Halloween Party (13 page)

Local Couple Killed in Fiery Crash

Edmund D. Cameron, 26, and his wife, Cissy, 20, were killed late last night when their car was hit head-on by a car driven by James B. Whittle, 16.

The Camerons' car, a late-model Ford, was headed south on Old Mill Road when it was hit by Whittle's car, a Chevrolet station wagon. According to witnesses at the scene, Whittle had been drag racing with another car, a Corvette driven by John McCormick, 16. The Cameron car spun out of control and into a ditch, where it burst into flames.

“I didn't see anything till it was too late,” Whittle said. “They just showed up in the fog. I feel terrible about it.”

Whittle's car sustained major damage, while the Corvette was untouched. Neither Whittle nor McCormick, nor any of their passengers, was seriously injured. Those riding with Whittle included Evelyn Sayles, 15, Joanne Trumble, 15, Arlene Coren, 16, and Robert Carter, 14. The passengers in the Corvette were Jim Ryan, 18, Nancy Arlen, 16, and Ed Martiner, 15, all of Shadyside.

The Cameron couple are survived by a daughter, Enid, age 1.

No charges were filed pending police investigation.

Terry quickly finished reading the article. “This must be the accident that killed the original owners of the mansion!” he said. “What a horrible way to die—burning to death in a car!”

“Yes,” agreed Niki. “No wonder it made Justine crazy.”

“What are you talking about?” said Terry.

“Terry, the couple who were killed in that crash— they were Justine's parents!”

Terry just stared at her. “Maybe we ought to get you to a doctor,” he said. “After all, someone hit you on the head—”

“Oh, for heaven's sake!” said Niki in exasperation. “Are you really so afraid to look at the truth?”

“But Justine's parents—Justine—it doesn't make any sense,” Terry protested. “Besides, the clipping says their daughter was named Enid.”

“Remember? That's the name I saw on those prescriptions,” Niki said. “Besides, look at this.” She reached in her pocket for something. It was a driver's license, showing Justine's picture and made out to Enid J. Cameron.

Terry looked at it, shocked. “Well,” he said finally, “I guess Justine isn't a distant cousin after all. But why would she want us to think she's someone else?”

“You still don't understand, do you?” said Niki. “Did you notice the names of the people in the accident?”

Quickly Terry scanned the clipping again. “Whitle,”
he said. “McCormick. Sure, they're some of the same names as some of our friends. But so what? Shadyside is a small place.”

“Terry, they're not just the same names as some of our friends—they're the names of our parents! Didn't you see your father's name? Jim Ryan?”

“I guess I just skimmed it,” admitted Terry. “But what about the other names—Joanne Trumble, Arlene Coren—”

“Arlene is my mother,” said Niki. “Coren is her maiden name.”

Terry just stood a moment, thinking about what Niki had told him. He didn't want to think about what it might mean.

“There's another thing,” Niki went on. “Did you see the date of the article?”

“Yeah, it's—let's see,” said Terry, doing some quick mental arithmetic. “Twenty-eight years ago.” And then he realized what that meant. “So Justine is—is—”

“Nearly thirty years old!” Niki finished for him. “Terry, she's not a high school student! She's a grown woman!”

“A double life,” said Terry. He let out a low whistle. “I wonder what Justine would say if she knew you found this stuff.”

“I think she already knows,” Niki said. “Or somebody does. After I put away the shoe box I started back to tell you what I'd found. Only before I could close the secret door someone must have snuck up on me. I remember bending down to pull the door shut, and the next thing I knew I was in this closet.” She touched her finger to the bruise on her head.

Terry leaned down and gently kissed the bruised spot.

“Thank heaven nothing worse happened to you,” he murmured.

Niki looked carefully at his face. “What do you mean worse?” she said. “Terry, is there something you're not telling me?”

“Oh, Niki,” he said. He squeezed her hand, hard. “So much has been happening.” Quickly he told her about finding Les's body and Philip's bloodstained jacket. When he finished, Niki was paler than ever. “So you can imagine,” he said, “how worried I was. I thought that maybe you had been—had been . . . ”

“I can't imagine why she let me go,” Niki said. “She just must not have had the time to—to do with me what she did to Les.”

“
She?”
said Terry. “You think Justine killed Les?”

“Who else could it be?” said Niki. “Terry, look at the facts! First, there was the invitation list—”

“Okay,” he said, thinking. “So Justine invited us—the children of the kids who were in that crash—”

“That's right,” said Niki. “And
only
us. Didn't you think it was strange that she insisted no one else could even come to the party, not even as a date?”

“Yeah, I see what you mean,” said Terry. “I guess I'm still having a hard time believing it.”

“That's why she's getting away with it!” said Niki. “Because no one would believe that sweet, innocent Justine could be a murderer. But, Terry, we have to face it. Justine had us here to this party for one reason only.”

She paused, then went on, her voice suddenly shaking. “For revenge!”

“
N
iki,” Terry said, “we've got to get back upstairs quick! David went to get help. So if Justine's planning anything else, she'll do it soon, before the police get here!”

Without another word, Terry and Niki raced up the basement stairs and back into the living room. Everyone was sitting as Terry had left them, huddled close to the fireplace, looking scared and miserable.

Everyone but Justine. She was sitting on the edge of one of the chairs, a strange look of excitement on her face. When she saw Terry and Niki she smiled her most open, friendly smile.

“Oh, good!” she said as if nothing had happened. “You found Niki. Now we can get on with the rest of the party.”

“Get on with the party!” Terry said, flabbergasted. “How can you even think of such a thing! Justine, we know the truth! We know you murdered Les!”

For the next few seconds no one could hear anything, because everyone was talking at once.

“Have you guys been drinking?” Murphy demanded.

“I know what this is,” said Alex. “It's the last try of the wimps to scare the rest of us away. But it won't work, Terry. Forget it.”

“Listen to me!” Niki shouted. “I have a newspaper clipping! It proves—”

But before she could reach for the clipping, Justine suddenly started laughing and clapping her hands. Everyone turned and stared at her.

“Perfect!” she said. “Niki, Terry, you both are perfect! You're even better than when we rehearsed it. If I weren't in on it,
I'd
even believe you thought I was a murderer.”

“You mean,” gasped Trisha, “that this really is just another—”

“It's another surprise,” said Justine. “The next to last one of the evening. And I'm sorry if it frightened some of you, but what's Halloween without a good scare?”

“She's lying!” Niki shouted. “Don't listen to her!”

“This isn't a trick!” Terry added. “Trisha, Alex, all of you, listen to us! Think about what's happened!”

“What about Les?” Trisha suddenly asked suspiciously.

“What about him?” said Justine. “He was in on it too.”

“Come off it, Justine,” Terry said. “Les is dead. I saw his body. And you killed him.”

Justine laughed again, as if this were the best joke she had ever heard. “You can stop now, Terry,” she said. “I think everyone has gotten the point.”

“You're denying you killed him?” said Terry.

“If I killed Les,” Justine said, wiping tears of laughter from her face, “how come he and I were just having a good laugh upstairs?”

“But—” said Terry.

“Justine,” said Niki at the same time, “I saw your—”

Justine cut them both off. “Come on, guys, lighten up! Forget about Les, and let's move on—to the last surprise of the night.”

“
I
can't believe you did this!” Murphy grumbled. “Even worse, I can't believe we fell for it!”

“Does this mean the wimp team wins?” asked Ricky.

“No way,” said Alex. “Besides, you had help from Justine.” Like all the others, he was obviously relieved.

Terry couldn't believe his friends could be so blind. “Come on, Ricky—this is for real!” he cried.

He glanced at Niki, who was shaking with rage and frustration. “This is nuts! They all believe Justine,” she whispered. “We've
got
to convince them we're all in terrible danger!”

“I don't think we can,” Terry said. “But you and I know the truth. Why don't we get out of here while there's still time?”

Niki shook her head. “We can't do that, Terry,” she said. “We can't leave them alone with her. Not when
they trust her. We'll just have to hope that David gets here soon with help.”

Terry knew she was right.

“Justine,” said Niki sweetly, “if this is all just a trick, then where is your uncle Philip?”

“Don't you remember?” Justine said, sounding exasperated. “He went out for more sodas.”

That was the dumbest answer Terry could imagine, but the others didn't seem to notice. Terry decided to try another tack. “You told us you and Les were just talking,” he said. “But nobody has seen him. If this was all just a trick, where is he?”

“I thought you'd never ask,” said Justine, hopping up from where she was sitting. “Les is in the dining room, helping me prepare the final surprise.”

Everyone started to move toward the dining room, but Justine raised her hand. “Wait just a minute,” she said. “I want to make sure everything is perfect.” She turned and went into the dining room, leaving the door slightly open.

“Our trick worked perfectly, Les!” everyone heard her say. “Thanks for all your help.”

From the other side of the door, Terry and the others heard Justine continue to chat with Les. Terry felt the hair on the back of his neck prickle.

Then Justine reappeared at the door. “Come on, everybody,” she said. “Everything's ready for you now.”

Everyone hurried into the dining room, with Ricky and Murphy supporting Angela as she hopped on one foot. In the center of the room was a long, polished table, with a big candelabrum in the middle. Around the table were small gift-wrapped boxes at each place.

And at the head of the table sat Les.

He was wearing big, oval-shaped sunglasses that reflected the candles' glow.

“Find your places,” Justine said. “Each box has a name on it.”

But no one paid any attention to the gift boxes. Instead they all crowded around Les.

Murphy balled up his fist and half jokingly held it in Les's face. “Hey, man, you scared us silly!” he said. “We were actually worried about you.”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “I never thought I'd be glad to see
you!
”

Les didn't answer.

“It was a good trick, Les,” said Trisha. “But it wasn't fair to pull it on your own team. Why didn't you say something?”

Les didn't answer.

Terry looked at him more closely. Something wasn't right. Les wasn't moving. Not at all. Terry touched his friend on the shoulder, and Les slowly toppled off the chair onto the floor. The dark glasses flew off, revealing his staring, and very dead, eyes.

“He's dead,” Terry said, feeling cold all over. “I knew it.”