Amos and the Vampire (2 page)

“Hmm.” Dunc rubbed his chin.

“Stop that.” Amos jumped off the bed. “I know that sound. It’s dangerous. When you make it, it means you’re thinking up some way to get me into trouble. Besides, you’re supposed to be helping me with my costume so I can wow Melissa.”

Dunc stood and walked out on the landing.

“Get back in here,” Amos whispered. “The last time I made Amy mad at me I wound up in traction.”

“I only want to get another look at the guy. He reminds me of someone.”

“Why are you doing this? As long as he keeps Amy out of my hair, I don’t care if he’s a member of the Mafia.”

Dunc inched down the stairs one at a time. “Don’t you care if your sister is in danger?” he whispered.

“No. I care if I’m in danger, and that’s exactly where you’re putting me. Revenge is Amy’s specialty.”

Dunc put his fingers to his lips and motioned for Amos to follow him across the hall to the living room. Amos folded his arms and stayed where he was.

When he reached the door, Dunc dropped to his knees and peeked around the corner. Amy was sitting on the couch next to C.D., staring into his dark eyes. He kissed her hand and then slowly started to kiss his way up her arm.

Dunc turned and motioned frantically for Amos to join him.

Amos groaned, reluctantly crawled across the carpet to the door, and looked in.

Amy was sitting alone on the couch.

“It’s late and I don’t want to hear any more of your theories. I’m going to bed.”

“Wait, Amos. This could be serious. We’ve never had a case quite like this one before.” Dunc flipped through his pocket notebook. “So far we have two clues.”

“Arrg!” Amos fell backward on the bed and pulled a pillow over his face. “You don’t have any clues, and we are not the cops. Amy goes out with creeps all the time. For her it’s normal. I’d be more worried if she chose a regular guy.”

“It’s not normal for her date to be in the room one minute slobbering on her arm and gone the next. Especially when there were
only two exits. A window, which was open a crack, and the door, right past you and me.”

Amos turned over. “Maybe it was your imagination. The guy probably wasn’t ever there.”

“He was there, and he was acting pretty strange.”

“That’s Amy for you. The stranger the better. Can I go to sleep now?”

“You can—if you tell me why it took so long to snap Amy out of whatever spell that guy had her under. She sat on the couch for a good five minutes, staring into space like she was in some kind of trance.”

“That’s easy—brain damage.”

Dunc sat on the edge of the bed with a solemn look on his face. “I don’t know how to break this to you, Amos, but I think Amy’s boyfriend is … well, I don’t think he’s quite human.”

Amos laughed and flipped over again. “You’re kidding, right?
Right
?”

Dunc shook his head. “I’ve been doing a lot of research on the subject, and C.D. has all the classic characteristics—pale skin, dark hair, weird eyes, and, of course, a tendency to disappear.”

“I know I’ll hate myself later for asking this,” Amos said, “but here goes … classic characteristics of what?”

Dunc shifted to face him.

“A vampire.”

“I must be crazy. How did I let you talk me into this?” Amos pedaled along slowly behind Dunc, muttering under his breath. “Of all the dumb things you’ve come up with, this is the dumbest.”

Dunc stopped and waited for him to catch up. “Did you say something?”

“Yes, not that you ever listen to me. How much farther is it?”

“We’re almost there, Amos. The Von Helseg estate is just around the next turn.”

“And just what do you plan to do when we get there? Go up to the door and ask them politely if any vampires live there?”

“No. That’s what this is for.” Dunc
pointed to a basket of fruit hanging from his handlebars. “We’ll get inside by pretending to be part of the Welcome Wagon, and then we’ll look for any obvious signs.”

Amos cocked his head. “I’ve been meaning to ask you about that. Not that I actually believe any of this garbage, but what exactly are these signs you keep talking about?”

“If my sources are correct, there are a couple of dead giveaways—excuse the play on words. A vampire won’t eat real food, has no reflection in a mirror, and absolutely hates the smell of garlic.”

Dunc reached into the pack he’d tied to the back of his bike. “Here. Put some of this in your pocket just in case.”

“Yuck!” Amos held his nose. “What’s that awful smell?”

“Garlic. Remember, I told you vampires really hate it.”

Amos took a piece. “I’m not exactly crazy about it myself. Why do I have to put it in my pocket? Why don’t you just wave some around and see what happens?”

“We don’t want to be too obvious. Vampires are liable to get nasty if they think
someone is on to them.” Dunc pushed off. Over his shoulder he yelled. “Isn’t this great, Amos? If we’re right, we’ll probably be heroes and get our pictures on the cover of the
National Intruder
.”

Amos stuffed the garlic into his T-shirt pocket and followed Dunc around the corner. “Yeah, and if we’re wrong, C.D.’s family will probably call the police and have us arrested and thrown in jail till we’re as old as Ms. Fishbeck, the new principal.”

They pedaled down a tree-lined country lane, passing several tall white statues of mythological creatures. The drive made a circle in front of an old, three-story brick house. The house looked as if no one had taken care of it in years. The vines and hedges were scraggly and overgrown. A shutter had come loose on one of the second-story windows and was banging against the wall.

Amos looked around. “They sure wouldn’t win any prizes from
House Beautiful
.”

Dunc slid the basket over his arm and leaned his bike against the hedge. “Come on, Amos. Let’s see if anybody’s home.”

Amos sat on his bicycle. “You know, Dunc,
maybe we should take a little time and think this one over. Chances are, you’re way off base as usual. But then again, suppose you’re right for once. If this guy is what you think he is, we could be into some serious stuff here.”

“Nothing’s going to happen, Amos. If he is a vampire, he’ll be just as scared of us as we are of him. Remember, we’ve got the garlic.”

There wasn’t a doorbell. Dunc dropped the big brass lion’s head knocker three times against the door and waited. They heard a strange shuffling sound, and then the door creaked open.

A little man with a hunchback and long gray hair looked at them suspiciously.

Dunc whipped out the basket. “Welcome Wagon!”

The oak door slammed in his face.

“Maybe he doesn’t eat fruit,” Amos said.

Dunc tried the knocker again. This time when the little man pulled the door open, Dunc stuck his foot inside. “Sorry to bother
you, mister, but my friend and I have a quota. We have to welcome at least three people this morning or we could lose our jobs.”

The little man picked at something in his hair, examined it, and then put it in his mouth.

Amos made a face. “I was right. He doesn’t eat fruit.”

Dunc leaned against the door. “Excuse me, sir, is there someone else here I could talk to?”

The little man looked past him. His eyes lit up. He clapped his hands together and raced out the door and down the drive.

Amos watched him run. “I’d take that as a definite no, if I were you.”

Dunc stepped inside the house. “Hello? Is anybody home?” His words echoed in the emptiness.

“Maybe we should come back later?” Amos suggested. “When someone who doesn’t eat bugs is here.”

Dunc put the basket of fruit on the hall table. “Now’s our chance, Amos. We’ll take a quick look around before the family gets back, and nobody will be the wiser.”

“I don’t know, Dunc. If all of C.D.’s relatives are like that guy …”

Dunc started up the staircase. “You check the basement. I’ll take a look up here.” He disappeared down the hall before Amos could finish his argument.

“It would serve him right if I just went home right now,” Amos pouted. “Vampires. That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Amos walked by a portrait hanging above the fireplace. A thin woman sat on a stone bench. She had long ebony hair with a white streak in it and wore a tight, slinky black dress. Behind her was a tall, distinguished-looking man with piercing eyes. C.D. stood next to the woman. He was dressed in a black tuxedo and had a silk-lined cape draped over his shoulders.

“Coincidence,” Amos said out loud. “There’s no law against dressing like you just got off the boat from Transylvania.”

He moved into the kitchen. “Nothing wrong here. Looks like a normal, everyday-type kitchen.” He swallowed. “If you don’t count the fact that there’s no refrigerator.” He jerked open some of the cabinets. “And no food.”

Amos opened a door at the far end of the kitchen. Dirt steps led down. He fingered the garlic in his pocket and searched for a light switch. There wasn’t one.

He thought he heard a rustling sound in the darkness, maybe like wings flapping. “Hel-lo?” Amos’s voice cracked. “Is somebody down there?”

No answer.

Then he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

“Aaaahhhh!” Amos jumped two feet backward.

“Get a grip, Amos. It’s just me. Did you find anything?”

“Don’t ever do that again,” Amos snarled.

“I thought you didn’t buy this vampire stuff.” Dunc smirked. He glanced around the kitchen. “That’s odd. I wonder why they don’t have a refrigerator?” He flipped open his note pad and wrote something down. “Have you checked out the basement yet?”

“I was just about to when you snuck up on me. I’m having a little trouble finding the light switch.”

“Some of these old dirt basements don’t
have any electricity. Look around for a flashlight.”

In the cabinet next to the door, Dunc found a candle and some matches. “Here, Amos. You better hurry. There may not be much time. You don’t want to get caught down there and have to explain what you’re doing.”

“Wait a minute. Aren’t you coming with me?”

“Someone has to stay up here and keep watch. I’ll warn you if I hear anyone coming.”

“You’re so helpful.” Amos lit the candle and tested the first step. It seemed secure enough. At the second step he had to brush aside some cobwebs to get past.

“Dunc, it really stinks down here. I think I’m stepping in something.”

“Never mind that. Look for clues.”

Amos reached the bottom step and held the candle up. He heard the rustling noise again. The air was hot and stuffy. He sat down on a long wooden bench against the wall and wiped his forehead.

Suddenly the bench began to move.

Amos leaped to his feet and held the candle close for a better look.

It wasn’t a bench.

It was a coffin.