“Didn’t Officer Wong set you straight?”
“Heather said Wong was lying to protect you. That she was a friend of Wolf’s. Can you imagine how we felt? First Patrick’s death, and then we came home to find a police officer in our house and Heather claiming our child had been kidnapped.”
“It’s okay. Forget about it.” I sat back and listened to Mochie purr.
“It’s not okay, Sophie. You found Patrick’s body, didn’t you? You must have had a terrible night, too. I can’t imagine that kind of shock.”
I winced. “It’s worse for the girls. They’re terrified of vampires now. I hope Gabriel is too young to understand what was going on.”
Frank rested his elbows on his knees and rubbed his face. “What a night. Sophie, I’m sorry. Oh, no! Heather and her dad were so upset that I’m afraid I overreacted. Heather wanted to shut down the haunted house, and I stupidly helped her by calling a member of the town council. They’re going to try to prevent you from opening this afternoon.”
“Frank! Then you’d better go with us and retract whatever you said. Everyone worked so hard on it—I’m not closing it. No way!”
“I can’t believe I fell for Heather’s lies. Someone could have snatched Gabriel, or he could have been hit by a car! I wonder if Karl knows what a devious daughter he has.”
I was about to make a crack about apples that didn’t fall far from the tree when Jen returned in a saucy green and black witch’s costume. The bodice was green, but a long black vest hung over it and laced in the front. She wore adorable green and black horizontally striped tights and a black hat with a green and black harlequin band around it. “I thought you were going to be a cat, not a witch.”
Frank applauded. “Great costume, Jen.”
She took a bow. “I’m not a witch, Aunt Sophie, I’m a sorceress.”
“Pardon me.”
Vegas made her entrance next and swirled around to show off her costume. She wore a wedding dress that had been carefully tattered. The bottom half appeared dirty and merged into black where it trailed on the floor. A faux bloody gash had been carefully applied to her bare shoulder. She’d used white makeup to create the illusion of pallor, and her eyes were smudged with impressive black eyeliner.
Frank applauded again.
“Wow. What are you?” I asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? I’m a zombie bride.”
“Of course! Silly me.” I didn’t have half the imagination they did. I asked them to take Daisy out while I changed, and returned in minutes dressed all in black as a witch. The color helped hide my extra pounds, and I liked the sweeping cut of the skirt that came to my ankles. I’d bought an inexpensive hat and added crystals in wild swirls for fun.
With Mochie and Daisy safely in the house, Frank, the girls, and I locked the door and left. Nina caught up with us on the sidewalk. She had also dressed in black, but she looked more like a cat burglar.
Worried about a cluster of people protesting and trying to close us down, I held my breath as we rounded the corner to the haunted house. To my complete shock, a crowd had gathered and blocked the sidewalk. Heather and her father waited in front of the building, carrying signs that read, “Danger,” “Do Not Enter,” and “Enter at Risk of Peril.”
Frank laughed aloud. “What an idiot. That’s like free advertising.”
“Shh,” I cautioned him. “Don’t tell them that!”
A pungent wave of garlic overcame me when I brushed past Heather. She must have caught me sniffing because she immediately said, “I had garlic bread for lunch.”
Maybe she had, but I was willing to bet she was wearing garlic, too.
I stiffened when I saw Councilman Williams. He’d been enthusiastic about the haunted house when it was proposed. Surely he hadn’t changed his tune because of Karl. He glad-handed his way up the line, working the crowd. Ray stepped out of his shop and had a word with him. Frank rushed at them. I hoped he was pleading our case.
I was about to join them, ready to argue the merits of keeping the haunted house open, when Councilman Williams approached me with a huge smile. “I hear you’ve put together something very spooky! It’s the talk of the town. Businesses up and down the street are delighted with the turnout. Carry on, Ms. Winston!” He clapped me on the back and returned to the crowd.
Karl chased after him. My stress melted away, and I felt like collapsing on the sidewalk, but there was no time for that. I ignored Heather and Karl entirely and unlocked the front door.
“Showing your true grimy self today, Vegas?” said Heather. Her outfit of preppy green and pink plaid trousers and a matching pink sweater trimmed in the same plaid might have been considered a costume by some.
Vegas stuck out her tongue, but the banter didn’t escalate because they both caught sight of Blake sweeping along the sidewalk in a vampire cape.
Nina nudged me. “Is he one of your kids?”
“He’s so sexy!” Vegas breathed to Jen.
But Jen was fixated on Blake’s companion, shorter and thoroughly disguised in jeans, a flannel shirt, hairy hands, and an amazing werewolf mask that covered his entire head. The front featured a long snout and bared teeth, and the back was covered in fur.
The zombie bride and the prep in pink and green rushed at Blake. Heather swooned like an obsessed fan meeting a rock star, and Vegas tried to muscle her way closer to him. Blake looked miserable.
I called to him, hoping to get him inside quickly, but Karl stopped him. “You’re not going in there, son.”
I was about to walk out to them and intercede, but Blake faced Karl dead-on and showed no fear. “You’re not the boss of me.” He’d been brave, but I noticed that he ran into the house.
Frank waved to me from the sidewalk.
“You’re not coming in?” I asked.
“I’ll talk to Karl, but it’s going to be a long, long time before I set foot in that building again—if I ever do. Besides, I think I see that black cat Nina has been trying to catch. I believe he might be cornered now.” He nodded in the direction of Ray’s show window. The cat lounged in front of stacks of books, leisurely washing his fur.
I wished Frank luck but had my doubts. Ray’s shop would be like a minefield of objects for Frank to trip over, but a cat would navigate the mess and disappear in it. I wanted to ask him what he’d seen in the house, but there wasn’t time. We had a show to put on, and people were waiting for us to begin.
Natasha’s mother, Wanda, arrived in her fortune-telling outfit and paused on the doorstep. Her smile wavered and disappeared as she entered and looked up the stairwell. “This house is haunted.”
I knew she was serious, but I suspected that everyone else thought it was part of her act.
Nina snagged my elbow and whispered, “You have bigger problems than that. The kid in the vampire costume is the same one I saw in the alley last night after Patrick was killed.”
TWELVE
Dear Natasha,
I watched your show on Halloween parties and want to recreate the fog coming out of the punch bowl. It’s spooktacular! I’m a little wary of dry ice, though. Are you sure it’s safe?
—Ghostly Mom in Fogg Corners, New Hampshire
Dear Ghostly Mom,
It’s so easy! You need two bowls, one that fits inside the other. Place the dry ice in the bigger bowl (be careful not to touch it because it will burn you). Pour the punch into the smaller bowl. Set the smaller bowl inside the larger one and add warm water to the big bowl. Instant fog! You don’t have to be afraid of dry ice. Handle it with gloves and never touch it or eat it.
—Natasha
“Are you certain it was Blake whom you saw?” I asked.
Nina cocked her head sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Sophie. There’s no doubt about it.”
Had Patrick pushed Blake too far? Had Blake taken advantage of the costume party to disguise himself and kill his mother’s boyfriend? He was only a kid, but it wouldn’t have been the first time a boyfriend drove a kid to murder. Had he hoped that removing Patrick would mean his parents would reconcile? I had no idea what to do. I didn’t want to turn him in. On the other hand, what if he harmed someone else?
As though in a trance, Wanda walked up the stairs. The kids, silent for once, followed her, and I was right behind them. She drifted into the vampire’s room and closed her eyes. “Very dark things . . . unspeakable things . . . have happened here.”
Wanda held out her hands, palm sides down, and snatched them back. “The spirit in this room is very strong. He had a deep, terrible secret.”
I didn’t realize that June had arrived. Behind us, she chimed in, “Of course he did. Viktor was a vampire. He couldn’t let anyone know.”
“This is so cool,” said Jesse. “Neither of my grandmothers would play along like this.”
Wanda fixed him with a sharp look. “This isn’t pretend, young man. There’s a malevolent spirit in this room.”
I could hear voices downstairs. Excusing myself, I returned to the foyer and found Wolf having a look around. Blake’s father, Dash, was with him, his expression grim.
“Great job, Soph! The place is scary beyond belief.” Wolf bussed me on the cheek. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need to have a word with Blake. Is there somewhere we could talk in private?”
“There are a couple of chairs in the kitchen. It’s far from private, but I can try to keep everyone else out of there.” I showed them into the kitchen, and the clock chimed with a moan. “We’re supposed to open very soon.”
“Shouldn’t take long,” said Wolf.
I ran up the stairs, culled Blake from the little haunted house gang, and sent him to the kitchen. Whispering, I asked Bernie and Nina to keep everyone upstairs and suggested they do a few run-throughs to make sure everyone knew what to do.
I crept down the front stairs to prevent anyone from barging in. Squeals and giggles came from upstairs, but the first floor was so quiet that I couldn’t help overhearing Wolf and Blake from the witch’s lair.
“I didn’t kill Patrick.”
Wolf responded, his tone calm. “That wasn’t what I asked you.”
“You wouldn’t have brought my dad otherwise. Look, I can save us all a lot of time. I hated Patrick.”
“Blake!” Dash’s voice carried a note of warning.
“The cops are going to know that soon enough, Dad. It’s not like it was a secret. Even Patrick knew I hated him. But I didn’t murder him.”
“Where were you last night?”
“Home. Dad can verify that. He dropped me off.”
“You’re talking about your mother’s house?”
“I know what you’re getting at. Obviously, Mom and Patrick had gone to the party.”
Wolf began to sound a hair testy. “Was anyone there with you?”
“No. I watched a video.”
“You didn’t go anywhere?”
“No! We just didn’t like Patrick. Okay? He ruined everything for us.”
Wolf started to speak, but Dash interrupted him. “I think that’s enough. He told you he doesn’t know anything. Isn’t that what you needed?”
Chairs scraped along the floor, and I skedaddled to the foyer.
Wolf came through first. “What did you think?”
“About what?”
He laughed so hard it echoed in the stairwell. He kissed me, with less zeal than the night before, but it was sweet and adoring. He nuzzled my hair and whispered, “The kid’s hiding something. If you find out what it is, let me know.”
I already knew Blake was lying. My heart sank. I almost choked when I said, “You’d better talk to Nina. She’s upstairs.”
Dash and Blake joined us in the foyer, and Wolf calmly climbed the stairs, not even flinching when the automated ghost swooped down upon him.
Dash pointed at Blake, said, “Behave,” and left as Ray from next door barged in.
“I believe I was promised a spot in the first tour?”
I couldn’t help laughing. What was it about Halloween that got even adults excited?
I closed the door behind him. “Sure. Wait here a minute.”
Blake didn’t appear upset. “Do you want to take the afternoon off?” I asked.
“And miss out on the fun? No way!”
I wanted to give him a hug, but all I could think was that he might want to harm the girls if he thought they could identify him. Had he left the grisly doll on our doorstep? Had he thrown a cape over my head? He was tall enough.
“Time to start,” I shouted. “Places, everyone.”
We scattered to our destinations, and I played a CD of spooktacularly creepy music. Jen took the first group through. The ghost swung over their heads as she led them up the stairs, giving them their first little surprise. I could hear Jen telling the tale of Viktor Luca. A few minutes later, screams came from Viktor’s bedroom, letting me know Blake had startled them. Happily, the shrieks from Viktor’s room set the tone for the next group, who were having their palms read by Wanda in the foyer. Chains rattled overhead, courtesy of Nina, and something heavy dragged along the floor. I watched the expressions of the kids in the foyer. Their eyes large, they eagerly anticipated their turn.
All went well until Vegas’s third tour. She motioned to her group to follow her, and they started up the stairs. But when they reached the top, a genuinely hysterical scream sent a chill through me.
“Sophie!” screamed Vegas.
I ran upstairs and found the group standing back from a snake on the floor.
I don’t do snakes.
Not even a little bit. As horrified as I was, two logical thoughts made it through my hysteria. Snakes tend to slither close to walls, yet this snake was in the middle of the floor. And it wasn’t trying to get away. In fact, it hadn’t moved at all.
My heart pounding, I scooted closer and touched the tail with the toe of my witch boot. It didn’t react. I scuffed my boot along the floor, managed to turn the snake over, and realized that it was plastic. Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, and a fear of snakes, I picked it up by the tail. “Go ahead with the tour. It’s not real.” But it had been a very scary moment, and I wondered who had tossed the snake there.