Cover

The Deadly Visitor

“I’ve got a problem and I don’t know what to do,” Nancy said in a practical conversational tone, as if her appearance were nothing unusual, as if she and Rose had just bumped into each other on the street.

“You’re dead, Nancy,” Rose winced at the harsh truth in the words.

Nancy made a face. “I know that,” she said, dismissing it. “But could you come with me a minute?”

Rose wanted to scream, but found herself floating toward the door on the tidal wave that was Nancy’s dress. Nancy’s clutching hand was cold and dry. Rose could feel the bones inside.

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Title

Copyright

Lines page 82

from Byron, “The Dream”

If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware

that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and

destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the pub-

lisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part,

or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by

any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or

otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For in-

formation regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 730

Broadway, New York, NY 10003.

ISBN 0-590-43310-5

Copyright © 1991 by Patricia Windsor.

POINT is a registered trademark of Scholastic Inc.

12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 12 3 4 5 6 7 8/9

Printed in the U.S.A. 01

To my good friends E.W. Count and Milton Wyatt

Half Title

Part One

Rose

One

Nancy Emerson disappeared the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. She’d been baby-sitting at the Berrys’ and left to walk home just after dark. Around seven-thirty, her mother phoned to ask if Nancy would be back in time for supper. Mrs. Berry was surprised; Nancy had been gone for more than two hours. Nancy’s mother remembered her daughter saying she wanted to meet some friends at the mall that evening. Uneasily, Mrs. Emerson waited until nine o’clock when everyone had returned home. Nobody had seen Nancy. Something was very wrong. Mrs. Emerson called Silver Henning, the police chief. A search party was organized. It was out all night but Nancy wasn’t found.

The Thanksgiving atmosphere was tainted. Although people were worried, they also seemed annoyed, as if Nancy could have picked a better time to disappear.

Rose Potter remembered the previous winter when she’d actually spoken to Nancy. It seemed strange now, but maybe that was only hindsight.