“Spencer!” Cassie hissed. “What are you doing?”
He had already disappeared inside the house. So she turned to me. “We can’t do this, Diane,” she moaned. “What if we get caught?”
“If we get caught, we’ll tell him we came over for extra math credit,” Lenny joked. With a grunt, he raised himself through the open window.
“Diane!” Cassie whispered frantically. “This is crazy! It really is!”
I knew Cassie was right. I also knew we could all get in major trouble. But as I said, I felt too excited to be sensible. I was just caught up in the whole thing. Caught up by the craziness of it.
“Cassie, stay out here if you want,” I murmured, and followed the two boys inside.
Cassie stood still for a minute before crawling in behind us. “This is a huge mistake,” she repeated in a trembling voice. “A huge mistake.”
Jordan slid in behind her, blinking, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.
“Let’s do some damage!” Lenny cried happily. He found a switch on the wall and flicked on the light.
“Noo!” Spencer cried and and slapped the switch back down. “Are you out of your mind?” he growled. “What if a neighbor sees the light? What if Crowell gets home and sees a light on?”
“Yeah. You’re right. Sorry,” Lenny muttered.
We crept around Mr. Crowell’s house for a few minutes. The wooden floorboards squeaked and creaked beneath our shoes.
Moonlight shone through the living room window, reflecting off the furniture. The living room was cluttered, jammed with electronics. I saw a computer and printer, a big television set. And a nice stereo. Lots of CDs.
“Spencer, are we just going to creep around? What are we going to do?” I demanded in a harsh whisper. “It’s late. Mr. Crowell could come home any second.”
“Let’s trash the place,” Lenny suggested.
Jordan gasped and spun around. “No way!” he cried. “We can’t trash the place. That’s a serious crime, Lenny.”
“I have a better idea,” Spencer announced. “Let’s just move a few things around.”
“Huh? What good is that?” Lenny demanded.
“It’s a great idea!” I chimed in. “If we just move a couple of items, Mr. Crowell will know someone was in here. He’ll freak out!”
“Yeah. He’ll totally freak,” Spencer agreed. “But he won’t have any real reason to call the police.”
It sounded harmless to me. Even Cassie agreed.
Spencer crossed the room to the Christmas tree. He pulled the star off the top and set it on the mantel.
Lenny snickered. He grabbed an arm of the couch and tugged the couch around until it faced a wall.
Jordan switched around a couple of pictures in the hallway. He hung one upside down.
Giggling, Cassie tied a pair of window curtains together. Then she turned on the computer.
I didn’t touch anything. Instead, I explored the rest of the house. Mr. Crowell had good taste. The kitchen was filled with shiny new appliances. Expensive-looking pots and pans hung from hooks in the ceiling. A tall vase stuffed with silk flowers sat on the kitchen table.
I walked down a short hallway to check out the bathroom. This room didn’t have a window, so I chanced turning on the light by the medicine cabinet.
The shower curtain pictured Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. I burst out laughing. Nasty Mr. Crowell, a closet cartoon-watcher? I couldn’t believe it.
I left the light on and shut the door behind me. That would give him something to think about!
Out in the hallway, the only light came from the moon shining through the living room windows. I trailed my fingers along the wall as I walked, letting my eyes grow used to the shadows.
So dark. And quiet.
I moved along the back hall. Found myself in a small bedroom at the back of the house.
I should get back, I thought. Why did I wander back here? I can’t hear my friends.
I started toward the door—when I saw the dark figure stretched out on the bed.
I saw the long legs first. Then the arms, sprawled out at the sides.
Not moving. Not moving at all.
I blinked hard, trying to force the image away.
But it didn’t disappear. It remained, black against the dark gray of the bedspread.
A man’s body. Mr. Crowell’s body. Stretched—unmoving—on the bed.
“Ohh—!”
I had just enough time to cry out before two hands grabbed me from behind.