House of Secrets

She stepped to the front doors and tried the door. It swung open as a look of surprise overtook her. "e;Did you leave the place unlocked?"e;Malachi looked a little surprised too. "e;No. I locked it, just a couple of hours ago."e; He walked over to the door, a little perplexed. He inserted his key in the open door and inspected the lock. It seemed to work perfectly. "e;Well, that's odd."e;She tentatively walked into the foyer and stopped looking around when a smell of cat urine and dust hit her nose. Just then, she heard a cat screech. She jumped and looked around, fear overtaking her facial expression. She jumped when Malachi stepped up beside her.Malachi said, "e;Well, you know we have cats, but that doesn't explain the open door. There has to be someone here."e;Then they heard a door slam from somewhere in the house.She jumped, eyes wide open. "e;I think I'll just wait for you out by the truck."e;"e;Don't be silly."e; He had a way of calming her with his look of assurance. "e;We'll look around. We'll find out what this person wants and why he is trying to scare us."e;"e;Well, if it is indeed a person, he must have a good reason to go to all that trouble. I think I'll wait in the truck."e; She turned on her heel and started for the door."e;No, no, wait!"e; He reached out, taking her arm and pulling her close. "e;I'll keep you safe."e;"e;What makes you think it's not some criminal operation or something? Or maybe even a real ghost?"e; Her face was ashen and eyes blinking.