Suckers - J.A. Konrath

nothing happened during that time...at least, that's what they said. The rumors, and I believe
them, are that they were just too frightened to print the truth."
I continued to withstand the "BOO!" urge, which required almost superhuman strength at
this point.
"Shortly after that, in the middle of the night, the father woke up...and there was the ghost of
Jarvis, standing right there in the doorway. But instead of hiding under the blankets, the father
got up and went after it. He ran down the stairs, but there was no sign of the ghost...it had
vanished. Vanished into the netherworld. They moved out the next day.
"They sold the Taywood house to a man who lived by himself. Six months later, he
disappeared. They don't know what happened to him. They never found a note, they never found
a body...but they did find his shoes, lying on the staircase. And since then, nobody has lived
there. The house is empty...vacant, except for the ghost of Jarvis Taywood...silent except for his
footsteps on the stairs...except for certain nights, dark nights, when the neighbors swear they can
hear whispering...and screaming..."
"BOO!" I shouted.
Several of the girls shot me dirty looks. Theresa put her finger to her lips and shushed me.
Ashamed, I stared at the floor and was silent.
"So remember, girls, never go near the Taywood house. Jarvis still haunts it to this day...and
he might just follow you home."
"BOO!" said Kyle. The girls shrieked in terror and then burst into delighted laughter. Roger
handed the flashlight back to Becky and got to his feet.
"Is that all true, Uncle Roger?" asked Theresa.
"There's only one way to find out," Roger told her.
I smacked him in the shoulder before he could pursue that line of thinking any further. But
not hard enough.
* * *
A couple hours later, all of the girls had been claimed by their parents except Becky. We sat
in the living room, watching Kill Or You're Dead, or possibly the sequel.
"I think we should go explore the Taywood house," said Roger.
"Shut up, Roger," I suggested.
"No, really! It would be fun."
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