Prologue

“The brick work is quite lovely, and I do adore how tall it is, but is it right for us?” A woman crossed the small, manicured lawn and surveyed the house. Her husband approached her.

“Dear I think it will be wonderful, especially for the children. The school district is wonderful and I’m sure the kids in the neighborhood are friendly too. Tell you what, you sit on that park bench over there and think about it while I talk to the realtor about some prices. Ok?”

“Sure Honey.” The woman walked briskly over to the bench and sat down. She checked her watch, looked around, and gave a deep sigh. She hated missing work in the middle of the day. She glanced down at her burgundy suit and smoothed it out. She hated wrinkles too.

“Hello.” The woman snapped her head to the right to see a little boy sitting next to her.

“Hello, do you live in this neighborhood?”

“Yes, but I don’t like this block. It scares me.”

“Why does it scare you?” she asked.

“Well you see that big brick house right there? It’s haunted.” The woman shuddered slightly but remained perfectly postured.

“I’m sure it’s not haunted, that’s probably just a story some of the older kids told you to frighten you.” The boy glanced around and then turned back to her slowly.

“I’m one of the older kids on the block. Nobody told me this story, lady, I was a witness.” The woman gasped.

“So what is the actual story?”

“Do you really want to hear it?”

“Yes, I want to know.”

“Ok. Well it all started five years ago. It deals with a girl named Lea Marr and her family. Are you sure about this lady?”

“Yes, tell me everything.”