Mark of the Beast Read Online Free Page B

them.
    Why would Mom and Dad keep ashes of dead people in the house?
    Lisa suspected that something was not right, especially before Chris died.
    Chris had had a fever, was coughing, and was not feeling well. Mom had refused to take Chris to see the doctor, explaining that she had taken Chris to the doctor many times before with the same complaint and all she ever got was Tylenol and cough medicine.
    The night Chris died was strange to Lisa. She had gotten up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and heard some commotion coming out of Chris’s room.
    Lisa decided to investigate to be sure Chris was all right. She slowly pushed open the door, after quietly turning the knob so as not to wake Chris in case she was asleep.
    What she saw had been on Lisa’s mind since that day, three years ago.
    Dad appeared to be holding a pillow over Chris’s face. Just then, Stella saw Lisa. She quickly came to the door and escorted Lisa out of the room.
    Stella looked frightened when she saw Lisa. Closing the door behind her, she led Lisa back to her room.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with Chris?” Lisa asked.
    â€œShe’s not feeling well, and Dad was checking her out,” Stella replied, taking a deep breath.
    â€œWill you take her to the doctor, Mom?”
    â€œYeah, first thing in the morning.”
    Lisa was satisfied; Mom tucked her in bed after a visit to the bathroom.
    Lisa was happy. She wanted her older sister to get well so they could go to the Creek Side and watch the boys play. The boys always acted silly, but were fun to watch.
    â€œWhy was Dad holding down the pillow over Chris’s face?” Lisa asked, out of curiosity and fear.
    â€œNo, honey, Dad was removing the pillow from Chris’s face, because Chris has a habit of sleeping with the pillow on her face, and Dad was making sure she was not suffocating herself,” Stella answered.
    Chris’s death was ruled an accident by the county coroner. The explanation, though plausible, still weighed heavily on Lisa’s mind.
    Lisa, although she was only eight years old, considered herself the brightest kid in her class. She had been acknowledged for her analytical mind. She was the one other kids came to for advice when they were having problems; Lisa somehow always managed to come up with workable solutions.
    Being a popular girl at school, Lisa tried so hard not to be analytical at home, usually taking things at face value, especially from Mom and Dad. But Mom’s explanation about the pillow incident was very unsettling for Lisa, and she made many entries about that in her secret diary.
    *   *   *
    â€œI’m really worried about Lisa,” Martin said from the bathroom, while changing into his pajamas.
    â€œShe’s okay … she’s just a very smart kid, and smart kids tend to be less playful,” Stella answered.
    â€œWell, how come she’s never been sick?” Martin asked. “That I don’t know, because with Tom, he had severe allergies. Shawn had the … I think they called it ‘gastroenteritis,’ but he was vomiting and was very dehydrated. Yeah, with Shawn you didn’t have to press the pillow hard at all for him to stop breathing.”
    â€œI know Chris was a hard one. She tried to struggle and choked; my, oh my, I thought she would never die.”
    â€œYou know, I believe it was the noise that either woke Lisa up or made her open the door.”
    â€œI told you to always lock the doors behind you.”
    â€œI simply forgot that night.”
    â€œI still think Lisa saw something,” Martin said.
    â€œEven if she did, I explained to her that you were removing the pillow off Chris’s face,” Stella said.
    â€œDid she buy that?”
    â€œOh, I’m sure she did.”
    â€œHmm … by the way, how much money did they pay for Tom again?”
    â€œIt was two hundred and fifty thousand in cash, plus a percentage of