Aunt Maddy, Mac, and Suzie had worked day and night to get the house ready for the big open house. But so had the North Underwood Shrew Army. They had rehearsed, run drills, and practiced back-up plans just in case something went wrong.
The crabby real estate lady showed up early and put cookie dough in the oven to bake.
“It gives a house such a homey feeling. Now the three of you must scoot along…is that a goat I see next door?”
Suzie started to explain, “Yes, his name is William and he …”
Mac grabbed her, hushing her, and rushed her outside. Once in their car Aunt Maddy giggled.
“I don’t know about you guys but I just can’t leave. I’ve got to see what those shrews have in mind. Let’s park down the street and sneak back.”
“Yeah!” Suzie agreed.
“I don’t know, Aunt Maddy…” Mac was trying to be practical but he knew it was wasted on his aunt and cousin. It was lassoing a cloud. “Yeah,” he said, giving up, “sounds like a great plan.”
Aunt Maddy turned and grinned at him. “I knew you’d think so,” and they both laughed.
The first agent to arrive was a handsome man in a pinstripe suit; he took lots of pictures with his phone. A man with gray in his beard came in at the same time as a blonde lady with a big notebook. Everyone heard a clunk, clunk, clunk as a young woman in a huge hat and very high heels walked slowly in, paused, and then wandered in as if she was on stage.
But then everyone seemed to freeze as an elderly woman with white hair, large rhinestone glasses, and a cane with a dragon handle, strolled in. They all took turns going up to her, shaking her hand, and smiling. She wandered through the house, smacking walls and floors with her cane, as if to check that they were made well.
That’s when the fun began.
The big hat woman was in the bathroom, adjusting her hat in the mirror. Suddenly a gruesome face, dripping with goo and mush, appeared in the mirror behind her. She screamed and turned around but nothing was there. The shrews were fast, dropping the mask on a string behind the towels where they were hidden.
Then the blonde woman screamed from Aunt Maddy’s bedroom.
She ran downstairs, dropping her big notebook, and stumbling twice.
“Shoes…shoes in the closet…all dancing…dancing shoes!”
The gray bearded man tried to comfort her and the lady in the hat.
The older lady stood annoyed in the living room. She slammed her cane down hard on the old wood floor.
“Calm down everyone! When you have been in real estate as long as I have you know that old houses like this have … there is nothing to…”
She stopped her speech and watched a large statue of a laughing man creep across the floor and laughter echoed through the house.
The chandeliers swayed, books flew off the shelves, and then the radios and televisions all turned on at once.
All the agents screamed and ran for the door, the older woman beating them with her cane so that she made it out first.
In seconds they were all gone. Aunt Maddy, Mac, and Suzie laughed so hard they fell behind the bushes, hugging each other. Mission accomplished. No one was going to buy this haunted house any time soon. They all hoped it would give them time to find Dylan and they wouldn’t have to sell at all.
The evening was joyful and they celebrated with William and the entire North Underwood Shrew Army.