§ § § - September 6, 1981

While Leslie was out looking for the new immigrants, Greg, Delphine and Julie had spent most of the day sightseeing rather than going directly to their childhood home. The two sisters had enjoyed showing Greg around the island and pointing out their favorite old places, reminiscing till Greg finally teased them that he'd heard enough old stories to last him the rest of his life. It was near sunset when they finally turned toward the old MacNabb house, armed with bags of groceries to get them through the weekend.

"Home sweet home," Delphine said the moment the big stone house came into sight. "If you're planning to stay here for any length of time, Julie, you're gonna have some serious cleaning up to do."

Julie shrugged. "It'll keep me busy while I'm trying to decide what I want to do next." She was a precocious twenty-one-year-old who had skipped a grade in school to graduate from college at this young age, and had decided to stay in the old family home till she had made up her mind what to do with her life. Come Monday she would be here alone; Delphine and Greg, who lived in California, were here only for the weekend.

Delphine seemed particularly eager to see the house; neither she nor Julie had been there for many years. She headed right for the back door, which led into the kitchen, and swung out the shutter of the nearest window to reveal an old-fashioned skeleton key hanging off a hook. "Uncle was right," she said and grinned. "The key is in the same place." She unlocked the door and all three squeezed inside, surveying the kitchen.

Suddenly Julie let out an explosive sneeze. "Holy cow, it's so dusty in here!"

"Who'd have guessed," retorted Delphine dryly. Julie scowled at her sister's back while Greg flipped the light switch by the door. The ceiling light showed a surprisingly thick layer of dust all over everything, even the floor. "Good Lord," Delphine said, going to the counter and swiping an index finger across it. "This is really nasty. You've got your work cut out for you, Julie."

Julie's scowl grew deeper. "I suppose you're going to lie around all weekend while I do all the work." She gingerly drew a finger through the dust on the kitchen table. "What a mess. I don't think anyone's been here since Mom and Dad died."

"Why should they have been?" demanded Greg curiously.

"Well, somebody must have at least made sure the place was locked," Julie said. "The electricity still works, after all. You'd think maybe uncle, or one of the neighbors, would've dropped in every now and then, but I guess no one ever went inside. Look, you can even see our footprints all over this floor!"

Delphine turned to eye her sister and said tartly, "Don't tell me you didn't hear uncle when he said he'd had the electricity turned on for us last night. Really, Julie, for such a smart kid, you can be incredibly dense sometimes. I'm going to check upstairs." With that, she exited, thinking as she did that she had forgotten how naïve and talkative her younger sister could be.

Julie's scowl became a glare that Delphine never saw. Greg did, though, and laughed. "Lighten up, Julie," he teased. "Your sister isn't a monster."

"I just forgot how bossy she can be," Julie muttered, beginning to unpack her grocery bag. Greg pitched in, and they were nearly finished when Delphine returned. By then Greg was asking Julie curious questions about her plans for the future.

Julie shrugged uncomfortably, already growing tired of the subject. "I'll figure out something," she said. "Maybe uncle can help me out."

"Don't expect to become his assistant along with Tattoo," Delphine warned her. "I'd say that job's already taken."

"Huh?" Julie responded blankly.

"By that kid he adopted," Greg filled in. "Whatever her name was."

"Leslie something," Delphine said. "I'd say uncle has all the help he needs. If you thought you could work for him, you'll have to think again."

Julie, fed up, shot Delphine another glare. "Come on, Delphine, give me a break. I never said I expected uncle to give me a job; I just thought maybe he had some ideas as to where I could find one."

"He's too busy, you know that," Delphine said. "Why don't you get tomorrow's Fantasy Island Chronicle and check the want ads...although I don't know as you'll have that much luck."

Royally miffed, Julie stalked out of the kitchen just to get away. She really had forgotten how bossy and critical Delphine could be sometimes; just because she was twelve years older, she acted as though she knew it all. Julie had always been convinced that Delphine resented her for robbing her of her only-child status after twelve years, perhaps as much as she'd resented Delphine for constantly using her magic powers to play tricks on Julie. She was stewing so much that she was halfway up the stairs before she noticed a set of footprints on them that never should have been there.

"Hey, guys?" Julie called out. "Someone's been up here!"

"Yeah, me," came Delphine's annoyed response.

"No, someone besides you," Julie shot back. "I see two sets of footprints on these stairs. And don't tell me you have four feet, or I promise I'll wring your neck."

Delphine and Greg had both come into the living room and were staring at her from below. "Of course you see two sets of footprints," Delphine said, as though speaking to a small child. "My prints going up and my prints coming down."

Julie's eyes narrowed abruptly. "That's not what I mean, drat you. There's another set you didn't make. Or maybe you did...Delphine Randolph, if you've been playing one of your nasty jokes on me...!"

Delphine rolled her eyes. "I'm too old for silliness like that. Any mortal could have done it, even you. It doesn't take magic to make footprints."

"Not a set that went upstairs but didn't come back down," Julie said. "Because that's what these do."

"Pranksters. Intruders," Delphine suggested, but without much conviction.

"Then how did they get back out?" Julie demanded. "Climb out? From a second-story window, no less!"

Greg laughed suddenly. "Aw, come on," he said cheerfully. "It can't be all that big a deal. Del, honey, when you went up to check the bedrooms, you didn't notice anything missing, right? - else you'd have said something. Jules, I think you've been watching too many campy horror movies. Why don't we lay off the haunted-house bit and have something to eat. We need to calm down. Everybody knows all kinds of mysterious and nutty things can happen on this island, but there's always an explanation sooner or later. Eventually we'll find out what caused these alleged footprints of yours, but for now let's just have some supper and call it a night. I'm bushed after the flights and all that running around."

"I'll be down after I've checked my old room," Julie told him and climbed the rest of the stairs, scowling again and muttering to herself. "Who does that sister of mine think she is anyway? You're just as mortal as I am, Delphine Randolph, magic or not!"

There were five spacious bedrooms upstairs, and Julie could see Delphine's footprints circling the hallway. The extra set of prints led toward the middle of the three rooms that faced the front of the house and then were lost from sight in the cream-colored carpet in that room. She hesitated momentarily in front of the doorway, then shuddered and decided to bypass the room for now in favor of her own room next door. It was as dusty as the others, but it was much as she remembered it; and she smiled and collapsed wearily onto the bed before realizing what a mistake that was. A huge cloud of dust billowed up around her. Coughing and sneezing, Julie rolled ungracefully off the bed and stumbled out of the room. If she and her sister and brother-in-law meant to sleep here tonight, they were going to have to wash all the bedding first.

"You okay up there?" Greg's voice yelled from below. "Did the owner of those footprints come out and try to choke you to death?" Julie grimaced, hearing his laugh.

"What a comedian you are," she yelled back. "I hope you've got supper ready down there - we're gonna need the energy to wash all the sheets and stuff before we can get any sleep tonight." As for the footprints, she saw no reason to mention them. It looked as if that was one mystery she'd have to solve on her own.