The Mystery of the Invisible Dog - M. V. Carey [17]
“What is it?” Bob whispered behind him.
“I saw him again,” murmured Jupe. He found himself shivering, and he told himself bravely that it was only because of the evening chill. “In the den. I was in the den, looking at the mandala, and there was someone else there. I could have sworn it was Sonny Elmquist. But it couldn’t be. Look — there he is in his own place. Even if there were a secret passage — some way to get into Mr. Prentice’s apartment — he wouldn’t have had time to get back down. Not possibly.”
Jupe looked over his shoulder at the doorway. Fenton Prentice stood there, visibly shaking.
“You saw him, didn’t you?” said Prentice. “You saw him, so I am not going mad.”
The boys went in and closed the door.
“No, Mr. Prentice, you are not going mad,” said Jupiter. “I saw him yesterday also, but I couldn’t believe my eyes. Did you recognize him as Sonny Elmquist, too?”
“I couldn’t be sure. The … the shape always went away so quickly. One can’t make wild accusations. But I thought it was Elmquist.”
“Yet how can it be him?” wondered Jupe. “The two times I saw the shadow, Elmquist was in his own apartment, seemingly asleep. How can he be in two places at once?” He shook his head in puzzlement. “Mr. Prentice, what do you actually know about Elmquist?”
“Very little,” said Prentice. “He has only lived here for about six months.”
“Were you ever aware of the presence of this shadow, or whatever it is, before Elmquist arrived?” Jupe asked.
Prentice thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No. The experience is quite new to me.”
“He is interested in your mandala,” said Jupe. “Are you sure you never mentioned it to him?”
“Positive,” said Prentice. “The young man does not have an engaging personality and I avoid him. Miss Chalmers has mentioned him to me on occasion. She is a sociable young woman, but she doesn’t care for Elmquist, either. She swims every night, hoping to take off weight, and he often comes out and sits beside the pool and tries to strike up a conversation with her. She describes him as ‘creepy.’ ”
“I know it doesn’t seem possible, but there must be a secret passage,” decided Bob.
“Unlikely,” said Jupe, “but we might as well eliminate the possibility.”
The boys searched then, beginning in the den. They found no secret passage. The apartment building, while not new, was well constructed and the walls and floors were intact. There seemed no way anyone could enter the place without coming in through the door.
“Spooky,” said Bob.
Prentice nodded. “I have lived here for a long time and I like this apartment, but I may have to look for another place to live. I cannot bear this feeling of being observed.”
The haunting shadow did not appear during the rest of the evening. Prentice grew tired and withdrew to his bedroom. The boys decided to take turns keeping watch all night. Bob bedded down on the sofa in the living room, and Pete stretched out on a couch in the den. Jupe, who had chosen to be first on watch, sat with his back to the front door and listened.
After eleven, there was little enough to listen to. The traffic sounds on the street had long since ceased; Paseo Place was not a main thoroughfare. Jupe was aware of a faint splashing sound that came to him through the door panels, and assumed that it was Miss Chalmers having her chilly nightly swim.
“Jupe?” Pete had come in from the den. “Come here! I want you to see something.”
Jupe followed him to the window in the den. Pete pointed outside. “There’s a light in the church,” he said.
There was. The stained-glass window which was closest to Prentice’s apartment glowed briefly with colour, then went dark again.
“Could be the pastor seeing that the place
is locked,” said Jupe. “Then again …”
“Then again, what?” asked Pete.
“Maybe it isn’t the