Kelvin McCloud and the Seaside Storm

Kelvin McCloud and the Seaside Storm — page 7 — KELVIN MCCLOUD AND THE SEASIDE STORM His foot brushed a stack of comics toppling them over Another sound came from the next room a soft quick scrape Henry paused Then easing his bedroom door open an inch he put his eye to the gap City lights shimmered on the living room ceiling A broken ribbon of light shone at the base of the apartment’s front door outlining the shapes of furniture and old bookshelves Henry blinked Nobody was in the living room Not a cat burglar or a spy or even one of those lanky (cid:74)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:3) (cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:86)(cid:3) (cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:92)(cid:3) (cid:86)(cid:82)(cid:80)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:76)(cid:80)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3) (cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:82)(cid:90)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3) (cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3) (cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3) (cid:86)(cid:70)(cid:76)(cid:16)(cid:192)(cid:3) channel He opened his door wider One of those alien shows was on TV last night he remembered Aliens Throughout History it was called and it (cid:73)(cid:72)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:88)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3) (cid:74)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:92)(cid:3) (cid:73)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:87)(cid:68)(cid:74)(cid:72)(cid:3) (cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3) (cid:68)(cid:3) (cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:16)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:80)(cid:69)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3) (cid:192)(cid:74)(cid:88)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:3) standing with President Truman way back at the end of World War II The show’s eerie music had made everything in the apartment seem sinister and the scariness remained there now in the quiet (cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:80)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:40)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:88)(cid:81)(cid:70)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:183)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:81)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:88)(cid:73)(cid:193)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:92)(cid:3) sounds coming in at the window didn’t help This late at night everything seemed sinister Henry scanned the room again His night vision had started to kick in and this time he did spot (cid:86)(cid:82)(cid:80)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:36)(cid:3)(cid:86)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:70)(cid:78)(cid:3)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:79)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:193)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:15)(cid:3) half illuminated by the yellow light sneaking under the door Its stark white surface contrasted sharply (cid:90)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:71)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:78)(cid:3)(cid:193)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:69)(cid:82)(cid:68)(cid:85)(cid:71)(cid:86)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:58)(cid:75)(cid:82)(cid:183)(cid:71)(cid:3)(cid:83)(cid:88)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:72)(cid:34)(cid:3) 2

Kelvin McCloud and the Seaside Storm — page 8 — The Weather Detective No deliveryman came at this time of night Well maybe a ninja deliveryman but not a regular one Henry took two steps into the living room The long slow shuddering creak came again from just outside the front door Henry froze Two shadows cut the light at the bottom of the door Henry heard himself breathing For once this creaky old place had been useful That spot in the hallway always creaked when someone stepped on it the wrong way The shadows darted to the right and vanished Henry ran for the door The envelope still lay (cid:82)(cid:81)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:193)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:90)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:3)(cid:68)(cid:3)(cid:69)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:82)(cid:73)(cid:3)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:72)(cid:74)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:15)(cid:3)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:83)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:3)(cid:70)(cid:88)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:76)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:3) scrawled on the front but Henry had no time for that now Flinging himself into the suddenly bright hallway he glimpsed something yellow at the end of the corridor No not just yellow but a woman a tall woman with long blond hair and a yellow summer dress vanishing into the stairwell Who was that No alien Henry ever saw He sprinted after her pushed into the stairwell at the end of the hall and stared downward through all of the dizzying circling sections of concrete steps He couldn’t see the woman but her faint quick footsteps echoed back to him from somewhere far below He circled downward after her The footsteps didn’t get closer Somewhere ahead a door shut (cid:54)(cid:72)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:3) (cid:193)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:86)(cid:3) (cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:90)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:15)(cid:3) (cid:43)(cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3) (cid:83)(cid:88)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3) (cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:88)(cid:74)(cid:75)(cid:3) (cid:68)(cid:3) heavy steel door and felt a wave of muggy summer 3

Kelvin McCloud and the Seaside Storm — page 9 — KELVIN MCCLOUD AND THE SEASIDE STORM air on his face In front of him dark streets tinted with yellow light stretched between the buildings of Midtown West Manhattan Or Hell’s Kitchen as it was normally called Henry stopped his feet aching Trying to catch his breath he looked around No luck The woman was gone Henry glanced at the sky imagining a UFO zipping away above the rooftops He shook his head Grow up he said to nobody in particular Henry closed his eyes picturing that long yellow hair again vanishing into the stairwell It stirred something in him It felt as if a serpent had just woken up in his gut and now slithered and coiled inside him Who was that woman Something about that hair A group of teens wearing baggy T-shirts walked by hands deep in their pockets Henry turned back inside The grimy stairwell seemed cool compared to the muggy summer night and Henry started the long walk up the stairs in silence (cid:49)(cid:76)(cid:81)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:3) (cid:193)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:17)(cid:3) (cid:44)(cid:81)(cid:3) (cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3) (cid:75)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:90)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:3) (cid:68)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:68)(cid:71)(cid:15)(cid:3) (cid:68)(cid:3) (cid:83)(cid:82)(cid:79)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:71)(cid:3) mahogany plaque hung next to his uncle’s apartment door Henry had helped his uncle hang it there last winter and it was the only thing that looked new in this dirty old place Silver letters stood out from the dark surface It read 4

Kelvin McCloud and the Seaside Storm — page 10 — The Weather Detective Kelvin McCloud Weather Detective Engraved above the words the plaque bore a small image of a thunderstorm covered by a magnifying lens Next to this framed in the open doorway stood Henry’s uncle a tall thin man wearing a deep blue bathrobe over his cloud-patterned pajamas (cid:43)(cid:72)(cid:3) (cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:71)(cid:3) (cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3) (cid:86)(cid:80)(cid:68)(cid:79)(cid:79)(cid:3) (cid:90)(cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:3) (cid:72)(cid:81)(cid:89)(cid:72)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:83)(cid:72)(cid:3) (cid:73)(cid:85)(cid:82)(cid:80)(cid:3) (cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3) (cid:193)(cid:82)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:15)(cid:3) torn open in one hand His other hand contained a newspaper clipping Kelvin’s sharp gray eyes gleamed What is it Henry asked Kelvin raised his long eyebrows and the corners of his mouth curled upward into a smile It’s just what we’ve been waiting for he said He tapped the newspaper clipping a few times with (cid:75)(cid:76)(cid:86)(cid:3)(cid:192)(cid:81)(cid:74)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:17)(cid:3)(cid:180)(cid:36)(cid:3)(cid:80)(cid:92)(cid:86)(cid:87)(cid:72)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:17)(cid:181) Henry’s skin tingled The word was electric Mystery Ever since opening this weather detective business six months ago they’d been waiting for something like this Not the howling windows and leaking roofs of fussy neighbors but an honest-to goodness mystery Turning Kelvin crossed their dark living room in four long strides and disappeared into his study Closing the apartment door Henry followed There was quickness in his uncle’s step the clear sign 5

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