The Legend of Darklore Manor and Other Tales of Terror Read Online Free Page A

what color hair, what type of clothing. But Angela kept shaking her head, finally turning back to the window. The sound of soft sniffling indicated that she was weeping.
     The next day, Vaughn sat at his desk in the squadroom, files and notes spread out before him like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. In fact, they seemed to be pieces of separate jigsaw puzzles. He tried to organize the fragments into a coherent picture of the mysterious and sinister Mr. Stitch.
     Sergeant McCafferty dropped a sheaf of papers on top of Vaughn's already cluttered blotter. "From the doctors. The results of blood tests on the two girls. No hallucinogenic drugs in their systems, just alcohol. You making any progress?"
     "Not much. I thought Davey Childress was a solid lead but I called the university and got a handful of people who can alibi him for that night." The detective hesitated then asked "Have you ever heard an urban legend about a character named Mr. Stitch?"
     McCafferty looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What's he supposed to be, like the bogey man or something?"
     "Yeah. Something like that. Have you ever heard the name before?"
     "No. Why?"
     "Just a story one of the girl's mentioned. I haven't pieced it all together yet, but something really shook them up."
     "So what do you think happened in that house last night, Mike?"
     Vaughn sat back in his swivel chair. "Tipsy girls telling scary stories, revealing secret crushes. I checked the cell phone records of the girls. Around one a.m., Beth called a boy named Kevin Leonetti and told him that Carrie Childress liked him. Kevin told me it was a short phone call, and he could hear a couple other girls giggling in the background before she hung up."
     "Sounds like the secret crushes weren't that secret."
     Vaughn's thoughts returned to the enigmatic Mr. Stitch and his grisly duty to ensure that secrets were kept, whatever the cost.

Beth Davis seemed to be in better shape the following day when Inspector Vaughn visited her at home. They sat outside on the patio, and Beth had a difficult time meeting the detective's eyes. She kept fidgeting with the small crucifix hanging around her neck.
     "I told you I don't remember much about that night. I was drunk."
     "You don't remember calling Kevin Leonetti while Carrie was out of the room and telling him that Carrie had a crush on him?"
     Beth shook her head. "What difference does it make, anyway?"
     Vaughn shrugged. "You broke your promise." He did not have to add the unspoken consequence of breaking her promise: the wrath of Mr. Stitch. He could see the fear in Beth's eyes. Her fingers clutched at the crucifix and she appeared even more annoyed and agitated than before.
     "I don't want to talk about this anymore!" she cried. "Why don't you leave me alone?"
     "Don't you want me to catch whoever did this to you?"
     "You can't," she said suddenly. Her eyes welled with tears.
     "Beth, Mr. Stitch isn't real."
     She stood up and was about to run back in the house, but Vaughn touched her on the arm. "Beth, please. Let's talk about what happened that night —"
     "No! You're not going to make me break my promise! It's been more than a year and I'm still not going to tell!" She stormed back inside the house, nearly running into her mother, Denise, who was standing by the patio door.
     Vaughn's brow furrowed. What was she talking about? Beth had already broken her promise regarding Carrie's affection for Kevin. It's been a year…. What other secret was she referring to?
     Denise stepped out onto the patio, clutching her sweater around her as a cool breeze stirred the leaves on the trees. "I'm sorry," she said. "She's still traumatized."
     "It's understandable."
     "She's had a lot to deal with lately. She's struggling in school, her brother's been dealing