Suckers - J.A. Konrath
Suckers - J.A. Konrath
Suckers - J.A. Konrath
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No response.<br />
"Here, Roger, Roger, Roger! C'mere, boy!" I said, letting out a dog-whistle.<br />
Still nothing.<br />
Great. As if he hadn't regressed enough by dragging me out here in the first place, now he<br />
was playing obnoxious teenager pranks. If I walked downstairs looking for him, he'd probably<br />
leap out at me from behind that ugly couch. What a dork.<br />
I briefly considered turning the tables on him, letting out a scream of terror and faking my<br />
own death (or something comparable). But then I figured that if he actually had heard a noise, it<br />
might have been Mrs. Whatever and the kids. Most likely, they were all plotting against me right<br />
now, but I didn't want to scare the kids, at least not in a fake-my-own-death kind of way.<br />
In a moment of maturity I decided to just walk downstairs and let them jump out. No sense<br />
letting things get out of hand. I'd already put myself at more than enough risk of getting in<br />
trouble tonight.<br />
I casually walked down the stairs, which did creak this time. "Okay, Roger, no more free<br />
Froot Loops at my place if you don't come out right now."<br />
He didn't answer. I headed toward the sofa, keeping close to the wall so that hopefully I<br />
could see behind it before he decided to jump out at me. But he wasn't there.<br />
I checked the dining room and kitchen, including the pantry. No sign of him.<br />
I quickly checked the rest of the downstairs area.<br />
Nothing.<br />
Fine. So he left me. I opened the front door, which let out such a loud creak that I wondered<br />
if he really could have gotten out without my hearing it.<br />
I walked outside, shutting the door behind me, and went over to the van, which I was almost<br />
surprised to find was still there. Becky's mom rolled down her window. "Have fun?"<br />
"Oh, gobs. Did Roger come out here?"<br />
She shook her head. "Not that I saw."<br />
"Are you sure?"<br />
"Positive." She certainly looked believable enough, but I wasn't about to discount anyone<br />
from Roger's sinister plan.<br />
"Well, then, he's just being a doofus," I said, walking around and getting in the van. "What<br />
about you guys?" I asked, looking back at Theresa, Kyle, and Becky. "Have you seen Uncle<br />
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