Page 37 of No Surrender
“Are you serious? Shit.” Gordon looked sharply at Vic. “It’s definitely much worse recently. Before, it would be maybe a couple of bad dreams a month. Sometimes, I’d go longer. But lately, it’s almost every night. I’m not just remembering the worst of old cases—although that would be bad enough. Now my brain is running through every ‘what if’ that could have gone really wrong. Frankly—I’m exhausted.”
“I understand completely,” Ross agreed. “It’s the same for me.”
“If there’s some outside power behind these dreams, do you know how to stop it?” Gordon asked.
“That’s Simon’s specialty,” Vic replied. “He’s pulled in the folks who know that sort of thing. I don’t doubt that he’ll figure it out.”
“Well, don’t take too long. I’m an old man, and I need my rest.”
Ross cleared his throat, and Vic knew it was time to go. “Thank you for talking with us. One more thing. Simon has managed to communicate with a couple of the ghosts of the young women who died. They both indicated that their bodies were hidden in the ‘caves.’ Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?”
“Caves?” Gordon repeated. “Around here? Not to my knowledge.”
“Didn’t one of them also say something about a castle?” Ross prompted.
Gordon looked up sharply. “Caves and a castle. Well now, that’s different.”
“You lost me,” Vic admitted.
“You didn’t grow up here, or if you did, you’re too young to remember,” Gordon replied. “Back in the seventies, there was an attraction that was a big deal down near the Boardwalk—Vampire Castle. It looked like a castle from the outside, and it was a combination haunted house, wax museum, light show, and gift shop. It closed for good in the late seventies.”
“Where was it?” Vic pressed, feeling sure they were onto something.
“Near where Ripley’s is now. It sat empty for a while—probably legal issues—and then they finally took down the facade. I think there’s a gift shop on the first floor, and I don’t know what they did with the attraction contents. It’s still the original building; it just doesn’t look like a castle anymore.”
“And the caves?” Ross pressed.
“Inside the castle, there was a maze through spooky caves. You saw all kinds of classic monsters from the movies—Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolfman, the Mummy. Some guy played a real pipe organ on the weekends. There was fake fog and jump scares and strobe lights. Definitely the place to take a hot date if you wanted her glued to your side,” Gordon recalled with a chuckle.
“Did the castle ever come up in your investigation? Was the building searched?” Vic didn’t try to temper the excitement in his voice.
Gordon shook his head. “Not to my knowledge. No probable cause. It had already been closed for a few years when the disappearances happened, and we didn’t have a link. It never came up.”
“Did Bert Judd ever work there? It sounds like he might have floated around town as a janitor,” Vic asked.
“If he did, nothing struck me as odd about it at the time,” Gordon replied. “But then again, since the castle had been closed for years, it wouldn’t have seemed relevant.”
Vic and Ross exchanged a glance. “I’ll get a warrant,” Ross said, and Vic knew his partner recognized the glint in Vic’s eye when he was on the hunt.
“Let me know what you find out,” Gordon said. “About the castle and Judd. I’ll go back through my private notes, and if anything jumps out at me—now that I know what you’re looking for—I’ll holler.”
“Thank you,” Vic said. “Sorry to intrude on your retirement.”
Gordon shrugged. “Retirement is overrated. I miss the thrill of the chase, to tell you the truth. And I’d like to see those disappearances solved before I kick the bucket. I didn’t like leaving the department with unsolved cases. Those poor women deserved better.”
Vic and Ross promised to stay in touch and thanked Gordon again before heading to the car.
“Well, you found both the caves and the castle,” Ross said as they headed back to the office. “I’d say that’s a win.”
“We need to find Judd,” Vic replied. “He sounds like a top suspect for our fanboy.”
“Go slow and do it right,” Ross cautioned. “We don’t want to get the evidence tossed on a technicality.”
Vic rolled his eyes, but he realized that Ross was right. “I know. I know.”
Ross took a turn and Vic frowned. “Where are you going?”
“I thought we’d drive by the Vampire Castle,” Ross replied. “Been a while since I’ve paid attention to that part of the strip.”
