Page 16 of Their Haunted Hearts
Emily shrugged and walked out of the front door. She nodded to Jenna and Rowley and stepped into the alleyway. “I’m not sure, but I’m starting from the hallway outside the kitchen. That’s where the public will start the tour. I figure, there might be hidden places where a killer could hide. It’s a perfect place to kill someone—don’t you agree?”
“Not exactly.” Raven walked beside her. “He didn’t murder that woman here. There’s no blood, but why am I telling you? You’re a medical examiner.”
Loving hearing her new title, Emily glanced at him. “Oh, I know, but I got to thinking. If a killer hid here, he could drag off an unsuspecting woman and kill her. People scream in these exhibits; there’s blood and things that don’t make sense. He could make himself part of the show and murder people and just walk out. If he was covered in blood, no one would take a second glance—not at Halloween. That night, people wear costumes. He’d just walk free.”
“That’s just crazy enough to work.” Raven followed her into the kitchen and turned to the control panel. “Your dad has finished, so do you want everything turned on and to see what happens? I have a Maglite and we both have phones to record anything weird. Wanna risk it?”
Not usually afraid, Emily’s skin prickled as goose bumps rose on her skin, but he’d never know. “Sure. That’s what I’m here for. Let’s go.” Raven flicked the switches, and she headed into the dark hallway.
As she stepped into the weird blue light, the sound of a slow heartbeat grew faster. Long tendrils of sticky spiderwebs brushed her face and caught in her hair. Behind her she could hear Raven batting them away. A door creaked open on her left. The heartbeat stopped and maniacal laughter came from inside the room along with the tinkling sound of a musical box. Emily stepped inside the room, glad to have Raven behind her. Inside a fireplace burst into flames and two skeletons sitting in front of the fire turned to look at her. “This is what scared those women?” She giggled. “I figure it’s kind of funny.”
The sound of deep breathing came so loud it almost deafened her. She turned slowly as a mist rose from the floors. The walls moved in and out in time to each breath and she went closer to touch them. Beside her Raven was doing the same.
“This is amazing.” Raven grinned at her. “The sound effects are a little disturbing, but it’s all part of the show.” He indicated to another door. “I guess we go through there.”
Emily pulled open the door and stepped into the narrow hallway. Before she’d taken a few steps, the laughter started again and behind her a door opened. Startled, she turned to look just as a clown sitting in a wheelchair with an ax protruding from its head came hurtling toward her. Horrified, she turned to run. Over the noise she heard Raven calling her name, but the next second, the floor gave way and she slid through a trapdoor that shut behind her leaving her alone in the dark. “I’m down here Raven. I fell through a trapdoor.”
Nothing.
A small child was singing and a candle burst into flames just ahead of her. Stuck inside a small, cramped space, fear had her by the throat. This wasn’t funny any longer. She scrambled to her feet, and resting one hand against the wall headed toward the candle. Heart pounding, she tried to convince herself this wasn’t real, but the looping disjointed singing was driving her crazy. A door swung open just as she reached it. Hesitating, she moved into another space. Hands grabbed out to touch her, and as she pushed through walls of cobwebs, cold air blasted her.
Lights went on and mirrors surrounded her. She peered into the distorted images and turned slowly. Fragments of someone else moved and panic gripped her. She edged her way forward through the maze. Dead ends greeted her at every turn and when she turned back passageways closed behind her and others opened. She caught a glimpse of a fragmented image, someone taller than her. Fear caught in her throat. The killer? She stopped walking and a wall slid away from beside her. The figure moved. “Raven, is that you?”
“Yeah.” Raven appeared from nowhere. He held out his hand. “This way. I found the door.” He pulled her through and into the room where the body had been discovered. Light poured in and workmen moved back and forth. “The front door is over there. Are you okay?”
Shaken, with her heart still racing, she gripped Raven’s warm hand. Terror still shuddered through her. The place had frightened her more than she’d admit. “Yeah, fine. That was an experience. I’m glad we found the exit. I figured I’d be lost in there all day.” As the sound of hammering filled the room, normality slid back into place.
“It was a multidimensional adventure. I’d say it gives everyone a different experience. What happened to you?” He looked down at her. “I was accosted by a witch and lost sight of you. Then I slid down a chute and into another room filled with ghouls and blood-soaked corpses. I found a door and ended up in the mirrors. That place is claustrophobic. I hope they’ve got someone to haul people out of there if they can’t handle it.”
Wanting to get outside and far away from the spooky house, Emily headed for the door. “I was chased by a clown in a wheelchair with an ax in his head.” Trembling as the hideous clown face blasted into her mind, she looked at him. “I hate clowns and the sound effects were driving me crazy. I need a cup of coffee and something to eat.” She could hear her father talking to Kane above the noise of the workmen. “I’ll go and speak to Dad. He’s probably waiting for me.”
“Jenna and Kane are heading over to Aunt Betty’s soon. We’ll go with them and I’ll give you a ride back to the morgue when we’re done.” Raven squeezed her hand. “I figure you’re not returning here anytime soon?”
Reluctantly dropping his hand, she smiled at him. “Thanks, that would be neat.” She turned back to glance at the haunted house. “No, I’m not coming back. Once is enough for me.” She shuddered. “Clowns give me nightmares.”
Sixteen
As she finished her meal, Jenna looked at her deputies. “The autopsy of the second victim is at ten tomorrow.” She glanced at Raven. “Do you want to be in on this one too?”
“I wouldn’t miss it.” Raven pushed around a salt cellar on the table. “This case is very interesting. Emily was saying she took prints and Wolfe has already uploaded them into the database. If the victims are on file, we’ll be able to identify them.”
“There’s one thing I noticed over the smell of decomposition: I could smell stale beer.” Emily looked up from her plate at Jenna. “As she wasn’t wearing anything, I’m assuming the smell came from her hair.” She shrugged. “Maybe she works behind a bar.”
“There is only one around here that really stinks and that’s the Triple Z Bar.” Kane dug into his bowl of chili, chewed, and swallowed. “The Cattleman’s Hotel smells good and so does Antlers. If she worked local, it must be the Triple Z.”
“Yeah, that would be the place.” Rowley nodded in agreement. “I don’t figure she’s a sex worker. They do drop by there on occasion.” He raised both eyebrows and looked at Jenna.
Not understanding how he could possibly know that, Jenna moved her attention to him. “What makes you say that?”
“Her nails for one.” Rowley shrugged. “The sex workers I’ve seen usually have nice nails and the victim bites hers. The other thing is, she’s not wearing makeup. They usually try to make themselves look attractive.”
“Not necessarily, I’ve seen plenty who bite their nails and have track marks up each arm. Maybe the autopsy will tell us more. I don’t figure we run to judgment about her just yet.” Kane leaned back in his chair. “We should take a photograph of her and show it to the bartender out at the Triple Z Bar and see what he says.”
Jenna nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a plan. If she worked there, we might get some leads on who was talking to her last night. With two murders this week, I need suspects and right now all we have are shadows. To make things worse, the witnesses are talking and the news is already out that we’ve found another victim. Some people really believe the bodies are vampires. It’s crazy, like mass hysteria, and people are getting spooked.”
“What amuses me is, if they read the books, when vampires are staked they burst into flames.” Kane chuckled. “We’d be finding piles of ash not dead bodies.”
“I figure whoever is doing this believes he’s catching them before they turn.” Raven sipped his coffee. “Or he would have added fangs. You do know there are people out there who actually believe in all this woo-woo stuff? For them it’s real. They’re like kids who never grew out of Santa Claus.”
