Night Shift (Book 1, the Night Shift series)

Chapter Twenty-five

"You found what?" Oscar asked. He and Blanche were settled on a leather sofa in the home theatre with Petey eating a bowl of popcorn between them.

Ruth Ann held a bag of sweets and said, "A secret room with no bodies."

Blanche put down her martini, a light purple one this time. "I call it a Mauve Maureen," she told them. "But really, you're not making any sense."

"Okay, it's like this," Jonathan started. "Daniel's mother's ghost told him—"

"It's a memory," Daniel interrupted. "Not a ghost story."

"And then he and Mary triggered a secret lever," Ruth Ann explained. "The whole picture swung open like a real door!" She popped a few chocolate-covered candies into her mouth.

Jonathan helped himself to a handful of Petey's popcorn and said, "Well, you have to step over the lip at the bottom."

"Like the Gryffindor common room," Ruth Ann added, cheerfully.

Oscar's gaze slid back and forth between Jonathan and Ruth Ann.

"But there's no bodies?" Petey asked, almost disappointed.

"It's only a bare room," Daniel said. Mary, he noticed, remained quiet, slumped in a chair by herself.

"Nothing?" Blanche pouted. "Not even a closet? Check again, they keep extra merchandise all over this place. Maybe there are some vintage dresses in there!"

"Sorry," Ruth Ann said. "There are just four walls, a chandelier, and one huge, dusty rug. It's tacked down and practically covers the whole floor." She wrinkled her nose. "It's faded and old, though."

"And this is the shocking part," Jonathan said, wiping his greasy hands on the back of his jeans. "It's dark blue with a huge gold W in the middle...or an M, depending on where you're standing."

"I've already checked," Ruth Ann told them, importantly. "There are no messages in the design around the rug's border." Everyone blinked at her, expressionless. "Well," she said, letting her voice drop, "it was in a Nancy Drew book, once." She stayed quiet and decided to concentrate on picking out a sugar-covered almond.

"I don't think anyone has been in that room for decades," Daniel said.

"That's useless," Petey grumbled. "It sounds too small to be any fun."

"Nah," Jonathan said. "But the doorway is wide enough for a mattress." He grinned at Ruth Ann.

"I can't believe this," Oscar said. "Did it occur to any of you that crawling through a hole in the wall might not be the wisest idea? Ruth Ann, I'm surprised, you usually show more common sense than this."

"Actually," Jonathan said, taking more popcorn, "we made her go in. She was too scared."

Ruth Ann nodded, trying to look blameless.

"What if you had gotten trapped?" Oscar asked. "How would we know where to look for you?"

The others suddenly become interested in their shoes. Daniel felt like he was in the principal's office. "I have a phone," he reasoned.

"You can't take chances like that," Oscar said. "Be smart. I don't want you fools to disappear too." His words quivered at the end.

It was unsettling to see Oscar like this, his hopelessness palpable. Daniel remembered his father's similar expression, even years after his mother's car accident—Oscar, he realized, was mourning.

Blanche reached over the bowl of popcorn and put a hand on his shoulder. "They're perfectly safe."

"Yeah," Jonathan said. "Besides, how much more can happen this week? Come on."