"It's the Halloween Party! I'm so excited!"

"I could tell." Molly laughed. Matthew sounded just like a little kid, "Are you worried at all?"

"What? No. Why should I be?"

"Well, I don't know. It's Halloween. Doesn't the Hound bother you?"

"Pff. No! That's just silly! But, it's so like you, Molly. It's really nice to know I have someone so kind to look after me."

Before Molly could say anything, the doorbell rang. She looked up at Matthew who suddenly seemed nervous. She knew he had been lying earlier, but why was he nervous? The door opened and Mr Barrymore ushered an array of people inside.

"'Hello, Matthew! How do I look?" the voice of Elise exclaimed as she bounded into view.

"Very nice, my friend." Matthew said, but almost choked, as if he had wanted to say something else. Molly told herself she wasn't jealous. She and Matthew weren't dating or anything. Besides, Elise seemed like a nice girl and she and Matthew had known each other for a while. Molly turned her attention toward the woman's brother.

"Good evening, Percival."

"Good evening, Miss Hooper." he said through clenched teeth. He was glaring at Matthew and his fists were clenched as if he wanted to punch him.

"Please come in." Molly said.

Once everyone had passed them, Molly turned to Matthew. "Who is that woman, there?"

"That is Miss Laura Lyons. She used to be an employee of my uncle. Poor woman's husband left her. See, over there? That's her father. He disapproved of her and didn't send her anything, so my uncle supported her."

"How could you not get along with such a generous man?"

"Well, let's just say Elise and I used to be...more than friends."

Molly wasn't sure what that had to do with anything, but she attempted to dismiss it from her mind. The guests all went into the dining room and Molly soon became distracted, staring at the family portraits on the dining room wall and thinking about the letter from Miss Lyons and how it was connected to the former Baskerville's death.

Suddenly, there was another howl, like the one she had heard the night before and everyone in the room gasped.

"What was that?" Matthew asked.

"Probably just a dog getting himself stuck in the moor. It's actually quite common." Percival explained.

"I'll tell you one thing that isn't common," said a woman's voice, "People lurking about on the moor at night."

"Oh!" said another voice, "Have you seen anyone, Miss Lyons?"

"Yes, indeed. Over by those prehistoric huts."

Before Molly could get even a step closer, everyone was crowded around the woman she wanted to interview. Well, Molly thought, I guess I'll have a look into the man on the moor. I'm sure by the time I finish Miss Lyons won't be as crowded.

Molly pocketed a borrowed revolver and went out.

Molly was glad the sun hadn't gone down yet. It was certainly getting close to sunset, but not quite. She wasn't entirely sure what she would find out on the moor and it was comforting to know that she would find whatever it was in the light.

Molly searched the hill on which the figure had stood and was afraid it would take some time as there were at least twelve huts to search. Why anyone would want to hide out here was beyond her.

Suddenly, Molly heard a soft step behind her. Or, she thought she did, because when she looked around she didn't see anyone. Molly's breathing and heart beat grew frantic and she began searching faster. There was another step, this time the pursuer haphazardly landed on a stick. Molly rushed into the nearest hut and, extremely fortunately, it was the right one. Molly caught her breath. The belongings in the hut looked very familiar. Too familiar.

"It's lovely out here, Molly. I really think you'll like it much more than in the hut."

Sorry I didn't post on Friday, I had the play this weekend. It was a revival of Bye Bye Birdie, and it's over now. This week, I'm performing with my choir at EuroDisney, so I might not post this Friday either.