a horrendous overature rough draft

8/9/2019 A Horrendous Overature rough draft

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Chapter one

If you were hoping for a lovely tale about princesses and fairies in some far off magical

world, then you have picked up the wrong book, assuming you did actually pick up this book. If

I had dedicated my sad life to the study of princesses and fairies in magical worlds, then this

book would be titled with a nice playful title such as, A Lovely Fairy Princess, or A Wonderful Story about Fairies and Princesses in a Magical World . No, I have dedicated my life’s work

instead to the research of the lives of Riley, Violet, and Rachel lair. Riley was fifteen, wore

glasses, and loved many things. !f these things reading, inventing, and weaponry were hisfavorites. "or the most part, he only collected the weapons for target practice, self#defense, or

$ust to look at. %e also invented some of his weapons, e&cept for guns which of course were

illegal to make without the proper license. Violet, at thirteen, was mostly an investigator, whichmeant that she was almost always in the family library, in the family’s mansion, looking up

something, or reading a good mystery book, which were her favorites. Rachel, at only one year

of age, had only one special thing about her that had emerged# a word meaning 'shown up in herearly years# in her life so far, which was that her fingernails were ra(or sharp. )he loved to use

these claw#like nails to slice paper into shreds, and often could be found in the office with eitherlair parent shredding paper for them. ecause of her young age Rachel talked in a way that was

difficult to understand. )o that was when she said 'tha was a goo stoy*+ she meant somethinglike 'that was a good story you were telling dad*+ which her siblings and parents understood

immediately.

'hank you Rachel,+ said their father, 'but I’m not -uite done.+ heir father was telling

them a great story about three little fairies in a fairytale land and a princess that had a pretty pink

dress, but if I were to keep describing the boring story he was telling you might fall asleep so Iwill tell you that he was about to tell them of a noble and loyal organi(ation of which was torn by

the evil plots of some criminal masterminds# a phrase which means very smart and very, very

wicked people# and how they could help. nfortunately, he would never get to tell this story.

/t this point it is necessary for me to stop you and give you a warning. his book that

you are holding in your two hands, assuming you are actually holding this book, is a terrible and

woeful tale of which you would be better off throwing in a creek then reading through all thewoeful pages of this book. he story is about to take a turn for the worst# a phrase which means

get very, very bad# so if you’d like to stop here and believe that this story ends in 'happily ever

after,+ then you may close this book now and go on with your life believing that these three kidslived happily ever after, which I can assure you, they do not. ut for those of you brave enough

to go on in this story here it goes.

'0es, please do go on,+ said their mother, e&cept that she was interrupted at '0es, please

d1,+ with a loud sound from outside the house. he sound they herd was a sound you mighthave herd before, it is the screeching of tires as a car stops from high speeds. /t first the family

thought someone had narrowly avoided a collision, but the yells and cries of triumph andwickedness that occurred ne&t made them change their minds, and lives, forever.

here was the sound of several car doors opening and people getting out, then the soundof someone yelling, 'finally we can get our hands on those noble fools, or might I say get our

flames on them*+ and a few other people yell, '0es, we must do this -uickly though*+ he three

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children were confused about what was going on, but their parents reali(ed with horror what was

about to happen and $umped into action. nfortunately, they $umped into action# a phrase which

basically means 'they tried to save the families lives and home, but mostly failed+# and got upand ran to the front entry foyer# which a room that contains a door and is used to welcome

guests, especially at dressy mas-uerade parties #, but on their way they were stopped in their

track by a horrifying sound. his sound, which I hope you haven’t herd before, was the sound of breaking glass and an e&plosion followed by the sound of a fire erupting.

'It’s too late,+ the lair mother said as a tear came to her eye, 'It’s too late,+ she repeatedmournfully.

'It may be too late to save the house, but it’s not too late to save our family*+ the lair

father yelled over the rumbling sound of the fire, which was spreading in the entry foyer. 2ithoutanother word they turned and ran for the library, where the kids were still sitting in confusion.

!nce again they herd this terrible noise, of which still haunts me to this day. his noise was of

course was the sound of breaking glass and an e&plosion followed by the sound of yet anotherfire erupting, e&cept this wasn’t in the entry foyer. his time the e&plosions were in four different

parts of the mansion. hey herd one e&ploding in the kitchen, one e&ploding upstairs in their bedroom, another e&ploding upstairs in one of the sitting rooms and herd the last, with horror,e&plode in the library.

'Run*+ shouted their mother, but the kids had been lucky and had run for their parentsafter they herd the first e&plosion and caught up to them as they ran back to the library to get

them. 2ith several other sounds of erupting fire they herd all si& of the other doors leading

outside burst into flames, blocking any chance of escape.

'"ollow us*+ shouted their dad as he darted into a living room. hey followed -uickly

behind and glanced out a window to see a man whom they didn’t know yet, but would cause

them pain, woe, and sorrow in the years to come3 a man, who had already caused great woe andsorrow in an entire organi(ation. %e was tall, maybe si& feet, and had a pair of small glasses on,

but behind those glasses was the scariest thing of all. ehind his glasses were two beady, blue

eyes which were staring at the family, through the flame in the window, as they ran into theliving room. %e then turned with a grin and yelled something that the children couldn’t hear over

the crackle of the flames.

'4ump in here children*+ the lair father shouted over the flames. /s the children lookedat were their father was pointing they couldn’t believe their eyes. %e had lifted up the rug to

reveal a trapdoor# a word meaning 'a small wooden door that led somewhere the children had

never been before+# that said, 'fire or bomb safety shelter+ the children didn’t know how their parents could have known that something dreadful like this could have happened, and I’m sorry

to say that they would never find out, not from their parents at least.

'%urry up, the flames are starting to burn the wall*+ yelled their mother, and as they

looked were she was pointing they reali(ed she was right. )o taking one last look around their

beloved mansion, which they had lived in all their lives, they opened the door and hoped in.

'2e will come $oin you after we have grabbed something*+ yelled their father and he

closed the door. 5eaving no time for Riley to ask what he was grabbing, and leaving no time for

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Violet to tell him that she had read something saying you should never, ever go back into a

burning building to recover anything, and leaving poor Rachel before she could ask 'hw lo wit it

tac6+ meaning, '%ow long will it take to grab something so important that you leave yourchildren in a trapdoor that we didn’t even know about until know6+

Violet was right when she had wanted to say that you are never supposed to run backinto a burning building to get something, no matter how valuable. It is something which keeps

me awake at night asking myself, 'If she had said that, might this woeful tale have never

happened6+ but no matter how much I wish it hadn’t it will never make it so. )o as much as it pains me to say, the lair parents would never return to the small space containing their beloved

children, I will have to say it.

he lair parents would never return to the small space containing their beloved children,and as the minutes passed the children began to reali(e, slowly but surely, that their parents

weren’t going to return.

'I’m afraid our parents aren’t going to return,+ Violet said as a tear started to fall from her

chin to the dirt floor below them.

'7on’t be afraid Violet, I’m sure that they escaped by some other means and will return

for us once the fire is put out,+ said the eldest lair. /s he said this they heard a heavy beam fall

onto the door to what would now serve as their prison.

'5oo li we ar goin to be stk hr for a wil,+ said Rachel which meant something like, 'looks

like we are going to be stuck here for a while, at least until our parents come back+, and she was

right, not about her parents, but because after another couple hours of listening to the sounds offalling boards, crackling flames, and shattering glass they had still not been rescued.

'2e need to break out of here and try and find out parents and rescue them this instant*+

cried Violet once she could stand waiting no longer. /s she cried she started banging on thetrapdoor above their heads, which caused a rain of ashes and dust that covered the children from

head to toe.

'2e can’t budge the beam that fell onto the door, we have to wait for our parents to come

and lift it off,+ )aid Riley.

'%ow can you still believe our parents are out there unharmed, and looking for use* It’s

been hours since they left us here we have to get out of this ourselves*+ cried Violet between

sobs, but without warning there was a creaking sound as the beam was lifted off the door.

')ee I told you they would find us,+ said Riley with a small smile. %e was wrong of

course, their parents would never return to that door, nor would they ever see their belovedchildren again. 2ith another creak the trapdoor opened revealing a tall, burly# a word meaning

'strong+# firefighter whom had apparently herd the banging Violet had been creating a few

minutes before.

'2hy hello there,+ said the fireman in a soothing voice, 'the fire is out now you can

come out and get some medical attention for any wounds you may have encountered from that

terrible fire.+

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'hank you sir, but I don’t think any of us have in$uries, thankfully,+ said Riley frowning

as he saw that it wasn’t his parents at the door.

'!ur parents left us in the small room behind that trapdoor and went off to get something,

have you found them yet6+ asked Violet in a panicked tone.

'No we haven’t, but we will continue to search. 8eanwhile, we will have to get you ane&amination $ust to make sure, ok6+ asked the fireman. !f course they weren’t ok, they were not

even one hundred miles from ok, but the children knew better than to argue. )o they climbed out

of the hole, or in Rachel’s case, was carried out. 'Now $ust head over to the ambulance while I

search for your parents,+ he said and then walked off. /t this point the children had their firstview at what the fire had done to their home, and what it had done was -uite simple3 it had

completely destroyed it. )o walking slowly and -uietly over to the ambulance, which was not

very far from where they had emerged, they looked around at what had used to be their lovelymansion.

he walls were $ust charred boards holding up the remains of the ceiling, were achandelier once hung on a large wooden beam# the one that had fallen on the door# and several

other lights used to be. It would be useless for me to e&plain every detail of the house because it

would take far too long, every last item the lares had once en$oyed was burnt to a crisp, so they $ust walked slowly to the ambulance where they were checked for in$uries.

'Nope, they are all remarkably unharmed,+ said one of the medics that had arrived on the

scene.

'2ell let’s take them to the hospital so the man in charge of their affairs can pick them

up, come on into the back children, you can $ust sit on the seat for the ride to the hospital.+

he children didn’t want to leave their house, or what was left of it at least, not until they

had found their parents, but they knew it wouldn’t help to argue, as much as they wanted to, sothey stepped -uietly into the back of the ambulance and rode silently to the hospital. !nce there

they met a friend of the family by the name of, 4ohn 5en, but everyone called him 8r. 5en. 8r.

5en was a short, thin man in his mid#thirties and was the banker in charge of their parents’

fortune which had been used to pay for the mansion that now lay in ashes.

/s they sat in front of his house in his garden, where he had taken them after picking

them up at the hospital, they finally spoke. '2hat do you think happened to our parents6+ askedRiley, but it was obvious what his sister thought by what her response was, which was to burst

into tears and lay her head on his shoulder.

/t this moment, as if on cue, the door of the house came open and 8r. 5en stepped out.

/fter a long pause he said some words which I will never forget no matter how hard I try, 'I’m

afraid both your parents perished in the horrendous fire that destroyed your mansion andeverything in it.+

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Chapter two

If you have ever lost two loved ones, a huge mansion, and all your belongings you will

understand how the children, now orphans, felt. If you haven’t felt this specific pain, you can’t

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imagine it in your worst nightmares. /s Violet sat ne&t to Riley, who was holding Rachel, and

cried mournfully. Rachel cried -uietly, since she was too little to know -uite what was going on,

and Riley let a few tears roll down his cheek, as 8r. 5en talked on and on about what was tohappen to them in the following days. he lair orphans, as I’m sad to say they were, didn’t

listen to 8r. 5en as he blabbed on and on about the legal documents he needed to sign and what

they would have to sign, giving the children no emotional help what so ever. Instead they werethinking upon times when they had had fun with their parents3 trips to the beach, going fishing,

or any other of the things the orphans liked to do with their parents3 things that they would never

do again, at least not with their parents. hey began to wonder if they would ever have anotherhappy time in their life, and I am sorry to say that they would have very little happy times in the

years to come.

')o why don’t you youngsters come inside and sit at the table so you can sign a few papers saying that you will inherit that huge fortune left behind when Riley comes of age6+

asked 8r. 5en, and the orphans mournfully followed. hey then signed a few legal papers

without a word from any of them, too shocked at 8r. 5en’s obliviousness# a word meaning thathe completely ignored their crying and talked to them in big legal terms# to the emotional state

all the children were in. hen he finally said something that was at least somewhat comforting,

'I’m sorry you lost your parents in that terrible fire, but you should be thankful that you arealive* hat fire was huge*+

'2e are thankful 8r. 5en, It’s $ust we miss our parents greatly+, said Riley who hadmanaged to stop crying long enough to be polite.

'2ell, that is acceptable,+ said 8r. 5en nodding his head in thought, 'I will go to the

bank and look for a new home for you immediately, meanwhile you will live here for a few daysuntil I can find a home suitable for you orphans. 8y wife will take you out to shop in a few

hours once you have finished mourning and are ready, see you children later.+ /nd with that he

walked out the door leaving the orphans to weep alone for a while, and giving them a chance totalk.

'I guess all we can hope for is a good new home,+ said Violet speaking optimistically forthe first time since they had been left at the trapdoor. he word 'optimistically+ means that she

was saying something that would hopefully cheer up her siblings.

'I guess so,+ Riley said with a sigh, 'and that we can get some good new clothes since allour old ones are burnt to a crisp.+ /t this all the orphans were -uiet again as they thought of all

the things that were burnt to a crisp. Riley was thinking of his knife collection that he had

worked hard to either make or buy, Violet was thinking of the large family library were she hadread many books and mysteries, some of which she had solved before the detective did in the

book, and Rachel was thinking of papers she could get to shred into tiny pieces to impress hersiblings and parents.

'2ell, I suppose I could make some more knives to carve with,+ said Riley, which was

one of his most favorite things to do.

'and I guess I could see if the 5ens have a library where I could read a good book, maybe

even a mystery,+ said Violet, which was her most favorite type of book to read.

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'I gus I cud gt som papr to shrd,+ said Rachel, which meant something like, 'I guess I

could get some paper to shred for some entertainment+ which was her most favorite thing to do

when she was bored.

'2ell, I don’t know about that on this shopping trip but maybe ne&t time,+ said a voice

which they turned around to see a cheerful woman standing there that they recogni(ed as 8rs.5en. he orphans then had a long discussion with 8rs. 5en on where to go when they went

shopping and what they wanted to buy. It turned out that 8rs. 5en was much more comforting

and nice than 8r. 5en had been. 'I’m so sorry for your loss, I wish there were something I coulddo to bring them back but there is not,+ she had sad, 'your parents were great people that I will

miss very much+.

'2ell, we had better get to the store if we want to get clothes before they close,+ Rileyhad said trying to change the sub$ect from their parents’ deaths, 'it’s almost four o’ clock now

and most stores close at five.+ )o then they all piled into the car and went to the store to buy

some clothes to last them for a while, and if you want to stop reading now and imagine thatsomehow the orphans lived with 8rs. 5en and had a $olly old time laughing and dancing around

in their new clothes and that everyone got to do the things they loved to do instead of reading therest of this woeful and dreadful story, but I cannot stop writing so I must continue with the story.

2hen they all got back from the store 8r. 5en announced that he had found them a

perfect home, which of course was anything but perfect. 'I have found you a perfect home,+announced 8r. 5en, '0ou will be living with 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie whom live on )e-uin

)-uare.+ )e-uin )-uare was $ust a few blocks down the road from where the lair family had

lived all together and safe in their mansion, which was now nothing more than a charred skeleton

of a house. he orphans weren’t particularly fond of the idea of living so close to their burntdown mansion# a phrase which means 'they didn’t want to pass their house where their beloved

parents had perished and they had seen the arsonist whom had killed their parents+# but they

knew that they couldn’t argue such a stubborn man out of going to their new home, so they $ustnodded and went to the room that had been given to them to change into their new clothes. heir

room wasn’t too large and they all had to share it, but it was better than nothing. he walls were

painted bright blue, which wasn’t very comforting, and there were two beds with one small cribobviously for Rachel to sleep in.

'2ell it’s nothing like what our rooms used to be, but it will do for the ne&t two days,+

said Riley whom had listened to 8r. 5en’s boring conversation enough to know that they wouldspend the ne&t two days at the 5en’s residence# a word meaning 'home+# then would go and

meet 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie. )o it was that after they finished changing into their new clothes,

taking turns in the bathroom to change, that they were able to finally talk alone for a while aboutwhat had happened that terrible night.

'I can remember that man’s face, his small glasses, his beady, blue eyes, and he was bald,+ said Violet with a shudder. /nother one of Violets keen characteristics was that she had a

photographic memory# meaning 'she could remember everything she had saw as if it was a

picture in her mind+#, which was a great ability if you wanted to remember a good book or a dear friend that had moved away, but not so good if you wanted to forget the evil mastermind who

had burnt down your house and killed your parents. )he also remembered every moment of their

lives with their parents and could picture the parents standing together holding hands when they

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had went to the park, or their parents telling the story right before the cars came that would

change their lives forever, which made it all that much worse that she could remember every

little detail, perfectly.

'0ea, that must have been the man behind the arson,+ said Riley remembering the man

outside the window. Riley didn’t have a photographic memory but he could remember the manthat was standing outside almost perfectly.

'2e ha to fig ot wo that was*+ said Rachel, which obviously meant, '2e have to figureout who that was, and catch him*+ which was a good idea but half of it wouldn’t happen for a

very, very long time after she had said that.

'0our right Rachel, but we can’t do that while we are here, so we might as well getsettled in,+ said Violet whom, being an investigator, knew that there was no good information in

the library, which she had peaked into while Riley changed into his new clothes.

'I guess so, I’m too tired to look up anything anyways,+ said Riley whom was speaking

the truth for all of them, they had been awake for almost two days now and were barely able to

keep their eyes open.

'ime for dinner*+ shouted 8rs. 5en who had told them that they were going to have

chicken and dumplings, which is a comforting dish of chicken cooked with biscuit dough rolledinto balls, and some spices.

'2e are coming*+ shouted Riley to let her know that they would be there as soon as

possible, 'well I guess we can go to bed after supper.+ y this time the orphans had stoppedmourning, and were more curious about who the killer was than sad and angry that the fire had

burned down their house and killed their parents, and if I was them I would have still been crying

into my pillow, but the lair orphans were much braver than I. )o, they went and ate their dinner

in a sleepy silence and went off to bed so they would be well rested for the ne&t day. his turnedout to be a long boring day of talking about good times they had had with their parents. /s

boring as this day might have been, you may be interested in some of their conversations, so Iwill write some of them down.

!nce they got out of bed and got dressed, they went and ate the breakfast of ham and

cheese biscuits that 8rs. 5en had fi&ed then went back to their room to talk. '7o you rememberthat time when we went fishing and dad caught that fish, and after twenty minutes of trying to

reel the fish in he dropped the pole into the water and never got it back6+ asked Violet with a

small smile.

'0ea I remember that,+ said Riley with a slightly larger grin on his face.

'%e tr getn it bac ot for hurs,+ said Rachel, which meant, '%e tried to get the reel back

out for hours after that.+

'hose were the good days,+ said Violet with a small smile, and then they were -uiet for

another long time. 7uring this time they found Rachel some paper to shred for entertainment

while they were silent. he ne&t time they spoke was about an hour later.

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'Remember when mom dropped that bag full of rice3 we were picking up rice for days

after that,+ said Riley with a small grin.

'0a the wa fui,+ said Rachel with a smile which meant, 'yes, that was very funny.+

'0ea, I had to look up how to make a vacuum cleaner so you could build it and vacuum

up the last of the rice,+ said Violet with a small smile. /fter this they were silent for anotherseveral minutes or so until it was lunch time.

'%ow has your day been going6+ asked 8rs. 5en as she served the peanut butter and $elly

sandwiches they were having for lunch.

'9ood I guess,+ said Violet who wasn’t very hungry after the memories of their motherand father.

'2ell I’m glad to hear it, 8r. 5en is at the bank finali(ing your new home’sarrangements,+ said 8rs. 5en with a comforting smile. !nce again the house fell silent until the

children were done with their sandwiches, or as much as they could eat with their appetite gone

from their memories.

'I guess I will see you children at dinner,+ said 8rs. 5en with a wave as the children

walked back to their room.

'0es, we will see you then. hank you,+ said Riley as he walked out the door to the

dinning room.

/fter a few moments of silence in their room Rachel spoke up with the last memory, and

maybe the fondest. 'Reme the tm whe aur parnt wod tel us the stors6+ which meant, 'Remember

the time when our parents would tell us those great stories6+

'0ea, in the large family library, I really miss that library,+ said Riley with a large smile.

'0es, I miss the library dearly too,+ said Violet, this time with a frown thinking of all

those books burnt and charred.

his time they were silent for a very long time, until they were called to dinner by 8r. 5en.

'0ou kids come to dinner now*+ yelled 8r. 5en rudely, '2e need to talk about your new

arrangements*+ he shouted $ust as loudly and rudely.

'2e are coming,+ said Violet in an annoyed tone. /s they sat down they saw that they

were being served salad, which was not one of their more favorable meals. /lthough, apparently

it was one of the 5ens most favorite meals, because they had eaten all of it in a few minutes andwere looking at the orphans who had barely eaten any of their meal.

'/re you children okay6+ asked 8rs. 5en considerately.

'I’m sure they are fine dear, besides I need to talk to them about their new arrangements.

0ou children are to be up and packed by ten o’ clock in the morning to go meet your newguardians and move into their house, now if you are done with supper you should go to bed so

you will have sleep for tomorrow.+

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he children weren’t very happy about the plan but knew better than to argue with a man

as stubborn as 8r. 5en. )o, once they had got ready for bed, they tucked themselves in and fell

asleep, but only after hours of tossing and turning thinking of many -uestions. '2ill our newhome be as good as our mansion was6+ thought Violet hoping that 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie had a

large library for her to read in and investigate mysteries.

'2ill the Rosalies have tools for inventing things6+ was Riley’s -uestion.

'2il the rosles hav papr to shrd6+ was Rachel’s -uestion, which meant, '2ill theRosalies have plenty of paper to shred into tiny bits6+

/nd after hours of tossing and turning with these -uestions they finally fell asleep until

8r. 5en swung open the door and yelled, '9et up children it’s time to meet your newguardians*+ his wasn’t a pleasant way to be woken up but the children didn’t pay attention, they

were too an&ious about their new guardians to notice anything. )o it was with this rude

awakening that they got up and packed up# which $ust meant 'put their few clothes into a plastic bag, which 8r. 5en had left in their room after waking them up+# then went outside and got into

the 5en car, which was a small, red sedan.

/fter a short drive 8r. 5en stopped and said, '2ell here we are kids,+ said 8r. 5en, 'it’s

a charming place isn’t it6+

here were many words to describe the house they were in front of. !ne was ugly,

another was trashed, yet another was abandoned, but the best word would be 'the residence of

8r. and 8rs. Rosalie, possibly the best guardians they had for a long, long time.+

If you have made it this far into this woeful tale then you may think that things are about

to take a turn for the better, but you would be wrong about that. hese guardians may be the best

they will have in a while, but the neighbors will be, and already were, in their worst nightmares.

Chapter hree

he phrase 'don’t $udge a book by its cover+ is normally a good saying, but in some

cases it wouldn’t apply, like if you found a book and the cover was burnt to a crisp, you wouldknow the book had been burnt. %owever, in the case of their new guardians’ house, the lair

orphans had $udged the book by its cover, and got it wrong. "irst impressions are very important

to what someone will think of you, and the lair’s first impression was terrible, but then they

rang the doorbell and got their first impression of 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie, whom where wellmannered, funny, loved children, trustworthy, playful, enthusiastic# a word meaning 'they were

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always ready to do something+#, loving, of course I could go on, but it would take up the entire

page, and, since they aren’t around anymore, would make me terribly sad. )o when they rang the

doorbell, they heard footsteps coming toward the door and with each footstep they became moreand more an&ious.

'2hy, hello there*+ announced someone as they opened the door, '%oney, please comeover here the lair orphans are finally here*+ said 8rs. Rosalie e&citedly as the door came fully

open and revealed the lady in the doorway. his gave the children a slightly better first

impression, but they weren’t done with the good first impression yet.

'I can’t believe your timing*+ said another voice from behind the woman, obviously 8r.

Rosalie, '0ou arrived $ust in time for some hot fudge sundaes*+ said 8r. Rosalie $ust as e&citedly

as his wife. /t this the orphans’ first impression went from good to e&tremely good.

'2ell I’m sorry I can’t stick around to have some, but I must get back to the bank before

I lose too much money,+ said 8r. 5en who always had money on his mind, 'good#bye children,if for some reason you cause trouble you can call me or telegraph me at the bank.+

'2ell he certainly doesn’t seem like a nice fellow,+ said 8r. Rosalie with a disgustedglance toward 8r. 5en, 'Come on in and we can sit down for some hot fudge sundaes. 2e can

get to know each other over a tasty snack.+

/t this point the lairs were convinced that they had $udged the book by its cover, and had

$udged wrong.

'2ell I’m glad to hear all about you,+ said 8rs. Rosalie after they had eaten their sundaesand told them all about themselves.

'0es, me too* I’m glad you told us that, now I know e&actly what rooms to put you each

in.+

'2hat rooms would that be6+ asked Riley who hoped to have a room with a workbench,tools, and a desk to draw blueprints# a word meaning 'blue paper used to write designs for

inventions on+# on.

'2ell, Riley can go in the room with the large workbench, and tool rack3 the workbenchcould be used to draw designs on if you’d like, Violet can go in the room ne&t to the large library

with plenty of mystery books in it, and Rachel can go in the room in between you that holds all

the recycled papers,+ said 8r. Rosalie with a smile.

'0ou mean that we each get out own room6+ Violet said in e&citement.

'2ell of course* 0ou didn’t think we would cram all of you into one room in this huge

house did you6 No, no we spend all day making the inside of this house look perfect for any

guests or, in this case, new residents. hat’s why the outside of the house looks so dilapidated,+said 8rs. Rosalie with a smile, using a word which means 'ugly, trashed, and abandoned+.

'2e didn’t think the outside looked too bad,+ said Violet trying to be polite, although she

thought it looked like the worst place she had ever seen.

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'hat’s nice of you to say, but you don’t have to lie,+ said 8rs. Rosalie with a smile,

'he outside of our house looks terrible.+

'Really it isn’t that bad,+ said Riley as politely as he could, '8aybe a little work could be

done.+

'%ere, let me show you to your rooms,+ said 8r. Rosalie interrupting the discussion, tothe lairs relief, '2e can talk more after you have unpacked.+ %e said as he got up and picked

all of their luggage, which was $ust three large plastic bags, and started walking down a hallway.

'/ll we have is the clothes that 8rs. 5en bought for us,+ said Riley with a long sigh as he

remembered all the stuff he used to have, but it was $ust burnt charcoal now.

'0ou’re kidding* hey didn’t buy you anything other than clothes6 2e will have to run to

the store today to get you something for entertainment*+ e&claimed 8r. Rosalie e&pressively# a

word which means 'using all of his body to talk, which is odd when you are holding three plastic bags full of clothes+#, which made the lairs hopes go up even more.

/fter putting their clothes into their large closets in their new rooms, which were $ust asgood as they had hoped and were located in the left front of the house all lined up in a row,

giving them an e&cellent view of the front yard and across the street, e&cept that the early

morning sun was in their eyes.

hey returned to the living room to meet back with the Rosalies. '2e ar thro unpacen*+

shouted Rachel.

'2hat my sister means is that we are through unpacking our clothes,+ translated Riley as

they rounded the corner to the living room.

'2ell good, we should get to the store immediately* 2e can buy anything you would

like, as long as it isn’t too e&pensive,+ said 8r. Rosalie with a smile, '2e wouldn’t want to spoil

you too much.+

'!h thank you so much 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie, we appreciate it so much,+ said Violet

thrilled that she could get anything she wanted, and it was with those words that they went with

8r. Rosalie and piled into one of the Rosalie’s cars, which was large and roomy. hey first wentto a book store for Violet to pick up some mystery books for her to read. hen, they went to a

tool store to buy Riley the tools he would need to invent things, and the metal he would need to

make any weapon he could imagine. "inally, they went to an office store to buy Rachel some papers to shred, and after this returned to their new home.

'I can’t thank you enough for getting us all these wonderful things,+ said Riley e&citedlyas he thought off all the things he could invent with his new tools.

'!h, don’t you worry about it, it’s the least we could do for you children,+ said 8r.Rosalie. /fter this the orphans -uickly went to their rooms to do what they loved best. It was in

this way, Riley polishing his glasses as he worked on his inventing, Violet reading her mystery

novels, and Rachel ripping and shredding her paper filled with $oy, which the orphans passed the

ne&t hour until it was lunchtime.

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'Come on in for your most favorite meal*+ shouted 8rs. Rosalie, and she was right. )he

had cooked white rice with lightly seasoned chicken, which was one of the lair orphans’ most

favorite meal.

he children walked briskly# a word meaning 'walked as fast as they could without

running+# into the kitchen where they saw that she had been telling the truth, she had made theirmost favorite meal. '!h, thank you so much, I can’t tell you how much my siblings and I love

this meal,+ said Riley as he scooped up some rice and added plenty of salt for taste.

'!h it was no trouble, it’s one of our most favorite meals as well,+ 8r. Rosalie said as he

walked into the kitchen, not mentioning that it was a food used by the secret organi(ation, of

which they were members of, -uite often as a fast simple meal.

2ith little discussion the children ate their well#cooked meal, en$oying every bite of it,

although it brought back memories of their mother and father. '2e en$oyed every bite of your

well#cooked meal, it brought back memories of our parents,+ said Violet letting another tear godown her cheek for her long lost parents.

'here there, please don’t cry, I’m so sorry for your loss,+ said 8rs. Rosalie in a calmingvoice while she patted Violet on the back lightly to comfort her, 'hey were great friends of ours

and we will miss them for the rest of our life,+ she said, not knowing that their life wasn’t going

to last too much longer.

'I’m fine, it’s $ust I miss them dearly,+ said Violet cheering back up much -uicker than I

would have been able to. '2ell I am ready to get back to reading my mystery book, I was getting

to a good part,+ she said standing up.

'0es, and I’m ready to get back to inventing, I am almost ready to start building an

automated throwing#knife thrower,+ said Riley whom wasn’t very accurate at throwing a knife

even after years of practice.

'/utomated1you mean it will throw the knife for you6+ asked Violet who had a verylarge vocabulary from all the books she had read.

'0es, since my throwing knife aim is a bit off I figured I would make a machine to throw

them for me,+ replied Riley.

'2el let get bck to or rums+ said Rachel.

'8y sister means that we should get back to our rooms if we want to do these things, and

she is right. 8ay we be dismissed from the table6+ asked Violet who best understood Rachel.

'!h yes, we wouldn’t want to stop you from doing what you love,+ said 8r. Rosalie. /nd

with this the children walked briskly back to their bedrooms, or in Violet’s case, the library, and

continued reading the good part of their mystery, inventing an automated throwing#knife thrower,and shredding and ripping up old scrap paper from years of typing that 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie had

done. It was in this way they passed the hours before dinner came around, and they were called

into the kitchen by 8r. Rosalie this time.

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'7inner time* 2e cooked another one of your favorites*+ he yelled, and he too was right

about it being one of their favorites, as he had whipped up# a phrase which means 'made food

from scratch rather than anything that has to do with a long thin rope+# some delicious spaghettiand meatballs without any tomato chunks, $ust as the children liked.

'!h good, you fi&ed spaghetti and meatballs without any tomato chunks, $ust the way welike it* hank you 8r. Rosalie,+ said Riley e&citedly, and as they all got their share of the

spaghetti and meatballs without tomato chunks $ust the way the orphans liked it, they were all

smiling, because they had finished what they had started earlier that day and couldn’t wait toshare what they had done with their siblings and guardians.

'I finished the first book we bought at the store a few minutes ago, I don’t want to brag,

but I figured out the mystery before the detective did in the book,+ said Violet with a smile.

'/nd I finished making my automated throwing#knife thrower, I will need to test it

tomorrow to make sure it works but it should be -uite accurate,+ said Riley e&citedly.

'/nd I finish shrdin a hol bos of paps,+ said Rachel with a smile.

'8y sister says that she finished shredding a whole bo& of scrap papers,+ translated

Violet. /ll three of the orphans were smiling ear to ear# a phrase which doesn’t mean that their

lips curved all the way from one ear to the other, but means that they were smiling large e&trahappy smiles# at what they had accomplished, but little did they know that they would find out

something terrible the ne&t day.

'I’m so glad you are having fun here in our house,+ said 8rs. Rosalie, 'he neighborsacross the street moved in only a few days ago, they are a little noisy at night but I’m sure Riley

could invent something to block the noise out,+ said 8rs. Rosalie who was also grinning ear to

ear. :ven though she didn’t know it, the neighbors across the street were a little bit more than

$ust noisy, but they had no way of knowing that.

'I’m sure I could, I will look into it after supper,+ said Riley, already polishing his glassesin thought.

'0es, and I will start in on the ne&t mystery novel we bought at the store today,+ said

Violet.

'/nd I wil sta on a noo bos of paps,+ said Rachel.

'8y sister means that she will start on a new bo& of papers,+ e&plained Riley.

/fter their discussion the lair orphans ate -uickly before asking to be e&cused so thatthey could go back to what they were doing. !nce back to their rooms the orphans continued

doing what they had been doing, reading a mystery novel, inventing a machine to silence the

noise from outside, and shredding papers with their ra(or sharp nails, until 8rs. Rosalie cameand told them it was time for bed and tucked them in.

/s she tucked each one in she would say 'omorrow will bring a better day,+ she was

wrong about that of course, but it made the orphans feel better. It only took the children an houror so of tossing and turning this night since they hadn’t spent the day talking about memories of

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their parents and they had worked hard, or in Violet’s case, read hard all day. hey slept until the

voice of 8r. Rosalie came telling them to wake up.

'2ake up children* oday is a better day than yesterday*+ he said, and once again he

would be wrong, but it got the orphans up, and into the kitchen for breakfast where they found

another one of their most favorite foods, toast with blackberry $am spread on it.

'I thought I would whip up some of your most favorite breakfast foods,+ said 8rs.

Rosalie who was waiting in the kitchen, 'Now why don’t you eat breakfast -uickly so you canget on with what you had planned for the day6+ she asked and the children nodded in agreement.

/nd so they finished breakfast with little conversation and headed back to their rooms to

get the things gathered that they needed for the day. "or Violet this meant picking up her latest book, a pen, and paper for taking notes. "or Riley this meant get his automated knife throwing

device ready for testing. /nd for Rachel this meant going to her big brother’s room to watch his

testing.

'I’m going to go outside in the backyard to test this device, I wouldn’t want to poke a

hole in the wall,+ Riley e&plained to Rachel as he led her out to the backyard, which was verylarge with some woods in the back end, and was accessible from a sliding door in the kitchen.

2hile her siblings went out back, Violet went into the library where the sunlightstreaming in through the wide open windows would allow her to read better, but after about an

hour her brother called her into her room from the doorway.

'2hy did you close the blinds and call me in here Riley6 I was in a good part of the book,+ asked Violet angrily.

'I was out back testing my machine, but when Rachel and I came back in we saw

something horrendous outside we had to tell you about,+ said Riley with a look of fear and panicin his eyes, he walked over to the blinds and parted them $ust enough to point at what he was

talking about. /cross the road there was a tall man, about si& feet in height, with no hair, smallglasses, and beady, blue eyes looking through binoculars3 strait at were Violet had been siting

foolishly not looking out the window, the man had an evil, evil grin on his face.

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Chapter "our

2hen someone sees something, it normally brings back a memory of something yourelate to that image, such as when I think of a typewriter it brings back memories of me sitting in

the trunk of a getaway car trying to type out this woeful tale without error with the bumps in the

road making it increasingly harder. 2hen the orphans looked across the street and saw the man

standing there looking through the binocular with his beady, blue eyes it made them remember

memories of their house burning down on that terrible night, but being brave children they didn’tlet their emotions take over as they tried to figure out what was happening. hey did not know

the name of this terrible, terrible man, and they wouldn’t find out for a little while longer, but Ican tell you what this horrendous man’s name was, and that name is 7r. /tticus. I will only tell

you that 7r. /tticus was one of many evil villains that destroyed our honorable organi(ation, and

had a very bad temper# a phrase meaning 'always seemed to have several weapons on him, andgot mad very easily+#, and as the children sat and watched the man as he had been watching

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them, e&cept without the binoculars, he kept staring at the window were Violet had been sitting

for a few moments, then put the binoculars down and walked back into the house.

'2hat was he doing6+ asked Violet, still shocked that she had been spied on.

'%ow did he find us6+ asked Riley, who couldn’t figure out how their parents’ murderer

could find the children so -uickly.

'2ha is he planin6+ asked Rachel, which meant something like, '2hat could that evilman be planning6+

'2ell, whatever he is up to, and however he found us, we are going to have to investigate

to find out,+ said Riley taking command of the situation, 'and that is Violet’s specialty. Violet doyou think you could do some research and find out who this man is6+ he asked.

')ure,+ replied Violet, 'the Rosalie’s library is huge, I’m sure it has something in it onthis man.+

'/nd I will try and invent some binoculars so that we can spy on him in the same way hespied on us,+ said Riley, whom had made a pair of binoculars when he was seven.

'2a abo me6+ asked Rachel, which meant something like, '2hat will I do while you aredoing your $obs6+

'0ou can come with me,+ said Riley, 'I might need your sharp nail to do some of the

work.+ /nd with this the children got to work, closing the blinds so that he couldn’t spy on themanymore, until it was lunchtime. he Rosalies had gone out to go shopping, but had left some

peanut butter and blackberry $am sandwiches for the children to eat. /s they ate they discussed

the progress they had made, which was very little.

'I have found nothing, on which this man is, in the library,+ said Violet with a frown.

'I have started on making the binoculars, but can’t find any lenses, the pieces of curved

glass that make the image bigger, to put into it,+ said Riley who had searched his room for any

lenses, but couldn’t find any other than the lenses in his glasses.

'2ell, we can’t give up. I will keep researching, to see if I can find this man in any of

their books, and you can search the house to find the lenses,+ said Violet.

')ounds like a plan to me,+ said Riley as he finished his sandwich, 'Rachel can come

with me to see if she spots and small pieces of curved glass as well.+ /nd with this the children

went to their plan, Violet went back to the library, and Riley and Rachel went to work searching

the house for lenses.

/s Violet was first shifting through the library she had reali(ed she had no idea what shewas looking for, she had no name, she didn’t have the name of any of his co#workers, although

he didn’t keep many for long, so she had nothing to base her search off of. /s she went back to

the library she thought that she would look at the book entitled Recently Moved in Residence of

Sequin Square, but found that the new neighbors hadn’t been written in yet, although there was a picture of the Rosalies that Violet didn’t pay attention to. /s Riley went searching the house for

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his lenses though, he had a little more luck, because in the guest bedroom there was a pair of

glasses $ust perfect for making binoculars, e&cept that he couldn’t find another set of lenses.

'2ell I was somewhat successful in finding lenses, I found two lenses, which is only enough forone of the tubes on a binocular,+ said Riley as he walked into the library to find Violet, who was

looking for another helpful book, 'have you had any luck6+

'2ell, Recently Moved in Residence of Sequin Square didn’t have him listed, and if you

only have one tube of a binocular, doesn’t that mean you could make a monocular, or a

telescope6+ asked Violet, who had read many books on devices for looking far away, as manygreat detectives have used, and knew that a monocular was $ust the same as binoculars e&cept

with only one tube, and a telescope was an ad$ustable#(oom device for looking at stars, usually.

'I guess you’re right, I could make a telescope for us to spy on him with,+ said Rileysmiling at his sister, 'I will get right on it, and you can keep looking for information in the

library.+

')ounds like a plan Riley,+ said Violet with a smile. If I had been there I would have told

them that spying on the man by the name of 7r. /tticus, isn’t a good enough plan for what he isabout to do, but I am not there, so they went on with their plan. Riley went to his room and beganthe work on his telescope, and Violet got out Residence of Sequin Square to see if it had his name

in it, which I’m sorry to say, it did not. In the area where the man’s house was, the page was

ripped out, or, as it appeared, was burned out.

/s Riley worked on his telescope he found that it was -uite easy to make one. /ll he had

to do was put one of the the lenses into a larger tube, then put the other lens into a smaller tube

and slide the smaller tube into the large tube to complete the telescope. /s it was an easy task, itwas also time#consuming, and so by the time he was finished making the telescope it was time

for dinner.

8eanwhile, while Riley was making the telescope, Violet, after looking in Residence ofSequin Square, found a book which gave her a few answers. he book was called Photo Albu

of W.!.A. Mebers, and in it she found a few pictures of the man across the street, but no name.)he figured that because it said members, 2.I./. must have been organi(ation or club, but

couldn’t figure out what the letters stood for. /s she sat and tried to figure out the meaning of

2.I./. the Rosalies came home and prepared dinner, and before she knew it 8r. Rosalie’s voice

came out shouting, '7inner time*+ and she had to go eat. 2hen she and her siblings got into thekitchen they found that 8r. Rosalie had prepared homemade pi((a which was a delicious meal,

and because they didn’t want to tell the Rosalies what they were up to, they didn’t talk at all

during the meal as they listened to the Rosalie’s conversation about how their shopping trip hadgone, before asking to be e&cused and going to Riley’s room to discuss their progress.

'2ell, I have finished the telescope,+ announced Riley in a proud voice, '7id you findanything useful in any of those books6+

'0es, actually I found a few things that are confusing, even to an investigator like me,+said Violet modestly, '"irst of all I found his picture in a book labeled Photo Albu of W.!.A. Mebers, but it didn’t have a name. )econd of all, I can’t figure out what 2.I./. is, but I think it

might be an organi(ation, or club.+

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'hat is some good information,+ said Riley with a nod of agreement, 'I think I have a

plan that will help us spy on him tomorrow. he plan is this3 tomorrow, after breakfast I will

come into your room and watch from your window for him on his front yard, while you read, or pretend to read, in the library so he will watch you. I will keep the blinds shut in your room so he

can’t see me, and Rachel can stay with me to tell me if she spots anything.+

')ouws li a pla,+ said Rachel, which meant something like, ')ounds like a plan brother.+

'2e better get everything ready for tomorrow,+ said Violet, and with that they worked ongetting everything ready for the ne&t day. Riley went and polished his telescope so he could get

the best image possible out of it, then tested it to make sure it (oomed correctly, Violet went to

the library and placed her new mystery novel on the table so she could read it while she let him

spy on her, and Rachel followed Riley making sure he didn’t need any help.

'2ell I’m all set for tomorrow, are you6+ asked Riley walking into the library to find

Violet.

'0es1I am ready,+ she said with a sigh, an&ious about letting their parent’s murderer spy

on her so that they could spy on him.

'2ell then we better get to bed so we will be well rested for tomorrow’s operation,+ said

Riley, and so the children went to their beds so that they could be well rested for the ne&t day’sspying operation.

/s the ne&t day came with the encouraging yell of 8r. Rosalie saying, '2ake up lairs,

today will be better than yesterday*+ they got up and went to breakfast, which was the lair’smost favorite, again, of toast and blackberry $am.

'hank you for the toast and $am 8r. Rosalie,+ said Violet tiredly, but politely.

'No problem, it is one of our favorites too, you know,+ said 8r. Rosalie with a smile. /s

he said this, the orphans picked up their toast and went to sit down at the table, but then noticedthat the table had been moved from in front of the back windows, to in from of the front

windows. '2e moved the table from the back windows to the front windows so that we could get

more light from the sun in the mornings,+ he said, and as the orphans thought about it they

reali(ed that it made sense, the sun rose in the east and sat in the west, and the front of the housewas facing east. /lso, as the orphans reali(ed this, they reali(ed that for the same reason they

wouldn’t be able to spy on the man from across the street because the sun was in the way. hey

reali(ed that he had been much trickier than they had thought when he was planning his spyingoperations. )o with this thought in their mind they ate their breakfast -uickly and without

speaking, which got 8r. Rosalie alarmed. '/re you children all right6+ he asked.

'0es, we are fine. 2e are $ust thinking about something,+ Violet said, not wanting to give

away what they had found.

'/nd what is this something you are thinking about6 I might be able to help,+ 8r. Rosalie

said.

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5ooking at her brother and sister Violet thought about whether or not to tell him what

they were up to, and decided not to, '!h $ust an invention we are working on, we would like to

do it all by ourselves, but thanks anyway,+ she said. 5ater in her life, she would look back andask herself, 'If I had told him then, would things have turned out differently6+ but she hadn’t and

that was finali(ed# a word that here means 'made sure that she didn’t tell him+# by him telling

them that if it was that important then they should get to their rooms and get back to work on it.

'2ell if it’s that important then you should probably get back to work on it, you are

dismissed so you may go back to your room to work on it if you’d like.+

'hank you, and I think me and my siblings will get back to work on it,+ )aid Riley

getting up from the table and walking towards their rooms.

'0es, we should get back to work,+ said Violet getting up and picking her sister up to go

to her room. 2hich is where the children went to meet up to discuss what they had all figured

out when he had mentioned that the front of the house gets all the sun in the morning.

'If the front of the house gets all the sun in the morning, then we won’t be able to spy on

him with the telescope because of the glare. %e must have either had that planned out, or it $usthappened in his favor,+ said Riley, using a phrase meaning '%e didn’t plan it, but it worked out

to be good for him and bad for the orphans+, and I’m sorry to say, that he had planned it. %e had

planned to use it to make sure that they couldn’t spy on him in the morning, and he had used it sohe could do his dastardly crimes without being spotted.

'2ell, whether he planned it or not, we will have to wait till after high noon to put our

plan into action,+ said Violet relived that she had more time to prepare herself to be live bait fortheir spy operation. )o after her saying this, the children decided through an hour of boring

conversation, of which I will not bore you by writing down, that they should go back to sleep in

order to make sure they were well rested for the day’s operation.

/fter a few more hours of sleep, the children were awoken by 8rs. Rosalie calling for

lunchtime, '5unchtime children*+ she said in an e&cited tone, '2e have prepared another one ofyour favorites.+ /s the children got out of bed to go see what she was talking about, they found

that once again, she had made one of their favorites, grilled chicken.

'2ow, thank you. 2e weren’t e&pecting such a nice lunch,+ said Riley surprised that theyhad fi&ed such a large lunch meal.

'2ell, I had the sudden urge to grill out something, and since we knew you like grilledchicken, we made it for you,+ said 8r. Rosalie. /s the lairs ate their lunch they didn’t talk too

much, other than Riley and Rachel talking to 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie about some things that the

adults were talking about, but Violet had stayed -uiet thinking about the risky operation theywere about to put into action, using her as live bait# a phrase which means 'she, being a live

human, was going to be used as bait to get ;him’, as they had been calling 7r. /bigar, to spy on

them.

'2ell we had better get the ball rolling,+ Riley said, using a phrase which meant 'Violet

go to the library, while the other two orphans watch from the window to see what he does.+ /nd

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after he said it, they 'got the ball rolling+. Violet went to the library, and Riley and Rachel stayed

in her room peeking through the curtains with the telescope to see what he did.

If the lairs had spent less time talking, and sleeping that morning, they would have seen

beforehand what dastardly plan he had concocted, but instead they had decided to not even look

out the window, thinking that the glare would be too much to see anything he was doing. heonly problem with this thought is that it was a cloudy day, so if they had looked outside that

morning, they might have seen what the evil man was planning3 as he shot a dart gun# which is a

long strait tube make to shoot little wooden spikes at high speeds# at a target to get his aim better#, but they didn’t and so they were disappointed that after several hours of spying, he hadn’t

come outside even once.

'2ell, that was a big waste of time,+ said Violet coming out of the library after beingsignaled by her brother that nothing had happened.

'8aybe not, I’m no investigator, but I think I learned a few things about how to spy,+said Riley as he pointed at his telescope. '"or one thing, we should have looked outside this

morning3 it was cloudy so we would have been able to spy on him, even in the morning. "oranother, the telescope has a very powerful (oom, so if he does come out we will be able to seeanything he is doing, as long as there is no glare,+ he said confident in his spying skills, although

they wouldn’t be able to find anything useful before it was too late.

'2ell, it’s almost dinner time, so we can figure out another plan after1+ here Violet was

cut off as she was about to say 'figure out another plan after dinner+ when she heard, as if on

cue, 8r. Rosalie yell, in his usual e&ited tone, that it was time for dinner.

'ime for dinner, we are having the same meal as yesterday, homemade pi((a*+ he

yelled, and the children were -uick to get into the kitchen. hey were so nervous about what

their ne&t plan would be, that they didn’t even say thank you to 8r. Rosalie for cooking the

delicious hamburger homemade pi((a that they all en$oyed for dinner.

/fter dinner 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie looked a little curious to why none of them hadspoken, but let them go back to their rooms without e&planation.

'2ell, what should our new plan be,+ asked Riley as they got back to Violets room.

'2ell, I was thinking about it, and maybe we should $ust use the same plan, e&cept that

we will spy even if the sun is shining brightly,+ said Violet, and this was something she would

also look back on and ask herself, 'If she had done something different, would the outcome have been any better6+ :ither way, she had said it, so the siblings agreed and went to bed so that they

could be ready for the ne&t day’s spying operation could be a success, although, I’m sorry to say,

it couldn’t have been worse.

Ricin, which is an e&tremely poisonous powder, is made from the castor bean, and if $ust enough

of it to fit on a pinhead is in$ected into an adult, it will kill them. his tiny amount of poison iseasily put onto the tip of a certain weapon which, if modified correctly, can kill someone within

minutes of being shot. I am telling you this, so that you will understand what it took the orphans

hours to figure out about what happened to 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie the ne&t morning.

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Chapter "ive

here was a loud crashing noise, and two screams of horror a few seconds apart, which

made the lairs -uickly run into the kitchen. It would of course help if I backed up, and told youwhat had happened previous to this, and so I will, but keep in mind3 the crash, screams, and

lairs running into the kitchen did really happen. I am sorry I can’t change their story, but I must

write e&actly what happened to the lair orphans that woeful day.

:arlier that morning, the children had been woken up by the wonderful voice of 8rs.

Rosalie calling for breakfast, which were scrambled eggs with pancakes and bacon, another

favored by the lairs. hey had eaten in silence once again, still thinking about their new plan,which was the same as their old plan, and once again they had gotten a strange look from the

Rosalies, but had been e&cused from the table. !nce they got into Violet’s room, they decided to

not have Violet go in the library and read, but to $ust spy on his house to see if he would come

out and do anything. he only problem with this plan was that it was a cloudless day, with thesun especially bright and shining directly at the orphans as they tried to spy on him from a part in

the blinds. hey had seen him go outside, but couldn’t see what he was holding. I can’t tell youwhat precisely happened that morning, as the lair orphans had no idea for -uite some time, but

I can tell you that it involved that terrible poison I mentioned as the last chapter came to an end.

/nd as they watched, trying to figure out what they were holding, he raised what he was holding,

and then there was the crash of which I started this chapter with, and, if the children had kept

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watching, then they would have seen the man raise this ob$ect twice more and that was when the

two screams were, a few seconds apart.

'2hat happened*+ yelled Violet in a scared voice, but as she ran into the kitchen she

could see most of what had happened. he glass window in front of the table had shattered into a

million pieces, and the two Rosalies were in the floor in pain.

'I’m1not sure1I think1we got bit1by something,+ 8r. Rosalie said finding it hard to

speak. /s the children got a better look, they still couldn’t figure out what had happened, butknew that whatever it was, it had come from hi, although they still didn’t know who 'hi"

was.

'2e saw the man who killed our parents across the street, he must have donesomething*+ yelled Riley not being able to keep it in any longer.

'2hat1does he1look like6+ asked 8rs. Rosalie in shock and having the same troubleas her husband.

'No hair, beady, blue eyes, and small glasses. /re you guys okay6+ asked Violet, whomrecited all of his characteristics from her photographic memory of that look through the flaming

window.

'0ou mean17r. /bigar6+ 8r. Rosalie said in horror and with great difficulty. '%e was1

one of1the villains1that tore12.I./. apart1many, many1years ago,+ he said finding it

increasingly difficult to talk.

'2hat does 2.I./. stand for6+ asked Violet in a scared voice as she listened to how hard it

was getting for them to talk.

'2eapons1,+ 8rs. Rosalie said, cutting off early as she found herself going very horse# a

word which here means 'a voice that can’t talk very well, not an animal that is used for

transportation and farm work+# and coughing a lot.

It is necessary for me to stop you now, and tell you that ricin, which usually works very

slowly, unless modified correctly by a professional doctor, like 7r. /bigar, works by shutting

down the tiny cells that make up your body, until you can’t breathe, or your heart stops pumpingwhichever comes first. his is a very terrible way to die, and so it is as the ricin does its nasty

and gruesome work on 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie, that I tell you that now would be a good time, if

you have already read this far into the book, to close it and run as far away from it as you can. /sat this very moment the ricin was working its way to their vocal cords# meaning 'a part of your

throat that gives you the ability to talk+# and was shutting them down so that they couldn’t talk,

and would soon move to their hearts, making them stop pumping, and soon after its $ob would bedone, and 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie would be gone for good.

'2eapons what6+ asked Riley who was looking very worried as they sat up and held theirnecks in pain.

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'It’s1an1organi(ation1we1were1+ said 8r. Rosalie and couldn’t finish his sentence

because he could no longer talk. he ricin had finished with the upper part of their bodies, and

was working its way toward the heart.

'2e need to call an ambulance and stop -ui((ing them Riley*+ yelled Violet as she

rushed to the phone. 'I’ll call nine#one#one, you see if you can help them,+ she said as she dialednine#one#one, which is the number you should dial when you need help and are in an eergency.

/s she talked to the operator to tell them that she needed an ambulance, Riley looked at their

guardians to see what he could do to help, but as he looked he could find nothing to help his poor dying guardians.

'hey are on their way, but it will take a few minutes,+ said Violet with tears in her eyes,

and if I were there I would have told them that they didn’t have a few minutes, the poison wasworking its nasty powers on the children’s desperate guardian’s hearts, and would soon be done

with its work, and have killed the loving guardians. I am not there though, so I must write what

actually did happen that day.

he slow death of the Rosalies as the lair orphans watched in horror is one of the worstthings to happen, in this chapter at least, but in the other chapters of this book you will findthings $ust as cold hearted as murdering someone. /s the lairs tried to reassure their guardians

that everything would be okay, they were not too sure themselves and were in fact wrong, things

would definitely not be okay. ':verything will be okay, the ambulance is on its way,+ said Violettrying to be as comforting as she could, even though the two guardians had passed out of

consciousness# a medical phrase meaning 'fell into something close to sleep, e&cept by force+#

by the ricin working its way to the heart, and so they were $ust lying there, looking like they were

sleeping, but the siblings knew it was worse than sleeping.

Violet had read in a book about first aid that you are supposed to push two fingers, other

than your thumb, against the side of someone’s neck to feel a pulse in their $ugular vein. )o shedid this every minute to make sure they were $ust unconscious and dared not think of the other

option.

'/re they both still alive6+ asked Riley shaking in fear and frustration that they hadn’t

been able to warn them.

'hey both have a pulse,+ Violet said then put her ear near their mouth, which she hadread you do to check to see if they are breathing, 'I hear them breathing too. hey must both $ust

be unconscious,+ she said getting back up to look out the window for the ambulance.

'2a unco6+ asked Rachel with a pu((led look on her face.

'nconscious is when someone has fallen asleep forcefully, normally through trauma,like a punch or lots of bleeding, I’m not sure why they are unconscious though, it’s not a good

thing that’s for sure,+ said Violet looking down at them, then kneeling to check for a pulse again.

/fter doing so to both guardians, she went back and did it again, then turned with tears filling her eyes, and a few making their way down her cheek, 'hey have no pulse now,+ she said before

bursting into sobs.

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:ven though the ambulance arrived only two minutes after they lost their pulse, it was far

too late to try and restart their hearts3 they were gone for good when Violet had told the dreadful

news the first time.

/s the orphans sat at the kitchen table, which was across the room from where the

Rosalies were murdered, and watched the medic do his $ob, he came over and told them whatthey had already e&pected. 'I’m terribly sorry, but it seems that your guardians died from

whatever happened to them. 2e can’t find a cause of death, but we will send them to autopsy to

be e&amined,+ the man said, and with this all the children began to cry -uietly. hey cried fortheir parents, they cried for 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie, and most of all they cried for their total

unluckiness.

efore the medic could take away the bodies, the police had to come to investigate to seeif it was a murder, which the medic had told them after calling the police department, and so the

orphans knew that they had to try and convince them that they had been murdered. )o they went

back to Violet’s room to formulate# word meaning 'make up a plan, rather than solve a longmath problem+# a plan to convince the police that 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie were murdered, but how

could they convince them if they didn’t even know how they were murdered6

'%ow can we convince the police that they were murdered, if we don’t even know what

7r. /bigar did to them6+ asked Riley once he had stopped crying.

'I don’t know, but we need to look for some sort of evidence of what he did,+ said Violet,

who knew how to solve murders from her mystery books.

'2ell, we don’t have time to loose, the medic said that the police would be here in only afew minutes,+ said Riley as he walked toward the door.

'0es, you are right, let’s get to looking for evidence of the crime,+ said Violet as she

picked up her sister to carry her into the kitchen.

he orphans’ tears had dried up -uickly as they had already had this e&perience and alsoknew that crying would not help their situation. hey could mourn after 7r. /bigar was brought

to $ustice.

/s they went into the kitchen to look for evidence, they had no idea what they werelooking for, so 'looking for a needle in a haystack+ wouldn’t even be a good phrase to use in

their minds, because they didn’t even know what they were looking for. ut the reason I will use

the phrase, is because they were literally looking for a needle, or in this case a blow dart, in a pileof glass, which some people might say is kind of like hay, since it is spiky, and might hurt if you

laid out on it, trust me I wouldn’t try it. )o as they went looking for the needle in a haystack, they

found nothing, until they looked down ne&t to the table and saw two small pieces of wood.

'%ey, I think I found something,+ said Riley who was looking down ne&t to the table and

saw the two small pieces of wood, which he recogni(ed as blow darts. %e had made a blow gunand some blow darts when he was ten. 'I think they are blow darts,+ he said picking them up,

and looking back down only to find another dart a few feet away that was made of some kind of

metal, 'and I found a third one too,+ he said picking up the last of the darts. '%ow are we going

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to convince the police that the Rosalies were killed with only two wooden darts and a metal dart

as evidence6+ he asked with a frustrated look on his face.

'I’m not sure, I’ve read a lot about blowdarts, and how they are used, but I don’t know

what was put on the tips to poison poor 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie,+ said Violet who had read a book

all about blowguns, blow darts, and the poisons that are put on the tips of the darts.

'here was poison on the tips6+ asked Riley, who had not poisoned the darts he made

since it was mainly for show3 he had only shot it a few times, the same day he had made it.

'5et’s go back to my room and try to figure this out,+ Violet said as she walked toward

her room. 2ith this the orphans walked with Violet to her room to try and figure out what had

happened.

'2ell, I think we are going to need more evidence than we have right now,+ said Riley

after a short pause, '2hy don’t you go to the library and look at some books about blowguns and blowdarts while me and Rachel go look for more evidence6+ he asked.

'I guess that sounds like a plan, but what other evidence is there if he shot them fromacross the street6+ asked Violet, and I’m sorry to say that she was right, there was no more

evidence on this side of the street, e&cept on the bodies.

'I don’t know, but me and Rachel will take a look and see what we can find,+ said Riley

rushing out the door, '2e only have a few minutes until the police get here to investigate.+

/s Violet went into the library, she knew that it would take her a long time to find thecorrect books in such a large library, and as Riley and Rachel went into the kitchen, they knew

that it would be hard to find any evidence in such a large kitchen. /s they looked they reali(ed

that their sister was right, there would be no more evidence if he shot them from across the street.

/s she looked for the correct book, she reali(ed that she was correct3 it was going to take

forever to find the correct book. ut as Riley and Rachel looked, Riley had an idea to look at the bodies, as much as it scared him to do so. /nd once they looked at the body, he found a small

mark on 8r. and 8rs. Rosalie and reali(ed that this must have been where they were shot.

nfortunately, as he found this, Violet had found nothing, and the police showed up for their

investigation.

'2hat shall we do now6+ said Violet in a panicked voice as she looked out the window

and saw the police arriving $ust as Riley and Rachel walked into her room.

'2a thin we fond thing,+ Replied Rachel triumphantly# a word meaning 'proud that they

had found more evidence+# which probably meant something like, '2e think we may have foundsomething important to this dreadful case.+

'2hat have you found6+ asked Violet taking a look outside to see what the policemanwas doing, and was dismayed when all he did was go and talk to the medic as if it was a dinner

party, as I am at now scribbling this chapter down on the napkin so I may type it on my

typewriter once I get the chance, rather than a horrendous murder scene.

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'2hen we went to the kitchen to look for evidence, we reali(ed that you were right

Violet, there was no more evidence in the kitchen. )o, I had the idea to go and e&amine the

Rosalie’s bodies, as much as it scared me to do so, and when we got there we found one smallmark on each of our guardians’ necks, presumably the hole made from the darts,+ said Riley with

a triumphant look on his face, although he knew that this was not enough evidence to convince

the police that the Rosalies were murdered. 'I don’t think that the police will arrest 7r. /bigarfor murder with such little evidence though,+ said Riley, with a much less triumphant look on his

face.

'I have an idea,+ said Violet after a short pause, 'It’s a little risky, but I have a plan.+

'2a yo an6+ asked Rachel, which probably meant something like '2hat’s your slightly

risky plan you have come up with Violet6+

'2ell, we said that there is no more evidence because he shot from his front yard, so, I

think the only way to find that evidence, is to go to 7r. /bigar’s front yard and find it,+ answeredViolet with a look of fear in her face.

It is important that I stop you here, if you have read this far in this woeful tale, to tell youthat it is not too late to stop reading and throw this book in the trash can, closest dumpster,

$unkyard, pond, lake, creek, ocean, or library return bo&. here are many more dreadful events

and terrible secrets held in the pages left after this sentence ends.

'0ou are suggesting that we go to the house of the man who burned down our house and

killed our parents6+ asked Riley in an astonished tone, even though he had been thinking the

same thing.

'It arers to be or coce,+ said Rachel, which meant something like, 'It appears to be our

only choice if we want the villain to go to $ail.

'I guess Rachel is right,+ said Riley peering down at Rachel with a sad look on his face,

'It seems to be the only option we have if we want 7r. /bigar to go to $ail for these terriblemurders he has committed3 not only the Rosalies, but our parents too.+

hey all gave a frown at the mention of their parents being murdered along with their

new loving guardians. hey also all knew that the only way to bust# a word here meaning 'have punished as a criminal, rather than break open+# 7r. /bigar was to go over to the yard to find

more evidence.

'2ell, we don’t have any time to waste, the cop doesn’t seem to be in a rush, but if he

leaves saying that it was $ust from natural cause, we will never get 7r. /bigar arrested,+ said

Violet as she headed toward the door.

2ithout putting any more thought into it, Riley picked up Rachel and followed the

middle lair out the door to her room. If I were there I would have had to stop them, and tellthem of the dangers they would face at 7r. /bigar’s house, but I am not, so as they went out the

front door and snuck past the police and medics, they didn’t have any idea what awaited them at

the evil mastermind’s# a phrase meaning 'very, very, very evil doctor with very, very, very evil

plans+# house.

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If you have read on since I put that period on that sentence which I told you not to read

past, then once again, I advise# a word meaning 'highly suggest that+# you do not read anything

past the end of this chapter.

Chapter )i&

/t this point you may be wondering why 7r. /bigar wasn’t captured for the murder and

arson he committed at the beginning of this woeful story, and the answer is -uite simple3 therewas no evidence to prove he had done it. No fingerprints, no letters, no footprints, no clothing,and no bright red matchbo& with the initials 2.I./. printed on the top. :ven if there was

evidence, they didn’t know where he had went off to after the arson. ut as the three siblings

went -uietly, and ill#prepared# a word meaning 'not prepared for the wickedness they were aboutto face+# they weren’t going on a wild goose chase. here was plenty of evidence at the evil

mastermind’s house, but the problem was, there was also an evil mastermind with a wicked plan

on what to do ne&t.

here was a plethora of evidence# a phrase meaning 'more than enough evidence to get

7r. /bigar sent to $ail+# in the front yard of the notorious 7r. /bigar. he orphans had made it

across the street scanning the house carefully to make sure he wasn’t watching and haddetermined, falsely, that he had left the home and wasn’t watching them as they walked toward

his house.

/s wicked as the events are that take place after this, I must go back to write down every

minute of their short travel to the evil man’s house, I am sorry to write it down, but I must.

/s they snuck past the policeman and medic, which was much easier than they had

e&pected as they were in a very long discussion about something that had nothing to do with the

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vicious murder that had $ust accrued, they all looked nervously towards the wicked man’s house,

but dared not speak until they reached the street.

Riley was wondering $ust what they might find at their parent’s murderer’s house, Violet

was wondering what kind of evidence they might find that she could use to convince the police

that 7r. /bigar was the murderer, and Rachel was wondering, as Riley carried her, how her claw#like# meaning 'very, very sharp+# nails could be of assistance when searching for evidence. /ll

of them were also under the false understanding# a phrase meaning 'all thought something of

which was incorrect+# that 7r. /bigar had left after committing his murder, because his car wasgone, a car that Violet remembered perfectly from behind 7r. /bigar in the window before they

went into the trap door, and all the lights were off.

'I think the coast is clear,+ said Violet using a phrase that means 'I think it’s safe to talkhere+, as they made it to the street in front of the Rosalie’s house.

'I think that 7r. /bigar must have left to do who knows what after he murdered 8r. and8rs. Rosalie,+ said Riley whom was under the false impression that this was true.

'7on’t bring up their murder like that Riley,+ said Violet with a waver in her voice as ifshe might start sobbing once more at any moment.

'I’m sorry, but we must be strong if we want to catch 7r. /bigar red handed,+ apologi(edRiley, using a phrase that means 'catch with a large amount of evidence accusing him of

murder+.

'It’s okay,+ said Violet with a sigh, 'I hope there is enough evidence to send him to $ailthere,+ she said taking a cautious look at the yard and house.

'2e will know soon enough,+ said Riley who started to walk a little faster.

'2a da we do6+ asked Rachel which probably meant something like, '2hat do we do if

7r. /bigar is still at his house6+

'I don’t think we will have to worry, as I said I think he must have left to go do

something,+ replied Riley who was also taking a cautious peek at the evil man’s yard and house.

'If we do find him we will have to figure it out then,+ said Violet walking faster to catch

up with the eldest lair, and as much as it pains me to say, or in this case type, it, they would

have to figure it out when they did meet up with the evil /bigar.

/t this they fell silent, hoping that they wouldn’t find him, until they finally reached the

front yard and had a look at what lay in the grass. here were an assortment of items lying in thegrass of the man’s yard, such as the blowgun used to commit the horrid murder, a target made of

)tyrofoam#a word meaning 'a strange, white substance that is very light and perfect for target

practice+#, and a small red matchbo& with the initials 2.I./. printed on the top.

'here is a plethora of evidence here*+ said Riley in an e&ited whisper.

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got worse at the mention of the fire that burned down their house and their dear guardians that

now lay dead on the floor of their house.

'I remember seeing a photo of the Rosalies in Recently Moved in Residence of Sequin

Square, but I didn’t think anything of it,+ said Violet thinking back to the library.

')o that’s why the outside of their house looks so dilapidated,+ said Riley using a wordthat means 'covered in moss and dirt that made it look like nobody had been living there for

many, many years+.

'0es, very well thought, but thinking won’t s

a horrendous overature rough draft

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