Upside Down (41 page)
Lucy went to her bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. When she turned off the water, she heard the sound of a floorboard or a ceiling beam creaking. The house, built in eighteen-eighty, made plenty of odd noises as it settled, or from changes in the weather. She heard Elijah fussing, and wondered if she had wakened him after all. She would have to stand beside the crib and rub his back to get him back to sleep.
She left the bathroom and went through her bedroom into the hallway. The nightlight seemed to have burned out again. She walked into Elijah’s bedroom and looked down into the crib. To her shock, his crumpled blanket was there, but he wasn’t. She heard him say “Momou” behind her and was wondering how he had climbed out of his bed, when she turned to see that her son was in the arms of a giant of a man who stood there in the doorway.
Lucy cried out in horror.
The huge man rushed from the room and Lucy raced after him.
“No!” she yelled out. “Stop! Give him back!”
She ran through the doorway. The man carrying her son was thundering down the stairs.
As Lucy passed the guest room there was a bang of the door hitting the wall as it was flung open and a powerful arm grabbed her around the chest and constricted her lungs. She was aware of Elijah screaming downstairs and the fetid breath of her captor on her neck. She screamed, clawed and writhed until a powerful hand holding a cold cloth covered her mouth and nose.
Chloroform!
Within seconds, Lucy Dockery fell into a silent darkness.
About the Author
Upside Down
is John Ramsey Miller's third novel.
His career has included stints as a visual artist, commercial photographer, advertising copy writer, and photojournalist. A native son of Mississippi, he has lived in Nashville, New Orleans, and Miami, and now resides in North Carolina, where he writes fiction full-time.
Visit him on the web at
www.johnramseymiller.com
Also by John Ramsey Miller
The Last Family
Inside Out
And look for
SIDE BY SIDE
in September 2005
UPSIDE DOWN
A Dell Book / July 2005
Published by
Bantam Dell
A Division of Random House, Inc.
New York, New York
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved
Copyright © 2005 by John Ramsey Miller
Dell is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
eISBN: 978-0-440-33544-3
v3.0
