“Surprise!” Monica greeted him, strutting out of the parking lot. “I’m feeling so much better suddenly,” she announced. “Now you won’t need to sell my ticket!”
He gaped at her.
Smirking, she plucked the ticket out of his hand. Then she swung an arm around his back, pulled herself against him, stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth.
A moment later, she whirled away. “Hello, everyone! I’m Monica! I was suffering from a terrible migraine, but I’m feeling so much better now. I think we’re going to have a super time tonight, don’t you?”
Chapter Forty-nine
TICKETS AND BADGES
“Anything I can do to help?” Dana asked as Warren slapped a hamburger patty onto the barbecue. The meat hissed as it hit the grill.
“You can just stand there looking beautiful,” Warren said.
She laughed.
Tuck, suddenly behind her, said, “I’m gonna puke.”
Dana turned and smiled at her. “The hamburgers smell great to me.”
“It ain’t the burgers, it’s him.” She nodded at Warren.
“You weren’t supposed to hear it,” he said.
“Well, lordy, don’t say repulsive stuff like that in public. And especially not at a picnic. You’ll spoil appetites.”
“I thought it was fine,” Dana said.
“You would.” Tuck rapped Dana lightly on the upper arm.
She had a small paper bag in her hand. As it bumped against Dana, whatever was inside clacked and clicked together. “Anyway, why don’t you come along—if you can tear yourself away from Golden Lips. I’m about to greet our esteemed guests. You want to experience the full treatment, don’t you?”
“We...” She looked at Warren.
“Go ahead. I can get along without you for a few minutes.*
“Okay. See you.”
They walked away, Tuck swinging the bag by her side. “Ah,” she said. “Summer romances.”
“Feels like a winter romance.”
“Yeah. A bit of a nip in the air, huh? But it’s great atmosphere.” She looked over her shoulder at Beast House. “This is how it oughta be all the time. I mean, talk about bleak and spooky. Our friends are gonna eat it up.”
“Speaking of friends, what about Eve?”
Tuck grimace. “I don’t know. But it’s still early. She has plenty of time to get here before the tour.”
“I’m really starting to worry about her.”
“Yeah. Me, too. She’s probably all right, though. I mean, I pity anyone who’d try to mess with her. We don’t call her Eve of Destruction for nothing.” Suddenly raising a hand and waving, Tuck called out, “Hello, everyone!” to the people waiting on the other side of the fence.
Some of them ignored her. Others nodded or waved or returned tentative greetings. One guy, costumed either for Halloween or a safari into darkest Africa, raised the stem of his pipe and called out in a harsh voice, “Those who are about to die salute you!”
“Aw, nobody’s gonna die,” Tuck said. “Not tonight, anyway—if we’re lucky.”
As she unlocked the gate, the tourists migrated toward it.
Dana recognized two of them...no, four of them.
There were her two goofy teenaged friends from Thursday—Arnold and someone? They’d caused some trouble by hiding in the house after closing time, but they’d been pretty nice about it.
They seemed a bit young to be doing the Midnight Tour.
Doesn’t matter to me.
She was glad to see them.
The other two familiar faces belonged to Owen and his snotty girlfriend. Mona? No, Monica.
The girl he’d dumped in San Francisco.
What’s she doing here? Dana wondered.
Owen didn’t seem very happy. His face was flushed. He met Dana’s eyes for an instant and quickly looked away. Monica cast a smirk in her direction.
Dana smiled at her, then turned away and saw a couple who looked as if they’d come here to audition for roles in remakes of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Charming, she thought.
At least a few of the bunch looked fairly normal. Though why a gal would come to the Midnight Tour in her tennis outfit...didn’t she have time to go home and change?
Done with the lock, Tuck swung open the gate and asked, “Ever-body hungry?”
“I’m beastly starved!” said the safari man.
Dana’s two friends from Thursday smirked and nudged each other.
“Before we start,” Tuck said, “I have a few words to say. I’m Lynn Tucker, and I’m the official guide for the Beast House Midnight Tour. This is my old friend and new assistant, Dana Lake. We’ll be with you till the bitter end. In case you’re wondering, that’ll be at about two a.m. Here’s how the schedule goes.
“You’ll have two hours for the picnic. There’s a no-host bar...meaning you’ll have to shell out cash if you want to get liquored up—but soft drinks and your picnic dinners are included in the price of your tickets. Feel free to roam the grounds. Beast House will be closed until the tour starts, but we’re keeping the gift shop open until nine. As a Midnight Tourist, you’ll get a special ten percent discount on any purchases you make.
“Feel free to leave the grounds at any time. We’ll be handing out souvenir badges that’ll get you back in.
“Our special screening of The Horror will take place at the Haunted Palace movie theater on Front Street.” She pointed to the right. “You can’t miss it. Just be at the main entrance by ten o’clock. After the film, dank and I will lead you back here for the Midnight Tour.
“Any questions about the schedule?” Tuck asked. Not waiting more than half a second, she said, “Okay! Let’s get this show on the road. Welcome to the Midnight Tour picnic. I’ll take your tickets as you come in, and Dana will give each of you a badge.”
“We gotta keep ‘em?” asked the chubby kid.
“You’re Dennis, right?”
He beamed as if proud that Tuck had remembered his name. “That’s right, ma’am. Dennis Dexter. D.D.”
“Call me Lynn, okay? And yes, the badges will be yours to keep. Okay, let’s get started.”
She passed the bag to Dana, then stepped forward to start taking tickets.
Dana reached into the bag. When she tried to scoop up a handful of badges, points pricked her. She winced and jerked her hand out. It looked okay except for a single, bright red drop of blood on the tip of her middle finger.
Just lick it off and...
As she raised the finger toward her mouth, someone caught her wrist and said, “Mine.”
Dana looked up into blue-shadowed, leering eyes.
“No,” she said. Though she spoke softly, everyone nearby suddenly went silent. Heads turned. People were staring, frowning, gathering closer so they wouldn’t miss whatever might be happening. “Please let go,” Dana said. “I don’t...”
Her fingertip vanished into the mouth of the creepy vampire gal. She felt the suck of warm, quick lips.
Onlookers gasped, flinched and muttered.
“Hey!” Dana jerked her hand back.
Tuck, watching, had a strange smile on her face as if she couldn’t believe what had just happened.
“Mmmm, delicious,” the creep said. She licked her black lips. “Now we’re sisters. My name is Vein. V-e-i-n as in bloooood vessel.”
“Right,” Dana muttered. Being more careful this time, she reached into the bag and took out a badge. It was round with a pin on the back, like a political campaign button. Larger than a silver dollar, it showed a small black rendition of Beast House on a scarlet background. Around the rim, in black letters, it read MIDNIGHT TOURIST.