There wasn’t a doorbell. Dunc dropped the big brass lion’s head knocker three times against the door and waited. They heard a strange shuffling sound, and then the door creaked open.

A little man with a hunchback and long gray hair looked at them suspiciously.

Dunc whipped out the basket. “Welcome Wagon!”

The oak door slammed in his face.

“Maybe he doesn’t eat fruit,” Amos said.

Dunc tried the knocker again. This time when the little man pulled the door open, Dunc stuck his foot inside. “Sorry to bother you, mister, but my friend and I have a quota. We have to welcome at least three people this morning or we could lose our jobs.”

The little man picked at something in his hair, examined it, and then put it in his mouth.

Amos made a face. “I was right. He doesn’t eat fruit.”

Dunc leaned against the door. “Excuse me, sir, is there someone else here I could talk to?”

The little man looked past him. His eyes lit up. He clapped his hands together and raced out the door and down the drive.

Amos watched him run. “I’d take that as a definite no, if I were you.”

Dunc stepped inside the house. “Hello? Is anybody home?” His words echoed in the emptiness.

“Maybe we should come back later?” Amos suggested. “When someone who doesn’t eat bugs is here.”

Dunc put the basket of fruit on the hall table. “Now’s our chance, Amos. We’ll take a quick look around before the family gets back, and nobody will be the wiser.”

“I don’t know, Dunc. If all of C.D.’s relatives are like that guy …”

Dunc started up the staircase. “You check the basement. I’ll take a look up here.” He disappeared down the hall before Amos could finish his argument.

“It would serve him right if I just went home right now,” Amos pouted. “Vampires. That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Amos walked by a portrait hanging above the fireplace. A thin woman sat on a stone bench. She had long ebony hair with a white streak in it and wore a tight, slinky black dress. Behind her was a tall, distinguished-looking man with piercing eyes. C.D. stood next to the woman. He was dressed in a black tuxedo and had a silk-lined cape draped over his shoulders.

“Coincidence,” Amos said out loud. “There’s no law against dressing like you just got off the boat from Transylvania.”

He moved into the kitchen. “Nothing wrong here. Looks like a normal, everyday-type kitchen.” He swallowed. “If you don’t count the fact that there’s no refrigerator.” He jerked open some of the cabinets. “And no food.”

Amos opened a door at the far end of the kitchen. Dirt steps led down. He fingered the garlic in his pocket and searched for a light switch. There wasn’t one.

He thought he heard a rustling sound in the darkness, maybe like wings flapping. “Hel-lo?” Amos’s voice cracked. “Is somebody down there?”

No answer.

Then he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

“Aaaahhhh!” Amos jumped two feet backward.

“Get a grip, Amos. It’s just me. Did you find anything?”

“Don’t ever do that again,” Amos snarled.

“I thought you didn’t buy this vampire stuff.” Dunc smirked. He glanced around the kitchen. “That’s odd. I wonder why they don’t have a refrigerator?” He flipped open his note pad and wrote something down. “Have you checked out the basement yet?”

“I was just about to when you snuck up on me. I’m having a little trouble finding the light switch.”

“Some of these old dirt basements don’t have any electricity. Look around for a flashlight.”

In the cabinet next to the door, Dunc found a candle and some matches. “Here, Amos. You better hurry. There may not be much time. You don’t want to get caught down there and have to explain what you’re doing.”

“Wait a minute. Aren’t you coming with me?”

“Someone has to stay up here and keep watch. I’ll warn you if I hear anyone coming.”

“You’re so helpful.” Amos lit the candle and tested the first step. It seemed secure enough. At the second step he had to brush aside some cobwebs to get past.

“Dunc, it really stinks down here. I think I’m stepping in something.”

“Never mind that. Look for clues.”

Amos reached the bottom step and held the candle up. He heard the rustling noise again. The air was hot and stuffy. He sat down on a long wooden bench against the wall and wiped his forehead.

Suddenly the bench began to move.

Amos leaped to his feet and held the candle close for a better look.

It wasn’t a bench.

It was a coffin.