It was raining gently on Saturday morning.
"This is a very depressing day you've picked," Ariel grumbled. She adjusted her umbrella to prevent more rain from hitting her coat shoulder.
Sandy shrugged as she walked along. Her raincoat kept her dry and her jacket kept her warm. Well, as dry and as warm as she could be on a wet and cold day. At least the wind was not strong.
"We could've gone tomorrow, you know," Ariel pointed out.
"But I want to see the house today," Sandy said.
Ariel shook some rain off her handbag. "No harm waiting. The house isn't going anywhere."
Earlier, they had met at school, where Sandy had parked her bicycle. The bad weather and near freezing cold had not stopped the brown-haired girl's plans for the day. From school, the girls had walked towards the Henderson suburb, to where the house was alleged to be. They were going to have a look at the house where the Jacobson brothers had made their last stand.
"Someone might get the jewelry if we waited," Sandy said.
"There might not even be anything there," Ariel told her, "Didn't I say yesterday? The story I found on the Internet said that the police had found the jewelry."
Sandy glanced at the blond girl. "Did it say that all of it was found?" she asked.
"Well..." Ariel paused. "It wasn't very clear on that. I guess so."
"Then let's find out!"
"You're not going to go in to search are you?"
"Why not? We may actually find something."
Ariel groaned. "I'm just coming along with you to see the place. That's it. Oh, of all the things I could be doing this morning, at home, where it's warm and dry."
"Come on, Ariel, it'll be fun."
"Wouldn't it be trespassing?" Ariel asked.
"The house is abandoned," Sandy stated, "Who'll stop us?"
"Maybe the house is haunted like Old Man Jake said it was," Ariel reminded her.
"That's just a story," Sandy said. She adjusted her raincoat.
"Same with the stolen jewelry," Ariel argued, "It might not be true at all."
Sandy shrugged. She definitely hoped there was something to be found. The girls continued walking in silence.
***
The girls found the house easily enough. It was old. It was dilapidated. And it was dark, thanks to the weather.
The walls had peeling paint and many of its windows were broken. There was worn fencing separating it from the neighboring houses. The bushes around the house were overgrown and the lawn was covered with weeds. On one side of the compound, trees that did not look like they had been pruned in ages cast a shadow over the house. Despite all that, the place was not as creepy or as scary as either of the girls had imagined.
That was probably because of the pickup truck parked right in the driveway.
"Maybe it isn't deserted," Ariel noted.
"Yeah," Sandy agreed.
"Let's go home," Ariel suggested, "I don't want to disturb whomever's here."
"But we came all the way here," Sandy argued, "We should at least have a close look."
Ariel turned to her friend. "It's wet. I'm cold. My shoes and my slacks are getting soaked. I just want to go home and have a nice warm bath."
Just then, a man stepped out of the house. He smiled and waved once to the girls before he went over to the pickup. Ignoring the rain, he picked through the wooden planks in the back of the pickup, searching for something.
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