MOON FALL (19 page)

It amazed John how his grandfather could switch his
m
ood
instantly. All the more confused and depressed now, he wished
he'd inherited the old man's gift. He'd realized that Doug's
suicide had been related to that Halloween night, of course,
but he always thought it was because Doug was the only one
who couldn't cope with the confusion about what had happened
that night. It hadn't even occurred to John that his leap off the
bridge at the top of the falls-
like Greg, he'd landed on sharp
rocks below, crushing his skull-was anything but self
-
propelled.
Maybe, he thought now, Doug had been forced off
the bridge. Maybe his death was related to Greg's, and his
father's, and even Lenore Tynan's. Maybe Sara Hawthorne was
telling the truth about Jennifer Blaine.
But it's all too much.
If
I start believing something so absurd, pretty soon I'll start
taking midnight flights on UFOs
...
or seeing gargoyles in the
sky.

"John?" Cutter asked. Across the table, Marlene finished
wiping lipstick from Gus's forehead.

''Marlene," John said, snagging his jacket from the back of
his chair.

"Change your mind about that beer?" she purred.

''No. When these two are done, call them a cab
.
" He took
a twenty from his wallet. "It's on me."

She smiled, tucked the bill in her cleavage, and wandered
toward the bar
.

"I'm going home now," he announced.

''The ramblings of old men," Gus mused, obviously drunk
now. "Young men think they're foolish," he told Cutter, "but
they'd be well advised to listen." He turned to John. "Sit down.
Since we've traveled this far, it's time to tell you one more
thing."

"Gus, if I stay for one more story, my brain's going to short
circuit.
You can tell me tomorrow, when you're sober. Come
by the station at noon. I'll order us a pizza. No beer."

Gus barely nodded, and no smile was forthcoming
.
''It's
important. Mark might be in danger
.
"

"Wh
at
?" His first thought was that because Mark was at the
Addamses' house, he must be making plans to spy on the girls
at St. Gruesome's and Gus knew about it.

"Every twenty-four years
-
" Gus began.

''Gus, please
-
tell me tomorrow." He sighed with relief.
"Frank, do you know what he's talking about?"

"Haven't a clue."

"I'll bring the family tree," his grandfather told him. "And
you'll see
.
You'll see
.
"

"Sure. Good night, Gus, Frank."

After looking around the tavern once more and seeing no
sign of Dashwood, he walked out into the dark
.
Shrugging on
his jacket, he breathed in the night air. It was getting cold and
he could smell au
tumn
on the wind
.
The apples were coming
in. and the leaves were turning to red and gold. Tourist season
bad already begun.

Wood
smoke rode by on a breeze. making him think of grinning
jack-o’
-lanterns. the smell of burnt pumpkin. His skin
turned to gooseflesh and his whole body shook with a chill not
related to the weather. Quickly be walked across the parking
lot to his car and drove home.

''Will you boys
turn
that television down a little?" Winky
Addams asked as
h
e entered the family room where Mark.
Corey. and Pete were sprawled out on their sleeping bags.
Win
ky
held a plate containing the last piece of mincemeat
pie-
donated by Mark-
and he h
ad a forkful of the disgusting
glop suspended halfway between plate and mouth.

"Just five more minutes, Dad!" Corey pleaded. It's
The
X
-
Files,
and it's almost over!"

"Okay." Addams said. "Five minutes."

The show ended. and Mark glanced at the doorway. saw that
Corey'
s dad was still standing there
watching and finishing
his pie. Mark caught his eye and grinned. "Good show, huh,
Mr. Addams?”

Win
ky
returned the smile. "Not too shabby. What's your
dad think of it,
being a lawman and a
ll?
'

"He doesn't like to watch spooky stuff."

Win
ky
Addams got a faraway look on his face. "T
im
e was,
you couldn't keep him away from that sort of thing. He never
missed the Haunt."

''Really?" Mark asked. surprised. ''He never even goes with
Gus and me." He paused. "But that's because he always works
during the Haunt so that his deputies can go."

Winky Addams nodded. ''That's nice of him. Say hi for me,
will you, Mark? It's been a long time."

"Sure. He says hi to you. too."

"Now, tu
rn
down the volume and don
’
t have too much fun,
guys." Saying good night to them, he left the room, and a
moment later they heard his heavy footsteps on the stairs.

"Let's get back to work on the Haunt," Pete Parker said.
He sat u
p and snagged the notebook they’
d been using before
The X-Files
had begun.

The other two boys sat up on their sleeping bags. "Mark."
said Corey.

''Huh?"

"I know why your dad won't go to the Haunt."

"I already said why."

Corey shook his blond head. ''That's not the real reason.
My dad told me, but he said not to tell."

"Then why are you?" Pete asked, tapping his pen impatiently
against the spiral-bound notebook. ''Let's get to work."

"Wait a minute," Mark said. "Wh
at'dya mean, Corey?"

Corey Addams leaned in conspiratorially. "Did you know
my dad and your dad were best friends?"

"Na
h,
you're kidding." Mark paused. "Really?"

"Yeah. That's how come my dad knows why he's scared of
Halloween."

Mark bristled. "My dad
's not afraid of anything. Shit,
he's
the sheriff, and that makes him the bravest man in Moonfall."

"He's afraid of Halloween." Corey repeated earnestly.

"Take
it back," Mark said softly. He’
d known Corey since
kindergarten, and the boy wasn't the type who teased. He was
quiet and he didn't like fighting. "Or tell me what you mean,"
he added stiffly.

''My dad said that he and your dad and some other guys all
went to the Haunt together. and after that, they came here for
a sleepover. Right here in this room," he added in a meaningful
whisper.

"So?" Mark asked. trying to bide his interest.

"They were sneaking out to go camping by Witch Falls and
your dad’
s little brother showed up."

“
Greg. I know all about him. He drowned." Mark hesitated as
understanding dawned.
''You
mean that's the night he
d
rowned?
Halloween?"

''Yeah."

"I wonder why he didn't tell me that." Mark rubbed his
chin. ''I mean, he told me how bad he still feels about it and
all, but he never said when it happened. I just figured it was
summer, 'cause why would you want to camp at the Falls any
other time?"

''Yeah, it's too cold," said Pete, his pen no longer drumming.

"I heard something else, too," Corey whispered.

"What?"

''Swear not to tell?"

"Swear," Mark and Pete repeated.

"I overheard my dad telling my mom about a nightmare he
had," Corey told them. ''It really shook him up. I mean, I heard
this yell that woke me up. It was my dad, and I went to see if
anything was wrong, and their door was almost closed, and the
light was on, and my mom was telling him everything was all
right, so I just waited a minute, and my dad said he'd had this
dream, you know? A nightmare. Then I was afraid they'd hear
me if I moved, so I just stood there and listened."

Mark almost
said
his dad had nightmares a lot, but stopped
himself. "So, what
'
d he say?"

''He said he was dreaming about the night Greg died, and
that they
-
my dad, your dad, and those other
guys
weren't
going camping. They went to St. Gruesome's instead, and they
got caught. He said all those gargoyles were flying around just
like in the stories."

Pete snorted. "Your dad's afraid of gargoyles?"

"Shit, no. It was just in the dream, and he didn't even say
he was afraid."

"Finish the story," Mark hissed.

"Anyway, he said all this weird shit happened, some sexy
stuff, but he didn't say what-
"

"Your dad's afraid of sex?"

''Shut
up, Pete," Mark said without taking his eyes off Corey.

"He said he dreamed that those nuns killed them."

"Killed
who? Greg?"

''No. Killed my dad and your dad and the other guys, but
they all came back to life except Greg. He stayed dead. The
gargoyles ate him."

"Cripes," Mark said, disappointed. He didn't know what
he'd expected to hear, but that wasn't it.

"What
about the sex stuff?" Pete asked
.
"What'd he say
about that?"

"Nothing much, just something about the nuns dancing
around naked."

"Gross! Naked nuns!" Pete cried in a stage whisper.

"No naked schoolgirls?" Mark asked, his mood lightening
rapidly.

''Not that he mentioned," Corey replied solemnly.

"Like he'd tell your mom about that!" Pete snickered.

Corey smiled at last. "Yeah, I guess. But I don't think he
woulda yelled like that if there'd been girls in it."

"Old
naked nuns'd be enough to make me scream," Mark
said, trying not to giggle.

"How 'bout
young
naked nuns?" Pete asked, then clamped
his hand over his mouth as a laughing fit took him.

"You guys know anybody who's ever been there?" Pete
asked finally.

"My
dad," Mark said proudly. "Because of that dead teacher
in
the pond.
"

"Did she really commit suicide?" Corey asked.

"And was she really naked?" Pete chimed in.

"Yeah, I guess she did. And no, Parker, she wasn't naked."

"Would'jer dad have told you if she was?" Pete prodded.

Mark shrugged and let a stupid grin slide across his face.
"You so hard up for sex that dead women turn you on?"

"Yeah," Pete said sarcastically. "I like 'em all bloated and
rotten, same as Corey!"

It was hard to get Corey laughing, but once you did, he wa
s
like the Energizer Bunny
-
he just kept going and going and
going. Now, he wrapped his arms around himself, falling on
his side, shaking with barely contained giggles. ''Cut it out,"
be managed, "or my dad'll hear."

"Worms," Mark said.
"
I like my women wormy."

''With lots of maggots and centipedes," Pete tossed in.

Laughter erupted and the descriptions of the perfect woman
descended below Beavis and Butthead levels until Corey's dad's
voice echoed down the stairwell. "Lights out, boys."

''I told you guys to shut up," Corey sputtered. wiping tears
from his eyes. He got up and flicked off the overhead light
switch, then turned off the TV, leaving them in the dim yellow
glow of a lamp on the end table. "They can't see this from
upstairs," he whispered. "but we gotta keep quiet or they'll
come down."

They sat quietly and worked on the Haunted Barn plans fo
r
a while. They were doing a mad doctor's lab and they came
up with some great stuff involving severed heads that talked
and jars full of fingers and ears and eyeballs. Just past midnight,
they put the notebook down, doused the light, and crawled into
their sleeping bags.

"So, you wanna tell ghost stories?" Pete whispered.

"Not the headless monk one," Corey said. "That's borin
g
."

"And the gargoyle stuff is stupid," Mark added.

"What about the other ghosts at St. Gruesome's?" Pete
asked.

"You mean that 'lady in white' crap?" Corey said
.
"That'
s
bogus."

"Huh-uh. Caspar says she's real."

''How's he know?"

"He said that about a million years ago he was hikin
g
around
and he saw her. He thought she was real, and she ran away
when he called after her. Late
r, he talked to your girlfriend,
Lawson, and she said it was one of the ghosts from the
s
chool."

"I don't have a girlfriend," Mark said, somewhat regretfully.

"Yeah you do," Pete said in a goading voice. "You're doing
the old witch, aren't ya?"

"Hell, no. She's like, older than God. but she knows all this
great stuff. If you guys weren't such a pair of wusses, you
could hear Minerva's stories, too."

"Min-nerr-va," Pete taunted. "He calls the old witch Minerva!"

"Yeah, well, she knows all about those nuns."

''What'd she say?" Corey asked.

"That they're evil."

"What else?"

Mark hadn't actually asked her much about the nuns or the
abbey. He was mostly interested in the things she knew about
herbs and roots. Mark, who loved his chemistry set above all
else, thought of the old woman as a kind of chemist, but if he
told Pete and Corey that, he'd never hear the end of it. He
could just hear them:
Mark picked flowers with the old witch!

That's all I
need!
"Why don't you come with me to see her
and ask her about the nuns yourselves?"

"Yeah, like I wanna go hang around an
old lady,"
Pete
sneered.

"She gives me all kinds of great stuff. Tarts and pastries
and stuff," Mark said. "For free."

"Yeah?" Pete asked, his voice slurring a little with oncoming
sleep.

Mark knew he had redeemed himself. If he was visiting
Minerva because she was a soft touch, that made it okay. He
decided to stick with that.

''We gotta get up early to see Caspar," Pete murmured. ''I'm
going to sleep now."

Mark lay in the dark a long time after he heard Pete and
Corey's soft, regular breathing. Outside, a night bird screeched.
The sound was chilling and he couldn't help but think of the
old gargoyle stories. Steadfastly he turned his thoughts to his
father, wondering if he was sound asleep or if he was having
more nightmares.