‘Feel free to leave the grounds at any time. We’ll be handing out souvenir badges that’ll get you back in.
‘Our special screening of The Horror will take place at the Haunted Palace movie theater on Front Street.’ She pointed to the right. ‘You can’t miss it. Just be at the main entrance by ten o’clock. After the film, Dana and I will lead you back here for the Midnight Tour.
‘Any questions about the schedule?’ Tuck asked. Not waiting more than half a second, she said, ‘Okay! Let’s get this show on the road. Welcome to the Midnight Tour picnic. I’ll take your tickets as you come in, and Dana will give each of you a badge.’
‘We getta keep ’em?’ asked the chubby kid.
‘You’re Dennis, right?’
He beamed as if proud that Tuck had remembered his name. ‘That’s right, ma’am. Dennis Dexter. D.D.’
‘Call me Lynn, okay? And yes, the badges will be yours to keep. Okay, let’s get started.’ She passed the bag to Dana, then stepped forward to start taking tickets.
Dana reached into the bag. When she tried to scoop up a handful of badges, points pricked her.
She winced and jerked her hand out. It looked okay except for a single, bright red drop of blood on the tip of her middle finger.
Just lick it off and . . .
As she raised the finger toward her mouth, someone caught her wrist and said, ‘Mine.’
Dana looked up into blue-shadowed, leering eyes.
‘No,’ she said. Though she spoke softly, everyone nearby suddenly went silent. Heads turned. People were staring, frowning, gathering closer so they wouldn’t miss whatever might be happening. ‘Please let go,’ Dana said. ‘I don’t . . .’
Her fingertip vanished into the mouth of the creepy vampire gal. She felt the suck of warm, quick lips.
Onlookers gasped, flinched and muttered.
‘Hey!’ Dana jerked her hand back.
Tuck, watching, had a strange smile on her face as if she couldn’t believe what had just happened.
‘Mmmm, delicious,’ the creep said. She licked her black lips. ‘Now we’re sisters. My name is Vein. V-e-i-n as in bloooood vessel.’
‘Right,’ Dana muttered. Being more careful this time, she reached into the bag and took out a badge. It was round with a pin on the back, like a political campaign button. Larger than a silver dollar, it showed a small black rendition of Beast House on a scarlet background. Around the rim, in black letters, it read MIDNIGHT TOURIST.
‘Pin it on me.’ Vein spread open her black leather jacket and thrust her bra-clad breasts toward Dana.
‘Thanks anyway,’ Dana said. ‘Here. Just take it.’
‘No no no. Pin it on me, dahhhling.’
‘What’s the problem here?’ Tuck asked.
‘Dana’s shy,’ Vein said.
‘I’m not,’ Tuck said, and snatched the badge out of Dana’s hand. Grinning up at Vein, she asked, ‘Where do you want it?’
Vein patted the front of her left bra cup, sending a tremor through her breast.
‘I wouldn’t want to poke you,’ Tuck said.
‘Oh, feel free.’
‘How about here?’ Not waiting for an answer, Tuck slipped a finger under the left shoulder strap, pulled it away from Vein’s skin, and pinned the badge to it.
‘Thank you so much, my dear.’
Tuck patted the badge. ‘I’m here to serve,’ she said. Then she dipped a hand into Dana’s bag, came up with another badge, and turned to Vein’s blond friend. ‘Would you like me to pin yours on, too?’
Looking at Tuck with sultry eyes, the blonde said, ‘I’m Darke.’
‘Could’ve fooled me,’ Tuck said.
Darke’s tongue darted out and wiggled at her.
‘Trying to upstage the beast?’ Tuck asked.
Several of the others laughed.
‘Way cool,’ said Arnold.
Safari man blurted, ‘Bravo!’
Vein and Darke strolled away holding hands.
Everyone seemed to be watching them.
After they were out of earshot – probably – the woman in the tennis outfit said, ‘To think they’re someone’s children.’
‘I don’t envy their parents,’ said the fellow beside her. Probably her husband.
‘Did you see what she did?’ Dennis asked. ‘She sucked Dana’s blood.’
‘Cool,’ Arnold said.
‘Nothing cool about it, young chap! Assault and battery, plain and simple. She ought to be incarcerated!’
‘They do seem a bit eccentric,’ said a mustached man who looked as if he’d stepped out of Gentleman’s Quarterly. ‘Personally, though, I feel as if I’ve already gotten at least half my money’s worth. I can hardly wait to see what Vein does next.’
‘Maybe she’ll suck me,’ Dennis said, and blushed as his comment raised some laughter.
‘You already suck, dipshit.’
Dana started to laugh.
Raising a hand, Tuck announced, ‘I’m still open to the idea of taking your tickets and letting you in. Anybody interested?’
First to come through was the safari man. As Dana offered the badge to him, he said, ‘I’d be pleased to inspect your wound. I’m a doctor, you know.’
‘Are you?’
‘Dr Clive Bixby, Ph.D., professor of literature, U.C. Santa Cruz.’
‘Ah. You’re not a medical doctor?’
‘Hasn’t stopped me yet! I’m a master of many arts, including but not limited to the art of healing.’
Dana raised her finger.
He took the pipe out of his mouth, removed his glasses, and peered at her fingertip. ‘Antiseptic! Bandage! Take two aspirin. Call me in the morning.’ He hiked up an eyebrow, jabbed the pipe into his teeth, and put his glasses back on. ‘In case of infection,’ he said, ‘we’ll remove it.’
‘Oh, great.’
‘Cheers,’ he said, and hurried on.
Next to come through was the stocky man, followed by his wife in the tennis outfit. They smiled and took their badges, thanked Dana and moved on.
Normal people, Dana thought.
Then came Owen and Monica.
I’d better watch my mouth.
‘Welcome aboard,’ she said to Owen.
‘Hi,’ he said. He looked as if he wanted to scream or run away.
‘Glad to see you both made it,’ she said. She handed one badge to Owen, another to Monica. Speaking directly to Monica, she said, ‘I hope you have a really good time tonight.’
Bobbing her head and showing her teeth, Monica said, ‘Thank you so very much. I’m sure it will be memorable. For all of us.’
Owen cringed.
Poor guy. What’d she do, track him down?
Monica pulled his hand, dragging him away.
When Arnold stepped up to Dana, he said, ‘Weird chick, huh?’
‘Pretty weird.’
‘Did it hurt?’
‘What?’
‘How she got your finger. Did she, like, bite it?’
‘Oh, her. No, she didn’t bite. I’m fine.’
‘That’s good. I mean, it was cool and all, but it wouldn’t be so cool if she hurt you.’
‘Sure hope she hasn’t got rabies,’ Dennis threw in.
‘Shut up, shithead.’
‘I wanta pin a badge on her. I’d stick it in her tittie. Prick her tittie.’
‘Okay, Dennis,’ Dana said.
‘I’d, like, prick her anywhere.’
Arnold slugged him on the arm.
‘Ow!’
‘Don’t be such an ass-wipe.’
‘That hurt, dude.’
Dana quickly gave them badges. ‘Go on in and have a good time, okay? Try to be nice.’
Next in line was the mustached man. ‘Is it always this zany?’ he asked.
‘This is my first time,’ Dana explained, and handed a badge to him.
‘I won’t even ask you to pin it on me.’
‘I’d be happy to pin one on you.’
He blushed slightly and glanced at the woman beside him. ‘I’m not sure Alison would appreciate that. But thank you for the offer. I’m Andy Lawrence, by the way. This is my wife, Alison.’
‘Nice to meet you,’ Dana said. ‘I hope you enjoy yourselves tonight.’
‘It’s off to a pretty good start,’ Andy said. ‘They were ringers, weren’t they?’
‘Huh?’
‘Vein and Darke. Ringers. It was staged?’
‘I wish.’
Looking amused, Alison said, ‘We thought it might be part of the show. It seemed slightly too bizarre to be real.’
‘You should’ve been at this end.’
‘Are you all right?’ Alison asked.
‘Fine.’
‘You really ought to put some antiseptic on it.’
‘I should say so,’ Andy agreed. ‘You never know where a mouth like that might’ve been.’
‘Thanks. I’ll take care of it.’
As they walked away, Tuck stepped over. ‘We’re still short two customers. I’ll stick around and watch for them. Why don’t you go on over and enjoy the picnic? You shouldn’t leave Warren alone for very long – he’ll suffer withdrawal pangs. Might start weeping, or something.’
Dana gave her the finger.
Laughing, Tuck asked, ‘Too bad about that. Now you’ll turn into one.’
‘A finger?’
‘A Vein.’
‘If that happens, put me out of my misery.’
‘Cheerfully. With a nipple-ring-extractor.’
Dana cringed. ‘Don’t say stuff like that. Jeez! I hurt just thinking about it. Besides, what makes you think she has nipple rings?’
‘What makes you think she doesn’t?’
‘I’m getting out of here.’ She gave Tuck the bag of badges. ‘See you later,’ she said. ‘Try not to poke yourself.’
Chapter Fifty
Picnic
‘Buy me a glass of white wine, Owie.’
‘Sure,’ he said, and hurried over the grass to the bar.
Darke, in front of him, was paying for two glasses of red wine.
‘I thought you folks only drank blood,’ Owen said.
Darke picked up the glasses and looked at him with lazy, half-shut eyes. ‘Is that an observation or an offer?’
Wishing he’d kept his mouth shut, Owen shrugged. ‘Just asking. My name’s Owen.’ He thought about putting out his hand for a shake, but Darke was holding two drinks.
Just as well.
Owen didn’t really want to touch a freaky, effeminate guy like this.
‘I’m Darke.’
‘I know. I heard.’
‘What’s your blood type, Owen?’
The question made him feel nervous. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Vein prefers O negative.’
‘Ah.’
‘I simply like mine warm.’
‘I like mine on the rocks,’ Owen said, and tried to smile.
Darke looked unamused. ‘We’ll see you later.’
As Darke glided away, Owen turned to the bar and took a deep breath.
‘Don’t let her rattle you,’ the bartender said.
‘Huh?’
‘She’s just trying to shake your cage.’
‘She?’
‘Her.’
Owen glanced over his shoulder at Darke. ‘Her? That’s not woman. Is it?’
‘You better believe it, sonny.’
He found the idea strangely exciting. ‘How do you know?’
The bartender winked and said, ‘Oh, nothing much gets past me. So, what’ll you have?’
‘A white wine and a vodka tonic.’
‘Comin’ right up.’ As he prepared the drinks, he asked, ‘A squeeze of lime in the vodka tonic?’
‘Sure. Thanks. Are you absolutely sure that was a woman?’
‘Not only was, still is.’
Owen chuckled nervously and shook his head. He paid for the drinks, leaving the bartender a large tip. Then he picked up the glasses and turned around.
He saw Darke standing with Vein.
Is it possible?
The bartender was probably just pulling my chain, he told himself, and looked for Dana. He spotted her striding toward the barbecue grills . . . toward the one in particular where her loverboy was busy turning hamburgers.
She wasn’t wearing a jacket.
Isn’t she cold? Owen wondered.
He thought about offering his windbreaker to her.
Oh, Monica would love that.
He stared at the way Dana’s rump moved inside the seat of her shorts as she walked.
Catching loverboy’s eye, she raised an arm in greeting.
Owen looked away.
And found Monica staring at him. He forced himself to smile.
Approaching her, he kept the smile on his face.
Why the hell did she come back? Doesn’t she know when she’s not wanted?
Ha! That’s a good one.
He stopped in front of Monica and gave her the glass of wine.
‘Thank you, kind sir,’ she said, her voice lilting.
‘You’re welcome.’
‘You don’t seem very happy that I’m here.’
‘Why are you here?’
She sipped some wine, then smiled. ‘Did you really think I’d let you get away?’
‘Monica . . .’
‘You never had me fooled,’ she said. ‘I knew exactly where you’d gone. Back here to Beast House and your precious slut.’
‘Don’t talk about her that way.’
‘I’ll talk about her any way I like.’ Monica looked toward Dana and glared at her. ‘The overgrown bitch. I can’t imagine what you see in her.’
‘I didn’t leave because of her. I left because of you.’
‘As if.’
‘It’s true.’
‘You loved me till she came along.’
Let’s change the subject fast, he thought. And said, ‘So how did you get here? Take the bus, or . . .?’
‘You’ve got to be kidding. Do you think I’d put myself through that again?’
‘What did you do?’
‘Rented a car.’
‘When was that?’ Owen asked. Suddenly, he was afraid to hear the answer.
What if she’s been here all along? Watching me. Following me. Maybe SHE was the one in the bushes last night . . . did something to John so she could get his ticket.
No, that’s ridiculous.
‘Oh, I’ve been here for a while,’ she said. With a benign smile, she added, ‘As a matter of fact, honey, you and I have adjoining rooms.’
‘What?’
‘At the Welcome Inn.’
Monica made the mystery call!
Though still shocked and disoriented, Owen felt a small measure of relief. The ringing phone had shaken him awake at about a quarter till four this afternoon. If Monica had come into town earlier, she would’ve called sooner.
‘You’re the one who phoned?’ he asked.
‘That’s right.’
‘Ahhh.’
Owen took a few swallows of his drink, enjoying its taste.
She got into town this afternoon – had nothing to do with John or the creep in the bushes or anything else that happened yesterday.
Probably.
‘You were in your room all by yourself,’ Monica told him, looking very pleased with herself. ‘I knew you must be missing me, so I phoned to invite you over for a little lovey-dovey.’ Taking a drink of wine, she stared at him over the rim of her glass. ‘I was sprawled on the bed, all decked out in my birthday suit. I’d already opened my side of the connecting door. When you picked up the phone, I planned to say, “Come and get it, big fella.” But then I heard your voice and realized that you didn’t deserve me. Not after what you’d done. I don’t put out for naughty little boys who run away from me. So I hung up.’
‘What a shame,’ Owen said.
‘You’ll have to earn your way back.’
‘I’m
not interested.’
‘Oh yes, you are. Can’t fool Monica. I know you want me. You always want me. You’re so predictable.’ Stepping closer to him, she pressed her open hand against the front of his trousers.
Owen took a quick step backward.
Raising her upper lip, Monica growled softly.
‘Stop that.’
She smiled. ‘You want me right now.’
‘Right now, I want a hamburger.’
He turned and walked away, but Monica stayed by his side like a perky, vengeful shadow.
How am I ever going to get rid of her? he wondered.
He felt trapped, crushed.
No matter what, tonight’s ruined. She’ll make sure of that.
Owen sipped his drink, nodded and smiled at some of the other Midnight Tourists as he made his way toward the barbecue grills. There were three grills. On one, hamburgers sizzled. Dana was manning it with her loverboy. Sirloin steaks were being prepared on the second grill by the chubby, shy guide named Rhonda. The third grill held a combination of hot dogs and Polish sausages. Behind it, turning the food with tongs, was a young brunette who didn’t look familiar to Owen.
‘Over here,’ Monica said, and headed for the third grill.
‘I thought I’d have a hamburger.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous. You know how much you love Polish sausage.’
‘I like hamburgers, too.’
‘You just want to flirt with your slut. Besides, look at her. She already has a boyfriend, and he’s a lot more handsome than you. She won’t give you the time of day. Now, come on. You know you’d rather eat Polish sausage.’
I’ll get a burger later, Owen told himself.
He followed Monica to the third grill.
‘May I help you please?’ the worker asked. Like the others, she wore the tan uniform of a Beast House guide. Owen guessed she was no older than twenty. She had short brown hair and large, nervous eyes. Her nameplate read, WINDY.
‘We’ll have two Polish sausages with the works,’ Monica told her.
‘Are you a guide?’ Owen asked. ‘I don’t think I’ve seen you before.’
‘I work at the snack stand,’ she said, smiling a little.
‘I thought he did,’ Owen said, and nodded toward loverboy.
‘Warren? He owns it. I help out part time at the windows. I served your lunch yesterday.’