FOURTEEN

Maggie had just finished getting ready for bed when there was a knock on her door. She walked to the door and looked out the peephole; it was Debbie and Susie. Oh my god, she wants me to babysit, Maggie thought as she pinched her eyes tight in disbelief. For a moment, she thought about not answering the door, but Debbie probably heard her walk up to it and knows she is looking out the peephole at them that very moment.

She opened the door, with a yawn and a tired look. “Hi, Debbie.”

Debbie was dressed in a white nursing dress and was looking a little down. “I’m sorry to bother you, Maggie. It looks like you’re ready for bed, but I have to be to work in half an hour, and there is no one to watch Susie. Do you mind watching her tonight? I’ve been trying to find another babysitter, but I’m not having any luck.” Continue reading “Chap. 14—Sinister Attachments: A Paranormal Psychological Thriller (Rancor, #1)”

THIRTEEN

Maggie took a pillow from her bed and lay down on the couch. She closed her eyes and began tallying a mental account of the positives and negatives in her life. Positives included Jess, her apartment’s gorgeous view, and . . ., she paused. She could not think of any more positives. The negatives included the creepy building and its history, Debbie, Susie, and probably Bruce. Of course, the death of Cory was a negative, but there was nothing she could do about that. Before she dozed off, she debated whether she should call Ethel, Mr. Zimmerman, the cashier and the old woman at Lenny’s, a positive or a negative. They could go either way, she thought. Continue reading “Chap. 13—Sinister Attachments: A Paranormal Psychological Thriller (Rancor, #1)”

TWELVE

“I’m never drinking again,” Maggie said, adjusting the sunglasses she had borrowed from Jess. “And thanks for letting me use these shades, my eyes are rather sensitive today.”

Jess laughed as she pulled up to the sidewalk leading to the entry of Sandpiper Bluff. “I take it you’re not going to church this morning, and no problem, you can keep them. I have another pair I like better anyway.” Jess looked at the building and cringed. “Do you want me to go in with you?”

Maggie opened the car door and got out. “That won’t be necessary.” Continue reading “Chap. 12—Sinister Attachments: A Paranormal Psychological Thriller (Rancor, #1)”

ELEVEN

After driving for an hour, Jess pulled into the driveway of Maggie’s two-story colonial home just outside the Breedsville city limits. She turned the ignition off and they sat there, staring at the house.

Jess looked over at Maggie. “Are you ready to go in?”

Maggie was surprised her hands were trembling as she took the house keys from her purse. “No, I’m not ready. I’m totally dreading this.”

“Do you know where all the paperwork is that you need?”

“It should be in Cory’s office in the file cabinet or in the safe.” Continue reading “Chap. 11—Sinister Attachments: A Paranormal Psychological Thriller (Rancor, #1)”

TEN

“I’m stopping at Lenny’s,” Jess said. She slowed the car and pulled into the grocery store’s parking lot. “You’re going to need something strong to drink to get through this.”

“Liquor?” Maggie frowned and looked at Jess as she pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car. “I suppose you’re right, but I’ll probably start bawling anyway once I start going through our things.”

“It’ll make you feel better.”

“It’ll make me feel hung-over.”

Maggie and Jess walked into the store and up to the speedy checkout where the lottery tickets and liquor were kept. Jess bought a bottle of bourbon whiskey while Maggie bought one instant lottery ticket. Continue reading “Chap. 10—Sinister Attachments: A Paranormal Psychological Thriller (Rancor, #1)”

NINE

Maggie had the couch moved away from the door where it had acted as a barricade during the early morning hours. Now it sat unusually close to the door, but Maggie did not care. She knew that if she did not get a better lock on the door she would have to use it again tonight. If she had a skeleton key, that would most likely open the other doors on the floor, who else was in possession of one. She would ask Mr. Zimmerman about the key if she could ever get a hold of him to ask the question.

Susie sat across from Maggie at the small kitchen table, not touching her cereal or milk. Instead, she held her dirty looking teddy bear, smoothing its ratty synthetic fur. Continue reading “Chap. 9—Sinister Attachments: A Paranormal Psychological Thriller (Rancor, #1)”

EIGHT

Shortly after ten o’clock, a cold gust of wind blew in through the apartment windows, causing Maggie to shiver. She stopped typing and got up from the dinette table where she had been working the last few hours and went to close the windows. When she had finished pulling down the final window sash, there was a knock on the door. That must be Debbie, she thought.

Before unlocking the door, she looked through the peephole. Just as expected, Debbie and Susie were standing on the other side.

She opened the door and welcomed them inside. Debbie was wearing a white nurse dress; she even had a nurse cap pinned to her pulled-up hair. Maggie did not think nurses even wore those antiquated nursing clothes anymore. She was used to seeing nurses in colorful scrubs. Continue reading “Chap. 8—Sinister Attachments: A Paranormal Psychological Thriller (Rancor, #1)”

SEVEN

Maggie adjusted the bag of dirty clothes and held it at her side as she stepped off the elevator and into the dimly lit basement. She knew the washer and dryer were down here, but Mr. Zimmerman had not shown them to her when she came to see the apartment and sign the lease.

She looked down at the dirty concrete floor. Moisture oozed from the corner where the dingy white painted concrete walls met the floor. Looking up, she saw old fluorescent lights flickering and heard them hum a continuous noise down the length of the long corridor.

To the left was the stairway and to the right was an open door to a dark room. Thinking it could be the laundry room; she reached inside and felt for a light switch. Finally finding the switch, she flipped it on. A light bulb hanging from an electrical cord came on, revealing boxes, bins, and items that seemed to be in storage. When she looked farther back into the space, she noticed hospital beds, old-fashioned wheelchairs, and stretchers. The reminders of the building’s history made her shiver. She wondered how many people had died there. Continue reading “Chap. 7—Sinister Attachments: A Paranormal Psychological Thriller (Rancor, #1)”