Chapter 1

H...e..l...p! The piercing scream came from the direction of the Landour House. Jennifer Winters stood on her deck drinking coffee when she heard the shrill scream. The sound startled her and she dropped the coffee cup she was drinking from. She ran down the steps toward the old house. Jennifer moved swiftly. Most people probably would not have, but Jennifer even as a young girl always had a detective's curiosity. She often thought if she had to have a second career, most likely it would be that of a detective. Jennifer stopped only long enough to catch her breath. She paused at a large oak tree to see if the sound continued. There was nothing. Dead silence! At more than a hundred years old, the old house stood about 100 yards to the left of where Jennifer was now standing. She was acting on instinct and little else. Jennifer could see a figure emerging from the back door of the Landour house as she approached and run into the nearby woods. What on earth, she thought! People don't just sneak out of other people's houses. Now, she really was courious. It was light enough that the house cast a shadow on the backyard now. Jennifer could not get a good look at the intruder but nothing about the person seemed familiar. If only she had gotten there sooner and maybe gotten a better look. Was he a prowler, she thought? It was certainly strange to see someone coming out the back door of the old house, since Mrs. Landour didn't have that many visitors! Certainly no one should be there at this time of the