of course, to be careful when out; people should travel in groups and make sure they were carefully locked in at their homes or hotels.
Naturally, the press questioned the young woman about the possibility of a serial killer on the loose.
News media and the police constantly reinforced the fact that all investigative paths were being followed.
Mo jumped when Rollo began to bark excitedly. There was a knock at her door and she froze. But Rollo was wagging his tail, so he knew her visitor.
“Who is it, boy?” she asked.
At the same time, her cell phone rang.
She picked it up. “Hello?”
“Mo, where are you? Let me in!”
It was Grace Van Mullen, a close friend. Grace had grown up here, and throughout the years, the two of them had stayed friends, meeting whenever Mo and her family came in from the city. As an only child, Mo had always valued her friends, none more than Grace.
These days Grace was often her sounding board. She worked for a tourist company and during the Halloween season that included taking on the role of a character at the Haunted Mausoleum. There was actually more than one mausoleum at this particular tourist attraction, as well as a scattering of graves. They were situated on a property that had long been forgotten and lay in the middle of what was once a farm. The farm and the old graveyard both belonged to Grace’s employer now.
When the season wasn’t going on, there were still tours of the place, but they were more historical and factual in nature. From the end of September through the first days of November, however, it was a popular attraction. Like everything else in town, the burial ground on the property was decorated with the usual—spiderwebs, fake rats, skeletons and, of course, a headless horseman. At Grace’s main place of employment, though, live actors took on the roles of historic personages, legendary beings and all kinds of ghastly and ghoulish creatures.
“I’m on my way to the door.”
When Mo opened it, Grace burst in. She was full of fiery energy, a young woman with a generous mouth and a nose that was almost as generous. None of her features were exactly pretty, yet Grace was one of the most attractive people Mo knew. It was that energy of hers, Mo thought, or her simple love of life and her willingness to look for the best in everyone.
“Oh, my God, thank you! Even at your place, I don’t like waiting outside!” Grace gave an exaggerated shudder. “Not while all these terrible things are going on.”
Grace locked the door behind her. Rollo woofed and she greeted him appropriately.
“This is so awful. Can you believe it? You were probably there. You and Rollo... And such a good man dead. Oh,” she added. “I’m out of work. For tonight, at least.”
“What? Really?” Mo checked her watch. It was now going on five, and she was happy, relieved, to have Grace’s companionship for the evening.
“We just got word. They’ll announce all the closings on the media soon,” Grace told her. “I just wonder what they’re going to do. The cops, I mean. How soon do they think they’ll catch this guy? Maybe... Well, you’d have to be crazy or a monster to commit these crimes. So a crazy monster is running around here. And you’d notice a crazy monster, wouldn’t you?”
“Monsters can live right next door,” Mo said, and immediately regretted her words. Grace’s look of horror was absolute. Her mouth formed a silent oh.
“Of course, whoever this is...it could be political,” Mo said.
“If it was just Highsmith. But two people were killed.”
“She might have been in the way,” Mo said quickly.
“A government conspiracy!”
“Oh, Grace, I really don’t think so. I don’t believe that’s the case at all. But...I guess we should be vigilant for a while.”
“We’ll all go broke if we have to be vigilant for too long,” Grace said. “I don’t want to die! But I need to be able to pay my mortgage. I should have gone your route, Mo. As in having a real career. You have your art and you volunteer, especially with Rollo! But you have a gift for working with animals. I wish I had a gift.”
“You do have a gift! You know this area backward and forward. People love you. You’ve been given nothing but high ratings on the internet travel sites. And don’t worry, the police will handle this situation,” Mo said. “We’ll be okay.”
“Moneywise, yeah, I should be okay. I’m good at my job. The problem is I’m a shoe hog. Jeez, I’d have some financial backup if I didn’t go crazy buying shoes. It’s from all those years of watching Sex and the City. I should’ve been watching The A-Team or something.”
“Hey, we can always put some shoes up on eBay!” Mo laughed. “Anyway, I do have some savings.”
“Yeah...but that’s your money.”
“The police are being cautious, that’s all. I’m sure this will be over soon.”
“I’m feeling...trapped!”
Mo rolled her eyes. “You’ve only been in the house fifteen minutes!”
“Yeah, I know. You got any movies? Oh, wait, you’re working. Okay, you keep working. But I’d love to see a movie. Nothing scary or creepy, though.”
Mo went to her computer and saved her work. “We’ll find a comedy we feel like watching. The remote’s on the table by the TV. Pick out something on Netflix. I’ve done enough work for the day.”
“Really? I don’t want to mess you up, too. One of us needs an income!”
“It’s fine. I finished the Valentine’s card I was working on.”
“Great! I locked the door, didn’t I?”
“I’ll check,” Mo promised.
Grace headed to the family room in back, where the TV was, while Mo walked through the house to the front door, Rollo trotting behind her. She opened the door and carefully peered out.
Her house really was isolated.
Usually that seemed like a good thing, something she valued and enjoyed. But now...
The sky was overcast today. There was a breeze, and she could see the trees moving in the strange gray light. From her doorway, it was easy to imagine the past, the eerie land where darkness fell quickly over the groves of trees, and shadows chased each other beneath the moon.
There could be anything out there in those trees, she thought.
She closed and locked the door. It was late afternoon, and darkness would come soon.
* * *
Aidan knew that the convention center had been searched from top to bottom. Each of the thousands of attendees had been interviewed, a process that went on through the night, after which they were finally allowed
