| |
Madisyn put away her clothes and looked out her only window. The mansion sat at an angle; if she put her face close to the glass, she could see the dock.
She plopped on the bed; a little lumpy but good enough. This will be a nice way to spend the summer before going back to Anisteem College for her senior year. So far, Ms. McMaster didn’t seem like a slave driver; being a helping hand was what the job seemed to entail.
Madisyn got out of bed and walked downstairs to find Mary. She walked into the library and saw Mary sitting at the desk looking at papers. She cleared her throat. “Do you need help with anything, Ms. McMaster?”
Mary looked up. “Yes, first, call me Mary. And second, the blueprints to the mansion are here.”
Madisyn walked up to the desk and picked up the fragile linin prints that Mary slid toward her on the desk.
“What I want to do,” Mary said, “is find the secret passages and rooms. I know they’re not on the blueprints, but maybe you can look at them while you walk around and see if you can figure out where they possibly could be.”
“It seems like a job for Nancy Drew and that’s right up my alley.” Madisyn scanned the prints, then looked at Mary who was putting the remainder of the papers that were on the desk into a drawer. “But do you have any actual work like sweeping or cleaning? I’d be happy to do it.”
“Yes, you can help me burn a stinky old doll that I found in the servants’ quarters. It’s in the kitchen.”
Madisyn followed Mary into the kitchen where a trash can was tipped over by the sink.
“Pickles, did you get into the garbage?” Mary said, looking down at the dog walking next to her.
Madisyn watched as Mary sat the can upright and looked inside.
“The doll’s missing. Did you take it, Pickles?”
Madisyn smiled when she watched Pickles look up at Mary with the saddest look on his wrinkly little face. “He looks innocent to me. What does it look like?”
Mary put the can back under the sink. “It’s about this tall and looks like, and don’t laugh—a voodoo doll, at least that’s what Eddie said.”
“Don’t worry about sounding weird, I find all that paranormal stuff interesting. I even have friends who have their own investigation team. But I don’t think it’s going to take ghost hunters to find a doll that Pickles took from the trash.”
“You’re right,” Mary said, putting her hands on her hips. “Pickles couldn’t have taken it too far. It has to be in this house someplace.”