Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 05 - Life Between the Lines (26 page)

Henry pulled her close. “That’s one thing I’m glad is a year behind you.”

“Me too.” Polly gave him a quick kiss and then said, “We should get moving. It’s that time.”

They went outside. Jason was holding the reins for both Nat and Nan, who were watching as Eliseo and Mark finished harnessing Demi and Daisy to the wagon.
Mark adjusted the blanket on Daisy’s back and turned around.

“Well, Polly, you look perfectly delectable. No. Wait. You’re supposed to
do
the devouring. I’m sure everyone in Bellingwood will be terrified of the new vampire in town.”

Polly gathered her skirts and curtsied. “Thank you. That’s exactly what I want. Now, will you help me up?”

Henry climbed up first and gave her a hand, then crawled into the back of the wagon, sitting on the coffin. Mark followed them and sat beside Polly in the front.

“We’ve been here before, my dear.”

“Someday you are going to have to teach me how to do all of this so I’m not relying on you.”

“But then I’d never have any fun! I like hanging out with you people. You come up with the craziest things for us to do.” He craned his neck. “How are you doing back there, Henry?”

“I’m good. Don’t dump me out, okay?”

“Got it, but no promises. I’m not a big fan of death hovering behind me.”

They watched Eliseo lift Jason up and over Nat’s back. “How does that feel, Jason?” Eliseo asked.

“It’s weird. I practiced on a hay bale, but this isn’t anything like that.”
He was lying across a saddle and a rope had been slipped through the cinch so he could hold on. With gloves on his hands, he wrapped the rope so it looked as if he were tied to the horse.

Eliseo slung Nat’s lead over his own saddle, lifted himself on to Nan and closed up the top of his costume.

“Well, that’s just creepy,” Mark muttered.

“That’s what we’re going for!” Polly laughed.

Mark motioned for Eliseo and Jason to head out and the little procession left the barn. They headed for downtown and then in order to cover as much of the town as possible, split into two groups. The plan was to travel through the residential areas where families and kids were walking and by six twenty or so, head back to Sycamore House and plant themselves in the front parking lot. Henry took his place at the back of the wagon.

Polly tried her hardest to not smile and put her best evil eye on.
Every once in a while, she rose out of her seat and pointed at a group of children, causing them to scream and cluster together. She loved seeing the kids watch them pass, pointing and whispering at each other and then giggling in their fright. So far, Halloween was turning out to be a huge success.

They finally headed back toward Sycamore House and stopped at a corner to wait as Eliseo and Jason approached. Children tentatively walked into the street and then ran back to the safety of the sidewalk when they realized that Eliseo had no head and that the horses looked spookier than they should.
Nan and Nat walked along as if they carried dead people every day.

Mark pulled into the parking lot and angled Demi and Daisy toward the front door, while Eliseo positioned Nat and Nan on the sidewalk. A large group of children were coming out of the front door and their mouths dropped open when they saw what was in front of them. Mark climbed down and then lifted Polly to the ground. When she pulled her hood back and bared her teeth at the kids, they screamed. Some clutched their parents, others started to laugh.
Henry climbed across the seat and strode to the front door, causing everyone to back up. He silently took his place on the other side of the door and stood as a dark sentinel under the front light, his hood completely covering his face.

More cars pulled in and kids piled out, approaching the front door with trepidation. When neither Henry nor Eliseo moved, they continued to step forward. The door creaked open and Polly tried not to giggle as the initial darkness surprised them. Andrew Donovan shuffled out and using his shoulder to do so, beckoned the group inside. Some parents followed, others tried to engage the Grim Reaper. No one knew who he was and Henry remained silent.

Mark climbed back up into the wagon and Polly took her place between the horses, speaking quietly to the two of them and rubbing their noses. She was so proud to be part of this. Her friends had done the work and her horses were the stars of the show. A grin began to break on her lips and she quickly reminded herself that she was supposed to be a scary vampire, so she reached in and kissed Demi and let the smile flood her face.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX

Finally, the flow of children slowed to a trickle and Polly said to Eliseo, “I think the horses have earned their keep. We can call this a success.”

“Whew! I’ll be glad to get rid of this costume,” she heard him say, even though she couldn’t see his face.

“How are you doing, Jason?”

“Jason isn’t here,” came the response. “His body fell asleep a long time ago. All you have left is a zombie.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“I’m thirteen. I’m great!” He let go of th
e rope and slid off Nat’s back and then stretched once he stood upright.

“I’ll be down after a while to help you get them brushed down and settled,” she said.

Mark had driven up behind her. “You have a house full of guests. The three of us can take care of them.”

Henry joined them. “The four of us. We’ll be done in a flash and these poor horses can go back to their peace and quiet.”

Polly kissed him again, “Thank you. All of you. Come on up when you’re finished, Sylvie has been cooking up a storm.” She watched as four of her favorite men took her horses back to the barn, then turned and went inside. Andrew was there to meet her. He didn’t say a word, but took her hand in his. The sun had long since gone down and darkness overtook them. She knew that Andy was behind the Lycra, but jumped when hands pushed out and a face pressed against the fabric. There were strange smells and sounds as the haunted house soundtrack played and fog filled the hallway. When the coffin opened and a vampire surged forward, Polly stepped back. It was all so real. Beryl’s clown was hideous. The painted on smile was evil and the costume had as much black as it did red. She cackled a little and moved toward the two of them, causing Polly to pull Andrew behind her. She knew that it was her friend, but in this costume, all she could do was be afraid.

Andrew laughed and pushed them past Beryl, beyond the flowing ghost. Aaron’s shadow loomed ahead of Polly and then he stepped out of the darkness, an immense monster bent on destruction. She gave a nervous giggle and was relieved to finally see the candy cauldron, but jumped when Lydia came out of the shadow, the long hair of her black wig sprayed into chaos with bats and bugs as part of the mess. Her long black cloak covered what seemed to be a tattered, torn and filthy wedding dress, covered with more bugs and bats. Lydia had long gloves on her hands, once white, but now torn and dirty as well.

“That was fantastic,” Polly breathed.

Andrew dropped out of character and said, “I know! I’ve been having a blast all night! A lot of kids were scared, but it wasn’t so bad. None of them cried, did they?”

Lydia’s face changed as she smiled down at him. “No, they didn’t cry and Aaron was able to be a monster all night long.”

By the time Henry and the others had come back from the barn, there hadn’t been any trick or treaters for at least fifteen minutes. Polly shut the outside lights off and turned the interior lights back on. She watched as each person emerged from their respective hideaways and peeled off the outer layers of their costumes.

Sylvie was all smiles when they arrived at the kitchen and Polly texted Ben to come down and join them.

The meal was simple: chili, with cheese and onions as additional toppings, tossed salad and warm cornbread. Polly hung back to wait for Ben and waved when she saw him round the corner.

“What an interesting group of people,” he remarked. “It looks as if you’ve all come off a movie set.”

Polly introduced him to her friends as they went through the line. It didn’t take long for him to strike up a conversation with Aaron and they were still talking as they carried their food into the auditorium. Sylvie looked a little disappointed that Ben hadn’t taken more than a moment to say hello and thank her for the food.

Polly’s heart sank. Even if nothing came of this, at the very least she would like Sylvie to have someone pay a little attention to her. She waited for her friend to fill a tray and the two of them walked into the auditorium. Andrew was holding court with Mark, Andy, Len and Beryl, telling them over and over again about the different reactions the kids had to the evening. Billy, Doug and Rachel were sitting with Eliseo, Jason and Jeff, laughing at something. Lydia and Aaron had taken seats with Henry and Ben. There were two chairs left open at that table.

“Come on,” Polly said. “It will be fine.”

“I’m being such a junior high girl,” Sylvie whispered. “I know better than this.”

“Be a junior high girl tonight. Flirt and giggle, enjoy yourself. It won’t hurt a thing.”

“I might damage my sons,” Sylvie laughed. “They’ve never seen their mother be flirty. I’ll be good.”

“Whatever. Come on.”

“The evening was quite a success,” Aaron said. “I’m proud of these women.” He hugged his wife to him. “You did a good thing tonight. The kids won’t soon forget this experience.”

“We’re going to make it even better next year,” Lydia said. “I have more ideas and I’m going shopping this weekend while things are on sale.”

Ben asked, “Is this the first year for this?”

“It is,” Aaron responded. “And it looks like I’m going to be Frankenstein’s monster for a long time.”

Lydia nodded and turned to Ben, “I’m sorry for the loss of your friend.”

“It is a real loss. I just hope you can find who did this to him. If there’s anything I can do …”

Aaron glanced at Polly and then back at Ben. “Do you have any influence with his lawyers? We’d like to get a look at his old will to see if there’s anything in there that might provide a motive, but they’re being lawyers and aren’t helpful.”

“I’ll make a call in the morning,” Ben replied. “But surely, your Anita told you we found a will that he executed here in Bellingwood a few weeks ago.”

“She did, but the old will might give us some idea of who else was involved in his life.”

“Thomas was actually pretty solitary, especially when he started writing. I’m surprised that he made friends with Polly here.”

“He made friends with all of us,” Lydia said. “We had several wonderful meals with him. He was so interesting.”

“Then that had to have been Polly’s influence. He was always a bit of a loner, only had a few friends, but when he was working, solitude was the only thing he treasured.”

“Our Polly has that effect on people.” Lydia reached out and patted Polly’s arm. “We adore her and I am so grateful she moved to Bellingwood.”

Ben had cleaned his bowl. He picked up his tray. “Excuse me, I’m going to have some more of this wonderful chili. Can I bring anything back with me?”

No one responded and he walked out the door. When Jason saw what was happening, he followed suit and soon others were doing the same. When Ben came back in, he sat down, with a bewildered look on his face.

“Who is that woman?” he asked.

“What woman?” Polly looked at him questioningly.

“She has red hair and is about this tall,” he reached his hand above his head. “She was going back up the stairs.”

“Oh, that’s probably Lila Fletcher. Why?”

“She looks quite familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen her before, but I can’t tell you where.”

“Maybe you’ve seen her picture somewhere. I know she does write. I don’t think she’s published any novels, but she’s probably in your circle somehow,” Polly said.

“Maybe, but that doesn’t seem like it.” He shrugged his shoulders and dug into the fresh bowl of chili. “This is good,” he told Sylvie. “You are an amazing cook. Maybe I should steal you and open a restaurant for you in Vermont.”

“Polly would never let me leave and those two boys,” she pointed at Andrew and Jason, “wouldn’t know what to do if they didn’t have her in their lives.”

“If you ever decide to run away from home, call me first and I’ll set you up.”

Sylvie giggled, then clapped her hand across her mouth and blushed, looked at Polly. She quietly put her hand back down in her lap and Polly watched her take a deep breath.

Ben turned back to Aaron, “Sheriff, do you think I might get a chance to meet Genie and Kevin Campbell before I leave? I’d like to invite them to visit me so I can tell them more about Thomas and his search for them. It is really a shame that he got so close, but was unable to complete the journey he’d started so long ago.”

“I think we can work something out. They are going to have to go to California at some point to deal with paperwork. I’ve asked them to contact a lawyer.”

“Well, I think they can afford a good one now,” Polly interrupted.

“They don’t know about that yet. We’ll keep it under wraps for a few more days, if you don’t mind.” Aaron looked pointedly at Polly. “Do you think you can do that?”

“Hey! If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t know about them and if it weren’t for me, Ben wouldn’t be here.”

She felt Henry chuckling beside her and looked at Aaron’s face to see his eyes twinkling in laughter.

“Okay. Whatever. Leave me alone,” she grumped.

Eliseo tapped Jason on the shoulder and they stood up, carrying their trays. Soon Len and Andy did the same.

“What are they doing?” Polly asked Lydia.

“We’re going to tear this down tonight. Eliseo says he has a place in the storage shed where it can be stored until next year.”

“Then I need to change into something a little more practical,” Polly gestured at her gown. “This will never do.”

It didn’t take long before things were stacked neatly in the hallway outside the offices. Sylvie and Beryl had cleaned up the kitchen and finally everyone had driven away. Henry walked upstairs with Polly to her apartment.

“I’m not coming in tonight. I know you have to take Obiwan out, but you should get some sleep. Tomorrow and Saturday are going to be huge days for you.”

He kissed her and they held on to each other for a moment. When Polly looked up, she saw Grey Linder peering out the door at her. He quickly shut the door, but she could tell that he looked even worse than he had in the last few days.

“Come inside for a minute, will you?” she asked Henry, unlocking the door.

He followed her inside. “What’s up?”

“Grey Linder was watching the apartment and I don’t know what’s going on with him. I want him to think you’re here tonight for a while.”

“Are you worried that he’s going to hurt you?”

“No, I think I can take him. I’m more worried that he won’t show up some morning and I’ll find him dead in his bed. I don’t need that.”

Henry chuckled, then asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay tonight? I can go get my things.”

“Your truck is out back, right?”

“Yes.”

“I just want you to leave that way.”

“Polly, his room is in the back. He’ll see me leave.”

She sighed. “Of course he will. Oh well. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. He’s been creepy since he’s been here and hasn’t done anything yet.”

“If you’re sure.”

“I am. But I’m going to walk downstairs with you and Obiwan.”

They walked with the dog and once Polly and Obiwan were back in the apartment, Henry left to go home. She watched him drive away, checked the locks and lights in Sycamore House and sat down on the edge of her bed.

“It’s a little spooky around here sometimes, but tonight was fun,” she told the animals. The cats had already found their place on her bed and Obiwan jumped up to join them. Polly took a few minutes to hang her gown in the closet, running her fingers over the brocade. “Sometimes I think that being able to wear this type of clothing on a regular basis would be wonderful.”
She pulled off her jeans and t-shirt and dropped a night shirt over her head. “And other times I’m very glad that I get to wear jeans.”

Obiwan waited until she settled on her pillow and then curled up behind her. He was snoring before she fell asleep, so she reached around and rubbed his neck. “You’re a good boy, now roll over.”