Midnight Kiss (12 page)

Leon and Millicent’s laughter filled the hall as Autumn hurried toward the haunted theater. The secret film was about to start, and she wanted to be there in case Thane pitched a fit.

Autumn slipped in through the double doors after the lights went off. A startled scream caught in her throat when she nearly bumped into Horace pointing the way down an aisle with a lit flashlight. She had decorated this room, and Horace definitely wasn’t there the night before. Thane must have set him up sometime that day. Why? She had asked him countless times to loan them Horace, to no avail. What had changed his mind?

Squinting into the darkness, she looked for Thane and spotted Paddy sitting in the last row next to Lillian. She made her way toward the back and leaned against the wall. The room was packed: there wasn’t an empty seat in the theater. A streak of light shone in through the door as Leon pushed Millicent into the room. A chorus of murmurs went through the room as a clown pushed the tape into the VCR.

She looked around for Thane. He wasn’t there. She pushed away from the wall and slipped out of the room. All she had to do was find Thane and keep him away from the theater for the next two hours. Keeping an eye on the double doors of the theater, she inched her way down the hall toward the dining room, where patients who didn’t want to see the movie were gathering.

A fluttering of something black caught her eye. She quickly turned her head. Nothing. Curious, she walked over and peered around the corner down a corridor leading toward the female residents’ rooms. A flash of black disappeared around another corner.

There wasn’t a resident in the home who could move that fast. Intrigued, she followed. Was it one of the staff dressed up, or was she on the trail of the Kissing Bandit? She rounded the corner and stared disappointedly down the deserted hall. He had to have gone into one of the rooms, but which one? Six rooms lined the right side, five on the left along with the shower room and linen closet.

She cautiously peered into the first room. Empty. She moved to the next room. Empty. Autumn raised one green-tinted brow and started to check the remaining rooms.

Thane held his breath and flattened himself up against the wall as Autumn’s shadow moved closer. His heart was pounding so loudly, he was positive she could hear it. He felt like a kid pulling his first practical joke. Her foot had just cleared the door he was hiding behind, when he bared his fangs and pounced.

Autumn’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point when a fury of black and white lunged for her. Years of police work kicked in automatically. Her yell broke the silence as her arm shot out and she used her assailant’s momentum to throw him onto the nearby bed. Before her attacker could gather his senses, she straddled him and applied pressure to his windpipe with her hand. In the faint light from the hallway she noticed the vampire outfit, but his build didn’t match any of the orderlies she knew. Who was he? “Start talking, and it better be good.”

Thane blinked and wondered why Autumn’s hair had a greenish tint. He knew it was his own fault for ending up in this position. He never should have tried to surprise her by jumping out from behind the door. He had completely forgotten about her police training. Amused by the situation, he grinned and used an extravagant Hungarian accent. “I vant to bite your neck.”

“Thane!”

A flood of lights blazed, and an amused hunchback stood in the doorway. “Gee, talk about kinky.”

Autumn shot Reko a hard look. “Shut up, Reko.”

“If you two want to be alone, just say so. I was only seeing what was causing all the ruckus in here.”

Autumn ignored Thane, who was chuckling underneath her, and snapped, “Don’t you have some bells to ring?”

“Hey, Doc, do you want me to turn the lights back off?”

His
please
was cut off by Autumn tightening her hold on his throat.

Reko flicked off the lights and sadly shook his head at the couple on the bed. “Don’t blame you, Doc. She is one ugly-looking witch.”

Autumn glared at the empty doorway before focusing her attention back on the man beneath her. “Why are you dressed like a vampire?”

“It’s Halloween.” He studied her outfit in the dim light. “Where’s your broom and pointy hat?”

Indignantly she said, “I’m not a witch. I’m a banshee.”

“Ah, that explains the cry I heard before flying through the air.”

“Are you hurt?”

“Only my pride.”

Autumn glanced down to where her hips cradled his. “Is that what you landed on?”

Thane rotated his hips and grinned at her look of surprise. “It doesn’t seem to be broken.”

She felt his arousal, quickly stood up, and turned the lights back on. “What are you doing?”

He stood up and straightened his cape. His fangs flashed as he stalked Autumn. “You never had to ask before.”

Autumn backed up toward the door. “You never dressed up like a vampire before.”

“Weren’t you the one preaching on the merits and benefits of the staff dressing up?” He circled to the right, cutting off her escape route.

“You opposed the idea.”

“Changed my mind.” He moved in closer. “You showed me the error of my way.”

“Horace is in the theater.”

Thane chuckled as he reached out and ran a thumb over her lower lip. “I told him he wasn’t allowed out tonight.”

She smiled against his thumb. “You’re being awfully nice.”

“I’m a nice guy.”

She slipped her hands under the cape and caressed his back. “I know you are.” Heat flared in his eyes. “I’ve never kissed a man with fangs before.”

“I’ve never kissed anyone with blue lips.” He groaned when Autumn invitingly parted her lips. “I’m about to ruin two fabulously done makeup jobs.”

“See, Augusta,” Beatrice whined. “I told you we shouldn’t come looking for her.”

Thane and Autumn jumped apart and guiltily stared at the pair of ladies.

Augusta nervously played with the skeleton pin fastened to the bosom of her dress. “Don’t mind us, we’re just passing through.”

Thane pulled his cape close. “To where?”

“The theater,” Beatrice replied.

“The dining hall,” Augusta said.

Autumn covered her chuckle with a cough. “I was heading that way myself.” She stepped in between the two ladies and started to lead them down the hall. “Is there anything I could help you ladies with?”

“Well, since we happened to run into you,” Beatrice said, “We were wondering how long the movie is going to last?”

Autumn nervously glanced back at Thane, who was following them. “Why do you want to know?”

“We’re bored,” Augusta said.

“There’s nothing to do,” Beatrice explained.

Thane glanced at the ladies. “There are games going on in the dining hall.”

“No, they’re not,” Augusta complained.

Thane gazed at the pupils of Augusta’s eyes and tried to remember the exact dosage of medication she was taking. “You must have missed them, Augusta.” They rounded the last corner and slowly shuffled their way to the dining hall. Thane smiled encouragingly at the elderly pair and pushed open the doors. “See.”

Autumn chuckled at the look of astonishment on Thane’s painted face. The room was empty.

He glanced around the deserted room and demanded, “Where did everyone go?”

“They all went to the movie,” Beatrice whined.

“Everyone?” he asked incredibly.

Autumn stared down the hall toward the game room and gulped. She was a dead woman. For the first time in history Dracula was going to do something to a neck besides bite it. He was going to strangle one.

“Yes,” Augusta answered. “Even the help from the kitchen are in there.”

Confused, Thane looked at Autumn. “What movie is playing?”

“One from the bunch that were sitting on top of my VCR,” she answered honestly.

His eyes narrowed at the look of guilt sweeping up her face. They had managed to view only four of the six movies he had bought, and he couldn’t imagine any of those being a strong enough draw to have the staff desert their posts. “
The Phantom of the Opera
?”

“No.”

“
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
?”

“No.”

The two gray-haired ladies stepped away from Autumn as Thane menacingly moved closer. His voice held the quality of granite. “What film are they watching, Autumn?”

Her gaze lowered to the third pearl button of his shirt. She didn’t want to see the anger that was about to appear in his eyes. “Remember last night when I called the deal off?”

“Autumn?”

She looked up at Thane and knew she was in the wrong. She should have discussed it with him first. “It’s the . . .”

Loud shrieks, followed by masculine chuckles, erupted behind the closed doors of the game room. Thane glanced at the doors and then back at the guilt-ridden banshee standing in front of him. “Autumn?”

More shrills of fright drifted into the hallway. “It’s a classic.” Seeing his raised, darkened brow, she gave him the answer he had been waiting for. “
Night of the Living Dead
.”

Thane paled under his makeup. His patients were being traumatized. He grabbed Autumn’s wrist and dragged her down the hall toward the game room. He wanted her to see firsthand what her foolishness had caused.

He shoved opened the swinging doors, prepared for mayhem. What he got was a chorus of
shhh’s
and a few “close the doors.” Keeping a grip on Autumn’s arm, he made his way around wheelchairs, walkers, and testy residents.

“Down in front!”

“Sorry,” Autumn whispered as Thane continued to plow through the crowd.

“Move it!”

“Pardon us,” Autumn mumbled.

“Ouch!”

Autumn quickly moved her foot and glared at Thane’s back. “Sorry about that, Harold.” They had just about made it to the back wall, where there was standing room only, when a dozen high, piercing screams filled the room. Autumn glanced at the large-screen television and groaned. Mutant zombies were closing in on another poor victim. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. Any moment now Thane would be stopping the movie and making appointments for psychological evaluations for every resident in the room. How was she ever going to explain to him that being scared was the best part of Halloween?

Thane glanced at the screen and shook his head in amazement. The movie was more unrealistic than the
Frankenstein
made in 1931. Eyeballs never hung from sockets like that, and if that guy’s arm was split open, where was the bone? He dismissed the film and would have reassured the frightened ladies, but there didn’t seem to be any.

He watched Lillian, the loudest screamer in the room, move closer to Paddy and squeeze his hand harder. Millicent’s wheelchair was parked between two male residents, who seemed content to offer her all the reassurance she might need.

Why, if the ladies were scared, didn’t they leave? He noticed Darlene move closer to Ned and bury her face in his sleeve as another gruesome scene appeared on the screen. Joseph’s hand protectively covered Cora’s frail fingers.

Understanding hit Thane like a truck. They liked being scared. He looked back at Darlene and revised his thinking. They liked
pretending
they were scared. Just as Autumn had done the night they had watched
Dracula
. They were flirting, giggling, and acting like a bunch of teenagers at the movies. He shook his head at the wonder of it all. How had Autumn known?

He leaned back against the wall and studied Autumn beside him. She had her eyes squeezed shut, and her body language was screaming, “Hit me with your best shot.” He really should be furious at her for playing the movie without his consent, but how could he? Their agreement had been effectively canceled the previous night, and the residents were having the time of their life. Had he been wrong all along? Had he been more concerned about making the number-one spot on the VCRP list than on his patients’ well-being?

Autumn counted to one hundred, recited the alphabet, and named every color in the large, sixty-four-count box of crayons, and Thane still didn’t explode. The Thane she knew and fell in love with should be ushering patients back to their nice, snug beds with warm glasses of milk. She opened her eyes to see why he wasn’t.

He was standing inches away from her with his arms folded, a look of rigid concentration on his painted face. Was he still trying to save the world? Or was he planning her punishment?

A smile lightened her worried expression as she glanced around the room. Everyone was having a wonderful time. Paddy looked like a man of sixty sitting there protecting Lillian. The residents were taking the movie in the way it was intended, for the fun of it. Maybe, if Thane was calm and reasonable, he would find the meaning of Halloween in the classic horror film.

Thane noticed the closing credits and wondered how the movie had ended. He had been too busy studying the residents’ reactions to watch. No one seemed appalled, horrified, or even the least bit upset by the picture. They all thought it was gloriously entertaining and exciting.

The last of the residents filed out of the room, heading for more refreshments and the game room. Thane glanced from the empty room to the woman still standing silently beside him. “How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That they would react like that?”

“I didn’t.” She saw him frown and tried to explain. “I was hoping they would watch it with the fun it was intended. Reko and Leon had been gathering feedback from the other movies played today. I was worried that this one might be too graphic and violent, but they assured me the residents loved the other movies. Reko had orders to yank the tape if anyone got upset.

“Halloween is a fun time, Thane. You’re supposed to be scared, or at least pretend to be. Let me ask you a question. How did Maple Leaf celebrate Halloween last year?”

Thane was quiet for a moment. Surprised, he said, “I don’t remember.”

“See! Do you think anyone is going to forget how it was celebrated this year?”

Thane chuckled as he looked around the room. “I don’t think so.”

Autumn sadly looked around the room. “You know the statistics, Thane. The average life expectancy after entering a nursing home is only two years.” She blinked back the tide of tears threatening to spill. “This might be Paddy’s last Halloween.”