Yet a Stranger (The First Quarto #2) - Gregory Ashe Page 0,70

face already lost in thought.

Instead of approaching the house directly, Theo followed the sidewalk to one end of the lot, and then he doubled back and followed it in the other direction. A few cars passed him, but the yards and sidewalks were empty; it was mid-afternoon, and most people were either at work or school. The sun moved behind clouds as Theo turned back for his third trip along the sidewalk, and goosebumps tightened the flesh on his arms when that wet, frozen-moss breeze picked up again.

On his three passes, Theo got good, long looks inside Sadie’s house. The windows didn’t have blinds or curtains, and he could see into a bedroom and the living room. A girl with short, dark hair sat on the couch watching TV. She was eating something out of a bowl, and she was wearing pajama pants and a tank top. Maybe she could borrow Slutbreaker, Theo thought, and he grinned at the indignation he imagined on Auggie’s face.

At the end of the lot, Theo turned and followed the property line, which was marked by a four-foot section of chain fence, the rest having either been ripped out at some point or never been installed. He passed a massive linden tree. Its berries carpeted the ground, most of them black and withered, some of them squishing under Theo’s boots with a slight whiff of rotten fruit. A tiny window marked this side of the house—the bathroom, Theo thought. The glass was frosted, so he couldn’t see inside, but it was dark. He assumed that meant it was unoccupied. The backyard was even worse than the front—big branches had fallen in several places, and a stake and a rusting chain marked where some poor animal had been kept at one point. Theo stretched up to peer into the kitchen on the other side of the glass. Nobody there either. He made his way back to the car and rapped on the trunk. When Auggie opened it, he took out the tire iron and carried it to the passenger window.

Auggie was chewing on the collar now; Theo was starting to think he’d need to buy puppy spray.

“I think she’s alone,” Theo said. “I want you to play nice at the front door. Be newspaper-subscription Auggie or door-to-door-vacuum-sales Auggie.”

“Gross. That sounds like work.”

“You just need to keep her occupied.”

“Yeah, but newspapers? It’s not the 90s, Theo. I might as well offer to sell her a Jurassic Park t-shirt and a Fraggle Rock nightlight.” Auggie’s eyes widened when Theo pointed the tire iron at him, and he hurried to say, “You know what? Newspaper subscription was a great idea. You’re so smart.”

“Too late.”

“And strong. Look at those guns you’re flexing.”

“Just keep her talking, please.”

“And wise,” Auggie called after him. “You’re so wise, Theo. Because of your years of life experience.”

Theo walked faster. At the back of the house, he grabbed a rock. Then he went up the three rotted-out steps to the back door and slid the end of the tire iron between the door and the jamb, right where the latch was set. When he heard Auggie’s voice at the front of the house, he hammered on the end of the iron with the rock, forcing the door a fraction of an inch to the side. The latch popped free of the jamb, and the door swung inwards. Discarding the rock, Theo went inside and adjusted his grip on the tire iron.

“Bitch, I told you,” Sadie was saying, her voice deeper than Theo had expected, “I don’t care if your car died. Walk to a fucking gas station.”

“My brother will pay you,” Auggie said. “Come on, I don’t want to walk. I just got these Jordans.”

“Fuck off,” Sadie said.

Theo took the last two yards at a sprint, crossing the spearmint-colored shag carpeting as Sadie reached for the door. He was as quiet as possible, but she must have heard something because she started to turn. He got the end of the tire iron between two ribs and said, “Uh uh.”

She froze.

“Hands up. This is long enough to go all the way to your heart.”

Sadie raised her hands, and her tank top slid up.

“Come inside,” Theo said to Auggie. “Shut the door. Then go get a chair from the kitchen and put it in the middle of the living room.”

Sadie smelled like milk and body odor, and her hair was lank, barely longer than Auggie’s but looking greasy and unwashed. The tank top revealed a scattering of acne