The Pulptress by Pro Se Press Page A

the porch.”
    Ross glanced at the
disguised woman. “Go on up and introduce yourself. I’ll be there in
a second.”
    “ Don’t take too long.” Her
hand paused on the door handle.
    He unlocked the chair from
the specially prepared mounting device. His hand closed on the
joystick moving the chair back to the platform. He reached out, and
unlocked the double doors. They swung open easily. He depressed a
side mounted blue button on the chair arm. The whine of hydraulics
filled the air as the platform lifted and eased forward smoothly.
Roscoe hit a second button. The platform slowly lowered to porch
level. He engaged the joystick and drove his wheelchair onto the
tongue and grooved board porch.
    Gladys swung open the
passenger side door and circled to the porch.
    “ Very nicely done, Ross.”
Gloria rushed forward. Her arms circled his neck squeezing tightly.
Her mother, Betty, followed suit.
    “ I’m not used to all this
female attention.” He blushed. The two women gradually broke the
embrace. “In case everyone hasn’t introduced themselves. This is
Gladys Jean Meyers. She’s a college professor from Moffett
University.”
    She nodded. “Call me
Gladys. Ross has told me about your home. I must say I’m very
grateful for the invitation to come and study a potential
Paranormal Phenomenon.”
    Betty nodded. “I have to
admit, I really didn’t want you here. This house has a bad
reputation in this town. I don’t want the neighbors to think we’re
bringing in a ghost hunter or an exorcist.”
    “ I’ll be very discrete, Mrs.
Fletcher.” Gladys took her outstretched hand.
    “ If anyone else but Ross had
suggested this, I would have turned them down flat.” She met
Gladys’ gaze. “But he’s special to us.”
    “ Yes, Ross is a special
man.”
    “ Enough of this chatter,
let’s show them the house.” Gloria bounced to the front door and
opened it wide for Roscoe’s wheelchair. “We’re going to remodel the
entire house, bring it into modern times.”
    Gladys entered the old
mansion. Ross shivered uncontrollably, the air inside felt twenty
degrees colder than the outside temperature. “Got a little nip to
the air,” he mumbled.
    “ I think there’s a draft in
one of the rooms upstairs.” Gloria fidgeted at the door. “The only
thing that can beat back the chill is the old fireplace. Just hang
on I’ll get a fire going.”
    “ This is strange.” Gladys
circled the living room. “Supernatural manifestations can cause an
unusual drop in temperature.”
    “ It’s just a draft from one
of the upstairs windows,” Betty repeated. “When we get the old
place sealed up and insulated, it’ll be comfortable all the
time.”
    “ What are you going to do
with the old safe?” Ross cast his eyes on the winding marble
staircase.
    “ Believe it or not, that’s
the sturdiest part of the house.” Gloria led them to the kitchen.
“We found the combination in some of Granddads old papers. You’ll
never guess what I found inside.”
    “ You opened it.” The color
drained from Ross’s face, fear entered his eyes. “Why did you do
that?”
    “ Ross, are you okay?” Gladys
kneeled by the chair. Her hands circled his. “You’re freezing.
What’s wrong with you?”
    “ Robo, it’s okay. Don’t let
your anxiety get the better of you” Gloria joined Gladys at his
side. “The only thing inside worth keeping was a
painting.”
    “ What kind of painting?”
Gladys asked. “I’d like to look it over.”
    “ It’s a castle isn’t it?”
Ross shivered. “With a dark haired man standing before the walls,
and people clustered behind him.”
    “ That’s right.” Gloria
nodded. “A couple of them look like the pictures I’ve seen of
Arthur and Lorene Charles, but how could you possibly know
that?”
    “ You’ve seen that picture
before, haven’t you?” Gladys’ eyes locked on the frightened man’s
face.
    “ When your family came here
with us years ago, you saw that painting didn’t