Page 29 of Halloween Haunting
He nodded. “It took a lot of work, but things were as normal as they could’ve been. But now…” Clint sighed and held up the coin. “The three of us had been friends since diapers. Small towns, Grace, they forge relationships that are indestructible. Or at least, youthinkthey’re indestructible. There were four of us, you know. In total.”
“Four?”
“Sure,” he murmured. “There was me, Sam, Tommy, and Beau.”
Grace’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think I’ve met a Beau yet.”
“Beau Redding,” Clint said. There was a sudden edge to his voice, a tension Grace hadn’t noticed before. “Ever since Sam’s death, he stood out to us for all the wrong reasons. He disappeared at random points, never answered questions straight. And when we went to the cops, so sure that Beau knewsomethingabout Sam, he was suddenly as right as rain, convincing everyone and their Mama that there wasn’t a damned thing wrong with him.”
Clint leaned forward, his eyes wide. “Tommy was my best friend, Grace. These necklaces –” he lifted it so that the golden coin dangled in front of her gaze “ – bound us together forlife.There is only one other person that has one. If there is anyone that you and Bryant should have your eyes on, it isn’t me. It’s Beau Redding.”
Grace watched the coin swing and reached for it, her fingers only grazing the edge when the vision appeared.
The familiar halls of the mansion opened up to her. Whereas her other visions presented themselves in a way that resembled watching a flick, Grace felt as though she was within it instead. She walked behind the tall figure she recognized as the killer, still dressed in his elaborate monster suit. He towered over anyone who passed him, and she followed at his heel, shrouded by his wide shadow.
A familiar face passed by him in the hall. It was Tommy Briggs, still full of life. He walked alongside Clint, obviously engaged in an excited conversation. Their fists, funnily enough, were matching colors: white and blotchy with redness, from their previous punches. Despite the fight, there was no sign that they were at odds, proving Clint’s story. The vision continued as the killer eyed the pair passing by him, making sure to hold his stare till they had turned down the hall.
White scattered across the vision, opening back up within the library. Grace no longer watched as though she was standingbehind the killer, but was instead within the shoes of the monster himself. There was a figure in front of her that was slowly turning around, the boyish pieces of his dinosaur costume no longer providing a look of innocence across his face. There was only fear when he finally whirled around, a fear that was beginning to mingle with a sort of recognition. Tommy’s eyes went as wide as they possibly could before his lips parted, the shout trapped within him.
As Grace had the sensation of raising her arm high over her head, the blade of a dagger catching stray fragments of moonlight, she ripped herself free from the vision, and jerked away from Clint’s swinging chain.
“A-Are you okay?” Clint eyed her closely, his brow knitting together. “Don’t tell me you had a vision when you touched the coin?”
She nodded numbly, one hand pressed against her forehead. A pulsing headache was beginning to come to life beneath her skin, growing louder and louder by the second. Within moments, there was an unmistakable throbbing in her ears.
“What did you see?” he eagerly asked. “Do you know if it was –”
The door to the security office snapped open with such great force that it effortlessly flung off the hinges.
Bryant stood in the doorway, panting and furious. Within the darkness, Grace opened her eyes weakly, peering up at him with an expression that was heavily contorted in pain. When she was finally able to spot him, she could’ve sworn that she saw his normally warm eyes glint a dangerous yellow. A primal, animalistic yellow.
“B-Bryant!” Clint squeaked, already raising his hands defensively. “This isn’t what it looks like!”
But it would take a lot more than that to cage the beast. Bryant pressed into the room with his shoulders hunched,angling down like a wolf preparing to strike its prey. He slowly circled Clint, till Grace was face-to-face with Bryant’s back. A sound crept out from his throat, one that she suspected to be muffled words at first. But as it continued, Grace’s eyes widened, and a stunning realization flooded through her.
Out of all the kinds of supernatural creatures in Holiday Hollow, what could Bryant Paulsen possibly be?
The answer had been swiftly eluding her, but as she stared up at the back of his head, watching how defensive he became in the matter of seconds, remembering how he had slunk into the woods – where she had also seen something far greater than any simple wolf – the truth stepped into the light. Grace leaned forward slightly, catching a glimpse at Bryant’s shadowy face. Yellow tinted his green eyes. Claws – actual, polished claws – extended from his fingers. Tufts of maroon fur threatened to sprout out from beneath his clothes, as it hardly was doing around his collar.
Using the wooden table behind her, Grace climbed to her feet and placed her hand over his shoulder. Bryant jerked at first, but once he whipped around and his eyes landed on her, the expression he wore started to soften. Inherently, the wolf features started to retreat back into him.
A shifter,she thought to herself.A werewolf.
“Did you hurt her?” he growled.
“No. No!” Clint cried, terror in his voice.
“It’s okay.I’mokay,” Grace told him. “And I don’t think Clint Hayes is the man we’re looking for.”
Bryant’s brow furrowed. “How?”
“I-It’s a long story. But it isn’t him. It’s someone else. Do you know Beau Redding? He could be another suspect.”
Recognition passed over his face before the sourness returned. Bryant whipped back around to Clint, and he jerkedback frightfully. “You may have convinced her, but I’m a lot harder. Got an alibi for when Tommy was killed?”
Clint nodded until everything on him was rattling. “M-My girlfriend, Angie. I left before Tommy was killed to go see her.”
“If you’re lying to me…”
