Chapter Seven
Aunt Katie went to the guard standing by the exit and said, “My niece went through with us and she’s still in there. She may be lost, or hurt.”
“How old is she?”
“Ten.”
“She’s old enough to follow the lights. Don’t worry. No one gets lost in the house. Some people just take longer than others to go through it.”
Eric, Aunt Katie, and Uncle George waited outside the exit door. Some of the people coming out of the Haunted House looked scared. Others came out smiling and laughing.
Aunt Katie looked at her watch.
The door opened. More people came out, but Cam wasn’t with them.
Aunt Katie looked at her watch again. Uncle George patted her hand and said, “Don’t worry.”
Aunt Katie took a few steps to the left. She turned and took a few steps to the right. As she walked, she talked. “Maybe she fell. Maybe the black cat scared her, or the moving eyes, and she fainted. I’m going back in there. I’m getting in line and going back in.”
Just then the door opened. A woman, two children, a young man, and Cam came out of the house.
Aunt Katie ran to her. “Oh, I was so worried,” she told Cam.
“Shh!”
“I thought you were hurt, or maybe lost.” Shh!” Cam said again and pointed to the young man ahead.
He was wearing a black shirt, black pants, black shoes. He was carrying a small shopping bag. Cam followed him through the crowd. Aunt Katie, and Uncle George followed Cam. When they came to the main path, where there was more room to walk, Cam didn’t follow the young man as closely.
“Get one of the security guards,” Cam whispered to Eric. “He’s the one who stole Aunt Katie’s wallet. He stole lots of other people’s wallets, too.”
Eric and Aunt Katie went into the security office. Cam and Uncle George followed the man through the gate to the parking lot.
The young man went to a small green car. He opened the trunk and emptied the shopping bag into it. He looked around and then walked back toward Cam and Uncle George.
Uncle George didn’t want the young man to know he was watching him. He quickly went to one of the public telephones. He picked up the receiver and talked into it. “Yes, Ruthie.”
The man walked past Cam and Uncle George to the re-entry gate.
“Shouldn’t we follow him?” Uncle George whispered.
“We don’t have to. I know just where he’s going.” Cam smiled. “You can finish your telephone call to Ruthie.”
“What?” Uncle George looked at the telephone he was still holding. “Oh,” he said, and hung up.
Cam waited a minute. Then she said, “We can go now.”
At the re-entry gate, Cam passed her hand under the small lamp. The woman said to Uncle George, “You’re lucky. I remember you so you can go in again, but you should have had your hand stamped. Take a look at the stamp I used today. It’s cute.”
Cam passed her hand under the small lamp again. Uncle George looked at it. “It’s a frog sitting on a lily pad,” Cam said.
Cam and Uncle George met Eric and Aunt Katie outside the security office. Two security guards were with them. One guard was short and had a long curly beard. The other guard was a woman with long blonde hair.
Cam said to them,“I’ll bet a lot of people came to you today and told you their wallets had been stolen.”
“Yes.”
“Well, if you follow me, I’ll take you to the thief. I know just where he’s hiding.”
