Howling In The Darkness

As part of the hazing, one of the girls had to enter a haunted mausoleum—alone. They drew lots and Claire “won.” Kat had wanted to take Claire’s place, but Claire said this was something she had to do. As soon as she entered, the girls heard a scream and rushed into the mausoleum. But there was no one there.

Searchers had combed the town and the cemetery, finding no sign of Claire. Then, two days later, she miraculously turned up in the cemetery after escaping her attacker.

Kat blamed herself because she should have insisted on taking Claire’s place. She could see Claire was frightened. Almost as if Claire had somehow sensed the danger. If you believed in that sort of thing. Some thought McFarland Leary had attacked Claire—a ghost. Whoever had hurt her friend was no ghost. He’d been a flesh-and-blood monster.

“You know me,” Kat said now. “I have trouble believing in anything I can’t see. But, wait a minute, yes, I do see a cheeseburger deluxe in my future.”

Claire peeked out from behind her menu, her smile sympathetic. “You should have your cards read sometime. You might be surprised what you find out.”

The last thing she wanted was to be surprised, Kat thought as she glanced through the window at Cassandra in her fortune-telling booth. “Even if I wanted to know the future, I’m not sure I could believe a woman who dressed like that,” she joked, again trying to lighten the mood. When she looked at her friend, she saw Claire frowning at her.

“You had the dream again, didn’t you?” Claire whispered.

Kat felt a chill. “How did you—”

“You look as if you didn’t get any sleep last night.” Claire shrugged. “Maybe I just know the look. I’ve seen it enough mornings in my mirror.”

Kat knew that Claire had had her share of nightmares.

“Do you want to talk about it?” her friend asked. “I’ve learned quite a lot about dream interpretation—”

“From your friend the tarot-card reader?” Kat guessed.

Claire smiled. “Sometimes it helps if you understand what the dream is about. I have a book I’ll drop by.”

“I know what the dream’s about,” Kat said as she looked toward the window. “My mother.” The moment she said the words, she wished she hadn’t. Her mother was thought to have been the first victim of the serial killer who’d terrorized the town twenty years ago, and perhaps was even the same man who’d attacked Claire five years ago.

“I’ve often wondered why I was spared,” Claire said. “I know he planned to kill me, too.”

Kat didn’t want to talk about this. Especially today. She knew that half the people in town, including Claire at one time, believed that the attacker had been the ghost of McFarland Leary. Kat couldn’t deal with that discussion, not today. There were enough weird things going on in her world right now without digging up Leary, no pun intended.

“You said there was something you needed to talk to me about,” Kat said, hoping to change the subject.

Claire nodded. “It’s my little brother, Tommy. I’m worried about him. He’s spending too much time with those older boys who hang out at the arcade, Razz and Dodie, and my mother is so busy with the younger children…” Claire came from a huge family with the kids ranging in age from twenty-three to three.

Kat was very relieved Claire’s request had nothing to do with ghosts or fortune-tellers. Tommy, she could handle. Tommy Cavendish was a sullen fifteen-year-old, who Kat had seen hanging out along the wharf with the boys Claire had mentioned, two locals who were always in trouble. She thought Claire probably had reason for concern.

“I think Tommy might be involved in something…illegal,” Claire said quietly.

“What makes you think that?” Kat asked.

“He’s so secretive and he has money, more money than a boy can make at his age running errands. I’ve tried to talk to him….”

Kat nodded. “Emily doesn’t listen to me either. What is it you’d like me to do?”

“I was hoping you would find out where Tommy’s getting the money,” Claire said.

Kat could see how hard it was for Claire to involve someone outside the family, even a close friend.

“I would pay you—”

“We can talk about a fee later,” Kat said, not wanting to offend Claire by refusing her money, and at the same time feeling she owed her friend.

The rest of their lunch, she and Claire chatted about Elizabeth’s wedding, their bridesmaid dresses and how lucky Elizabeth was after everything that had happened with the recent murders. How lucky they all were that René Rathfastar had been stopped before he killed any more young women. Moriah’s Landing, they agreed, attracted weirdos.

The one man they didn’t talk about was the one who was believed to have killed Kat’s mother and attacked Claire. That man, whom Claire hadn’t been able to identify, was still at large.

Kat noticed her friend staring across the street at the fortune-teller. “Want to tell me what Cassandra Quintana said to you?”

“She said I will find peace soon. But first I must confront my past by going back to where it all began.”

“You aren’t really going to go back to the cemetery based on what some fortune-teller told you, are you?”

“She knew what I’d been through,” Claire said, sounding a little defensive. “I could see it in her eyes. She knew.”

Sure she did. Kat wanted to tell her it didn’t take psychic powers to know about Claire’s attack. It had been in all the newspapers. Everyone knew. But advising her to go back to the cemetery…

“I think you should ask your doctor at the hospital about this first,” Kat advised.

Claire nodded and looked toward Cassandra’s booth again. “Did you notice her eyes? It was almost as if she can see everything.”

Yes, Kat thought, remembering only too well what Cassandra had said to her. The seer did seem to see everything. But being observant wasn’t the same as being all-knowing.

For just an instant, Kat was almost willing to pay the fortune-teller just to find out who her mystery date was, and why, since he’d come into her life, she no longer felt safe.

As Kat was paying their lunch bill, she spotted her sister, Emily, walk past in the new bright red jacket Kat had bought her because she’d just “die” if she didn’t have it. Claire’s concern for her little brother, Tommy, mirrored Kat’s own for her sister as she watched Emily head toward Main, then disappear into the side door of the arcade, a local hangout, and not a safe one. Also, unless Kat’s watch had stopped, school wasn’t out yet.

“I just saw Emily,” she told Claire. “I need to talk to her. I’ll see you later at Threads?” Kat and Claire were both scheduled to get their dresses fitted for Elizabeth’s wedding.

“Sure,” Claire said distractedly. “Thanks for lunch. You won’t forget about Tommy?”

She squeezed her friend’s hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll see what I can find out.”

Emily was talking to a couple of girls from school when Kat entered the arcade. The moment her sister saw her, she looked horrified.

“Are you checking up on me?” Emily demanded in an embarrassed whisper.

“I just want to talk to you for a minute.”

“Here?” Emily glanced around as if she feared everyone had seen her talking with her older sister. Heaven forbid!

“If you don’t want to be seen with me, we could go outside,” Kat suggested, only half-serious.

Emily took her arm and steered her out of the arcade. “That was so embarrassing.”

“Being seen with your sister?” Kat said, trying to remember when she was a teen if she acted this weirdly.

“What do you want?”

“For starters, why aren’t you in school?”

Emily rolled her eyes. “I told you last week that we were getting out early today.”

Kat raised an eyebrow.

“You never believe anything I tell you.”

Kat didn’t want to argue. “I was just having lunch with Claire and I had a thought. I know you’re looking for a job this summer before college.” Another eye roll. “I was thinking, I could use someone to do filing and other things around my office.”

“You aren’t serious?” Em looked aghast.

“Well, I just thought—”

“That has to be the most boring job…I can find my own job, thank you. A job where I don’t have you looking over my shoulder the entire time.” Emily let out an exasperated sigh. “As if…” She started to turn and go back into the arcade.

“If you change your mind—”

“Yeah, right,” Emily said, and disappeared back inside.

Kat stood on the sidewalk for a moment, watching her kid sister through the arcade window. She and Emily hadn’t shared the same mother. But they shared some of the same problems. Emily’s mother had taken off when Emily was about nine, leaving their father and Kat to finish raising the girl. Their mothers had been a lot alike, it seemed. Only, Kat’s hadn’t left town—just left her young daughter home with her aging grandmother so Leslie could see other men while Kat’s father was at sea.

Kat went back to work but had trouble concentrating. Still no e-mail from Ross. She couldn’t keep her mind on business, her mind wandering to Claire and the fortune-teller and her mystery date. Nor could she seem to shake the uneasy feeling she’d had since last night. She remembered the devil tarot card. Temptation and fear, huh?

She glanced toward the daisies, still trying to imagine what it was about them that bothered her. All she needed was for Arabella to stop by now with another one of her warnings and her day would be complete.

Kat was almost glad for an excuse to leave the office and walk down to Threads for her fitting. The day was warm and clear, the smell of the sea mixing with all the scents of Waterfront Avenue—from the herbs and oils of the witchcraft shops to the corn dogs and cotton candy of the street vendors. There was an excitement in the air that was contagious, as if the whole town was counting down to Memorial Day weekend and the upcoming anniversary festivities.

For the first time all day, Kat felt a little better. The groups of tourists made her feel safe, the fresh air chasing away the darkness of the dream—and the events of last night. She hardly even looked for her mystery man in the faces she passed.

But half an hour later, her good mood vanished when Claire didn’t show. Kat tried calling her at home. No answer. Had she decided to do what the fortune-teller had told her? Had she gone to the cemetery, a place that terrified her friend and could set back the progress she’d made?

As she left the shop, Kat realized she had just enough time to make her appointment with Bud Lawson at his curio shop off Main. From the looks of the place, it had obviously been kids who’d vandalized the shop. Bud was still cleaning up when she got there.

“Any idea who they might have been?” Kat asked.

“Same ones that have been hitting all the shops,” he said with disgust. “You can bet Dodie and Razz were in on it, but how are you going to prove it? And even if you could, they’ll just get their hands slapped. Someone needs to do something about those hellions.”

Kat knew he had reason to be angry, but still, that kind of talk worried her since there was no proof that Dodie and Razz were behind the vandalism.

Back at her office, she made out her report for the insurance company, trying to keep her mind off everything but work. It proved impossible. She found herself calling Claire’s number every hour on the hour, but still no answer. Neither Elizabeth nor Brie had seen her. Both told Kat not to worry. But they hadn’t seen the look on Claire’s face after talking to the fortune-teller. Did her friend want a quick cure to her pain? Who wouldn’t?

When Kat checked her e-mail, she was relieved to see one from Ross, her real online blind date. Her relief was short-lived when she read it though, and realized he hadn’t left the daisies.

Flowers? Me? Way too traditional. Try date again? Witch’s Brew? Coffee? Meet at your office? 7? Ross.

A man of few words. A cup of coffee at seven at night? She thought about her mystery date last night and the quiet, romantic window table at the Moriah’s Landing Inn, and shuddered as she e-mailed Ross back:

Seven it is. We’ll meet at the Witch’s Brew on Main Street, the last building before you hit the wharf. I’ll be wearing jeans and a T-shirt.

He’d missed the little black dress. His loss. But she wasn’t about to wear it again. In fact, she might burn the dress.

Ross had been one of those impulsive actions she hoped she wouldn’t regret. She’d joined an online dating service as a fluke. Ross had sounded nice, safe, and the next thing she knew she made a date with him. She felt anxious about finally meeting. Especially after last night’s imposter date and the scare he’d given her.

She turned in time to see a familiar figure passing outside her office on the other side of the street. Kat hurried out of the office to catch Tommy, and was almost to him when she saw a man in an old army jacket stop the boy on the street, show him something and then head toward her.

“Excuse me,” he said, approaching her.

She just assumed he was one of the panhandlers who passed through town in the summer, bumming money for food or gas.

“Excuse me,” he said, smiling, but the smile did nothing to warm his gray eyes. He had a scar on his left cheek that looked like a crescent moon. “I’m trying to find a friend of mine.” He held out a snapshot in his palm. “Maybe you’ve seen him?”

She tried to hide her surprise as she stared at the photo of two men, the one standing before her sans the scar on his cheek and her mystery date holding a basketball and looking hot and sweaty. Both wore shorts and T-shirts, both were tanned and in great shape, and both were smiling into the camera as if they were the best of friends.

So, Kat wondered as she looked up at the man, why didn’t she believe it?

“Sorry,” she said, and started to move past him.

“You’re sure?” he asked, touching her arm to detain her. His tone as well as his expression seemed a little too intense, a little too desperate.

She pulled out of his reach, stepping back as she moved away from him. “I’m sure.”

As she hurried after Tommy, crossing the street when he did, she realized that she should have at least asked the stranger the name of the other man in the photo. But he’d made her uncomfortable. She wondered what he wanted with her mystery date. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good, she’d bet on that.

“Hi!” she said, catching up with Tommy in front of Bait & Tackle, the local bait shop.

The boy flinched as if she’d hit him. He glanced around nervously, looking guilty as hell. “Hi.” He seemed to wait expectantly for her to tell him what she wanted. She’d forgotten what fifteen was like. Just as she’d forgotten seventeen, it seemed.

“I noticed you going past and I haven’t seen you for a while,” she said.

He nodded, still waiting.

“I saw that man stop you,” she said, turning to look back down the street. The man in the army jacket was gone. “What did he ask you?”

Tommy seemed relieved, as if she’d asked him something he didn’t mind answering. “He said he was with the FBI and that he was looking for a man and had I seen him.”

A different story. “Had you seen him?” she asked.

Tommy shook his head.

She realized Tommy was again waiting patiently to see what she wanted with him. “You know I have a job opening at my office for the summer, and I thought—”

“I have a job,” Tommy interrupted.

“Oh, shoot, I thought you’d be great at it,” she said, hoping he didn’t ask what job as she glanced back down the street. She noticed Alyssa Castor, the daughter of the owner of Madam Fleury’s—Yvette Castor. Alyssa appeared to be window-shopping—and tailing Tommy.

Kat saw the girl’s expression as she stole a look at Tommy. Kat recognized the look: idol worship. It appeared Alyssa had a major crush and, as always seemed to be the case, he didn’t even know she was alive—let alone following him.

“So where are you working?” Kat asked conversationally, watching a few tourists mingle past.

“I’m just running errands for a few guys,” Tommy said, sounding both defensive and evasive, two sure giveaways, if there were any.

“Em’s looking for a job.” She hoped. “Errands, huh? Here, along Waterfront?”

He squirmed a little. “Just for Ernie here at Bait & Tackle and Brody at the Wharf Rat and some other guys.”

She nodded, trying to imagine what errands someone like Brody at the Wharf Rat—a bar—would have for a fifteen-year-old boy. Alyssa had stopped a door behind them pretending to admire a huge gargoyle in one of the witch-shop windows. “Maybe you could run errands for me, too.”

He shrugged. “I’m pretty busy already, you know.”

She didn’t know, but she planned to find out. “So what type of errands could I maybe get you to do for me? If you had time? Get me lunch? Or take packages to the post office? What do you do for the other guys?”

Before Tommy could answer, loud angry voices erupted from the bar in question. An instant later, a man came flying out of the bar’s front door as if thrown. He stumbled and fell to the bricks, followed quickly by another.

“Take it outside,” a third man called after them, flinging the cap of one of the men to the ground. The first man stumbled to his feet and dived at the second man still on the bricks. The two began wrestling awkwardly, obviously having had way too much to drink.

What caught and held her attention weren’t the quarreling drunks, but the man who’d just thrown the pair out of the bar. She stared at her mystery date from the night before, wondering why she was so shocked to see that he worked at the Wharf Rat. No wonder she’d been attracted to him! The man was an obvious loser—which unfortunately was her type of late. Maybe someone from the FBI really was looking for him.

He looked up, meeting her gaze, and she quickly swung back around to Tommy, disgusted with herself for being attracted to the wrong type, but also feeling relieved he wasn’t some psychopath just passing through town whom she’d not only had dinner with but had almost kissed.

When she turned, however, Tommy was gone. So was Alyssa. Angry that she’d let Tommy get away so easily, she crossed the street and started toward her office—and tripped over nothing, pitching headlong toward the brick pavement.

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