Jinxed chapter sampler

photograph of a family, smiling up at her. She bent down and picked it up. Carefully, she wiped the dust from it with her hand. Then Cora walked over to the fireplace and placed the picture frame on top of the mantle above it. There , she thought. Better . She left the first house and moved on to the next. There wasn’t much in the second house besides some twine, which Cora pocketed. And the third house had half a bar of soap, which Cora also pocketed. The fourth and final house was two storeys high. It had a large garden and many rooms. Cora searched them all. When she found nothing, she walked out through a side door and into the backyard. She put her hands on her hips and looked around. The grass at her feet was brown and dry. She thought about where to go next. A button, some twine and half a bar of soap was definitely not enough to go back home with. And there was still no sign of the shoe polish. Then, looking up at the house, Cora noticed a small, round window sitting above the others. That’s weird. She had been through all the rooms in the house and couldn’t remember seeing the small, round window in any of them. Trust your instincts , she heard Dot’s voice in her ear. Nodding, Cora went back inside the house and took the stairs two at a time. She searched all the

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