Night in the Lonesome October

  Chapter Sixty-five

  Erupting with a squeal of horror, I shoved her away and opened my eyes and saw not the bike hag stumbling backward across the sidewalk, but Casey. She sat down hard on the grass of someone’s front lawn.

  I gawked at her.

  ‘Ow,’ she said. The word didn’t come out like a gasp of pain, but like a comment.

  ‘Oh, my God! I never ... I had no idea it was you.’

  She smiled up at me. ‘Good thing. Otherwise, I’d be offended as well as having a sore butt.’

  I pushed away from the tree. Before I could reach her, she was already on her feet and rubbing the seat of her corduroys.

  ‘My God, I’m glad to see you.’ I pulled her gently against me. Her arms wrapped around me. I caressed her back through the softness of her chamois shirt.

  As we held each other close, she asked, ‘What’s happened to you, Eddie?’

  ‘Rough night.’

  ‘I hardly recognized you.’

  ‘You go around kissing strangers?’

  ‘Oh, sometimes. I saw you from pretty far off ... this guy drooping against a tree. A wreck. I came over for a closer look. Couldn’t believe it was you. What’s going on?’

  While I tried to figure out where to start, Casey eased away from me. Hands warm against my flanks, she stared into my eyes. She had no smile now. She looked serious, concerned.

  ‘A lot’s happened,’ I said. ‘I’ll tell you everything, but ... the thing is, you know that guy Randy I was telling you about?’

  ‘How could I forget him?’

  ‘He took Eileen. I saw his pickup go by and Eileen was in the passenger seat.’

  Casey winced. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘I’m not completely sure of anything. But it looked like his truck and I’m almost positive it was Eileen. She wore the same dress ... She was sort of slumped in the seat like she was unconscious.’

  ‘When was this?’

  ‘I don’t know ... maybe an hour ago. Maybe longer.’ I took my hands away from Casey and tried to check my wristwatch. When I pressed the button to light its face, nothing happened. I moved the watch around until it caught the glow from a streetlight. The digital numbers were gone, the face blank. ‘Out of commission,’ I said.

  ‘But about an hour ago?’

  ‘Something like that.’

  ‘Which way was the truck heading?’

  ‘North,’ I said. ‘On Franklin Street. I ran after it for a while. Then Lois and I drove around looking for it in her car.’

  ‘Lois?’

  ‘Your friend Lois.’

  ‘My Lois? You know her? How on earth ... ? Never mind. It’ll keep. So you and Lois drove around?’

  ‘She was helping me try to find Randy and Eileen, but then we crashed.’

  ‘Oh, no.’

  ‘She’s okay. Neither of us really got hurt, but she had to stay at the scene of the accident. She sent me off ... didn’t want to get caught with guns in her car.’

  ‘Guns?’

  “The plan was to rescue Eileen if we could find her. So I took off and then I had a run-in with the bike hag and she ended up with the guns.’

  ‘Bike hag?’

  ‘This loony old woman ...’

  ‘Oh. Old Missy.’

  ‘You know her?’

  ‘We’ve had encounters. I don’t know her name. She always calls me “Missy.” As in, “Move it or lose it, Missy,” when she suddenly shows up out of nowhere. So that’s what I call her, Old Missy.’

  ‘She’s the one who made Lois crash. Then later I chased her and tripped. That’s mostly how I got so messed up.’

  ‘She didn’t run you down with her bike?’

  ‘She tried.’

  ‘She’s hit me a couple of times,’ Casey said. ‘On purpose. Sweet thing.’

  ‘When she tried to run me down, I threw Lois’s bag at her. But she caught it. So now I’ve lost Lois’s guns unless we can find her again - Old Missy.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it. I can always get the guns back. Maybe not tonight, but ...’

  ‘We planned to use them for the rescue.’

  ‘There won’t be any rescue. Not unless you know where Randy took her.’

  ‘We were driving around looking for his pickup. But I guess that’s the end of that. Do you have any ideas? With all your night roaming ...’

  She shook her head. ‘From what you told me, he doesn’t sound like anyone I know ... Maybe some guys I’ve seen around, but nobody in any of my houses. And pickups like his, there’re lots of those around.’

  ‘We noticed that.’

  ‘You and Lois?’

  I nodded.

  ‘She’s a pretty cool gal, isn’t she?’

  ‘Sure is,’ I said.

  ‘Any ideas about what to do next?’

  ‘I was thinking about calling the police. They might not know how to find Eileen, either, but at least...’

  ‘You don’t want to call the police.’

  ‘That’s what Lois said.’

  ‘Let’s go over to Dandi Donuts.’

  ‘Glad to. Do you know where it is?’

  ‘Don’t you?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m all turned around. I don’t know where I am.’

  ‘Come on. It’s not very far.’ She took my hand and led me along the sidewalk. ‘That’s where Randy saw you with Eileen, right?’

  ‘Yeah. Monday night.’

  ‘And that’s where you had the run-in with him the next night, isn’t it?’

  I nodded.

  ‘So that’s two nights he was at the donut shop. Maybe the counter guy knows who he is. Maybe he even lives somewhere near there.’

  ‘He was driving in that general direction when he went by with Eileen.’

  ‘So we’ll check it out.’

  ‘Worth a try,’ I said.

  As we walked along, Casey moved closer to me and put her arm across my low back. She rested her hand on my hip. I put my hand on her back and she smiled at me. ‘I’ve been missing you,’ she said.

  ‘I’ve been missing you, too. A lot. That’s why I came out tonight in the first place - to find you. I just wanted to be with you. I never thought all this other stuff would happen.’

  ‘When you go out at night in this town, stuff always happens.’

  ‘It wasn’t like this last year. Last Spring. We hardly ever ran into trouble.’

  ‘Well, it does get worse in October. Seems to. October’s always the creepiest month.’

  ‘April is the cruelest month; October’s the creepiest? Maybe it’s because of Hallowe’en.’

  ‘The whole month’s weird.’ Casey smiled up at me. ‘Course, I sort of like it that way.’

  ‘I’m sure.’

  ‘Keeps life interesting. So who were you roaming around with last spring?’

  ‘This girl, Holly.’ I felt no ache of loss or longing when I said her name. Maybe because I was saying it to Casey. ‘We were out pretty late sometimes.’

  ‘Holly last year, Eileen this year. You’re a busy fellow.’

  ‘She was the first girl I ever ... really cared about.’

  ‘You loved her.’ She didn’t ask, but stated it like a fact.

  ‘What makes you think so?’

  ‘I can just tell. The way your voice got funny when you started talking about her.’

  ‘Anyway, she dumped me.’

  We walked in silence for a while. Then Casey said, ‘That wasn’t very nice of her.’

  ‘Well...’

  She looked at me. ‘I’ll help you get her back.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I’ll help you get her back. Holly. I’m good at that sort of thing.’ She cast a wry smile at me. ‘It’s what I do.’

  ‘What’s what you do?’

  ‘It’s one of my specialties. Fixing things up for people. Making things better. Maybe I can get you and Holly back together again.’

  ‘She’s in Washington.’

  ‘That might complicate thin
gs.’

  ‘Besides, I don’t want her back. I want Eileen back. Not that I’m in love with Eileen.’

  ‘You’re not.’

  ‘I just don’t want her to get hurt.’

  As we approached the next comer, I looked up at the street sign. The intersection was Beaumont and Division.

  Division!

  A block to the right on Division, headlights were coming our way.

  ‘Ride or hide?’ asked Casey.

  It might’ve surprised me that someone would think of playing a game while Eileen urgently needed to be rescued—but this was Casey.

  Hiding would delay our journey to Dandi Donuts.

  ‘Ride,’ I said.

  Chapter Sixty-six

  Casey and I stood side by side on the comer, holding hands as the headlights approached.

  Soon, I could make out the shape of the vehicle. Not a pickup, not a van. Just an ordinary midsize automobile. As it came nearer to us, however, it began to slow down.

  The comer had no stop sign.

  Slowing because of us.

  ‘Now what?’ I muttered.

  Casey gave my hand a squeeze. ‘All part of the fun,’ she said.

  ‘Oh, yeah.’

  She chuckled.

  The car abruptly veered in our direction, crossed the center line and entered the lane beside us - meant for oncoming traffic.

  ‘Do you know who it is?’ I asked.

  ‘I don’t recognize the car.’

  ‘Wonderful.’

  The windshield must’ve been tinted. I could see nothing through it except the dim, vague shape of the driver.

  ‘Be ready to run,’ Casey said. ‘Just in case.’

  The car stopped by the curb. The driver’s window, tinted like the windshield, showed little more than a reflection. But it slowly glided downward.

  A familiar voice called out, ‘I say, old bean, you do look a trifle the worse for wear. May I offer you a lift?’

  ‘Kirkus?’

  His face appeared in the open window. ‘At your service, Eduardo. And yours, fair maiden. Rudolph Kirkus, here. My mates generally call me Kirkus. Or Captain Kirkus, if they’re feeling droll.’

  ‘I’m Casey,’ she said.

  ‘Casey, Casey. You must be the beckoning fair one who has stolen Eduardo’s heart! And lovely you are. ’Tis no wonder he’s mad for you.’

  ‘What are you doing here?’ I asked.

  ‘Matters this night are passing strange.’

  ‘I’ve noticed.’

  ‘How’s the old noggin?’

  ‘Not great.’

  ‘My vast apologies.’

  ‘What do you want, Rudy?’

  ‘Come with me.’

  ‘We’re in a hurry,’ I said. ‘We don’t have time for any games.’

  ‘I don’t know what’s going on,’ he said, his phony voice gone so he sounded like an ordinary guy. ‘But I need to show you something. Come on. Get in. Both of you. I’ll take you there.’

  I looked at Casey.

  She nodded.

  I hurried to the car’s back door, pulled it open and climbed in. Casey came in after me and shut the door. Kirkus glanced over his shoulder at us, then faced forward again and started driving.

  ‘I felt miserable after our ... our little tiff earlier tonight. I’m so ashamed of myself.’

  ‘No problem,’ I said.

  ‘Oh, it is a problem.’ He seemed to be gradually regaining his usual Kirkus persona. ‘I know it is. I was simply devastated after you left ... after you escaped from my clutches, if you will. So I hurried on home to lick my wounds and ... to make a long story short, I found myself possessed by an urge to apologize, to put matters right between us, if possible ... and as soon as possible. You’d mentioned Dandi Donuts as your destination. Hoping to intercept you among the crullers, I borrowed a friend’s car and drove to the donut shop. You weren’t there, of course.’

  ‘We were on our way just now.’

  ‘Well. I arrived at the shop some time ago. Expecting you to appear at any moment, I sat myself down with a cup of tea and a croissant and waited. And I waited and I waited and I waited and still no Eduardo.’

  ‘I had delays,’ I said.

  ‘So it would seem. Well, I could only wait there so long. People were giving me odd looks. Bizarre individuals were coming and going. It’s really quite a dreadful place, you know.’

  Looking out of the window, I saw that we were only about a block away from the donut shop. ‘Is that where you’re taking us?’ I asked.

  ‘More or less,’ Kirkus said. ‘You see, I finally quit my vigil. As I was walking back to my car, however, I came upon a most peculiar sight.’

  ‘What was it?’

  ‘See for yourself.’ Slowing, he swung toward the curb. He drove close to it, moving past a lamppost and parking meters and the narrow dark gap into which I’d run to escape from Randy on Tuesday night.

  Nearing the rear of a parked car, he stopped.

  ‘Out,’ he said. His door flew open and he leaped into the street.

  I swung open the curbside door, stepped onto the sidewalk, then held the door while Casey emerged.

  ‘Hurry, old man.’

  When Casey was out, I shut the door. Then I took her by the arm and we turned toward Kirkus.

  He stood facing the thrift shop’s display window.

  Gazing in.

  Staring in at the old mannequins that had disturbed me so much in the past. Rhett and Scarlet, frozen in time. Always the same, almost, while always gradually deteriorating. Rhett with half his moustache gone. Scarlet standing beside him in her gawdy red dress looking less like Scarlet O’Hara than a flapper from the Roaring Twenties ... more Zelda than Scarlet.

  But tonight she didn’t wear the fringed and glittery red dress.

  She wore a clingy gown of emerald green. Its neckline plunged almost to her waist, revealing a long V of bare skin that narrowed on its way down. Her left leg showed through a slit up the skirt.

  ‘That’s not her normal dress,’ Casey said.

  ‘It’s the same as Eileen’s,’ I muttered.

  ‘It is Eileen’s,’ said Kirkus. ‘It’s identical.’

  ‘There might be others ...’

  ‘Oh. puh-leease. This is not an identical dress; it’s the very same gown that she was wearing at dinner tonight. And now it’s adorning a store-window dummy. What, as they say, gives?’

  I shook my head. I kept staring through the window, hardly able to believe what my eyes were showing me - and not wanting to believe what it seemed to mean.

  ‘Ed?’ Kirkus asked. ‘Do you know something about this?’

  Feeling dazed, I answered, ‘I saw her. An hour ... more than an hour ago. She had the dress on. Went by in a guy’s pickup truck.’

  ‘She got snatched,’ Casey explained. And went around me and Kirkus and stepped into the entryway of the shop. A CLOSED sign was hanging inside the glass door.

  Except for the lights of the display window, the shop was dark.

  ‘What’re you doing?’ I asked.

  She tried the door. ‘Isn’t locked,’ she said. ‘It’s always locked at night.’

  Kirkus glanced at me.

  ‘She knows these things,’ I explained.

  Casey opened the door.

  ‘What’re you doing?’ I asked.

  ‘Going in.’

  ‘No, wait’

  She waited, holding the door open, while I hurried over to her.

  ‘You’re not going inside,’ Kirkus said.

  Casey gripped my forearm. Speaking in a hushed voice, she said, ‘This might be where he’s got her. There’s an apartment upstairs.’

  ‘Do you know who lives in it?’

  She shook her head. ‘I haven’t been up there in a long time. It’s been a year, maybe longer. Nobody was living in it then. Looked like it was being used for storage. A lot of junk all over the place. But I don’t know ... people might’ve moved in since then.’


  ‘Maybe Randy,’ I said.

  ‘Could be.’

  ‘We’re right next door to the donut shop.’

  Casey nodded. ‘Whether he moved in or not, he might have Eileen up there. It’s just the sort of place you’d want to take someone if... you know ... you wanted to mess around with her. We’d better go in and see.’

  ‘Wait wait wait,’ Kirkus said, coming closer to us. ‘You can’t simply sneak into a store in the middle of the night. It’s a criminal offense.’

  ‘Not if we’re invited,’ Casey told him.

  Speaking as if he considered her mentally challenged, he said, ‘If this chap has absconded with Eileen, he isn’t likely to invite you inside.’

  ‘Already has,’ said Casey.

  ‘An unlocked door hardly suffices as ...’

  ‘It isn’t just the unlocked door. Why do you suppose he put Eileen’s dress on the dummy?’

  ‘Why, indeed?’

  ‘That’s the invitation. Addressed to us. To Ed, in particular.’

  ‘Oh God,’ I muttered. ‘You’re right.’

  Casey gave a brisk nod. ‘He wants us to go in and look for her.’

  ‘All the more reason not to do it,’ Kirkus said.

  I scowled at him. ‘What am I supposed to do? Just let him keep her and do whatever he wants with her?’

  ‘Call the police.’

  ‘No,’ I said.

  Kirkus bent close to me. Speaking quietly and fast, he said, ‘It’s what’s done in such circumstances. One does not simply charge willy-nilly to the rescue. Not in real life, Eduardo. You’re not Joe Hardy. You’re hardly John Wayne. You’ll be breaking the law if you go in there, and you might very well get yourself killed. Especially considering that Nancy Drew here is so certain the dress was put in the window to lure you in.’

  ‘You don’t have to come with us,’ I said.

  ‘That’s not the point, dear fellow. The point is, you shouldn’t go in. Nobody should go in. Let’s find a telephone, instead, and ring up the authorities.’

  ‘I’m going in,’ Casey said. ‘You coming, Ed?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  I followed her inside. Before shutting the door, I said to Kirkus, ‘Coming?’

  ‘I should say not.’

  ‘The game’s afoot, Watson.’

  ‘Fuck you and the horse you rode in on, Sherlock.’

  Almost smiling, I said, ‘Well, you might want to ring up the authorities if we’re not out in fifteen minutes.’