Page 36 of Halloween Haunting
In the past week, she saw more dead bodies than she’d seen in her entire life. It wasn’t the same as going to a funeral with an open casket, or visiting a dying relative in hospice care. Nothing would ever be the same as seeing an unsuspecting person meet their end in the most gruesome way possible. Grace was just lucky to still be able to conjure up silly things, like smiles, after knowing something so dark, so awful.
“I wouldn’t call it catching Tommy’s killer,” Grace mumbled. “Honestly, it feels more like a failure than anything else.”
Caroline scoffed. “There’s one less killer on Holiday Hollow’s streets. I’m more than happy with that outcome – thank you very much!”
“But there’s still another killer out there,” Anna added. “You get that, right?” Silence spread over the loft. As someone who worked alongside a practicing lawyer, Anna was the first to wield logic and wisdom like a two-sided blade. She stated the facts plainly and clearly, even if no one else in the room wanted to know the truth. “And if this is all connected to Sam’s death ten years ago, then that means there’s been a killer on the loose for ten years. Can you believe that? Ten full years.”
Olivia shuddered and engulfed herself in a thick blanket. “I’d rather not.”
“But we do have to think about it,” Grace suddenly said as she started to lift her head. “We can’t ignore it, can we?”
Olivia nodded rapidly. “Sure we can!”
“Well,Ican’t,” Grace murmured. “This town isn’t safe until the killer is caught. And as far as I’m concerned, thereisstill a killer out there. Even if he did just rid us of one murderer.”
“Do you think they’re connected then?”
Grace thought over their last interaction with Beau. He was raving all over about someone else being the influence behind his violent crimes, and though they never landed on who really killed Sam Bennett, there was no doubt that Beau had some sort of connection to the crime. Just from the way he spoke of his old friends, as though he still thought of them daily. There was more to his story, even if they were incapable of ever finding it out.
“All I know is that there are more questions than answers,” Grace replied. “And that’s never a good look. Either way, we’ll find the guy. I’m sure of it.”
“Oh, really?” Caroline teased. “Where has all this newfound confidence come from? I wonder if it’s from thecharmingBryant Paulsen.”
“Please.” Grace waved her off, but there was no denying the red hue that was swarming across her cheeks. Bryant might’ve hadsomethingto do with it, but that’s as far as Grace was going to go with that.
Caroline reached forward to take the wine bottle, throwing her head back as she took a long swig from it. When she was finished, her lips were stained cherry red and stretched wide with a toothy grin. “There’s one thing we can for sure say about this year’s Halloween.”
“And what would that be?”
“It sure as hell was the spookiest I ever experienced.”
Laughter ensued through the loft as the wine bottle went around for another time. By the time it reached Grace, she was more than happy to take extra time for a long gulp or two. But the very second she pressed the rim to her lips, every single light within the Lantern House clicked off.
Screams ripped through the air.
Grace almost dropped the wine bottle, but took to clutching it close to her chest as she stood, not caring as her skin was stained with the pungent droplets. All four of them quietly scooted forward as the lantern came to life, a flickering flame beginning to illuminate an amber glow from beneath the glazed glass.
“Look!” Grace exclaimed as she pointed to the window.
Across the still lake, a ghostly figure took shape. It was the man, his clothes tattered and wispy as they hung off his thin limbs. He radiated a hazy blue color, hovering over the lake’s quiet surface. As he drew closer, drawn in by the lantern’s glowing light, Grace and the rest of her companions loitered by the window. She couldn’t help but wonder what was going through the ghost’s mind as it followed the lantern, whether it made the same journey for a reason, or if it was out of his hands.
Grace pressed her lips together. “I think I want to look into what happened with the ghost.”
“What?” Caroline asked in a quiet voice. “As in –thatghost?”
“Why should he keep coming back to a home that isn’t his anymore? Don’t you think his wife is somewhere else, just waiting for her husband to come home? It isn’t like she’s haunting the house.”
Caroline considered it for a moment before shrugging. “I’m sure we can all help you, Gracie.”
Determination flared in Grace’s chest as she watched the ghost make his habitually routine across the lake. Each time she saw it, her mind wandered to the same question: what if he came closer, and reached them within the house? What happened then? The darkness shrouded them all like the night sky, a deep cold spreading throughout the small loft.
Hands snatched onto Grace’s biceps and she released an ear-splitting scream. She whipped around to see Caroline and the other ladies naughtily giggling, their hands outstretched towards her. Grace found herself letting out an air of relief and laughing along with them, right when the lights came clicking back on throughout the Lantern House. By the time Grace had the thought to look back outside, the light within the lantern had gone out, and the ghostly apparition disappeared along with it.
Grace fell back into their piles of pillows and blankets, finally letting the tension slip out of her aching muscles and bones. “You wanna know something?”
“What?”
“I love Halloween, but I think I’m ready for when it's over.”
