A/N: Hey, this'll be a four story series, by the time I'm done. I don't know how long each story'll be but stick with me as this is the first long work I've posted. I need the support right now. : ) Anyway R&R!

Secrets of Setting Sun: Murder in the Attic

Chapter One

“Melody Spring.” the girl said as she pushed her jet black curls off her shoulders and folded her arms across her chest, as her name was entered into the computer.

“I’m sorry, miss. Your name isn’t here.” The man behind the desk was in his twenties by the looks of it, with deep green eyes, and dark brown hair.

“Sir, that is why I’m here. I need my name in there.” she pointed at the computer. “I” she pointed at herself, “want a library card.” she was losing her patience. She’d told him ten times already and it didn’t seem to be going through his thick head.

“Ahh, yes. Yes. I see now. One moment Miss Spring.” he began to type, quickly, on the keyboard. “What’s your address?”

“1893 Setting Sun.” Melody said with a deep sigh. The man looked up and smiled.

“You’re Natalie’s little sister?”

“Not by choice.” she rolled her eyes. When she’d been away at school her dad had run off and married the first skank he could find, who happened to have a daughter. “Why?” Just because she didn’t like her step-mom didn’t mean she didn’t care about Nat.

“She was in here ‘bout a hour ‘go. Told me to watch out for ya.” he looked back to the screen.

“Hmph Did she?” Melody snorted. One of the machines behind the desk stared to hum and groan.

“It’ll be a minute.” he smiled encouragingly at her. Melody hated people, they all made her twitchy and nervous. That was why her dad had sent her away in the first place, he couldn’t handle her. “So you’re folks bought that old abandoned farm?”

“Yea.” she nodded.

“It really haunted?” he smirked

“Wouldn’t know, they keep me away at a,” she paused not sure if she wanted the whole town to know about her past yet. “A boarding school.”

“Just get back then?”

“No, I’m not really here.” she rolled her eyes. He laughed at her sarcasm.

“Gonna stay, now?” she craned her neck trying to see the machine making her card. “Too personal?” he asked.

“Nah.” she shrugged. “I just don’t know.” The man grinned nodding.

“Know the feeling.” he ducked under the desk and came back with her card. “Here ya go, hun, and if you need anything you just feel free to come right in here. We’re all family here.” Melody laughed.

“I’ll remember that.” she smiled and took her card tucking it into her book bag. “Thank ya sir.”

“It’s not a problem, and call me Mark.”

“Right, thanks, Mark.” she slung the bag over her shoulder and headed out the door. “I’ll be seein’ ya.” she called before the door swung shut.

She checked her bike lock on her way past the bike rack. She knew small towns had small crimes, but theft wasn’t exactly a new aged crime. Melody fell into her own thoughts as she walked toward the dollar store at the end of the strip mall. She was expecting an e-mail from her school with a list of books she needed to read, reports she would have to write, and basically the kind of mind numbing busy work that would make her step-mom nothing more than a blip on her radar.

“Hey! Watch it!” she was snapped back into reality when she walked into something hard and warm.

“Oh, I’m so so sorry.” Melody offered the boy she’d knocked over a hand up. “Are you okay?”

“Yea,” he dusted himself off once he’d let her heave him to his feet. “Lucky me I spend a lot of time falling on my rear-end.” He looked up at her through sandy bangs and smiled.

“I’m still sorry.”

“Not to worry. You’re new around here.” his light green eyes were saturated with curiosity.

“Yea, my dad just bought that abandon farm out on Setting Sun.” she answered him.

“Really! The haunted one right?” Melody laughed.

“That’s what I’m told, but Casper hasn’t made his debut yet.”

“I’m Jacob, by the way. But you can call me Jake.” he held out his hand for her to shake.

“Melody, pleased to meet ya.” she too his calloused palm in hers. You could always tell the quality of a boy by his hand shake, at least that’s what her uncle told her, she was certain it had more to do with the amount of time he spent locked in his bedroom with his mom’s Victoria’s Secret catalogue.

“You’ve worked with your hands, not a city slicker then?” he had noticed the thin scars up and down her arms, the sun burnt skin, and rough calloused hands.

“Half and half. My place of residency was an apartment in a city, but I lived at a boarding school/ranch/thing.”

“Ah. Never heard of a school like that.” Melody took him in, he was a sturdily built boy about her own age, the kind of guy who could either be your best friend or worst enemy. Though the second wasn’t his favorite option. She smiled, it wouldn’t hurt to bleed a little truth into this conversation.

“My aunt runs it, it’s for troubled youths.” he laughed.

“I’m sure you’re a real hell raiser.”

“Oh I am.” she grinned. It was true, no one ever thought she was a problem child. She had eyes the shade of green grass is in movies, long raven curls, and an apple pie way about her that just didn’t fit the ‘troubled youth’ stereotype.

“You going to be around a while, or heading back to juvie?”

“Just long enough to get moved in. The sooner I can get away from my step-monster the better.”

“Well, that sucks, we could always use another bad girl around here. If you stayed there might be something to do around here.” she raised her brow causing him to stutter and blush. “That’s not what I meant. I meant more like you’d stir up some trouble. Not that we’d do you. Oh, crap!”

“Deep breath, there Jacob. It’s cool.”

“I’m sorry.” she shook her head.

“I think we’re even now.” Melody craned her neck to look around him. This conversation was getting a little too friendly, people weren’t good when kept at great distances. Jake had the potential for being a guy she could like.

“You know, I’m meeting my friends at the pizza parlor, you should join us, Mel.” he invited.

“I’ve got to meet my sister at the high school at 4.” she tried to find a way out.

“Eh, maybe another time.” he shrugged.

“Maybe.” she agreed readjusting her book bag.

“Later, Mel.” he stepped out of her way.

Melody couldn’t help but to smile, she had almost made a friend and lived. It was a good day. The dollar store was like the millions of others in its chain. She ignored the sign pointing out the supplies she’d come for, and surveyed the store. She always made sure to make herself familiar with anyplace, she entered, as possible. When she was satisfied she purchased her notebooks and pencils. As she stuffed her plastic bag of items into her book bag she decided to take one of those brave steps her aunt was always trying to talk her into taking.

Jake sat in one of the six booths that lined the right wall of the hole in the wall, smoke filled, pizza parlor. It wasn’t hard to find him and his friends on these long summer afternoons, they always came in here. Andrew, the group’s eldest member at 16 was grinning like a tom cat and prodding for more details on the girl Jake had just admitted to meeting.

“What she look like?” Andrew pressed.

“I don’t know… Black curly hair, blue eyes… I don’t know.” Jake shook his head annoyed with the questioning.

“D-did you invited her here?” Peter asked. Peter completely lacked confidence, and if it weren’t for the fact that his parents owned the pizza parlor Jake was sure the group would have dropped him long ago.

“Of course he did!” Jake’s best friend, James said around a mouth of pepperoni. “You seek, Jakie here strives to be the perfect gentlemen. So the new girl is his big chance to, yet again, prove we’re pigs.”

“Ya think she’ll come?” Matt, Andrew’s little brother, shared the tom cat grin.

“I hope so. I for one wouldn’t like to meet this girl.” Andrew ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back. Jake sighed, he’d forgotten how his friends acted around new girls.

“Oh. Oh. Oh. Look guys!” James pointed a finger in Jake’s face. “He’s thinking about her. See how he’s zoned out on us? Ain’t that cute?”

“Aww, wittle Jakie-kins has a cwush.” Matt leaned over the table to pinch Jake’s cheeks.

“Would you stop it?” Jake smacked away his friend’s hands. “ I swear you three act worse than my sister.”

“I’m hurt.” Andrew put a hand to his heart. “I’m really hurt, dude. You’ve hit me right here man.”

“Shove it, Andy.” Jake glared at him.

“Dude! Don’t call me that.” The five boys all turned to the door so fast they should have had whiplash, when the bell rang.

“Is that her?” Peter whispered sinking under the table. Jake’s stomach knotted, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, as Melody’s perfect blue eyes scanned the room taking in every inch. Jake jumped up and stole a chair from a nearby vacant table. Melody smiled nervously at him as she walked up to him and his friend.

“Hi.” she ducked her head staring at her shoes, her lose hair threatening to swallow her face. “I wasn’t sure if I should really have come.”

“No.” Jake smiled encouragingly. “These are my friend, Peter, Andrew, James, and Matt.” he pointed them each out.

“Yellow.” she smirked.

“Green!” Andrew laughed.

“Red.” Melody countered.

“Purple.”

“Blue.” the two passed colors back in forth.

“I think we’re missing something.” James said in a stage whisper. Matt swatted his friend’s arm.

“Can’t you tell a joke when it’s dancing in front of you, Jamie?”

“So you’re folks bought Setting Sun’s haunted freak show?” Andrew asked. Jake sat down, hoping she’d take the cue.

“Yea, at least they bought a house on Setting Sun that’s supposed to be haunted. But ghosts aren’t real.” Melody spun the chair around putting it’s back against the table before straddling it.

“You’ll learn otherwise soon, Newbie.” Matt assured her.

“Sure, I will.” Melody rolled her eyes. “So wha’cha got in the way of fun ‘round here tater tots?”

“Ahh. Glad you asked, Lassie. In our humble town we find pleasure in everything we do.” Andrew grinned.

“Everything?” Matt and James asked in a well rehersed manner.

“Yes, boys, everything. From plowing the fields and homework to hanging out in the local dives. Most kids can be found passing the ball around at the High school or down at the Johnson Pizzeria enjoying a greasy slice of pepperoni.”

“Wow. How do you manage to contain that much fun?” Melody asked in mock awe.

“It’s hard but we manage.” James promised.

“Don’t mind them, Mel. Their elevators don’t go all the way to the top.” Jake tried to cover for his friends.

“I don’t mind. Back at school, the guys I hang with are a lot like them.” she smiled folding her arms on the back of the chair. “But really this is it?”

“Well, we have the county fair in the next town over, in the summers, Rock-Fling in the spring, and a city wide garage sale in the early fall.” Matt told her.

“And the camp outs at the widow’s place.” Peter piped up.

“The widow?”

“Yea, broad couldn’t have kids, then her hubby passed a few years back. But she’s cool. Has bonfires and the kids come out and camp. It’s a lot of fun.” James explained.

“Awesome, so could I get a grand tour sometime?”

“Yea, I’ve got to tell my bro I’m leaving, and we can run.” Jake agreed.

“Gotta call the ‘rents, come on Matt.” Andrew started pushing out of the booth.

“Me too.” Peter skittered out of the booth and back behind the counter.

Melody sat still a moment before sighing and swinging her leg over the chair. She tucked the chair back into it’s table and extracted her cell phone as she went outside. Her dad’s number was number four of the speed dial, right behind her aunt, uncle, and the rec room back at school. She knew her dad wouldn’t object too much to her getting a town tour from some kids her age, as long as she made it sound like there were other girls involved.

“Hey, baby girl.” Mr. Spring answered his cell cheerily.

“Daddy, I met some kids down at the pizza joint, and they wanna take me for a tour. You mind?” she didn’t like talking around the topic. It was always best to hit the point before she chickened out.

“No honey, but if you’re not going to be able to meet your sister, call and I’ll come get you.”

“Nah, Daddy, I can ride home it ain’t that far.” her father hesitated a moment before answering.

“Just be careful, baby.”

“I will.” she promised. It amused and hurt her at the same time that he didn’t offer more restrictions. Real dad’s would have grilled her about the other kids, but her dad just thought he needed to stay out. That he didn’t know her well enough to limit her.

“Yo!” Matt greeted holding up the peace sign, tailed by his brother. “You phone the cops on us?”

“Na, just my old man.” she scrunched up her face.

“Cool. Cob, said you weren’t stickin’ ‘round long?”

“Don’t really want to, no offense. It’s my family, though, they get under my skin. I like it back at school.”

“I hate school.” Andrew shoved his phone in his pocket.

“Mine’s special.” Melody squatted down by her bike and unlocked it. The boys followed suit freeing their own Mt. bikes.

“How?” Matt inquired.

“My aunt runs it.” Melody mounted her bike and rode it off the sidewalk to make circles while they waited for the rest of their group.

“We ready to ride, ladies?” James asked jumping on his own bike, being the last to arrive.