on the porch. These were ordinary things people took for granted, like security and warmth. The people who lived in this house probably had no idea what it was like to look for a place to sleep at night or wonder where their next meal was going to come from.
She lifted her hand to knock but the door swung open before she touched it. She blinked, pausing with her hand in mid air. "Hello? Anyone home?"
"Spooky," Danny whispered around the Snickers bar in his mouth as he followed right behind her.
Mary Catherine walked slowly past the pink marble-floored foyer, following the sound of fear and sorrow only she could hear. Dry. Pale. Bright. Sharp. Pain. The thoughts were rudimentary, scrambled. Something Tommy didn't understand was keeping him from escaping whatever he was trying to get away from.
The sound seemed to be coming from a large sitting room immediately on the right. The instant she stepped on the champagnecolored carpet, she knew she was in the right place. The house seemed deserted, except for one small voice.
"There you are!" She bent down and scooped up the tiny yellow-bellied slider that was trying to push through the plush carpet. "You're hurt. How did this happen to you?" She examined his back leg, a bloody gash leaving a trail behind him.
Fragments of a lovely crystal bowl with a rock and some strewn turtle food came into her line of vision. The glass was shattered. It was probably where Tommy cut his leg. The bright light he saw was a huge chandelier in the ceiling that was turned on, despite the warm sunshine streaming in through the white lace on the front windows.
The thing that wouldn't let him move forward, too large for him to surmount, was the body of a woman in her nightclothes. She appeared to be close to Mary Catherine's age. There were pink curlers in her gray-streaked brown hair and a cut on her neck that looked like it came from her fall against the large, broken piece of the turtle bowl. A pool of blood surrounded her, blooming against the pale carpet like the roses outside the door.
"Dio! Is she dead?" Danny asked in a breathless voice.
"I believe she is," Mary Catherine confirmed, taking in the scene. "I think we should call the police."
Besides the turtle bowl on the floor, there was also a potted plant. Dirt was scattered all over the dead woman's slippers. Had she been surprised by a thief in the middle of the night? Was it an accident? All the mess could've been caused by a struggle. Or the woman might've had a heart attack and stumbled across those things. Still, that didn't account for the front door being open.
Compassion for the other woman made Mary Catherine touch her hand. It was cold. "Rest easy now. God provides."
Danny's handsome dark features had turned a terrible pasty shade that looked like old buttermilk. He hurried out of the house to throw up the Snickers bar on the pristine emerald green lawn.
"Oh, dear," Mary Catherine said to the turtle in her hand. "There's a frog out there that wasn't too happy about that!"
Hi, Mary Catherine;
My name is Edwin and I live in Perth, Australia. I love your show! A kangaroo saved my life this week! A young kangaroo thatl saved from a truck accident three years ago rolled me over to keep me breathing after I was hit in the chest by a tree branch and lost consciousness. She kept jumping up and down and causing a commotion until someone finally came out of the house to see what was wrong.
Do you think I should set her free?
Two
"WHO FOUND THE BODY?" The detective adjusted his tie several times, in classic body language for frustration. His shirt collar had wilted in the heat and humidity, curling around his throat. There were burrito stains on his pocket and on the notebook he used to take notes. He licked his fingers and smudged it clean.
"I guess we found her together," Mary Catherine told the detective. Danny couldn't come in the room again without being sick. He waited by the front door, chafing his sneaker against
She lifted her hand to knock but the door swung open before she touched it. She blinked, pausing with her hand in mid air. "Hello? Anyone home?"
"Spooky," Danny whispered around the Snickers bar in his mouth as he followed right behind her.
Mary Catherine walked slowly past the pink marble-floored foyer, following the sound of fear and sorrow only she could hear. Dry. Pale. Bright. Sharp. Pain. The thoughts were rudimentary, scrambled. Something Tommy didn't understand was keeping him from escaping whatever he was trying to get away from.
The sound seemed to be coming from a large sitting room immediately on the right. The instant she stepped on the champagnecolored carpet, she knew she was in the right place. The house seemed deserted, except for one small voice.
"There you are!" She bent down and scooped up the tiny yellow-bellied slider that was trying to push through the plush carpet. "You're hurt. How did this happen to you?" She examined his back leg, a bloody gash leaving a trail behind him.
Fragments of a lovely crystal bowl with a rock and some strewn turtle food came into her line of vision. The glass was shattered. It was probably where Tommy cut his leg. The bright light he saw was a huge chandelier in the ceiling that was turned on, despite the warm sunshine streaming in through the white lace on the front windows.
The thing that wouldn't let him move forward, too large for him to surmount, was the body of a woman in her nightclothes. She appeared to be close to Mary Catherine's age. There were pink curlers in her gray-streaked brown hair and a cut on her neck that looked like it came from her fall against the large, broken piece of the turtle bowl. A pool of blood surrounded her, blooming against the pale carpet like the roses outside the door.
"Dio! Is she dead?" Danny asked in a breathless voice.
"I believe she is," Mary Catherine confirmed, taking in the scene. "I think we should call the police."
Besides the turtle bowl on the floor, there was also a potted plant. Dirt was scattered all over the dead woman's slippers. Had she been surprised by a thief in the middle of the night? Was it an accident? All the mess could've been caused by a struggle. Or the woman might've had a heart attack and stumbled across those things. Still, that didn't account for the front door being open.
Compassion for the other woman made Mary Catherine touch her hand. It was cold. "Rest easy now. God provides."
Danny's handsome dark features had turned a terrible pasty shade that looked like old buttermilk. He hurried out of the house to throw up the Snickers bar on the pristine emerald green lawn.
"Oh, dear," Mary Catherine said to the turtle in her hand. "There's a frog out there that wasn't too happy about that!"
Hi, Mary Catherine;
My name is Edwin and I live in Perth, Australia. I love your show! A kangaroo saved my life this week! A young kangaroo thatl saved from a truck accident three years ago rolled me over to keep me breathing after I was hit in the chest by a tree branch and lost consciousness. She kept jumping up and down and causing a commotion until someone finally came out of the house to see what was wrong.
Do you think I should set her free?
Two
"WHO FOUND THE BODY?" The detective adjusted his tie several times, in classic body language for frustration. His shirt collar had wilted in the heat and humidity, curling around his throat. There were burrito stains on his pocket and on the notebook he used to take notes. He licked his fingers and smudged it clean.
"I guess we found her together," Mary Catherine told the detective. Danny couldn't come in the room again without being sick. He waited by the front door, chafing his sneaker against
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