Haunted House Tales

by Riley Amitrani

  “Nice.” She said.

  “Tofu scramble?” Frances said, thinking it sounded strange.

  “It’s an egg alternative,” Gareth explained. “Oh yeah, this is Ashley.”

  “The egg industry is really cruel and destructive,” Ashley said without looking up. Frances nodded. “So how’s the campaigning going?” Ashley asked them.

  “Only three signatures so far,” Frances said.

  “That’s ok. Three signatures are better than none.” Ashley shrugged, returning to her textbook.

  “It can’t be worse than that time you ran for middle school president.” A voice said behind her. Frances spun around to see a familiar face.

  “Kyle! What are you doing here?” She shrieked. She stood up and gave him a hug. Kyle balanced his tray on one hand and hugged her with the other arm. “I thought you were going to Michigan?”

  “I did. I decided to transfer to Kingston. It just seems more my kind of place,” he said. He gestured to seek permission to join them. Ashley pushed out a chair with her foot for him.

  “This is Kyle. He’s a friend of mine from Colorado.”

  “Ashley,” she introduced herself without looking up from her book. Gareth stood and shook hands with Kyle.

  “I thought I’d find you here. How’s student life?” Kyle said as he sat. He had a burger on his plate. He picked it up and took a large bite out of it, burger relish dripping out of the side of his mouth. Gareth raised his eyebrow to Ashley at Kyle’s choice of food.

  “It’s going ok,” Frances said. “Living on campus is good. And I’m part of the animal rights group with Gareth and some others.”

  “Hey, nice meeting you Kyle. Frances, we’re going to head back to the stall.” Gareth said. Frances went to stand up. “Don’t worry Frances. Finish your food first, then come join us.” They left, leaving Frances and Kyle alone. Frances watched Gareth as he finished his burger then licked his fingers clean. They had been friends for what felt like forever. They had never hung out in the same group but seeing his familiar face at campus made her feel like a little bit of home was here.

  “Was it something I said?” Kyle said. “Or was it that I was eating some real food?”

  Frances rolled her eyes. “Neither, they just know that they will get more signatures without me. I don’t think I’m so good at doing face to face campaigning.”

  Kyle laughed. “Little Frances always liked a cause.” Frances looked angry then smiled. He knew her well. During school, she was always organising sponsored walks or bake sales for various charities. Now that she was at college, she was keen to do something more.

  “Sorry Frances, I shouldn’t joke,” he said.

  Frances decided to change the subject. “So, what have you been up to since you have been back?”

  Kyle shrugged. “Not much, just been trying to get some part-time work. I’ve just started at a bar in Old Town.”

  “You enjoying it?”

  “Yeah, it’s ok. It’s a dive, but the people are nice. The only thing is I hate working in the kitchen, the place stinks.”

  “That’s bad if they serve food.”

  “It’s not the bar’s fault. They are next door to a pet store, but something isn’t right there. I know my boss has complained in the past, but the owner just gave him an envelope of money as an apology, and nothing more was said.”

  “What kind of smell?” Frances’ tone changed from light to serious.

  “I don’t know. It looks nice from the outside, and the man who runs it, Mr. Morgan, seems friendly enough but…” He trailed off.

  “What?” Frances said.

  “I dunno. He just has people coming after hours. Sometimes really late at night. And the store looks so nice from the front. But where our kitchen is next to the basement, it just smells bad. Sometimes there are flies in the bar as well, even though we keep it pretty clean.”

  “What do you think is causing the smell?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Then let’s go visit.” Frances stood up. “We need to go and find out.”

  “You mean, like now?” Kyle stayed seated. “It’s probably nothing. The owner might just dump his waste in the basement or something.”

  “He could be mistreating animals. You can drive me.”

  “But I have class, and don’t you need to get back to collecting signatures?”

  “Forget that. There could be animals in real danger who I could help.”

  Kyle sighed and stood up. “Ok, I can spare an hour, no more. But you’re buying me a drink after.”

  ~

  “Hello and welcome to The Old Pet Store.” A male voice said as Frances and Kyle stepped inside the store, the doorbell jangling and announcing their arrival.

  Frances smiled at the man behind the counter who had greeted her. He looked to be in his fifties, with a round belly and red cheeks. He was wearing a pressed white apron with a shirt and bow tie on underneath. He had a name badge on ‘Ged Morgan Jr.’ There was a picture of a dog paw print next to it. “Thanks, we’ll just have a look around if that’s alright,” Frances said. Kyle followed. He wore a cap pulled low over his face to be inconspicuous. The store was bright and colourful, with shelves of mason jars filled with dog biscuits and treats. Hanging up were brightly coloured chew toys and different types of leads. She noticed a display of cans of pet food; ‘The Old Pet Store Dog Food, only the best for your pets.’ Cheerful pop music was playing in the background, but the sound of the puppies whimpering and yapping was louder. Frances saw their cages in the window and went over.

  “Looking for a special someone to join your family?” Frances jumped as the man spoke, she hadn’t realised he was stood so close behind her. There were several cages containing cute young puppies.

  “Umm maybe, we’re not sure,” she said. She was feeling nervous about what they were doing, and was keen to come across as a regular browser. The man opened the cage and picked up a small beige puppy. He passed it to Frances who gently held him.

  “This is Butterscotch. He’s a miniature dachshund.” Butterscotch rubbed his wet nose into Frances’ arm, and his short little legs pushed into her.

  “He’s beautiful,” Frances said, luxuriating in the puppy’s warmth, forgetting for a moment that she was there for a reason. But as cute as this puppy was it only made Frances feel sad for all of the dogs which she knew desperately needed adoption. She handed Butterscotch back to the man. “Thank you.” She said. “I think we’ll carry on looking.”

  “Ok, let me know if I can help you with anything else,” the man said. “Hey Butterscotch, there you go.” He said as he placed the puppy back with the rest of the litter. Frances looked at them, and then turned to him. Frances walked past the counter and paused to look at the display behind it. There were several pictures of dogs and their smiling owners. This place looked so happy, but there was something not quite right. Then she thought of something.

  “Where are their moms?” She said to the owner. She gestured to all of the young puppies.

  “They’re at the vets. They had to go in to be checked over.” He said without hesitation as he used a brush and dustpan to sweep some dust off of the floor. “Don’t you worry, I look after my dogs very well. Especially the moms, since they do such an important job.” Frances nodded. She went to join Kyle who was studying a box of dog food.

  “Can we go now?” He whispered. Frances nodded.

  “Didn’t you see everything you wanted to see?” Kyle said. They were at the back of the store. Instead of the whitewashed wood and clean paving out front, out back was where the businesses stored their garbage and staff went to have a smoke.

  “Not yet. I just want to see around here; that’s all.”

  “But he seemed pretty legit, didn’t he? The puppies looked well cared for.”

  “Yes, but they didn’t have their mom with them,” Frances said as she opened a garbage can and looked inside.

  �
��She was at the veterinarian,” Kyle said. “That is a totally plausible explanation.”

  “Or so he said,” Frances said as she pulled out a trash bag and tore it open.

  “That is disgusting Frances,” Kyle said as he watched her sift through the contents.

  Frances ignored him and carried on. Inside were soda cans, papers, and other general waste.

  “There’s nothing here,” Kyle said. “Can we just go?” They heard the sound of a door opening. They ran and hid behind a large dumpster. They saw someone come outside, but it wasn’t the man from the pet store. It was a younger man from another store. The man dropped a garbage bag in the trash then stood behind one as he got out a cigarette. Kyle and Frances stood in silence as the man smoked and looked at his phone. When he went in, they both stepped out.

  “This is ridiculous, I’m going back to campus,” Kyle said walking off.

  “Ok just let me put this bag back, so no one knows we were here,” Frances said, picking up the bag. As she was about to swing it back into the trash, she noticed a red stained piece of material. She pulled it out. It was an old cloth stained with what looked like blood. “Oh my God Kyle, look at this.” She held it up in front of her.

  “Eww, you could catch something from that! Put it back!” Kyle said, wrinkling his nose.

  “This is it, proof that he is abusing his animals.”

  Kyle laughed. “It could be tomato sauce from his dinner, and even if it was animal blood, he could have been helping an animal give birth or something like that.”

  “But it might not be. It could be a sign of abuse,” Frances said. “I have to go back tonight and try and get a closer look.”

  “What do you mean? Breaking and…” Kyle paused as someone walked past. He nodded his head in greeting to the passerby. He waited until he passed then spoke in a quieter voice. “You’re talking about breaking and entering?”

  “No. I mean we need to watch the store.” Frances replied. “You told me that you saw people coming in and out at night. We could watch and see what they are up to. If something bad is going on this could be a real achievement for me.” Kyle raised his brow at her.

  “Of course I mean I would save lots of animals. It is just if I want to be an animal rights lawyer this would really help me too. Are you in or out?”

  Kyle paused before he spoke. “What do you mean? You want me to come with you?”

  Francis nodded. “Or you can leave me to break into a building by myself.”

  Kyle stayed quiet for a moment. He looked at the floor and kicked a can with his foot. “I’ll pick you up at eight.”

  Frances and Kyle left and walked back around the front of his store to get in his car. As they left, two beady eyes watched them from underneath the dumpster. They glowed red in the dark. The sound of a soft growl came from it, and then the eyes were gone.

  Like We’re in a Cop Film

  That night Frances and Kyle sat in his car watching The Old Pet Store. They were parked a few doors away from it and across the road. Frances had come dressed all in black and wearing a cap. Mr. Morgan had locked up the store over two hours ago but still hadn’t gone home. The stores metal shutters were down, but a thin line of light was just peeping out from underneath. The street was dark. There were only a few streetlamps which cast eerie shadows on the sidewalk. The wind blew a discarded can on a rattling course down the street. Kyle took a noisy slurp of the last dregs of his soda, which made Frances jump.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Kyle said. “This is like we’re in a cop film. I feel one of us should go on a doughnut run.”

  “Can you remember the movie nights we had at lower school?” Frances said. “Your mum made the best snacks for us.”

  “Yeah, she loved having you round that’s why. She didn’t do that for any of my other friends.”

  “Until high school when you got too cool to hang out with me,” Frances said.

  “I did not!” Besides you were probably off trying to be crowned Swan Queen at the dance or something,” Kyle joked.

  “Hey, I still had time for my friends. And my title was the Winter Ball Snow Queen I’ll have you know,” Frances said haughtily. Kyle laughed and handed her a bag of potato chips which she took.

  “Will he ever go home?” Frances sighed. “How do you know he doesn’t live above the store?”

  Kyle shook his head and swallowed a handful of chips. “No one lives above them now. They used to in the old days, but now they’re all offices or something.” As he spoke, they saw a car drive slowly past them, with its headlights switched off. It came to a stop outside of the pet store.

  “Something’s happening, quick play it cool,” Frances hissed. She dropped the chips on the floor, spilling them everywhere. She lowered herself in the seat until her head was below window height. Kyle turned to her and laughed. “Get down!” Frances said pulling the bottom of his t-shirt. He slumped down in his seat too.

  “Now we just look like we are trying to hide,” Kyle said. He stayed slumped down anyhow. They sat in silence as they watched the car park up. No one got out of the car for a while. Then the front door of the store opened. Mr. Morgan was standing in the doorway. The car door opened and a man got out. He went into the pet store, and Mr. Morgan closed the door behind him.

  “See, I told you something would be happening tonight. They are up to something.”

  “Yes because going into a store at night is really suspicious.”

  They sat in silence watching the store. Kyle got out his phone and started to play mobile video games. Frances sat in silence, watching the door. She could feel her eyes start to droop, her lids heavy.

  “Hey, Frances. They’re coming out now,” Kyle said. Frances woke with a jump. She opened her eyes and looked. The front door of the store was open again. The man came out and opened the back of his car. Mr. Morgan came out of the store. He was carrying a large cage, covered with a blanket. He put it in the back of the car. He went back inside and came out with another. The man got into the car. Mr. Morgan went back inside and shut the door behind him. The car’s engine started, and the lights went on.

  “Follow him.” Frances hissed at Kyle.

  “Are you for real?” Kyle said.

  “Yes. He has two cages. They must have dogs in them. Let’s go and see where he takes them.” Frances looked to Kyle who was looking ahead deep in thought, working out what to do. He slammed his hands on the steering and started his engine.

  “You owe me, big time,” he said as he started to tail the car down the road. The car turned off at the corner and started heading out of town. Kyle followed. He stayed as far back as he could. But there were no other cars around at night. The car was easy to follow. The car turned off onto a side road which wasn’t signposted.

  “Where’s he heading?” Frances said.

  “I have no idea, you know this area better than me,” Kyle said. The road became nothing more than a dirt track with trees hanging low over it on either side. There were no street lights.

  “Turn off your lights,” Frances said.

  “Are you crazy?” Kyle said. “I don’t want to drive into a ditch or crash.”

  “He’ll see us following him.”

  “He’s already seen us. I’m not James Bond I haven’t tailed a car before.” As he spoke, they both realized the car had gone. Kyle came to a stop.

  “Where is he?” Kyle said.

  “I don’t know. Perhaps he has turned off on a side road?” As Frances spoke, full beams flashed straight into their eyes. The car they were following had turned around and was now facing them. There was the sound of an engine revving. Then the car came speeding towards them.

  “Watch out!” Kyle screamed. He raised his hands to shield Frances from the impact. Frances raised her arms across her face and braced herself ready for the impact. But the car swerved last minute and sped past them in the direction that they came from.

  “Oh my
goodness,” Frances said. “He tricked us. He knew we were following and he tricked us. Follow him!” She shouted.

  “On it,” Kyle said. His hesitation now turned to anger. He turned around in the road and sped off, following the car. He had his high beams on now, no longer caring if he was seen or not. They followed the car as it went back into the town. They followed him as he headed to a more populated area.

  “What do we do when this man stops and beats me up for following him?” Kyle said. Frances didn’t reply. The car in front reached a set of traffic lights. They were amber. He slowed down. The car in front reached an almost stop. The driver then put his foot down. Smoke came out of the back of the car, and the wheels screeched. The car shot ahead and went through the lights just as they turned red.

  “What the hell, we’ve lost him,” Kyle said. He waited for the lights to go green and drove ahead. But the car had long gone. “You’re being really quiet Frances, are you ok?”

  “He’s guilty of something. That is why he shot away.” She said.

  “Or that it’s just really dark night, and he’s worried that a car is tailing him. I’d want to get far away from a car following me.”

  “No. They are up to something, and we need to find out what.”

  Kyle turned his car around in the road, and they drove back towards campus in silence.

  “Can you pull over for a minute?” Frances said. Kyle obliged. “Look I’m sorry to have got you into this, but I can’t do it without you. I just wanted to say thank you. Not many men would do all of this for a friend.” Frances looked at him. He sighed. They looked at each other with the comfortable familiarity of having known each other for a long time yet with the excitement of seeing each other anew. Kyle started to lean in towards her, his hand rising to stroke the side of his face.

  “Step out of the car,” a man’s voice interrupted them. Kyle jumped back, hitting his head on the car roof as he did so. Frances screamed. She looked up to see a flashlight shining in through the window. “I said step out of the car,” the voice repeated itself. Kyle fumbled with the car door. Frances looked out to see the figure of a male cop. He was bald, wide and stern. Kyle looked to Frances, then got out of the car.