The Will
1
Parker Dundee looked up at the front of the house on the hill. He repressed the shudder trying to eat through his system. It was big enough to be a mansion to a rich man, but the outside looked run down and in poor condition. He wondered who he knew who wanted to give him something like this.
Parker had received a note in the mail, marking out time and place for the reading of the will. He took the time off to drive to the meeting in his ten-year-old Honda. He planned to find out what was going on, have dinner, then drive back home two states over. He had put a day on each side to give himself a buffer in case he had problems finding the place, or heading home on time.
Parker looked to his right as another car pulled up the long driveway. It parked behind his, the driver getting out in a flourish of a scarf. Clear blue eyes went over him in a second, dismissing him as unimportant.
"Name's Parker Dundee," Parker said, trying to smile. "Do you know what this is about?"
"Just that someone died," said the woman, checking her watch. "From the looks of things, I don't see a point of leaving this monstrosity to anyone. It should be condemned and torn down."
A pick up and a motorcycle rolled down the driveway, blocking an easy exit by the impatient woman. The bike rider stowed his helmet on the back of the beat up Kawasaki. He smiled at the others as he took off his jacket and dropped it into a saddle bag. The new driver got out, pushing his CAT ball cap up as he looked over the other three.
At least they were friendlier looking than the woman, thought Parker.
"How's it going?," Parker asked. "Parker Dundee. I don't know the name of the lady."
"Miranda Rambo," said the woman, giving the two newcomers the same dismissive glance she had given Parker.
"Carter Malone," said the pick up driver, looking up at the house. "It doesn't look like much, does it?"
"It's not worth my time," said Miranda.
"Lloyd Nolan," said the bike rider. "Let's go up to the door. We're invited after all."
"All right," said Parker. "I didn't know Carey. I think I got my invite by mistake."
"Neither did I," said Malone.
"Is that important?," asked Miranda.
"I guess not," said Parker.
"None of us knew the man," said Nolan. "It seems strange that he would pick four names out of a hat to leave his earthly belongings to. People usually leave things to their families."
"It's a little weird," said Miranda, starting up the cement walk leading to the spacious but broken down porch. "Maybe we're long lost cousins."
"Cousins?," said Parker. He admired the way she walked as he tramped up the walk behind her. "I guess that's reasonable."
"There's no use trying to hash it out until we talk to the lawyer who arranged this," said Malone. "I have a feeling he'll want to push this elephant on us and collect his money before we can say no."
Parker knocked on the heavy wooden door, noting the way it leaned in the frame. The material must be warped by the local weather. He knocked again, feeling the shakiness of the thing. He wasn't a burly guy, but he felt as if he could push through the door like it was made of wet paper.
"Nobody home?," said Miranda. "I don't have time for games."
"Calm down," said Malone, pushing his hat back from his forehead. "We're early. There might not be anyone here, but he could just as well be in some other part of the house."
"I don't like this at all," said Miranda. "This house doesn't look valuable enough to leave to someone."
"You can always leave," said Malone. He looked older than what Parker had originally guessed. "We won't tell you were here."
"You have to be kidding," she said. "I want to at least find out how much this wreck is worth so I can sell my quarter."
Miranda knocked on the door with a manicured hand, determination setting her face. She was surrounded by three men who were both strangers and strange to her. The faster she could get this done, the better as far as she was concerned.
The door opened to reveal a thin man in an old-fashioned suit, glasses perched on a hawk's beak of a nose, gray hair pulled back from a high forehead. A ring glittered on one hand. A faint smile competed with a puzzled look on his face.
"How do you do?," said the thin man. "I'm Ben McCallister. You must be the heirs. You're early."
"This is a nice house and all," said Parker. "I don't think any of us know why it would be left to us."
"Let us adjourn to the library," said McCallister. "Since we're all here, we might as well begin, early or not."
The thin man led the way into the house, leaving the door open for the inheritors to follow. The inside of the place had been well decorated at one time, but had lost the fight to mold and mildew. Cracks lined the walls, several lamps hung from their holders.
Parker raised his eyebrows at his companions. This must be a joke. They had been called from all over the country for an estate that looked like it had already seen better years. Maybe there were some hidden assets that needed to be shared out.
Parker didn't really believe that. He told himself that to keep from leaving. He still had to drive back to his home five hundred miles away after this was over. He didn't want to think he had wasted his time on something stupid.
He led the way after the lawyer, examining the crusty wallpaper, the stained pictures, cobwebs and dust on the walls. Nothing a good cleaning couldn't fix.
He told himself that lie all the way to the library. Burning and rebuilding the place was the only things that would make it look better.
"This place is a dump," said Miranda, ill concealed disgust on her face. "What are we supposed to do with this?"
"Live here," said McCallister as he pushed open the door to the library, walking to the heavy desk that dominated the room.
"You have got to be kidding," said Miranda. "Not for a million bucks."
"I only report the provisions of the will," said the lawyer. "It is up to you to decide to honor them or not. Please sit."
Parker noticed the four chairs in front of the desk. They looked recently cleaned, and in better condition than the rest of the furniture he had noticed on the way to the library. He took one in the center, elbows on the padded arms of the thing.
Mr. McCallister waited for the others to join Parker before beginning. He had an annoying twinkle in his eyes as he straightened out his papers. The desk looked recently cleaned also from where Dundee sat.
"I'm glad that you all answered the invitation," said McCallister, sharp eyes going over the group. "I didn't think you would to be honest."
"Now the first term of the will is the stipulation that you all have to live in the house for a period of a year," began McCallister. "Naturally that means that you will have to find jobs in the community to support yourselves while you wait out the first year."
"You have to be kidding," said Miranda. "I can't just quit my job to move out here to the boondocks."
"I have to agree with that," said Malone. "I have bills to pay."
"Ditto," said Parker. "None of us can simply drop everything to live in another state. Why would that be part of a will in the first place?"
"Mr. Carey was extraordinarily fond of this place," said McCallister. "May I continue?"
"What's the point?," said Miranda, hand making a dismissive flutter. "None of us can live here a year. We all have things we have to do that are more important. It looks like you called the wrong heirs."
"I could live here a year," said Nolan, cutting through the racket. "I don't want to."
"I understand your concern," said McCallister, looking over the four inheritors. "Mr. Carey felt it was necessary for you to take care of the house for that length of time before you received the benefits of the estate. We are talking in excess of a million dollars split four ways."
"So what?," said Miranda.
"That's a lot of money, little missy," said Malone. "A man can retire on that much money."
"This has all the markings of a scam," said Miranda. "If there was that much money available, why is this place a wreck? Think about it."
"What's your stake in all this, Mr. McCallister?," asked Parker. "How much do you make?"
"I get it all if the heirs forfeit their claim," said the lawyer. "If you decide to stay, I collect my fee which is five percent of the estate after taxes and fees."
"What are you thinking, Dundee?," Miranda asked.
"I'm thinking about staying," said Parker. "I just want to know if there is any provision for cleaning this wreck up in that will first."
"Estate monies can be used on the house's general maintenance," said McCallister. "Repairs, some cleaning, so forth."
"Who controls that?," asked Dundee.
"The estate executor which is me at the moment," said the lawyer, raising an eyebrow. "It wouldn't be much."
"Can we talk about this?," asked Parker.
The four heirs stepped out of the office to talk without the lawyer's attention. Parker frankly admitted to himself that the man creeped him out. Still he had an idea they could use to maybe make some money before turning down the offer completely.
"Guys," said Parker. "I know we all have bills to pay, but maybe we can get McCallister to pay for us to live here to fix up the place. It's not a perfect plan, but I don't want to lose out just because I can't find a job."
"You're saying we should ask him to pay us to inherit the house," said Malone. "I don't think that will work."
"I don't see why not," said Parker. "We will probably have to stay here all the time for a while before we can inherit any money. We can fix up the place while we're here, and he can pay us to do it."
"He won't agree to that," said Miranda. "Besides my job offers me more money than what I could get as a groundskeeper."
"What do you do?," asked Parker.
"I work for an investment firm, managing people's funds," said Miranda.
"You can do that anywhere," pointed out Parker.
"I like where I live," said Miranda. "This place is a hole, Dundee. Who would want to live here?"
"I think it's some kind of test to see if we're worthy of this inheritance," said Parker. "If the fortune is big enough, this Carey might have only wanted to leave it to someone he felt wouldn't spend it out of hand."
"That's a lot of trouble to put people he didn't know through," pointed out Malone.
"That's probably why there's a test," said Dundee. "I never heard of this guy, or this place, before today."
"Let's say that's true," said Malone. "Why us? Why did he pick four total strangers to inherit any fortune? Surely there's someone closer he could give his money to."
"Maybe not," said Nolan.
"There's some kind of trick to this," said Miranda. "We all feel it. We should back out and let some other suckers have the money."
"I agree," said Dundee. "We should leave, but something is going to happen and I want to know what before I go home."
2
The four heirs discussed their options with McCallister. He revealed to them that beyond the fact they had to stay on the estate for a year, they were free to roam as long as they slept in the house, or on the grounds at least four of the week's seven days. He was also willing to go along with Parker's idea to hire them as staff so they had a net to live on while they hunted for alternate jobs.
The terms of the will were insistent on that fact.
It also insisted that if they wanted to stay in the running for the fortune, they all had to stay the night of the reading. That was when their year started, and then they had three days out of the next week to fix their job situation back at their respective homes.
Carey had made that part of his last testament iron clad.
Miranda insisted on papers proving the actual worth of Mr. Carey before he died. That was the only way she was going to spend a night in an armpit like the leftover house.
McCallister obliged, knowing she was hooked once she saw the amount of money involved. He could tell it from the way her eyes lit from within. The others had already started thinking about moving in for their own reasons. He knew that when they presented their caretaker scheme. The money was icing on the cake. Only Nolan seemed unmoved either way. The lawyer examined the silent heir with his sparkling eyes, wondering what the man was thinking.
"There's no food, electricity, or water," said McCallister. "So if you want to get something to eat, drink, or just use the bathroom, I suggest you go into town for it. You have to be back here before the sun goes down, or you're out."
The party broke up as the heirs decided what they wanted to do, which was more important, and whether or not they should bring something back for later. Finally everyone gave Parker money and a list of food to bring back from the local fast food place. Malone and Nolan would clean out a place for them to stay if they could. Miranda was put in charge of inventorying the wreck to see if there was anything usable by the four.
It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was the best they could come up with at the moment.
When Parker returned minutes before sun down, he was pleasantly surprised that Nolan and Malone had cleared one room of molded furniture, and placed clean blankets on the floor as palettes. A portable radio had been set up to provide music.
They thought they were ready for the night ahead as they shared out the food and stacked canned beverages for easy reach. The front gate closed while they ate, McCallister standing on the outside marking the passage of the sun to its evening destination.
3
As soon as the sun cast its last rays on the land, the gate changed. It had been a conventional iron bar fence across the driveway leading up to the house. Night brought height and width. The bars were solid sheets of metal riveted together. Then the wall expurgated blades of flame as each brick took on a face all its own.
The messy yard grew beasts that no man saw outside of nightmares. The weeds whipped around frantically, becoming something fearsome. The grass let out a low moan of hate and wrath.
The house took on the aspect of a demonic old man. Even the peeling paint became acne and a five o'clock shadow while the roof pretended partial baldness. It glared out over the wall with its window eyes.
Vertigo washed over Parker Dundee. He grabbed a bottle of water to steady himself. He looked around, wondering what had happened to the living room the heirs were using for their quarters. It was different somehow, and the colors off.
The feeling passed. Parker lurched to his feet, holding back a scream, or a yell. He had known something was up. Now he had the proof and he wanted to run for the exit as fast as his legs could carry him.
"What's wrong, Dundee?" Miranda looked around the room blankly. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"We have to get out of here." Parker headed for the door. It slammed shut in front of him, trapping him with the others. "We're in big trouble."
Nolan stood up. He went to the door and kicked it hard. The wood held under the blow. He stepped back and kicked it again with more force. The barrier rattled but did not fall.
"What's going on with you two?" Malone got to his feet, holding out a hand for Miranda. He looked around, seeing nothing wrong. "You're acting crazy."
That's when the musty picture over the fireplace came to life. Arms from yesterday reached out of two dimensions, hands grabbed the edges of the frame and pulled. Malone and Miranda backed away from the ancient in the picture pulling himself into the real world with jagged teeth exposed.
"That's something you don't see every day." Malone pushed Miranda behind him. If the picture guy wanted to hurt them, he was going to have to go through the trucker first.
"I think ever is the right word." Miranda looked around. The lamps were jack o' lanterns. They laughed silently in her face.
Nolan grabbed one of the altered lamps, ignoring the surprised look on its face. He hurled it at the living picture. The face took the impact from the metal stand and dropped back with a lost grip on reality. The silent man rushed over and yanked the picture down off the wall, dropping it face first on the ground.
"Anybody got a plan to get out of here?" Dundee went to the windows. He tried them with his hands, and then used the lamp on the panes. The metal base bounced off the dirty glass and dropped to the floor. Parker tried to ignore the faces he could see moving in the dirt covering the rectangles.
"The windows don't break." Malone tried his hand with a potted plant trying to grab his arms on another one across the room. "The doors won't open. We're trapped in this mad house."
"Give me that." Miranda took the pot from the big man. She carried it over to where the picture tried to push Nolan off his back. "Turn it over."
Nolan flipped the picture over with his foot, stepping back. Miranda threw the pot down in the picture on top of the old man trying to climb out. He caught the plant and receded in darkness. He seemed surprised as the fronds bit at his face and hands.
"I hope you don't do that at your board meetings." Malone took the picture and shoved it in the fireplace. He had to fold it several times, breaking the frame as he did so.
"I wanted to a few times." Miranda looked at the changed room. "How do we get out of here?"
Nolan set fire to the picture with a lighter. It went up in a puff of flame and a scream. Smoke poured out of the fireplace with long lost faces moaning their fates before it rose to the ceiling in a thin layer.
"The door's open." Dundee dropped the lamp, and pulled the barrier out of the way. "Looks like we can leave."
"It's never that easy." Miranda marched to the opening. "We're in for the long haul."
Parker walked around Miranda, and headed for the front door. He tried the knob. He banged his fist on the wood. It rang like metal. He shook his head. The reflection in the mirror next to the door grinned from ear to ear. Dundee grabbed the frame and flung the looking glass to the tiled floor.
Might as well not take the chance it would try to climb out after them.
He jumped on the shattered glass a few times for good measure before he walked back to where the others waited. At least he didn't have to tell them they were locked in Psychotic Mansion.
"Any ideas?" Parker looked around the hall. The others looked calmer than he felt. "The front is locked."
"The kitchen is probably locked down just as tight." Malone adjusted his ball cap. "We can stay down here and defend ourselves, or go looking for answers."
"I say we stay right here until daylight." Miranda crossed her arms. "We can see every door opening on the hall, and have clear sight if more trouble happens."
"I say we go looking for trouble before it comes for us." Malone glared down at the woman. "Staying in one place here is likely to get us killed."
"We need information." Parker headed for the library.
Nolan followed silently, shrugging at the looks the other two gave him. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Parker paused at the door to the library. Nolan waited on the other side of the frame. Anything could be waiting for them. One wrong move could kill both of them before they found out anything useful. They couldn't wait for something big enough to come kill them, nor could they look for it before it left its lair. Instead they needed information to kill it before either happened.
And the only place he could think of to get that information was the library, the cleanest place in the whole house from the looks of it at the reading.
Nolan nodded, and Parker flung the door open, stepping out of the way. Nothing erupted to attack them. Instead Nolan charged in, ready to fight. The library was dead.
"What are you looking for, Dundee?" Miranda followed Parker into the silent room. The place looked cleaner than it had when they had sat through McCallister's talking. What was a touch more of the fantastic on top of what they had already encountered?
"An explanation for this weird house." Parker went to the desk, opening all the drawers first before he started carefully going over the contents. When he was done with one drawer, he shut it. "Why don't you guys start on the shelves? See if there is anything hidden in the books."
"Sounds crazy to me." Malone picked up a chair and moved it to bar the door.
"We have hours before dawn." Parker placed some interesting looking papers on the desk top before continuing his search. "We need to find some clue, anything, to tell us why we were picked, and what's going on."
"Maybe this Carey is still alive." Malone went to the windows behind Parker and looked outside. "Looks like a jungle out there."
"Maybe." Parker started going over his finds as Nolan worked on the shelves. He nodded that the man was taking things from the rows where people actually put books to read later instead of trying above or below eye level. "What do we do that makes us so special? I deliver pizzas. Miranda works for a stock broker. Doesn't seem like much in common. We're not related as far as I know. So what did he do to get our names?"
"These books are all on the occult." Miranda went over the pile on the floor that Nolan had stacked after shaking them out. "Carey must have been a magic nut."
"Don't doubt it." Malone turned from the window. "We must have been nuts too."
Parker Dundee read everything in the desk he had found interesting twice. Lloyd Nolan and Miranda Rambo had found some more papers in the books they had searched. Carter Malone had prowled the room, trying to find anything that might be used as a weapon. He had secured a letter opener and an umbrella.
"According to this stuff, Carey had planned for this to happen." Parker waved at the documents. "He had built his house here just for this night."
"Why?" Miranda started putting the cleared books back on the center shelf. "What did he hope to get out of it?"
"It doesn't say." Parker went through the sheets until he found one in particular. "His notes say he left weapons behind if we can find them."
"What kind of weapons?" Malone looked down at the letter opener and umbrella. "These won't do a lot of good against something tough."
"It doesn't say that either." Parker got up from his seat and headed for the door, papers in hand. "Carey mentions them but he's close-lipped about where they are and what they do. The only thing he was clear about is something will happen in the basement if we don't find something to deal with it."
"We're not talking about just us, are we?" Malone got in front of the door with a lumbering jog resembling a bear's.
"It doesn't matter." Parker tried to step around the bigger man. "According to this, if we can't stop whatever is going to happen, we're first. That's why the house is locked down so we can't escape. Apparently Carey thought he could stop the big show himself."
"You're saying someone killed him so he wouldn't get in the way." Malone danced in front of Parker to prevent him from getting the chair loose from under the door knob.
"I'm saying someone is going to kill us if we don't figure out what Carey did with his weapons to stop this eruption he thought was going to happen." Parker finally grabbed the chair and pulled it out of the way. "I'd like to go down fighting."
"It's upstairs." Miranda waved a picture, Nolan standing by her side. "This picture is a drawing of the upstairs bedrooms. I remember looking the rooms over while we were getting our stuff together."
"Let's do what we have to do." Parker reached for the door knob.
"What if you're wrong, Dundee?" Malone grabbed Parker's shoulder.
"I hope I am wrong." Parker threw the door open. "I hope this is some kind of prank to see if they can scare us off the money. If it isn't, I want to be ready for whatever is going to happen. If you want to stay here, I'm cool with that. I won't."
4
Parker made his way down the hall. The stairs to the second floor creaked near the back of the house. A dining room hissed at him from his right as he went to the old stairs. Something sizzled in the kitchen on the other side of the open space.
"That didn't sound good." Miranda was at his elbow, looking at the closed kitchen door.
"Keep moving." Malone held his makeshift weapons on Parker's other side.
"Do you two mind?" Parker looked over one shoulder, then the other. "You're crowding me."
"Do we have to go up the stairs?" Miranda looked up at the dark opening.
"You can find out what's cooking if you want." Parker took two steps to get away from his shadows. "Let's try to spread out so we don't all die at the same time, okay?"
Parker started up the stairs, watching the treads and the bannister. The house was tricky enough with the moving furniture that he didn't want to be taken by surprise. At least there weren't any pictures on the walls. The lamps grinned down at him. There was nothing he could do about that.
Parker paused at the second floor landing, stepping out of the way to make room for the others. He looked at the doors. There were four of them, plain brown peeling paint on their faces. He walked down at the hall, ready for anything to leap out at him.
He didn't like expecting trouble with each step. It wore him out just from nerves.
"Let's pick one of these doors and search the room." Parker hovered among the four entrances. "Maybe we'll get lucky on the first try."
"I wish I had that much luck." Miranda went to the door farthest down the hall. She pulled on the knob. The door sprang open, dragging her inside. It shut itself, plate sliding across the front.
"I guess she wasn't that lucky." Nolan went to the closest door. He opened it and stepped inside without prompting.
"Which one do you want?" Parker regarded the two doors left. There was a better than even chance they would get killed by what lay behind those wooden panels.
"I'll take this one." Malone went to the other front room and stepped inside the door.
"I am the cheese." Parker went to the last door. He pulled the door open and went inside.
Parker expected a weird bedroom, things trying to kill him when he stepped inside. He looked around day lit land, a Greek temple holding up the sky.
He climbed the stone steps, looking around. For a natural setting, he was surprised not to hear anything like bugs, or see birds in the air. He found the unusual had become common.
The temple was one room centered around a fountain of dead water. The stone floor gleamed under the sun. Parker walked to the round retaining wall to look in the black liquid.
Parker walked around the stone wall, looking in the water. This was the only place around, so this is where he needed to be. The only thing in the building had to be where Carey hid his weapon. Parker didn't like the vibe the water gave him.
It seemed threatening in its motionlessness.
Everything seemed threatening now.
Parker had two choices. He could reach around inside the water until he found out what he was looking for, or he could try to empty the water out somehow. He had no idea how he could do that on first impression.
He paused to think.
Parker decided to reach inside the fountain. He knew that wasn't the best the thing to do, but he didn't know what else he could do under the circumstances.
The liquid reached for his arm, seizing him around the wrist. He tried to pull back from the cold grip. His feet braced against the stone wall. Images from DVDs played through his head. He had to break loose.
He should have spent more time working out than watching videos.
Parker strained against the holding fluid. He could feel his back snapping unpleasantly. It sounded like little dice clicking together. Dundee searched his pockets, thinking of something he could do to fight back if he was right. A smile crossed his face when he found his lighter.
Let's see if this works.
Parker flipped the igniter wheel. His body was bent double straining against the killer fluid. He set the flame against the black stuff, hoping he wasn't wrong. It recoiled from the orange light.
"Looks like game over." Parker pulled his shirt off and set it alight. He needed to search the fountain, and a torch was going to help him. He spun the cloth over his head, whipping the flame into a frenzy.
Parker whipped his weapon just above the surface of the oily defender. It parted away from the flame, trying to avoid its touch. The heir worked his way around the fountain. He did this twice, his shirt burning low, before he admitted he didn't know what the water was hiding.
Parker decided to get tough with the water, and dropped the torch in the liquid. He didn't know what would happen. It just seemed like the only thing he could do to solve his problem. He grimaced as the oil turned into a burning column.
The living oil reached for the heir, trying to grab him in its embrace. He skipped back, trying to keep his eyes on it, the fountain, and for any new threat that might present itself. The water formed ash that drifted across the temple.
Parker waited, standing back until the flames had died down enough to let him approach the stone ring left. He spotted a wooden box right away now that its defender was gone. It was on fire, burning softly. A quick grab and toss dropped it on the stone floor. The box sprang open.
A silver strand fell out. His fingers wrapped around it, thinking how warm it felt. He picked it up to examine it closer. It sank into his skin.
Parker flexed his fingers. The warmth from the string seemed to be spreading through his hand. It didn't feel bad. It felt like wrapping in a blanket on a cold day.
Parker wondered what he should do. How were the others? What was coming through the basement? He needed to get back to the house and talk to the others.
5
Lloyd Nolan walked along an open field. The grass reached to his waist, swaying in a cold breeze. He felt something hunting him.
That wasn't unexpected.
Lloyd watched, knowing this was some sort of test. His reading said that things were always guarded by something. And he was looking for something in a stranger than usual house. It made sense the guardian would like to look at him, maybe even palaver with him.
Maybe the guardian would try to kill him when the talking was over.
Lloyd stopped, turning a full circle. Why waste time running? He was here to meet someone. He couldn't do that if he ran away because he was scared. Additionally the door had sealed behind him like Miranda's. He couldn't leave until he had the weapon, if then.
Growling came from the tall grass. Lloyd's hand dropped to the folding knife he carried on his belt. It wasn't much, but it was better than bare hands.
"I just want to talk." Lloyd listened between words. The wind moved the grass so he couldn't tell if the thing was moving or not. "I'm here for Carey's weapon. I don't want to fight."
A wolf's head stuck up out of the sea of grass. Its ears were back as it growled. Amber eyes regarded Nolan with malevolence. It paced forward a few steps. Foam dripped from black lips as it bunched together for a charge.
"Don't." Nolan held up one hand as he fell back in a defensive stance, the thumb of the other hand undoing the clasp on his knife sheath. "I don't want any trouble."
The giant beast charged, growling as it bounded through the grass. It leaped, reaching for Nolan's throat. He dropped on his back, kicking up with a foot. The wolf flew over him and landed in the grass. The heir jumped to his feet.
If he was caught on his back, he was dead.
The wolf rolled to its feet. Something glinted around its neck. Lloyd focused on that glow. The beast wore a collar holding a wooden box around its neck. That must be the thing Carey left behind. He just had to get it away from Fido.
The wolf charged, going for a leg. A crippling attack would render Lloyd immobile and easy pickings. The heir had used the same tactic on other men.
He already had his counter move thought out as it came for him, head low.
The wolf went for his leg. Lloyd leaped over the steel trap jaws, landing on its back. The dog bent double trying to bite him. He grabbed hold of the collar, riding it into the ground, grass slapping his face. He sawed the tough leather apart with the knife as the beast tried to buck him off.
The collar came off in his hands. He leaped away from the wolf, opening the box. A silver strand wrapped around his hand. He backed from his opponent.
That wasn't what he expected.
The wolf sat down, looking at Lloyd. It howled once, then turned and vanished in the grass.
Lloyd turned and went back the way he came. He had what he had came for. The door hung in the air. He pulled it open and stepped outside. That had been a little easier than he thought it should.
6
Carter Malone looked around. He wished he had his pistol on him. He had left it in the truck, under the seat. It was useless out there, but there was no way to get to it with the house sealed.
Malone couldn't sneak no matter how hard he tried. He walked among the trees, looking around. Trees inside of a house fit with the rest of the wild stuff he had seen so far.
Malone wondered what the deal was. He could see that he was in trees, some of which looked like some he had already passed more than once. There was no other landmark as far as he could tell. The sky was sunny, small clouds shuttling along.
He spotted the box out in the open. It sat at the base of a tree, both the same color, almost the same looking texture. His eyes tracked around. Something wasn't right about the set up.
Malone walked over to the box, looking around. It couldn't be this easy. Something was up.
Malone crouched to open the box. He heard something above him, and jumped back. A wood ball sank into the ground where he had been standing. He looked up. A rain of death fell toward him. If he wanted to deal with it, he had to go up.
Malone ran to the nearest tree, dancing between the killers as he grabbed hold of the trunk. This could be a fatal mistake. He pulled himself up, grabbing the next branch with certainty before moving to another spot in the tree. He could hear something in the tree above him. It didn't sound happy that he had decided to invade its nest. His CAT hat fell as he gained a nest built in the tallest branches.
A monkey in an old time usher suit flung a bowling ball at him as he dropped on the platform. He dived to the side, rolling to the edge of the stage. The monkey hurler grabbed another ball out of a bag on its back as it jumped up and down.
Malone leaped forward, trying to take it down before it took his head off. The ball passed an inch away from his head as the monkey released as fast as any baseball pitcher. The wind brushed his cheek as he tried to grab his enemy. The furry devil leaped to another stage in another tree.
It explained the raining bowling balls. The monkey could leap around, throwing the globes down on him while he tried to get the box open. The beast had to go if he wanted to get around on the ground.
The only other option was to just take a beating and hope he wasn't hurt too much trying to get to where he wanted.
A third option presented itself if he didn't mind getting hurt.
The monkey threw another ball at Malone. He faded back to the edge of his standing area. The ball came in hard, but he was able to grab it in both hands without too much pain. He drew back his arm and flung the wood sphere back as hard as he could. The move took his enemy by surprise enough to send it over the edge trying to duck.
Malone jumped over to the other stage before it could recover and climb back on the platform. He dropped to a sitting position, kicking at the monkey with his feet. He connected, sending the guardian down through the branches.
Good. Malone started down after it to claim his prize.
7
Miranda Rambo looked around the small area. This house got on her nerves with its constant changing. She would have loved a simple search in a simple bedroom. That would have been great.
Instead she stood on the bank of a river, watching fish swim. What was she supposed to do about that? She didn't know the first thing about fishing. She looked at the fish, wondering what she should do.
Obviously Carey didn't leave his precious weapon out where anybody could find it. Of course, he probably knew he wasn't going to be around to claim it. Those two facts didn't make sense put together. Maybe this wooded landscape would fool any demon looking for the thing she was looking for. Maybe it was natural for a small brook to cross an enclosed room in Hell. She looked around again, frowning.
The brook cut through a field of short flowers. No other animals were present. The fish kept to themselves, swimming up and down in the current.
That was strange.
It looked like one of the fish was passing her twice as fast as the rest. She watched for the slash mark she had spotted on its back. She saw it again. Maybe that was what the demons wouldn't see if they started looking for Carey's treasure.
That fish swam down as far as she could watch it to the right then reappeared at the start of the run to her left. The other fish seemed to hover in the current, circling in almost the same spot. It was strange behavior, and maybe what she needed.
Miranda took off her blouse. She needed a net. This was the best she could do at the moment. She was glad she was alone. She spread the cloth across the stream so it hung down to the bottom of the trench. She spotted the fish coming her way. It paused when it sensed the barricade. Her body wrapped around the angry creature, sacking it in the shirt. Makeshift net carried its burden to the shore. She dropped it on the ground, letting it flop around for a second while she decided on her next move.
Miranda picked up the fish by the tail, grimacing at its slick scaliness. Her hands shook her catch mouth down. A box fell out on the ground. The size suited an engagement ring. She tossed the fish back in the water.
No need to kill the thing now that she had what she wanted.
Miranda opened the box, pulling out a silver strand. It didn't look like much, almost like a hair. It sank into her hand as she examined it.
Naturally.
Miranda squeezed the water out of her blouse before she put it on. Its damp chilliness was nothing compared to what she felt inside. If they didn't learn how to use what they found, all of them were going to die.
Miranda found a footprint and walked back to where she had entered the fish room. The door she had entered stood cracking the air. She pulled it open and stepped in the hall as the other doors opened.
At least the others had found their objects. Their faces told her they didn't know what they had recovered the same as her.
8
"I take it we all found what Carey hid out." Malone had a bruise growing on his hand. "I'll be hanged if I know what it means."
"Carey must have left some kind of trigger so his weapons could be used by other people." Dundee's hand blushed red to his elbow. He didn't comment on what had happened to his shirt. He pulled out the notes he had found in the library. "My eye hurts like a coal is in the socket."
"Itches." Nolan scratched his arms vigorously, but he looked unharmed to Miranda.
"I found a silver strand in a fish." Miranda rolled up her wet sleeves.
"Monkey." Malone rubbed his bruised hand.
"Wolf." Nolan scratched lighter so he wouldn't draw blood. "Maybe it had fleas."
"This is no help." Dundee folded the notes and put them back in his pocket. "The only thing I could find is something about a clock. I didn't see any clocks when I came in."
"What did it say?" Malone crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't trust Carey, but he was certain the dead guy knew what he was talking about. Fighting a monkey bowler will put you in the mood to believe anything.
"When the cuckoo crows, the fight will begin." Dundee slammed his hand against his thigh.
"There's a cuckoo downstairs." Nolan went to the staircase. "I saw it when we got our stuff together to camp out."
"A clock?" Dundee followed, relief flooding his face. They weren't on a wild goose chase.
"No." Nolan started down, looking ahead as much as possible. "A cuckoo."
The rest followed being as quiet as they could. Nolan glided like a ghost through the house back to the front hall. He stopped near the front door, and pointed back into the room where they had killed the picture. A stuffed cuckoo lay on its side on the floor. It must have been kicked over in the earlier excitement.
"So we have until that thing starts talking." Malone's bushy eyebrows threatened his hairline.
"Seems reasonable." Dundee checked his watch. The digital display stood still. "Anybody know what time it is?"
"Watch is stopped." Malone shook his arm. "Must have broken it when I got that furry stinker."
"No. Mine has stopped too." Miranda listened to the silence when she brought her wrist to her ear. "It's this house."
Nolan held up his arms to show that he didn't have a watch on.
"The fight starts when the cuckoo sounds." Dundee shook his head. "That makes a little more sense. Let's look at the rest of the clues in these letters."
The four of them examined the comments written in a spider fine hand. It seemed opaque at first glance, but phrases jumped out at them. Dundee found a scrap sheet of paper and wrote what they could decipher on it.
"This is like being a Hardy Boy figuring out a mystery." Dundee looked at the strung together statements.
"I'd like to not die." Miranda's brittle voice brought him back to earth in a hurry. "What do you think, genius?"
Dundee smiled at them.
"The gate opens in the basement when the cuckoo gives a warning. It stays open until daylight. All we have to do is keep them down in the basement until the sun has come up, then we let it shine down on the gate. Gate closes. End of problem.
"Carey hints at what his weapons can do. I figure that's to keep monsters from guessing and stopping us from stopping them. One of us will know things. One of us will be a berserker fighter. One of us will be able to catapult things. One of us will be able to control the environment to some extent."
Dundee raised his hand to his face. The reddish hue had faded since they had started sorting the notes.
"We aren't invincible. We can be overran and killed like any other humans. On the other hand, we only have to hold them off for so long and then find a way to close the gate. We can do that as long as we keep them downstairs. There's only one way to get out of the basement."
"Do you really think we can do that?" Malone figured he was the human catapult after what he had gone through.
"Once the demons have the house, they'll expand foot by foot until they own the town. Then it will be the county, then the state, and so on." Dundee shrugged, knowing they could see the expansion once it was stated in black and white.
"We're dead anyway if we don't stand." Miranda glowered at the other three. "There's no way we can walk away."
9
Parker Dundee carried the cuckoo at arm's reach. He paused at the door leading down into the basement. He set the stuffed bird down on the floor.
"I don't think it's a good idea to go down." Dundee rubbed his hands together. "According to Carey, when that thing opens, it will cook anything near the horizon."
"Basically the whole room." Malone rubbed his hand. It ached a little where he had caught that wood ball.
Dundee nodded.
"What was Carey's great plan?" Miranda stood behind the others, on guard.
"He wanted to go in, find the big cheese, and break one off in him, it, whatever." Dundee grimaced at that bald statement. "I don't see how he was going to do that."
"Must either be tougher than leather." Malone adjusted his cap, wiping the sweat on his forehead. "Or crazier than my Aunt Tess."
"I vote crazy," piped Miranda.
"I'm leaning that way myself." Malone pulled a pouch of tobacco out of a pocket and pulled off a piece to chew. He put the bag back after putting the leaves in his mouth.
"Ditto." Nolan had secured a piece of wood about four feet long from a chair. He had it in his hands, leaning against the crook of his arm. He guessed that he was the only one with any degree of self defense training.
"Jumping into a gate to hell doesn't sound sane to me either." Dundee rubbed his face. His eye hurt still. "That might be the only we can stop this thing."
"I'll pass on that, good buddy." Malone spit tobacco juice on the floor. "Let's try to bottleneck them first."
"It won't be long." Dundee gritted his teeth at the new pain throbbing in his head. "I hope Carey was right about all this."
"I hope he's wrong." Miranda stared at the door, shivering. "Then we can get some sleep, then get the heck out of here."
"No." The cuckoo echoed Dundee with a banshee wail.
Red light wrapped the basement door, letters writing on the wood. The ornate script started along the walls. The cuckoo screamed again, a sound like a freight train in the confined space.
"Okay, we got it." Malone picked up the fake bird. It vanished in his hand, compressing down into a ball. He pointed his hand at the door on impulse. The altered alarm dented the door before coming apart with a squeak.
Nolan pushed the others back, ignoring the hair on his arms and the back of his hands. He felt odd, but knew this was one time he had to stay focused on fighting. He was the first line to save the world.
He wondered when he became that melodramatic.
Dundee made sure Miranda was behind them. Nolan looked like a werewolf from a movie, and Malone seemed to know how his weapon worked by the way he had dealt with the cuckoo. That meant Miranda controlled the environment. That made her the last resort if the rest of them fell.
"Let me borrow your knife, Lloyd." Dundee held out his hand. The wolf man pulled the tiny looking folding knife from his belt with huge paw-like hands and handed it over. "Thanks. I'll give it back."
"Let's go." Malone pushed past his larger comrade. He grabbed the door's knob. It compressed out of the frame into a bullet he held ready to fire.
"We would like for you all to go home so we can get some sleep and get out of here in the morning."
Dundee winced at the things Malone had revealed at the bottom of the basement stairs. His mind almost refused to see their ghastliness, reducing them down to abstractions like stick men joined together by an insane artist. He clutched Lloyd's knife, hoping it would do what he required.
The answering roar to Malone's challenge rolled up the stairs toward the four heirs. The demonic army planned to establish their foot hold, and then hunt until they were satisfied. No human was going to tell them otherwise.
"I warned you, butt faces." Malone released the door into the front ranks coming up the stairs. The projectile cleared the lane with bone breaking force. "Now we're going downtown."
"Maybe Carey wasn't the only crazy." Miranda whispered in Dundee's ear.
Dundee nodded, pushing forward behind his bigger allies.
Carter Malone had never shied away from a fight. It was second nature to brawl. Sometimes he took a beating, and sometimes he sent someone home crying. He stared at the beasts pouring out of the floor for a second before he pulled up the first wooden step and blasted it into the crowd.
Malone hopped down to the second step, smiling at the way his attack had bulled a hole in the crowd. The unexpectedness would wear off sooner or later. He had to take advantage of it while he could. He descended to the third step, pulling up the second with his weird power. One of the things leaped at him. A point blank hit scattered it on its fellow monsters.
At least with no steps, they would have a harder time getting to the others.
Malone pulled up the third step and sent a line arcing through the crowd. He could hardly miss the way they were clumped together, and more pulling themselves in the room. Dundee might be right. Someone might have to turn off the faucet for them from the other side of the glowing lines on the floor.
A giant hand came down at Malone. He couldn't see what it was attached to on the other end of the muscular arm. That didn't matter. His palm caught the blow. The arm and everything hooked to it sank into a glowing projectile. He released at the base of the stairs so he could have some room to move.
The heir jumped the rest of the way, catching a horn that tried to gore him. That demon smashed the staircase for him. The things surrounded him on all sides. No way could he stop all the hooks, claws, antlers, horns, and various hands that would try to pull him apart. He had to do the best he could to buy time.
Malone heard a growl from above, then something furry jumped down into the melee. The high speed sound of wood striking reminded him of home runs. At least he wasn't alone now.
Dundee shook his head. Those two needed their heads examined. Still he knew he was about to do something equally as crazy. He was going to enter the portal like Carey had planned and try to close it from the other side.
"I want you to stay up here and protect yourself however you can." Dundee held out a hand. "It was nice meeting you."
"What do you mean?" Miranda shook the hand, puzzled by the words.
Dundee smiled, then jumped off the edge of the door. He landed on something that resembled a leprous rhino. He plunged his hand into its flesh, snuffing out its life with a twist of his wrist. He rolled as the thing collapsed to the floor, crushing smaller demons in its way. The heir flexed his hand as he killed another thing in his way as he walked toward the portal.
"I'll get you for this, Dundee." Miranda looked at the fighting. She touched the wood on either side of the door frame. Stone started bricking the opening over. The broker jumped down to the basement floor, drifting to a landing.
Miranda decided the best thing she could do was help Malone and Nolan fighting in a semicircle. She wanted to go there so the concrete floor carried her forward. She didn't want to be touched so the air pushed demons out of the way. One tried to attack, and flew over her head into the ceiling before falling back into the crowd.
Miranda took her place in the triad, hands at her side. She looked out over the crowd. They had the numbers. They had the ferocity to wear the humans down. What mattered losses when new demons were still filing out in a huge mass? They could crush each other into a hill to get to the closed door the way they were filling the room.
"Dundee's going for the portal." Miranda created a wall to buffer her from attacks while she talked. "What do you guys want to do?"
"They're trying to stall us." Malone spit tobacco juice in a demon's eye with the force of a bullet. "I say we go after him before they overwhelm us."
"Ditto." Nolan's voice was a growl. His stick spun around him in warning.
"Watch the sides for me." Miranda pushed her wall over on several demons trying to use it to sneak up on her. "We're going."
The three started walking toward the portal. The demons tried to attack with their natural ugliness before Malone grabbed several, one after the other, and used them to blow an aisle through the riot. Nolan broke his stick on one particularly hard specimen, then went to using the claws that extended from his fingers like overgrown nails. Miranda, leading the way, had the easiest time of it. The air pushed anything lighter than her out of the way while the concrete carried her across the room.
They saw Dundee step in the clear at the edge of the portal's entrance. A deflated sac dropped to the floor as he looked around. He waved at them before stepping over the line.
"He's dead." Malone reached out and grabbed the biggest demon close to him and kept the way clear for them.
"He better be." Miranda pushed her way through the crowd, intent on the gate. "Because I plan to kill him if he isn't."
Malone laughed softly.
10
Parker Dundee grinned as he pushed against the current heading to the real world. He used demons as stepping stones, reaching into them with his new knowledge. Once he was headed to the next one, his victims deflated with their centers crushed by his understanding. He could see how Carey had thought he could invade the underworld with the assembled gifts in his hands.
Parker pushed out of the current, glad that gravity still pulled him down. He ignored the moans and screams filling the air. He didn't have time for the damned. His plan required that he talk to the manifestation in charge. That personage would be near where the demons were filing into the air stream.
Parker landed on a spit of land. Eyes of every shape and color looked at him. Nothing approached. He decided they were following their orders to fill the basement until they could get out. Dealing with him would have to be the responsibility of the rear echelon.
Parker walked forward, spotting a throne of screaming skulls on another spit of land. The thing sitting on it glanced at him, waving a smaller servant away. The heir reached the end of the launch point and leaped over to the other island. The smoky sky seemed to be still as if waiting on his first words.
"Do you mind stopping your invasion, please?" Parker blinked at the shifting numbers he saw as he paused at the other end of the island from the war chief. "I would really appreciate it."
"It has been long since any human dared to ask a boon of me." The thing shifted on its chair, rippling limbs and tentacles settling like ocean waves. "What do you give in return?"
"I can't give you anything, Prince." Parker kept his eyes wandering. His eyes hurt from just looking at the shifting mass. "I only ask in peaceful consideration that you recall your minions and hosts so that things can be as they are meant to be."
"The answer is no." The mass rose on legs and other unidentifiable parts to a height twice as tall as Parker's. "This was planned for decades even with Harold Carey interfering whenever he could. Now that it is started, it can't be stopped."
"We both know you're lying." Carey's gift drew lines of conclusion for Parker. It sought weaknesses to exploit in whatever physicality it surveyed. "I ask you to recall your troops before they are destroyed."
"I think I will deal with you first, then exterminate your kind." The demon moved closer, shifting as it moved. "Killing you now will be a mercy but it has to be done so I can enjoy the rest of the show."
The demon line came apart as a bullet storm cut through their ranks. The loud snap of the commotion made Parker and his opponent observe Malone and Nolan working their will on anything getting in their way. Demons died from being turned into ammunition, or from claws ripping them apart. Miranda drifted down behind them, pushing out to her sides. Demons that couldn't fly fell without the influence of the jet stream to carry them upwards.
"The invasion is over." Parker smiled, facing his enemy again. "All that remains is whether you give up, or fight until you are destroyed."
"I'll take battle over cowardice." Tentacles and oversized limbs reached for the human. Teeth revealed themselves in their crooked glory. "I'll just have to kill your friends after I am done with you."
Parker braced himself for the coming fury.
Parker's new talent didn't protect him. It didn't reach beyond the tips of his fingers. It didn't move things to his will. All it did was define physical weaknesses. It didn't seem like much until you realized that everything had a stress point, and breaking that could shut down a whole system.
Parker wasn't fast enough to dodge the whirling wildness descending to break his body. All he had time to do was stab upwards with his left hand, while throwing Nolan's knife with the right. The shifting numbers he saw everywhere dialed down to zero as his fingers reached into the demon flesh, crushing it. The knife sank out of sight, leaving a trail of purple that might have been demon blood.
Parker tried to press his surprise, but was hurled back by appendages he only glimpsed. He hit the rock, rolling toward the edge of the spit. He grabbed at the dark stone to stop his momentum. His feet went over the edge.
"Looks like you lose." The demon reached forward, its many pseudo hands clawing the air as they stretched toward the heir.
Furry death landed on top of it. Claws dug in with ripping finality. The prince staggered from the wolf attack, mouths trying to scream. A shrug of its body sent Nolan flying in the air. The silent werewolf landed lightly on feet and hands, amber eyes laughing.
Miranda touched down beside Parker. Air pulled him to his feet. She glowered at him.
"What happened to all for one, one for all, Dundee?" The air danced around her form. "You don't get to be a hero on your own."
Nolan nodded his shaggy head.
"This changes nothing." The demon prince seemed calmer. The wounds inflicted shrank as it gathered its composure. "You will all die."
"Eat rock, slime sucker!" Malone's shout caused the three humans to duck for cover. A bullet screamed through the air. It hit the demon prince and kept going. A gaping hole through the vast flesh at the center of the circle of appendages let them view the underworld sky behind it.
"What did you use for that?" Miranda's voice shook as she glanced at the man beside her. The Malone bullet had just kept going by the sounds of impact drifting to them.
"I used that rock all those demons climbed on to get to the house." Malone grinned, then spat juice on the second rock. "Man. Talk about a fast ball."
Parker ran forward. Malone had stranded them with his stunning attack, but they still had to get one thing done before they died. Otherwise the portal could be reinstated by their agent on the other side when the conditions were right.
The demon prince tried to bring his guts back together as Parker reached into its mass and broke things to hold it down. It tried to scream, but only a whimper came out. A tentacle shrugged as the giant body fell over.
Dundee pulled a scroll out of the quivering mass. He pulled out his lighter as he stepped away from his enemy. There was no telling how long it would take shrugging off Malone's attack and his gut wrenching and heart breaking. Better to hurry and do what he could before it tried to stop him.
Dundee muttered to himself as the flame hardly scorched whatever the scroll was made out of. He needed to burn the thing. He knew that was the secondary break in the chain. Malone had blasted the first in explosive style.
"Let me do it." Miranda took the lighter and scroll from his hands. She flicked the wheel with her thumb. A piece of dragon flame ripped the document apart in an instant. "Happy?"
"I think we should get the heck out of here." Malone looked antsy for a second. "I can buy us some time before we hit the exit."
The big man grabbed the demon prince, compressing him with his talent. He fired at nothing in particular just to get rid of the mastermind. If he came back after that ride, more power to him.
"You blew up the way out." Parker looked around. "It looks like we're fighting everything that lives down here."
"Don't get your panties in a bunch." Miranda smiled slightly. "You better talk to us before you do something this crazy again."
"I apologize." Parker squinted at her. What did she have up her sleeve?
Miranda looked up. A step lifted her up toward the exit. It appeared to be closing from their perspective. She started jogging. A step emerged from the lower one as she ran toward freedom.
Parker ran after her. He should have known. He laughed in relief as he drew closer to reality.
Nolan passed him, leaped over Miranda, and passed into the basement. They heard cries, but knew it wasn't their friend. It was whatever he reached for with his long claws.
"Let's blow this popsicle stand." Malone panted as he brought up the rear.
The three stepped out of the underworld as the portal closed below them. Nolan stood off a little distance, ripping apart demons that had passed over in hopes of dominating Earth. None of them had made it to where Miranda had bricked over the door.
"Let's get this over with." Miranda held up the lighter, flicking it into a lance of death.
epilogue
Parker Dundee hung up his phone, and put it back on his belt. The sun had risen over the wall around the Carey house. With its appearance, things returned to moldy reality. The heirs had napped a few hours before waking to gather their things and have breakfast. Parker looked at his friends as they waited for him to tell them the news he had gathered.
"McCallister is dead." Parker scratched his face under their gaze. "He died suddenly in his sleep. The police are at his place now."
"Probably when I burned that scroll last night." Miranda looked down at the ground. Killing demons seemed cleaner than knowing she had killed a human being.
"Either then, or when Malone blasted his boss all over Hell and gone." Parker tried to smile. "The question is do you guys want to hang out in my fabulous crib?"
"I thought we agreed this was a trap to satisfy the will so the portal would open." Malone pulled out a fresh plug of tobacco to chew. "And yes, that was the best part of the night for me, thank you very much."
"We were wrong." Parker's smile was a little harder. "There was a will. We do get the house. McCallister might have been trying to follow the will, but Carey named us on the document. He wanted us here for whatever reason so we could wreck the master plan. I don't know why he wanted us, but he was right. You guys were excellent when the chips were down."
"You still owe us for saving your butt." Miranda smiled. "You read too many comic books when you were a kid, buddy."
"The world owes you." Parker laughed. "Unfortunately all I can do is pay for a dinner to celebrate before I leave town."
The heirs looked at him in amazement. They all thought Parker would hang on to the money and stay if any of them did.
"I have to put my stuff in storage before I move into the old place and start cleaning it up." Dundee looked around. "I'm not going to kid you. Strange things are bound to happen from now on. If you want to forget this ever happened, I understand. I'm sticking."
"We're sticking too, Park." Malone spit on the grass. "We discussed it and we all have enough to move in and live off of for while until we find something that pays."
"Nothing better to do." Nolan's face cracked slightly. "Someone has to make sure you stay out of trouble."
Miranda nodded in agreement. She had wanted a change for a while. This beat picking stocks to see if they went up or down.
"I don't know what to say." Dundee rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "I guess I'll meet you at the China Buffet I saw in town."
"Oh no." Miranda said. "We're eating at a restaurant with silver and linen. I know just the place. I'll even drive."
"It can't be too much." Parker pulled out his wallet. "I only have a little left out of my trip money."
"Don't worry, Dundee." Miranda got her purse from her spot on the floor. "You can owe me for part of the money."
The four heirs left the decrepit house, enjoying the day in silence. They got into Miranda's rental and drove off the grounds. The grass was taller, the trees straighter, and the wall as solid as the day it had been put around the lot. The car turned at the corner and vanished out of sight.
An old man, ramrod straight despite his apparent years, looked out the library window. He smiled before fading away. He had picked the right people for the job.