FLOORBOARD
As you’re walking through the old McDermott House, you trip over a floor board that doesn’t quite line up with the others. You lift up the floorboard to reveal a hidden compartment! You reach down and pull out a couple of items: a journal and a small case.
As you continue to inspect the journal, turning it over in your hands, you suddenly feel an ounce of panic as your heart begins to thump with fear! Or is it anxiety? You stare at the floor, feeling as though you’ve done something wrong and are ashamed. Just then, you hear an interjecting *ahem*. You look up to see a young man standing next to the hidden floorboard compartment.
“What do you think you’re doing?” asks the ghost in his best grown-man voice.
“Geez kid, something caught in your throat? You’re Elsie’s brother, right?”
“Stepbrother! I’m Elsie’s stepbrother. What are you doing with my journal?”
“Relax kid, I’m just trying to help.”
“So you’re here to solve our murders?”
“If I tell you the truth, do you promise to help me? I saw what Charles – my stepfather – is doing with that candle. He’s planning on getting revenge on whoever killed Elsie! I didn’t do it, but I’m worried he thinks it was me! If I tell you what I remember, do you promise not to let him?”
“I don’t think you have to worry about Charles anymore.”
“Well… I was bored that day. I went for a walk in the neighborhood, and maybe I did something bad. Not awfully bad, I promise! Just some mischief. I knew I might get in trouble, so I ran home. My mom was leaving on some errand with that awkward Mr. Emmett and Aunt Jane. I hopped in to get away from the house, but the car broke down just a ways down the road! That’s when that strange fellow, Otto, happened to drive by, almost like he knew what would happen. It had started to storm, so he gave us a ride back. I don’t know why, but mom invited him in. That’s… all I can remember, promise.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers, isn’t that what they say? Face it, my family is the worst. They’re always bothering me about something! My mom and Charles make me go out to dinners with them sometimes, and mom is constantly asking me about how my day was and whether or not I’m doing okay. Ugh, it’s awful! On top of that, Elsie is an absolute brat. Little kids should respect their elders, right? Elsie is always trying to see what I’m doing, always asking me to play with her and her toys. I don’t have time for such childish things! And now look at what they’ve done to me…”
“Wait, what did you hear? That I fought some boys in the park because they were bullying me? That I yelled at one of my teachers because he mis-graded my test? That I have a quick temper like my real father? That’s the problem with you older folks: You hear one side of a story and never take the time to get the facts straight. I don’t make trouble or find it, it finds me.”
As you’re replacing the floorboard to make sure no one twists an ankle, you notice something taped to the underside:
As you continue to inspect the journal, turning it over in your hands, you suddenly feel an ounce of panic as your heart begins to thump with fear! Or is it anxiety? You stare at the floor, feeling as though you’ve done something wrong and are ashamed. Just then, you hear an interjecting *ahem*. You look up to see a young man standing next to the hidden floorboard compartment.
“What do you think you’re doing?” asks the ghost in his best grown-man voice.
“Geez kid, something caught in your throat? You’re Elsie’s brother, right?”
“Stepbrother! I’m Elsie’s stepbrother. What are you doing with my journal?”
“Relax kid, I’m just trying to help.”
“So you’re here to solve our murders?”
“Geez kid, something caught in your throat? You’re Elsie’s brother, right?”
“Stepbrother! I’m Elsie’s stepbrother. What are you doing with my journal?”
“Relax kid, I’m just trying to help.”
“So you’re here to solve our murders?”
“If I tell you the truth, do you promise to help me? I saw what Charles – my stepfather – is doing with that candle. He’s planning on getting revenge on whoever killed Elsie! I didn’t do it, but I’m worried he thinks it was me! If I tell you what I remember, do you promise not to let him?”
“I don’t think you have to worry about Charles anymore.”
“Well… I was bored that day. I went for a walk in the neighborhood, and maybe I did something bad. Not awfully bad, I promise! Just some mischief. I knew I might get in trouble, so I ran home. My mom was leaving on some errand with that awkward Mr. Emmett and Aunt Jane. I hopped in to get away from the house, but the car broke down just a ways down the road! That’s when that strange fellow, Otto, happened to drive by, almost like he knew what would happen. It had started to storm, so he gave us a ride back. I don’t know why, but mom invited him in. That’s… all I can remember, promise.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about Charles anymore.”
“Well… I was bored that day. I went for a walk in the neighborhood, and maybe I did something bad. Not awfully bad, I promise! Just some mischief. I knew I might get in trouble, so I ran home. My mom was leaving on some errand with that awkward Mr. Emmett and Aunt Jane. I hopped in to get away from the house, but the car broke down just a ways down the road! That’s when that strange fellow, Otto, happened to drive by, almost like he knew what would happen. It had started to storm, so he gave us a ride back. I don’t know why, but mom invited him in. That’s… all I can remember, promise.”
“Beggars can’t be choosers, isn’t that what they say? Face it, my family is the worst. They’re always bothering me about something! My mom and Charles make me go out to dinners with them sometimes, and mom is constantly asking me about how my day was and whether or not I’m doing okay. Ugh, it’s awful! On top of that, Elsie is an absolute brat. Little kids should respect their elders, right? Elsie is always trying to see what I’m doing, always asking me to play with her and her toys. I don’t have time for such childish things! And now look at what they’ve done to me…”
“Wait, what did you hear? That I fought some boys in the park because they were bullying me? That I yelled at one of my teachers because he mis-graded my test? That I have a quick temper like my real father? That’s the problem with you older folks: You hear one side of a story and never take the time to get the facts straight. I don’t make trouble or find it, it finds me.”