Chapter Four
"Dad! Dad!" Jessie shouted from down the road. He nearly tripped as he launched himself into the front yard and stopped to catch his breath at his dad's side.
Jane wasn't far behind him, and quickly arrived as well while grasping her stomach and gasping for air.
"Whoa! What's up with you kiddos?" Floyd asked with surprise. He was Jessie's dad, usually known for his silly personality and jokes.
"That crazy cat lady chased us! And we can't find the horses!" Jessie shouted.
https://i.postimg.cc/6QM5kRgL/That-Victoria-lady-chased-us-And-we-can-t-find-the-horses.jpg
"Victoria?" Floyd shook his head. "I always knew she was kind of silent and creepy and always locked away in her dark house, but I've always assumed it's just because she's getting older. It's not polite for you two to be trespassing on her property. Maybe she was just wondering what you were doing," he said briefly and quickly turned his head as he heard music playing behind him.
The ice cream truck pulled up in front of their house.
https://i.postimg.cc/6q23L3HV/Ooh-Floyd-took-off-quickly-towards-the-truck.jpg
"Ooh!" Floyd quickly took off towards the truck.
"Dad!" Jessie shouted angrily behind him. But his dad didn't turn back to acknowledge him.
"Son of a gun! Now who are we supposed to tell?" Jessie sighed while turning to face Jane. "If my dad doesn't believe what happened between us and Victoria, do you think your mom would?"
Jane paused for a moment. She knew her mom didn't know the old woman very well at all. "I guess not."
Jessie put his hand on his face. He was just as stressed as Jane was. Where on earth had their horses gone? And why did his dad, of all people, not believe what had happened to them? It was like that creepy old Victoria lady had cast some sort of an evil spell on them with dark magic.
"It's still worth a try though." Jane said uncertainly.
The two hesitantly agreed, and walked inside the house.
It was warm inside, and their shoes made thumping noises against the polished wooden floor as they made their way into the kitchen where Jane's mom was cleaning up.
"Excuse me, Jennifer?" Jessie asked quickly.
Jennifer set her mop down and turned around to face him. "Hello Jessie and Jane. What can I help you with?" she asked with kindness in her tone.
Jessie gulped and carefully eyed Jane for a moment. "You might not believe this, but that old Victoria lady chased us off her property and now we can't find the horses," he said cautiously, preparing for Jennifer to get angry at them for trespassing on someone's lot.
https://i.postimg.cc/G2StyYjh/But-instead-she-just-stood-there-with-wide-puzzled-eyes.jpg
But instead, she just stood there with wide puzzled eyes. "Victoria? But the neighbors have been telling me she's real nice! She wouldn't do that to some teenagers like you."
Jane felt slightly angry as her mom spoke. What had the neighbors been telling her? Victoria wasn't nice at all!
"Yeah well she did!" Jane interrupted while stepping forwards into the kitchen at Jessie's side. "We're not lying."
Jennifer looked from Jessie to Jane and back again. "Okay... well, maybe we could have a talk with her some time. Right now though we need to find your horses." She decided. "We'll ask the taxi driver to take us on a drive around town and see if we can find them."