Delta Stevens 2: Storm Shelter (20 page)

Jan turned and stared at Delta. “You did, did you? And just when, exactly, are you going to stop collecting X-Men comics?”

Delta grinned sheepishly and turned away. The lights from the carnival cascaded across the sky like an eerie rainbow. The closer they got, the more sounds and smells lifted themselves to her senses. As her mind rambled about, a picture of a dragon jumped to the front of her brain, sending that spark to her intuition. She remembered Dori slashing her way through some dragons on the way to their current level. Dragons seemed to be the up-and-coming creature of the 21st century. Everyone had them; from crystal shops to toy stores, even Hallmark Cards had a special dragon card line.

“Dragons, eh?”

Jan turned again, her eyes narrowing. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

Shrugging, Delta picked up the mike and announced they had a disturbance at the carnival, but would not yet need assistance.

“Damn it, Stevens! One minute we’re talking dragons, and the next we’re going to the carnival. What’s brewing in that brain of yours?”

As the car slowed to a stop, Delta waited for Jan to face her. “It’s one of my hunches. Something in my gut is telling me to pay attention.”

“Pay attention to what?”

“I’m not sure. Connie said that she fell off the unicorn every time she tried to ride it somewhere, but that she can sit on it. Where’s one of the best places to find a stationary unicorn?”

Jan reached for her baton. “On a merry-go-round.”

Delta looked at her watch; it was 10:15. Elson was already fifteen minutes into the killing hours.

“Delta, you don’t really think he would do anything at a carnival, do you?”

Gazing out into the crowd, Delta shrugged. “Frankly, Jan, I think this S.O.B. is crazy enough to try anything.”

Rolling her window further down, Delta smelled the scent of buttered popcorn as it wafted into the car. Her gut was ringing loudly, waving red flags to her brain. There was danger here, that much she was sure of. Whether or not it was Elson, she did not know.

Leaning out the window, Delta asked a mime which way to the merry-go-round. The mime grinned, tipped his hat, and pointed north.

“Of all the people who could have given us directions, and you ask a mime?”

Delta ignored the remark and peered through the crowd ahead of them. There were two yellow poles limiting all but emergency vehicles, and a high school couple sat atop one of them. The young girl admired the stuffed teddy she’d won for her boyfriend.

“Let’s go,” Delta said, jumping from the car as it rolled to a stop. In an instant, she and Jan were out of the car and threading their way through the thickening crowd. Delta looked over at Jan and saw her slip her baton into the holder.

“You won’t need that,” Delta said coldly.

“And why not?”

Without breaking stride, Delta answered, “Because if he’s in here, I’m taking him out.”

“Del, this isn’t the Wild West. We can’t just—”

Suddenly, Delta stopped. “No, Jan, it isn’t. It’s sometime in the dis

tant past, and I’m chasing after dragons and following the paths of dwarves. don’t tell me I can’t whack him. He’s after my best friend, Jan, my best friend. Someone who was there for me when my life was in danger.”

“What are you going to do?”

“He’s harassed her and is following me all over town. I’m going to call Connie first to see if she has anything for me. Then, if I get to him before he gets to me, he’s finished. The end. I’m taking that sick piece of shit out for good.” Turning away, Delta made her way to the information booth, showed her badge, and then phoned Connie to apprise her of the situation.

When Delta hung up, she turned back to find Jan standing with her hands on her hips. “Damn you, Delta. Sometimes you forget who’s on your side.”

“Look, Jan, I’m sorry if I come off like a maniac, but I’m a little pressed for time. I think he’s here and there’s no time to lose.”

“No, Delta,
we’re
a little pressed for time. You’re not working alone, you know. I’m your partner. I want to help Connie as much as you do. But I can’t if you won’t let me.”

“I’m sorry, Jan.”

“Stop being sorry, Delta, and just tell me what I can do to help.”

“Get us to the merry-go-round.”

Jan smiled. “It’s easy for a shrimp like me to get through these crowds. So, pay attention and watch a master at work.” Pushing through the crowd, Jan nearly lost Delta on the first turn.

The air, which had smelled of popcorn earlier, now hung heavily with the odor of sweaty bodies, stale hot dogs, and sticky cotton candy. The odors lingered and mixed together, creating a stifling effect that was hard to breathe in.

The noise was incredible as well, and the clanging and grinding gears sounded like an out-of-tune orchestra. Children were screaming from being dropped off the edge of one ride or “looped-de-looped” on another. Bells rang, shots from the arcade popped, and the constant hum of motors was the background music tying it all together.

About a hundred yards away, at the far end of the carnival strip, Delta saw the merry-go-round, and she could hear the pipe organ accompaniment grinding like a rusting clock. Delta was experiencing sensory overload in every way imagineable. Perhaps, she thought, that was the ultimate appeal for children. Like a drug, the carnival sights, smells, sounds, and experiences overdosed her senses. All, that is, except for the one she lived by.

Her gut.

And right now, amid the beeping, buzzing, humming, grinding, and screaming sounds that clattered about her eardrums, Delta sensed his presence. She felt him watching her as they slowly pushed through the crowd and made their way to the spinning ride. Wherever he was and whatever he was doing, he knew she was there.

And he was waiting.

“He’s here,” Delta said to Jan, as they were about fifty yards from the merry-go-round. “How do you know?” “I can feel him. There’s something evil, something profane about

him that makes me know he’s here. It’s in my gut. I can’t really explain it, but I know he’s here.”

“You’ve felt this before, haven’t you?”

Delta nodded, eyes trying to see through the crowd. “And it hasn’t been wrong yet.” Jan stopped and grabbed Delta’s arm. “Plan?” “Let’s take either side and try to pinch him to the west. Keep him

away from the bulk of the crowd. You call back-up on your way over to the other side and have them set a net around the carnival. With any luck, maybe we can run him into a snare.”

“Del, if we set a net and you’re wrong—”

“I’m not wrong. Trust me on this, Jan. He’s here and he knows we are, too.”

Jan looked at Delta and nodded. “You’re sure.”

“I’m positive. I’d bet my life on it.”

Before they could take two more steps, Delta froze. They were now close enough to discern the people on the merry-go-round and the mounts they were riding. As the crowd parted and Delta got a clear view of the merry-go-round, every nerve in her body tingled.

First, an alligator, several horses, and a toad circled by. Up and down, up and down, the animals came and went. Then, she saw it. The gold horn first, as it rounded the corner behind the dragon. As soon as the horn was in sight, Delta felt everything slow way, way down, as she waited for the rest of the mythical creature to round the corner as well.

But it wasn’t the animal that caught her attention next. No, it was a black gloved hand wrapped around the brass pole running up the center of the unicorn’s neck. The left glove was firmly grasping the pole, but the right glove was waving in the air in animated conversation. Before Delta could see anything else, the rump of the unicorn disappeared.

“That’s him!” Delta yelled, pulling her .357 from its holster. Still keeping her eyes trained on the merry-go-round, Delta waited for the gold horn to come back around.

The crowd, seeing Delta whip her gun out, scattered in every direction, as others turned to see what it was that had this cop’s attention.

As the beast and the rider rode up and down before them for a second time, Delta’s peripheral vision took over, enabling her to see the whole picture. When she did, her blood ran cold and a gasp stuck in the middle of her throat. For the first time, Delta saw the reason his right hand was gesticulating wildly; he was having a conversation with a little girl who was riding the hippo next to him.

“Oh my God,” Jan murmured, pulling out her radio.

But Delta did not hear her. Already, Delta was frantically making her way to the merry-go-round. If Jan was behind her, she did not know, and she did not feel she had a second to lose in finding out.

The fourth time Elson circled around, he was closer to the little girl but was looking out into the sea of people moving away from the rampaging cop wielding a gun. When Delta finally pushed beyond the edge of the crowd, she looked up in time to see a slow, vicious grin slime across his face like a slug as his eyes locked onto hers. Those eyes, for that fraction of a second, were taunting, ridiculing eyes—the eyes of a madman, of one who enjoyed the pain he was causing; one who, for all of his purported genius, could not be reasoned with. The man with those eyes had stared at her once before, when he turned and threw a star at her. She would never forget the rage and insanity of those eyes, and even now, they held the same look about them.

As he and his mount disappeared, Delta pulled the reins of her frantic emotions, and both they and she skidded to an abrupt halt. As she stopped, Jan rammed into the back of her.

“What are you doing?” Jan asked, as Delta lowered to one knee and aimed her .357 toward the merry-go-round.

“I’m gonna blast his ass off that horse.”

Jan grabbed Delta’s shoulder. “No you’re not! You don’t even know if that’s him.”

Delta felt the drops of sweat form on her lip. “It’s him. Believe me, Jan, I know what I’m doing.” Taking aim, Delta regripped her revolver.

“Delta, don’t. That’s a tough shot, and you know it.”

Delta did not respond. Too many people had died already because of this maniac. If it
was
up to her, this psycho would never kill again.

And right now, it was up to her.

Holding the revolver with two hands, Delta raised it a little and ignored the shouts coming from the anxious crowd. Many people lay flat on the ground, while others watched, mesmerized by the action.

But Delta neither saw nor heard any of it. She concentrated on aiming at the spot where the unicorn horn first came around the bend. Next to her, Jan was warning Delta about something, but she really wasn’t listening. If there was any voice she heard, it was Miles’s, and he was saying, “Sometimes, when a life is on the line, the only rules that exist are those in our own hearts.”

In her heart, Delta felt she was doing the right thing. Maybe it was the only thing, but to her, it felt right.

As the merry-go-round ground in its eternal pattern, Delta held her breath and gently placed her finger on the trigger. Waiting for what seemed like an eternity, the golden horn finally came bouncing up and down around the bend. Only then was Delta’s worst fears realized.

Both Elson and the little girl had vanished.

“No!” Delta cried, jamming her weapon back in her holster and running through the crowd. “Stop this thing!” she commanded the elderly controller, who looked like he’d seen far too many carnivals.

Even before it slowed, Delta jumped on, as frightened children clung to parents or brothers and sisters. Jan moved to the far side of the merry-go-round from which Elson and the little girl exited.

Racing past various creatures and horses, Delta made her way to the empty unicorn coming to a slow stop.

Nothing.

Both the hippo and the unicorn were riderless, as were other creatures which had been dismounted when the riders saw Delta hop onto the ride.

“Damn it!” Delta yelled as she ran to where Jan was. Jan was speaking loudly into the radio and giving directions and orders to backup.

“See anything?” Delta asked, as her beeper suddenly vibrated. Glancing down at the little red light flashing intermittently, Delta returned her attention to Jan’s answer.

Shaking her head, Jan grabbed three teenage boys who had been cramming popcorn into their mouths. “They did.”

Delta looked down at the boys. “Did you see a man wearing black gloves jump off this with a little girl?”

All three boys nodded in unison.

“Which way did he go?”

“That way,” the larger boy said, pointing in the direction of the big rides. “He wanted for something?” The short, pock-faced one asked.

Turning to Jan, Delta waited for her to finish on the radio before telling her to take the straight path down the middle of the midway.

“Meet me at the ferris wheel.”

Jan nodded. “And you?”

“I have to call Connie. She may have our only lead. We’ll never find him in here without one.”

“Del?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry. I should have let you—”