldn’t understand what someone would gain from destroying it. It didn’t make sense.
    As Seb put the phone down on the kitchen table, she studied the animal tracks again. She splayed out her fingers. The prints were at least four times the size of her hand. Whatever animal had been here, it was much bigger than a domestic pet.
    â€˜There’s no way to call the police from here now,’ Seb said. ‘We’ll have to cycle towards Bletchy Scrubb till we get mobile signal and then try Mum and Dad.’
    Ivy nodded in agreement as the wall behind her crackled. She rotated slowly till she was facing it again. ‘Are you seeing that?’ she asked.
    Seb swallowed.
    The
We can see you now
was disappearing shred by shred, as if the wallpaper was repairing itself like living skin.
    Seb dragged his hands down his face, pulling his cheeks as if trying to wake himself up. ‘Why is this getting worse?’
    Ivy clenched her fists. The only way to stop herself from freaking out was to try to understand what was going on. There must be some logic to it. She re-ran the last ten minutes from the beginning. Granma Sylvie’s front door . . . the scratching . . . the fridge . . . the animal tracks . . . the feather . . . the coin.
    The