Cry Baby Hollow (31 page)

Drake barked enthusiastically. Rose and Erma cheered.

“You look wonderful,” Rose gushed.

Erma looked at her watch.

“We’d better get to it, or we’re not going to have time to get ready ourselves,” she said.

“Aren’t we done?” Aubrey asked.

“We need to do your hair yet,” Erma said.

“I can do my own hair,” Aubrey assured her.

“You can’t just tie it up like you always do,” Erma chided. “It has to be…” She fanned out her fingers beside her face and wiggled them. “Spectacular.”

“I can manage,” Aubrey promised. “Get!”

As soon as they had hurried off she rushed into her closet. She knew she had a curling iron somewhere.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Just as Aubrey
was wondering if parking was going to be a problem, a knock came at her door. She expected it to be one of the ever-helpful neighbors, but it was a six foot tall clown. She looked at his face carefully through the glass window in the door. She didn’t think she knew him, and wasn’t terribly keen on opening the door to him under the circumstances. The one problem she had with her costume - besides the
fact that the leotard tended to creep up - was that there was no way she could carry the Beretta, or even the stun gun.

Her phone rang.

Aubrey held up a finger for the clown to wait and limped over to answer it.

“Hey,” Vina barked. “Is my clown there?”

“A clown just knocked,” Aubrey told her. “I was trying to figure out who he was.”

“Well, tell him to hurry the hell up. We’re starting to get backed up.” She slammed down the phone.

Aubrey walked over and opened the door. A blast of cold air took her by surprise. The weather had been cooling off considerably, but this was the first time she had been out at night in a very long time. She hadn’t realized just how cold it had gotten. She wanted to grab a jacket, but knew Vina would never forgive her for covering the costume.

“Evenin’ ma’am. Miss Vina said I should come and get you first, but I gotta start makin’ my rounds. You want me to come back later?”

Aubrey shook her head.

“Come on, Drake,” she called.

She locked the door and noticed that the change in temperature had also brought back the fog. A heavy mist carpeted the ground, making footing difficult. The clown gallantly offered his arm to help her down the steps. When she saw their transportation, she gaped.

An old, red tractor pulling a flat bed trailer was waiting for them. Several bales of hay had been piled in to provide seats, but that wasn’t why Aubrey stared. The trailer had been completely covered in a frame of bars and draped in festive bunting. It looked exactly like a child’s toy circus train car.

The young clown walked her over to the back and helped her in. Drake hopped up behind her. She felt more than a little foolish as she took a seat on the hay. The clown hopped up on the tractor and they began chugging along sedately. She reached over and felt the bars. They were pvc pipe spray painted black, she decided. She wanted to ask the clown what the cage was for and why she was being hauled around in it, but the noise of the tractor effectively cut off conversation.

Everything became clear when they reached Wayne Mosley’s place anyway. Cars were already parked along the edge of the street. As soon as the tractor came into view, people got out of the parked cars and patiently waited for it to stop. Aubrey scooted to the farthest hay bale to make room for them.

Aubrey was relieved to see at least one friendly face among the seven people who got into the cage with her. Mo Campbell, Vina’s lawyer and Lettie’s distant cousin, took the bale beside her.

“Nice costume,” he told her, smiling. Aubrey wanted to return the compliment but she wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to be. He was a small, thin man, almost completely bald, and she had never seen him in anything but a brown suit and a bow-tie. Tonight, he had on a wig of scraggly long hair, a black Iron Maiden T-shirt, dirty jeans and combat boots. He was holding a sack.

“I’m a carnie,” he explained. He held out the bag to her. Aubrey looked in and saw that it was full of cheap, off-brand candy. “Would you like some, little girl?” He asked. “Oh look,” he feigned shocked regret, “the good ones are all gone, but that’s okay. I’ve got more Snickers in my trailer. If you come with me I can get you one…”

Aubrey laughed. “That’s sick, Mo.”

He giggled happily, taking it as a compliment.

The tractor started up again and they lumbered along.

“How far back will people have to park?” Aubrey asked him.

Mo shrugged.

“One year they went all the way to Broad’s,” he told her, “and the owner tried to get the cars towed, because they have a Halloween party there too and he said they needed the parking, but Vina’s always invited the entire sheriff’s department, so nothing came of it.

All the way to Broads? Aubrey couldn’t imagine that they would be able to fit that many people in Vina’s house, and judging by the other people in the cage, costumes were going to run toward scantily clad acrobats. Nobody would want to mill around in the yard on such a cold night.

As soon as they were let out at the end of Vina’s paved driveway, Aubrey saw that she needn’t have worried. She stood and marveled at the scene in front of her.

The house was tented, as if it were going to be sprayed for termites. Although it was blue and white striped, it wouldn’t have looked very circus-y if it hadn’t been for the two actual circus tents that had been erected beside it. A midway had been set up on either side of the driveway, with funnel cakes, drinks, popcorn and every other refreshment on offer from carts placed down the center, and carnival games being played along the sides. Creepy calliope music competed with the hawker’s shouts and the delighted squeals of the guests who were already milling around.

A man in a ring leaders costume hurried over to them, and Aubrey recognized Armistead.

“Welcome to the Greatest Show on Earth!” He boomed. “I’ll need to ask you all to stop in at the red tent before proceeding. They’ll stamp your hand there, which will give you access to all the food and games. Bathrooms are located in the blue tent.” He motioned to the smallest tent.

Everyone tramped over obediently and although Aubrey trailed behind almost immediately, unable to maintain their pace, Mo matched her steps and ambled along beside her and Drake, pointing to the various games and explaining that they were probably headed in to get their picture taken, a tradition that Vina demanded everyone comply with at the beginning of every party.

When they reached the tent, Aubrey saw that he was right, and also signed in relief when she realized the area had a space heater going somewhere, since it was nice and toasty. A ring had been set up, complete with little round stools shaped like fez’ and decorated in bright colors and white diamonds. A middle aged couple in too tight spandex posed, the woman seated on a stool with the man behind her, and a hugely obese woman and a clown attired photographer walked around them, setting up the shot. Aubrey heard Vina’s voice barking orders, but didn’t see her until Drake barked and the fat lady turned to look at her. Vina’s face, buried amid a mountain of fake flesh, broke into a mischievous grin. She waved.

Aubrey waited her turn behind Mo and admired all the costumes that came tramping in behind them. A bear, looking huge as it peddled along on a tricycle, wheeled over to her and pulled off its head.

“Can I have a word?” Larry asked her, his voice grave.

Aubrey nodded.

“Hey Mo, can you help Drake save Aubrey’s spot?”

“Sure,” Mo agreed.

Aubrey told Drake to stay and let Larry lead her away to a relatively quiet corner.

“You look real pretty tonight,” Larry told her, but Aubrey could tell by his expression and the covert glances around to see if anyone else was listening that he had something more important than a compliment to impart.

“Thanks Larry,” she told him. “So what’s up?”

He glanced around warily.

“I shouldn’t be tellin’ you, since it ain’t official… You understand I can lose my job?”

Aubrey nodded.

“We think we know why Noah was killed,” Larry told her.

Aubrey’s eyes went wide.

“Seems he was up at Three Caves doin’ a favor for his old Scout Master. They were plannin’ on runnin’ some boys up there to get ‘em their Cave Exploration Merit Badges, and Noah went to check the place out first. I guess they’ve had some trouble in the past. Findin’ all kinds of inappropriate stuff. You know, beer cans and condoms. Young folks think caves make a good place for a party.”

Aubrey nodded. “I remember seeing the remnants of a bon fire up there, and thinking it was strange that there was no trash. Noah must have already gotten it all up. But why would that get him killed?” Aubrey asked.

“Well, once we realized he hadn’t just fallen at the cave mouth, I sent some guys further in. Those caves go way, way back into the mountain. We found another body. Way I see it, Noah either got caught lookin’ around up there, told someone he was goin’ snoopin’ around, or found it and told the wrong person. Either way, seems likely he was just killed to keep the other body a secret. Dunn was probably told not to look too close at Noah’s death, but not why. If he’d known there was another body in those caves, he’d a moved it.”

Aubrey had been hoping for something like a bloody cleaver or a spell book with the parts on human sacrifice highlighted and the owner’s name written on the library card in the back, not another death.

“Who was it?” She asked him, all of her excitement and anticipation leaking away. “Who was the other body?”

“Well, that’s the part I shouldn’t be tellin’ you, ‘cause we still haven’t confirmed it but… Hell, we all know it’s Terri Mosley. She’s torn up pretty bad, and been back in there for a long time, but she used to wait tables down at the Waffle House and we all used to tease her about the tattoo she had. You could see it peakin’ out from under her sleeve when she’d reach across to give you a refill. Anyway, the body they found looks to have the same one, and I don’t imagine there are many girls around here with Old Miss written on their shoulder.”

Aubrey nodded in agreement.

“So you think Wayne killed her?” She asked. “And then Noah to cover it up? He’s certainly close enough. There’s a trail behind his house straight up there. He told me she’d run off with his child, but he didn’t seem especially upset about it.”

“She was plannin’ to. She was packed and ready to leave in the mornin’, according to Jenny down at the Gas-n-Sip. At least that’s what she said when she went in to get cigarettes. And she was gone the next day. I know ‘cause I drove past to make sure her car was gone before I let Wayne out.”

“Out?”

“Sheriff Dunn was pretty pissed when he found out, but me and a few of the other boys took it upon ourselves to arrest Wayne for startin’ a bar fight that night. Held him in the drunk tank ‘til mornin’. Terri was a nice girl. Only problem she had was the condom broke on the wrong guy. We used to get called out there all the time, have to pull him off her. She got a restrainin’ order and she was goin’ to stay with family. I don’t remember if they ever did get divorced or not. Anyway, we arrested Wayne so she could get away without no trouble.” Larry looked at the ground guiltily. “He didn’t really even start the fight… But I’ve got three daughters, and I hope if any a them ever get in a bind, somebody tries to help ‘em out of it as best they can.”

“That was very nice of you,” Aubrey told him, stunned. If Wayne was in the drunk tank then who had… She had a sudden thought.

“Where’s the baby?” She asked.

Larry shrugged.

“All I can say for sure is Emma ain’t in the caves. Could be dead somewhere else, but why dump her separate from Terri? We’re goin’ with the theory that she could still be alive. We also got a call out to every pediatrician in the area to give us a holler if they see her.”

“I guess you can’t just go knocking on every Mosley’s door and ask to count their kids, huh?”

Larry shook his head.

“We’re lucky. Terri came to one of our Safe Kid days and had the baby fingerprinted. Otherwise we wouldn’t have any way to find her at all.”

Aubrey did a double take as a huge banana came stalking over to them.

“You didn’t mention there was a theme,” Matt growled.

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Aubrey fought down
a laugh. She supposed that finding a costume on such short notice had been hard, but a banana?

“Where’s the apple and the grape?” Vina asked, waddling up behind him. “Tha
t grape is pretty hot, if you like dark meat.”

Aubrey doubled over in a fit of giggles.

Matt did a double take when he saw Vina. She did a little pirouette and curtsied for him, then lifted her huge dress an inch and showed him a perfectly enormous leg.

“I don’t have calves,” Vina said with a grin, “I got full grown cows!”

Larry leaned over to Aubrey.

“Are you armed?” He asked her quietly.

“No,” Aubrey stood up straight and looked around, wondering what had prompted the question.

“Good,” Larry sighed with relief. He motioned over to the entrance flap.

Aubrey saw a man and woman just entering. The man was dressed as a human cannonball, complete with tapered helmet, but it was the woman on his arm that had caught Larry’s eye. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman Aubrey had ever seen in person. She was tall and lean, with a thick mane of deep, auburn hair, flawless skin, perfect teeth, and large, pouty lips. Her eyes were large and blue, with thick lashes and expertly plucked brows. He body was equally splendid, as was obvious to everyone, since she was wearing nothing but a tiny sequined bikini and an elaborate headdress. Aubrey hated her instantly.

“What’s she supposed to be?” Aubrey asked.

“Who cares?” Matt realized he’d said the words aloud and blushed a deep scarlet.

Vina turned and looked. She reached over and punched Aubrey in the upper arm, hard. “Look what you did,” she growled.

“What? Me?” Aubrey looked around, trying to figure out what she’d done. Then everything seemed to slow down and it was as if the scene were being shot in slow motion.

Aubrey saw the woman laugh at something her companion said. She threw her head back, sending her long, wavy hair falling around her in a cascade. She leaned over to kiss him, encountered the visor, and laughed all the harder. Her perfectly manicured hand reached up and slid back the visor on the man’s helmet. Aubrey saw the deeply tanned, handsome face that was revealed and felt her heart do a somersault in her chest. Joe.

The woman tried to kiss him, but even with the visor up, she couldn’t get in close enough. She settled for kissing the side of the helmet and giggling some more. Aubrey felt ill.

Vina smacked her again. “Now he’s runnin’ around with the town hussy. If you had any idea how much that boy’s been lookin’ out for you…”

“Who is she?” Aubrey asked, ashamed at the catch in her voice.

“That’s Katie Carmichael,” Larry told her helpfully.

“She must die,” Aubrey said to no one in particular.