Always October (7 page)

Excitement bubbled up inside me. “Great galloping zombies, Jacob! This is the most fabulous thing ever!”

“Easy for you to say. You weren't there!”

“Wish I had been. Hey … maybe it will happen again tonight!”

“Huh?”

“Well, in a lot of lycanthrope movies the transformation occurs three nights in a row.” (As a fan of the frightening, I prefer the term
lycanthrope
to the simpler
werewolf
.)

Jacob turned pale. “I dunno. Let me tell you what happened next. It was even scarier, but it makes me think I've got a month before it happens again.”

I listened to his story. If he was making this up, he was as good as his grandfather! “That's really freaky,” I said when he was finished. “I'm glad you didn't pass out from fear on the spot.”

“I thought I was going to!”

“I don't blame you. Okay, we need to do some research. Um … are you going to tell your mother about this?”

“Do you think she'd believe me?”

“I don't know,
since I've never met her!
”

This was a dig, and I could tell from the way Jacob blushed that he knew it. See, he had never invited me to his house. Of course, I had never invited him to my house, either. The difference was that his mother didn't have anything against me, whereas my grandfather really disliked Jacob. We never talked about it, but I had a feeling that the real reason he didn't ask me over was that he didn't want to admit to his mother he had a friend who was a girl.

“You still can't meet her,” he said now.

“Why not?”

“Because she can't know I told you about LD! But I do want you to see the baby. Maybe you'll spot something I missed, something that will give me proof. Hmmm … Mom's teaching Friday night. She'll be gone from about five thirty to eight o'clock. Can you come over then?”

I chewed my right braid for a minute, then said, “I'll have to come up with a good excuse to give Grampa. But I think I can do it.”

We didn't spend much time in the cemetery over the next week. Instead we were at the library, using the internet to research monsters. We found some really cool stuff, some other stuff that was pretty terrifying, and some stuff that left me wishing you could buy eyewash for your brain. Unfortunately, none of what we found seemed to apply to baby monsters. And what we found when we searched on
baby monsters
was a lot of cutesy junk that made me want to yark.

The one good thing was that we uncovered some useful information on the matter of the full moon. It seems that despite what happens in movies, in reality the moon is only full one night of the month. Actually, it's only
really
full for about a minute, since the moment of fullness comes when the moon is exactly opposite the sun. Because the moon is constantly moving, for any given spot true full passes very quickly.

I guess the reason for three nights is that it makes it easier for Hollywood to pack a lot of action into a film. This annoys me. People should be more careful when they're writing about monsters!

Jacob's house has seen better days. Even so, I think it's totally fabulous … three stories high, with a wide veranda that wraps around the corner on the right side of the front door. Hmmm.
Corner
might not be the right word, because this is where the tower curves out from the main body of the house. The roof of the tower is a cone that stretches several feet above the already high roof. It's cool … almost like a rocket attached to the side of the house.

I cannot tell you how much I wanted to see inside that tower!

To be honest, I had been wanting to see inside the whole house from the first time I walked past it, back in second grade. That desire had tripled when I found out that my writing hero had lived there. So I was very prompt and rang the doorbell at 5:35.

“How did you know it was safe?” demanded Jacob when he opened the door. “What if Mom hadn't left on schedule?”

I rolled my eyes. “Do you really think your mother would find it dangerous for you to have a friend over to visit?”

“She would right now! I keep telling you, she doesn't want anyone else to know about LD.”

“Well I'm not stupid! I hid in the bushes at the end of the driveway and waited until she pulled out before I rang the bell. So are you going to ask me in, or do I have to stand on the porch all night?”

“Sorry, sorry,” said Jacob, swinging the door open.

“This place is ginormous,” I murmured as I stepped into the entryway.

“Way too ‘ginormous' for two people and a baby monster,” replied Jacob.

“Better than being too small for two people,” I said. Instantly I felt bad, because it might have seemed I was saying something mean about my grandfather, who took me in when I needed him. “Where's the baby?” I asked, to change the subject.

“In his high chair. Come on.”

We made our way back to the kitchen. As soon as I saw Little Dumpling, I said, “Oh, Jacob, he is soooooo cute!”

Despite what Jacob has claimed ever since, I want to make it clear that I did not, repeat did
not
, actually squeal these words.

He scowled. “I knew you were going to get all girly!”

“Oh, shut up. He's cute, and you know it.”

“I guess so. He's less cute once he turns green and the fangs come out.”

“Can I hold him?”

“If you want.”

As soon as Jacob removed the tray from the high chair, LD stretched out his arms. I scooped him up. Without hesitation he cuddled against me.

If you've ever held a baby, you know that special baby smell … and I
don't
mean the odor of a full diaper! It's something you get when you nuzzle your nose against the top of a baby's head, and it's one of the best smells in the world. Holding LD close, I plunked down in one of the wooden chairs. Then I bounced him on my knee while I sang my newest song, “The Chipmunk's Funeral.”

“It's a good thing he can't understand you,” said Jacob. “You'd probably creep him out.”

“Ha-very-ha. Hey, do you have a video camera?”

He blinked at the sudden change of topic. “Why? Do you want to me to film you singing to the baby?”

As he said this, LD squawked and held out his arms to be transferred to Jacob. I took one last sniff of his head, then passed him over. When he was safely snuggled in Jacob's arms, I said, “No, I don't want a video of me singing to the baby! I want to help save your skin, you goof. Think about it! If your mother is out during the next full moon and things go wrong, you're
really
going to need something to show her.”

Jacob turned pale. “Yeah, I see what you mean.”

“So, do you have one?”

“I don't know. Maybe in one of the junk rooms. Dad kept—”

“Junk
rooms
?”

Jacob blushed. “I come from a long line of pack rats. Wanna help me look?”

“Sure!”

We went up by the back stairway. It took a little while, because Jacob had to touch certain spots along the wall, and holding the baby made it a bit tricky. I kept my mouth shut about that part. But when we reached the top and I looked ahead, I gasped. I couldn't believe how long that hall was! Jacob started forward, but I kind of dawdled, because I was looking at the portraits lining the walls.

Suddenly I gasped. “Jacob!” I yelled. “JACOB!”

A
t Lily's cry I hurried back and asked, “Are you all right? You sound like something frightened you.”

“Who's that?” she demanded, pointing to one of the paintings.

I smiled, since I could understand why the picture might have disturbed her. “Tia LaMontagne. She was my grandmother, almost.” Seeing Lily's expression, I added, “She married Arthur Doolittle but disappeared before they had any kids.”

“Disappeared?”

“Without a trace.”

“Boy, people in your family make a habit of that, don't they?”

I felt as if she had just stuck a knife in my ribs. Lily must have seen the expression on my face, because she cried, “Oh my god, I'm sorry, Jacob! I …”

“Forget it,” I said gruffly. “Just tell me why you were so startled.”

“Because I've seen her before.”

“No surprise. She was pretty famous around here. You probably saw her in some historical article or—”

“Jake, my grandfather keeps her photo on his dresser!”

That
did
surprise me. “Are you serious?”

She nodded solemnly.

“Okay, that is definitely strange.”

“That's what Medusa's hairdresser said. Her last words, if I remember correctly. Anyway, I must have asked Grampa about that picture a dozen times but he never answers. I think the question makes him angry.” She examined the painting again. “She's fascinating. Beautiful, but kind of … strange. She makes me think of a cat.”

“I know exactly what you mean. Dad used to say that his own father told him there was a long story behind that painting, and the key to the family mystery. When Dad would beg him to explain, Arthur always told him to wait until his eleventh birthday. But by the time that birthday rolled around …”

I stopped, unable to say more. As if Little Dumpling could sense what I was feeling, he reached up and patted my cheek.

Lily waited a bit, then nudged me and said, “Let's see if we can find a camera.”

I nodded. A little farther down the hall I stopped and said, “Junk Room B has the more recent stuff.” Shifting LD to my left shoulder, I touched the knob three times, then opened the door. Stepping aside, I said, “After you, madam.”

“Dracula's devious dentures!” Lily cried when she saw the array of books, paintings, gadgets, trunks, boxes, artwork, and general clutter. “This all belonged to your dad?”

“Well, it's not fair to blame him for
all
of it. As I said, I come from a long line of pack rats.”

She stepped inside, gazing around in amazement. “A
carton
of whoopee cushions?”

“Dad thought they were hilarious.”

She pointed to the wall. “Helmets?”

I took a deep breath, then said softly, “Dad was a major spelunker.”

“That sounds dirty. Do I need to look it up on Urban Dictionary?”

Despite how I was feeling, that got a smile out of me. “Well, it can be dirty, but not the way you mean. A spelunker is someone who explores caves. It was Dad's hobby. He loved being underground.” I took another deep breath, then said softly, “He never came back from his last trip.”

“Jake! I'm sorry. Did he …?”

I closed my eyes. “No one knows what happened. He was exploring solo, which is a major no-no for spelunkers, but Dad was ornery that way. When he didn't report in, they searched the cave he was supposed to be investigating. They couldn't find any sign of him. But whether he found some hidden chamber and got stuck or copied his own dad and just took off on us …”

My voice trailed away. After a long silence Lily said, “There are all kinds of stupid stories going around school about what happened. Why don't you—”

I cut her off. “I don't care what they think! And I don't want to talk about it. All right?”

She nodded, looking frightened.

LD began to fuss.

“Give me the baby,” she said. “I'll walk him in the hall while you look for the camera.”

I passed over LD, glad for the chance to be alone for a few minutes.