40 - Night of the Living Dummy III (5 page)

“Dan, you’re the biggest liar!” I cried. “How long have you been up here?
What are you doing here? You were spying on me—right?”

He shook his head and stepped out from behind the couch. “What are
you
doing up here, Trina?” he asked. “Did you
come up to get Rocky? To take Rocky downstairs again and try to scare Zane?”

I let out an angry growl and shoved Dan with all my might.

He stumbled backwards and fell onto the couch. He cried out as he landed on
top of the new dummy. He and the dummy appeared to wrestle for a moment as Dan
struggled to climb to his feet.

I stepped up close to the couch and blocked his way. As he tried to get up, I
pushed him back down.

“You know I’m not the one who’s been moving Rocky around,” I shouted. “We all
know
you’ve
been doing it, Dan. And you’re going to get the two of us in
real trouble with Dad.”

“You’re wrong!” Dan declared angrily. His little mouse face turned bright
red. “Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!”

He burst up from the couch. The dummy bounced on the cushion. Its head
turned. It appeared to grin up at me.

I turned to my brother. “If you weren’t planning more trouble, what were you
doing up here?”

“Waiting,” he replied.

“Excuse me? Waiting for whom?” I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Just waiting,” he insisted. “Don’t you
get
it, Trina?”

I kicked at a ball of dust on the floor. It stuck to the toe of my sneaker.
“Get it? Get what?”

“Don’t you see what’s going on?” Dan demanded. “Haven’t you caught on yet?”

I bent down and pulled the dust ball off my sneaker. Now it stuck to my
fingers. “What is in your little mouse brain?” I asked. I rolled my eyes. “This
should be good.”

My brother stepped up beside me. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Zane is
doing it all,” he said.

I laughed. I wasn’t sure I’d heard him.

“No. Really.” He grabbed my arm. “I know I’m right, Trina. Zane is doing
everything. Zane is moving the dummy, bringing it downstairs, then pretending to
be scared. Zane made it slap him. Zane carried it to the kitchen table both of
those times.”

I shoved Dan’s hand off my arm. Then I spread my hand over his forehead and
pretended to check his temperature. “You are totally losing it,” I told him. “Go
lie down. I’ll tell Mom you’re running a high fever.”

“Listen to me!”
Dan screeched. “I’m serious! I’m right. I know I’m
right!”

“Why?” I demanded. “Why would Zane do that, Dan? Why would he scare himself?”

“To pay us back for last time,” Dan replied. “Don’t you get it? Zane is
trying to get us in trouble.”

I dropped down onto the couch beside Smiley. I thought hard about what my
brother was saying. “You mean Zane wants Dad to think that you and I are using
the dummies to scare Zane.”

“Yes!” Dan cried. “But Zane is doing it all. He’s scaring himself. And making
it look as if we’re doing it—to get us in big trouble.”

I fiddled with the dummy’s hand as I thought about it some more. “Zane scare
himself? I don’t think so,” I replied finally. “What gave you this idea? What
proof do you have?”

Dan dropped down on the couch arm. “First of all,” he started, “you didn’t
carry Rocky downstairs all those times, did you?”

I shook my head. “No way.”

“Well, neither did I,” Dan declared. “So who does that leave? Rocky isn’t
walking around by himself—right?”

“Of course not. But—”

“It was the camera that gave it away,” Dan said. “The photos Zane developed
of Rocky were the biggest clue.”

I let the dummy hand fall to the couch. “What do you mean?” I asked. I really
wasn’t following my brother’s thinking at all.

“That camera is never out of Zane’s sight,” Dan replied. “Most of the time,
he keeps it around his neck. So who else could have snapped all those photos of
Rocky?”

I swallowed hard. “You mean that Zane—?”

Dan nodded. “Zane was the only one who could have taken those pictures of
Rocky. He sneaked up to the attic. He snapped them. Then he acted scared and
angry when he developed them.”

“But it was all an act?” I asked.

“For sure,” Dan replied. “It’s all been an act. To scare us. And to get us in
trouble with Dad. Zane is trying to pay us back for how we scared him last
time.”

I still had my doubts. “It isn’t like Zane,” I argued. “He’s so wimpy, so
quiet and shy. He’s not the kind of boy who plays tricks on people.”

“He’s had months to plan it!” Dan exclaimed. “Months to plan his revenge. We
can prove it, Trina. We can hide up here and wait for him. That’s why I was up
here. Hiding behind the couch.”

“To catch him in the act?”

Dan nodded. He whispered even though we were alone. “After everyone goes to
bed tonight, let’s sneak up here and wait. Wait and see if Zane comes.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “It’s worth a try… I guess.”

Was Dan right?

Would we catch Zane in the act?

I couldn’t wait for everyone to go to sleep. I was dying to find out.

Gusts of wind rattled the attic windowpanes. Heavy clouds covered the moon.

We crept up the attic stairs into the darkness. Up a step. Then stop. Up a
step. Then stop. Trying to be silent.

The old house moaned and groaned beneath us.

The attic stretched blacker than the stairway.

I reached for the light switch. But Dan slapped my hand away. “Are you
crazy?” he whispered. “It has to be dark. Totally dark. Or else Zane will know
that someone is up here.”

“I know that,” I whispered sleepily. “I just wanted to take one look at the
dummies. You know. Make sure they’re all here.”

“They’re all here,” Dan replied impatiently. “Just keep moving. We’ll hide
behind the couch.”

We crept on tiptoe over the attic floorboards. I couldn’t see a thing. The
heavy clouds kept any light from washing in through the windows.

Finally, my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I could see the arms of the couch. I saw dummy heads. Dummy shoulders. Shadows
against shadows.

“Dan—where are you?” I whispered.

“Back here. Hurry.” His whisper came from behind the couch.

I could feel the dummy eyes on me as I made my way around the couch. I
thought I heard a soft snicker. The evil laughter again.

But that had to be my imagination.

I trailed my hand over the couch arm. Felt a wooden dummy hand resting on the
arm. The dummy hand felt surprisingly warm.

Humanly warm.

Don’t start imagining things, Trina,
I scolded myself.

That dummy hand is warm because it’s
hot
up in this attic.

The wind rattled the glass. Strong gusts roared against the roof, so low over
our heads.

I heard a loud groan. A soft chuckle. A strange whistling sound.

Ignoring all the attic noises, I ducked down on the floor beside my brother.
“Well? Here we are,” I whispered. “Now what?”

“Sssshhhh.” In the darkness, I could see him raise a finger to his lips. “Now
we wait. And listen.”

We both turned and rested our backs against the back of the couch. I raised my knees and wrapped my arms around them.

“He isn’t coming,” I whispered. “This is a waste of time.”

“Ssshhh. Just wait, Trina,” Dan scolded. “Give him time.”

I yawned. I felt so sleepy. The heat of the attic was making me even
sleepier.

I shut my eyes and thought about Zane.

At dinner, he couldn’t wait to pass around the photographs of Rocky. “I don’t
know who took these shots,” Zane complained to my dad. “But they wasted half a
roll of film.”

Dad glared angrily at Dan and me. But he didn’t make a fuss. “Can we talk
about it after dinner?” he suggested quietly.

“I’m kind of scared,” Zane told Dad in a trembling voice. “So many weird
things have been happening. It’s like the dummies have lives of their own.” He
shook his head. “Wow. I hope I don’t have nightmares tonight.”

“Let’s not talk about the dummies now,” Mom chimed in. “Zane, tell us about
your school. Who is your teacher this year? What are you studying?”

“Could I have a second helping of potatoes?” Uncle Cal interrupted. He
reached for the bowl. “They’re so good. I may have to make a pig of myself.”

Dad took another quick glance at the close-up snapshots of Rocky. He flashed Dan and me another angry scowl. Then he set
the photos down on the floor.

After dinner, Dan and I were careful to keep as far away from Dad as we
could. No way we wanted to hear another lecture about how we were terrifying our
poor cousin. And how we’d be punished if we didn’t stop it at once.

Now it was a little before midnight. And we were huddled in the dark attic.
Listening to the swirling wind and the moans and groans of the house. Backs
pressed against the couch. Waiting…

I kept my eyes closed. Thinking hard. Thinking about Zane. About Rocky.

Dan and I aren’t alone up here, I thought drowsily. There are thirteen wooden
dummies up here with us. Thirteen pairs of eyes staring into the heavy darkness.
Thirteen frozen grins. Except for Rocky’s sneer, of course.

Empty, lifeless bodies…

Heavy, wooden heads and hands…

Thinking about the dummies, the dummies all around, I guess I drifted off to
sleep.

Did I dream about the dummies?

Maybe I did.

I don’t know how long I slept.

I was awakened by footsteps. Soft, shuffling footsteps across the attic
floor.

And I knew the dummies had come alive.

I jerked my head up, listening hard.

My hands were still wrapped around my knees. Both hands had fallen asleep.
They tingled. The back of my neck ached. My mouth felt dry and sour.

I uttered a silent gasp as I heard the shuffling, scraping footsteps move
closer.

Not dummies walking around, I realized.

A single figure. One. One person. Moving slowly, carefully toward the couch.

Why did I think I heard dummies moving? It must have been a picture left over
from my dream.

I shook my hands, trying to make them stop tingling.

I was wide awake now. Totally alert.

The footsteps scraped closer.

Could it be Dan? Where was Dan?

Had he climbed up while I slept? Was he making his way back to the couch?

No.

Squinting into the darkness, I saw Dan beside me.

He had climbed to his knees. He saw me move. He waved his hand and signaled
for me to be silent.

Dan gripped the back of the couch with both hands. Then he leaned forward and
peered out into the room.

I crawled to the other end of the couch. Then, keeping low, I poked my head
out and squinted into the deep shadows. All grays and blacks.

The wind howled around the house. Across the big attic room, the windowpanes
rattled and shook.

I wanted to jump out. To scream and jump out. And flash on the light.

But I felt Dan’s hand on my arm. He must have read my thoughts. He raised a
finger to his lips.

We both waited. Frozen there behind the couch. Crouching low. Listening to
each footstep. Each creak of the floorboards.

The dark figure stopped in front of the folding chair next to the couch. He
stood inches from Dan and me. If I wanted to, I could reach out and grab his
leg.

I struggled to see his face. But it was hidden by the couch. And I didn’t
dare raise myself up higher.

I heard the
clonk
of wood against wood. Two dummy hands hitting each
other.

I heard the rustle of heavy cloth. The
thud
of leather shoes bumping
each other.

The intruder had picked up a dummy off the chair.

Squinting into the deep blackness, I could see him swing the dummy over his
shoulder. I could see the dummy arms swaying, swaying at his back.

The dark figure turned away quickly. And began walking to the attic stairs.

I crept out from behind the couch. Moving on tiptoe, I began to follow the
intruder.

Pressed against the wall, tiptoeing as silently as I could, I moved across
the room. I held my breath. I could hear Dan close behind me.

I reached the light switch just as the intruder made it to the stairs.

My hand fumbled against the wall as I reached.

Reached… reached for the light switch with a trembling hand.

Yes!

I flicked on the light. And Dan and I both shrieked at the same time.

“Zane!”

My brother and I both screamed his name.

Zane’s eyes bulged. His mouth opened in a high, frightened wail.

I saw his knees bend. I think he nearly crumpled to the floor.

He uttered several squeaks. Then his mouth hung open. I could see he was
gasping for breath.

“Zane—we caught you!” I managed to choke out.

He had Rocky draped over his shoulder.

“What—what—?” Zane struggled to speak, but no words came out. He
sputtered and started to choke. The sneering dummy bounced on his shoulder.

“Zane—we figured it out,” Dan told him. “Your little tricks aren’t going to
work.”

Our cousin was still sputtering and coughing.

“We know it’s been you all along,” Dan told him.

He stepped over and slapped Zane hard on the back a few times.

After a few seconds, Zane stopped sputtering.

Dan picked Rocky up off Zane’s shoulder and started to carry him back to his
chair.

“How-how-how did you know?” Zane stammered.

“We just figured it out,” I told him. “What’s the big idea, anyway?”

Zane shrugged. He lowered his eyes to the floor. “You know. Just having some
fun.”

I glared at him. “Some fun?” I cried angrily. “You tried to get us in huge
trouble. You—you could have ruined our whole summer!”

Zane shrugged again. “It was kind of my turn. You know?”