Chapter Thirty-Eight
When the realtor lady showed Emma a modest bungalow in a quiet neighborhood close to her mother’s home, Emma knew it was her starter home. The white clapboard siding was faded and beginning to peel and the shutters needed paint, but Rosie could fix that and it would be all hers. The lot was small but there was room for flowerbeds and a vegetable garden. There were two bedrooms up. The basement was clean and dry and unfinished, perfect for Richie’s punishments. After she’d settled in, Emma made a sketch of the X-beam she had in mind. She instructed Richie to build it for her in the basement. She also had him fasten a pair of sturdy hooks to a basement ceiling joist. When he asked why, she reminded him questioning her orders led to painful consequences. She showed him h
