The Diva Haunts the House (7 page)

“A vampire threw us out. No kids allowed,” said Jen.

“Do you think it could have been the same vampire who ran away?” asked Vegas.

For pity’s sake. “Vegas! You live there! Here, hold Daisy’s leash.” Carrying Gabriel, I climbed the stairs, out of breath by the time I reached the top. The door wasn’t locked, and from the sound of the crowd, I didn’t think there was any point in knocking. I opened the door to a horror house that looked like a college reunion for vampires. I’d never seen so many caped creatures in one place. Werewolves, witches, mafiosi, skeletons, and at least one Tootsie Roll mingled among them.

I would have to wind through the packed house to reach a phone.

Gabriel screamed anew at a particularly scary vampire who bared his teeth at us. The kid was going to be scarred for life.

“This is a private party.” The vampire swept his arms wide, opening his cape to reveal a red satin lining. “We’re not trick-or-treating. Remove this ear-shattering child immediately.”

“Could you call 911? There’s a . . .”

He closed the door in my face so fast that I didn’t think he heard me. For a second, I contemplated asserting myself, but Gabriel’s frightened screams made me reconsider and a new chorus of horrified howls came from below. It had to be the girls. I staggered down the stairs as fast as I could.

Vegas, Daisy, and Jen had migrated to the pirate. “Touch him,” said Vegas. “I dare you.”

“Aunt Sophie, I think the pirate is real.” Jen chewed on her upper lip.

I set Gabriel on the sidewalk. “I want you two to take Gabriel home. It’s across the street, third house down on the next block. Then go straight home.”

“With a vampire on the loose?” shrieked Vegas.

She caught me by surprise. He wasn’t a real vampire, of course, but what if the man in the vampire costume was vicious? What if he lurked somewhere on the next block, waiting for hapless children in the middle of the night?

“Okay, let’s go there together. Hurry.”

I lifted Gabriel so we wouldn’t be slowed by his toddling legs, but I wasn’t used to carrying a baby around, much less one as hearty as Gabriel, and by the time we crossed the street, my breath came heavy and hard. Mindful of the pirate who appeared to need medical assistance, I didn’t dare stop.

Unfortunately, the street lay quiet. Lots of orange Halloween lights glowed on the houses, but no police cruisers were parked on the street. I was relieved to unload Gabriel again when we reached his house. The old Williamsburgstyle lights on either side of the front door glimmered, illuminating a child-friendly Halloween wreath of Casper-like ghosts on the door, but I didn’t see lights on inside. I banged a knocker in the shape of a squirrel.

No one answered the door, elevating my concern over Gabriel’s parents. The girls clustered close behind me, each one holding one of Gabriel’s hands. They whispered about keeping an eye out for the vampire who had vanished into the night. I knocked on the door again, this time with more fervor.

Something squeaked inside and after what seemed an eternity, the door swung open a crack. A safety chain hung about the level of my nose.

“Yes?” I couldn’t see much of the speaker, but the outdoor lights revealed tousled blond hair. A sitter? I wondered if she knew she’d lost Gabriel.

“I’m looking for Gabriel’s parents.”

“They’re out.” She started to shut the door, but I applied a little pressure with the palm of my hand.

“Not so fast.” Did she know she’d lost her charge? “Where is Gabriel?”

Her eyes narrowed to wary slits. “None of your business !”

“When did you check on him last?”

She studied me. “Is this some kind of mean Halloween trick on the babysitter?”

“He turned up at my house earlier”—I put a little bit of motherly guilt into my voice—“all by himself, and I wanted to be sure he made it home safely.”

“A three-year-old out all by himself? I don’t think so.” She slammed the door, and I heard her turn the bolt.

“Was that Heather Corbin? She didn’t even notice Gabriel!” Vegas’s voice reflected the shock I felt. “You can’t give him back to her.”

“You know her?” I asked.

“Ugh.”
Vegas made no secret of her feelings. “Miss Snoot Face thinks she’s better than anyone else in the entire universe. She’s in my class at school, and she’s always flirting with Blake.”

“I agree with Vegas. What if Gabriel escapes again but doesn’t come to your house next time?”

They were right.
I couldn’t leave him with an irresponsible sitter. Why was all this taking so long when the pirate needed help, too?
One thing at a time, Sophie.
If I took Gabriel with me, his parents would be shocked when they came home and found his bed empty. But the risk of leaving him with the inattentive sitter was just too great.

I’d have to deal with informing Gabriel’s parents later. I swung him up again, and our little parade hustled home as fast as we could go.

As we crossed the street, Vegas screeched as though she were being tortured. “There he is!” She pointed toward the alley. “It’s the vampire, coming for us. Hurry, Sophie!”

Gabriel’s loud cries began again, even with me murmuring comforting words to him. I couldn’t run with Gabriel in my arms. As it was, my lungs burned by the time we reached my house.

I flung open the door, set Gabriel down, left him to the girls, and dashed to the telephone. I called 911 and blurted the information about the pirate in front of Natasha’s house.

“Is he breathing?” asked the dispatcher.

My heart still pounded and her question caught me off guard. I was going to feel really stupid if that pirate turned out to be a prop. “I didn’t check.”

Gabriel toddled into the kitchen, crying, but with less intensity. I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a white-iced cupcake for him. It worked like magic. The second he held it, he appeared to forget all about the monsters he’d seen. He tasted the frosting like it was an ice cream cone, getting it on the tip of his nose. Daisy assisted by licking his nose, but the sweet girl didn’t lunge for the cupcake, which must have been tempting. She sat in front of Gabriel and waited for crumbs to hit the floor.

Assured that an ambulance was on the way, I hung up but still trembled. “Jen,” I called. “I have to go back.” Where had they disappeared to so fast?

Jen and Vegas reappeared in the kitchen. They’d taken off their outerwear, but both of them wore knit collars of some kind.

“Will you two be okay watching Gabriel? Just don’t open the door for anyone. Understand? Here’s the number for Gabriel’s dad. See if you can reach him. He’ll be worried sick.”

They nodded, and I took off, leaving Daisy with the girls. I shut the front door behind me and jogged back to Natasha and Mars’s house. How long would the ambulance take? I didn’t see any sign of it yet. Had the dispatcher written me off as a kook because I didn’t know if the pirate was breathing, and I’d blathered something about a vampire? What if she thought my call was a prank?

Nothing had changed at Natasha’s. The eerie music and party sounds continued. The fog still rolled through her decorations. I took a deep breath and walked closer to the pirate, who didn’t appear to have moved.

The grim reaper still stood over him, leading me to believe that he was a prop. Still, after the vampire had turned out to be a live person, I wasn’t taking any chances. I reached toward his black shroud tentatively, wishing I’d brought Daisy. Like a darting snake, I poked him with a finger, and hit what I’d expected to feel on the pirate—some kind of crunchy stuffing.

Bracing myself, I reached for the pirate’s wrist, but a tightly fastened sleeve with a fancy ruffle as long as his hand prevented me from feeling a pulse. The hand was cold . . . bone cold. It was real, though. Even Natasha wouldn’t have been able to make a fake hand that felt so authentic.

A wave of mist flowed around us when I reached for his neck in search of a pulse. I bent closer and yanked my hand back in horror.

SEVEN

The fog rolled on, and clear as the back of my own hand, I could see the pirate’s neck. Two blood red round spots about an inch and a half apart dripped rivulets of red. The howl of a siren finally drew close, and I decided it would be best if I didn’t touch the pirate. The professionals would be there momentarily.

I dashed to the edge of the brick sidewalk, waving my arms over my head as soon as the ambulance came into view. It pulled to a halt in front of Natasha and Mars’s house, and two emergency medical technicians jumped out, while a third took his time. One of them took in the elaborate scene and muttered, “And I thought I went all out by carving a pumpkin.”

I led them to the pirate, and they wasted no time starting CPR. Unfortunately, since I didn’t know the guy, I couldn’t answer most of their questions. Once again, I dashed up the stairs and barged into the party. The vampire who guarded the door raised his arms so that his cape fluttered out, and he looked menacing. “Didn’t I make myself clear? What don’t you understand about
private party
?”

I pushed past him, even though I could hear him shouting at me, and kept going until I found Mars, my ex-husband, in the dining room refilling his glass with red wine. A black cloth topped with a lace spiderweb covered the sideboard. Natasha had followed our lead in labeling various bottles with poisonous-sounding names. She certainly hadn’t skimped on Vampire wine. Among the sinister bottles stood several labeled
Absinthe
.

“Sophie, sweetie! I thought you were home taking care of the girls. I’m glad you came, though you might have dressed for the occasion.”

“Pin-striped suit, narrow tie, and cheesy mustache. Who are you supposed to be?”

He lifted my hand, kissed it, and pretended to nibble at my arm. “Gomez Addams, my lovely.”

Under other circumstances, I might have thought his clowning cute. “One of your guests is injured, and the rescue squad needs someone to identify him.”

He set down the wineglass. “Lead the way!”

It was with a modicum of satisfaction that I paraded Mars by the doorkeeper vampire. I couldn’t help shooting him a patronizing smile. We ran down the stairs, and as soon as Mars saw the pirate, he said, “Good grief, that’s Patrick Starski! What happened?”

Patrick?
I took a closer look. Between the eye patch and the pirate wrap on his head, I hadn’t recognized him.

“What’s wrong with him?” asked Mars.

The EMTs kept up CPR, but a look flashed between them that worried me. “He have any next of kin?”

At that exact moment, the obnoxious vampire and a handful of guests stepped out the door and peered down at us. Maggie was among them, her hands already cupped around a cigarette to light it. She took a deep drag, placed a hand on the railing, and casually stared down at us.

“Maggie!” Mars shouted. “Patrick’s had some kind of accident.”

It took a few seconds to sink in. Maggie shuffled to the top step, leaned over, and unsnapped something on the bottom of her dress. She made her way down, slowly, one painful step at a time, as though she had difficulty walking, but she still carried the cigarette. When she reached the bottom, I realized she wore a Morticia Addams dress, skintight, all the way down to her ankles. I guessed she’d unfastened something that allowed her to walk more easily, but she still couldn’t do much more than shuffle over to Patrick.

“Patrick!” Her cigarette fell on a bale of hay when she screamed.

The spark ignited a loose bit of hay on the top, and it blazed like a dry Christmas tree. Simultaneously, two police cars arrived, and a crowd of partygoers rushed down the stairs, adding to the confusion.

I grabbed the Grim Reaper’s cape and threw it over the hay bale, dousing the fire. As I recalled, hay bales were packed so tightly that they didn’t burn easily. Nevertheless, my heart thundered from the brief flare-up of loose material.

With the fire under control, I paused to catch my breath and saw Wolf, the homicide detective whom I dated. His presence told me everything I needed to know—Patrick was dead.

Wolf took charge of the scene, finding a few seconds to kiss me intensely on the lips before calmly moving everyone away from Patrick and the EMTs. Our relationship wasn’t a secret anymore, but I was stunned by his public display of affection, however brief. Mars scowled at me, and I couldn’t help noticing that Detective Kenner, who’d been chasing me in spite of my relationship with Wolf, was watching. There was nothing wrong with Wolf’s kissing me, yet I couldn’t help wondering if it had been for the benefit of Mars or Kenner.

We clustered at the edge of the sidewalk. Partygoers lined the stairs to Natasha and Mars’s front door, their assorted gruesome costumes bestowing a surreal atmosphere. The fog machine continued to blast a pea-soup cloud over Patrick, contributing to the eeriness.

I hadn’t known him really, and our one encounter had been decidedly unpleasant, but the shock of his death stunned me. I looked on with the others, watching the horror unfold.

Maggie stood near Patrick, clinging to Mars. Her hands clenched his jacket so tightly that her knuckles shone white in the semidarkness.

One of the EMTs called Wolf. “I think you should see this.”