Funhouse (11 page)

“You’re going to stay here alone tonight? I went to the hospital to see if you’d left yet, and I saw what someone did to your car, Tess. That was deliberate. Did you call the police?”

“No. Not yet.” And she wasn’t going to, either. But she didn’t have to tell him that.

“Tess, how did you get so muddy? Something happened, didn’t it? I knew it! Beak said you’d be okay, but Candace was pretty worried when I told her about your tires.”

“Was Trudy with them?” If Trudy had been with Candace and Beak, she couldn’t have been running around in the woods pushing people into unfinished swimming pools.

“Uh-uh. Beak and Candace were at Amy’s, scarfing down ice cream.” He frowned. “Weren’t you just with Trudy? That
was
Kevin Slaughter who brought you home, wasn’t it? Trudy’s old man?”

They were getting even wetter, with only the driveway lampposts for protection from the weather. “I’m going inside,” she said, moving around him toward the patio gate. “Go home.” So Trudy hadn’t been at Amy’s with Beak and Candace. Maybe she’d been too busy for ice cream.
Busy hunting.

“Tess …”

She stopped and turned around.

“I talked to my dad tonight. He said Chalmers will be releasing a statement tomorrow that The Devil’s Elbow crash was an ‘unavoidable accident.’”

Tess snorted rudely.

“Maybe it was, Tess.”

“Since when do you take your father’s or Chalmers’s word for anything?” she asked rudely. “You never listen to your father, and you were the one who said Chalmers couldn’t find his own nose without a mirror. You’re’ also the one who said they’d cover up whatever they found and now when they’re doing just that, you’re taking their side.”

“There isn’t any side, Tess. This isn’t a war.”

She looked straight at him, her chin thrust forward defiantly, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes. “Oh, isn’t it?” Then she turned and hurried into the house, slamming the door after her.

She didn’t watch to see if he left. Instead, she went through her door-and-window-locking ritual, called a garage to have her car picked up, and headed for the bathroom for a long, hot, comforting shower.

The shower renewed her spirits slightly, and she was about to make a cup of hot tea, when the telephone rang. Setting the blue-and-white teakettle on the kitchen counter, she picked up the phone. If it was Shelley, maybe she’d just give her a piece of her mind, tell her exactly what she thought of parents who left their children to traipse halfway around the world when there were crazy people running loose!

“Happy birthday to Trudy,” sang that voice that sent shivers down Tess’s spine. “Happy birthday to Trudy, happy birthday to Trudy, may she live till you die!” Then the voice added in a low sing-song, “Which may be soo-on!” Then the line went dead.

Tess held the silent telephone in her hand a moment or two longer. Then she slowly replaced it in its berth on the wall. Turning, she picked up the teakettle, placed it on a stove burner and switched on the heat. Staring at the gas flames as if hypnotized, she repeated in her head the words she’d just heard on the phone.

Something terrible was going to happen at Trudy’s party.

L
IARS!
T
HEY’RE GOING TO
announce that The Devil’s Elbow crash was accidental. They know it wasn’t. There was no loose rail. It was my lead pipe that sent that roller coaster into space.

What good does it do me to punish them if they let the whole town think nothing is going on?

Well, not the whole town. Tess knows. She doesn’t know why, but she knows nothing was accidental. She just doesn’t know what to do about it.

It’s time to do something that can’t be interpreted, even by Chalmers and the board, as accidental. Shake them up a little.

They’re worried, I know they are. They had a meeting here last night. The driveway looked like a luxury-car dealership. I thought about eavesdropping and decided against it. What could I overhear that I didn’t already know? And after the meeting, I ran into my father in the upstairs hall and saw his eyes go to the attic door. Is he beginning to remember about the journal? Why didn’t he get rid of it a long time ago? Ego, maybe. Didn’t want to let go of the only real proof of his greatest accomplishment.

If he does remember, and looks for the journal, he won’t find it. I’ve hidden it. When my plan is finished, I’ll send it to someone I trust, so that none of the men involved can find it and destroy it. The people of Santa Luisa have a right to the truth. Just as I had a right to it. But it was kept from me.

Until Lila told me. Through her written words.

It didn’t take me very long to Scotch tape that shredded check together. When the puzzle was completed, there was the signature, big as life.

I’d seen that signature many times before. It had signed my report cards and permission slips for school outings and a number of checks exactly like the one I held Scotch taped in front of me, given to me in place of birthday presents. It was a name I knew well.
Very
well.

It was my father’s name.

The attic began to spin around me. My father had “bought” a baby. Considering Lila O’Hare’s account,
stolen
was a better word. He’d stolen a baby.

And then I looked at the date on the check. It was my birthday.

Suddenly everything was clear. I wasn’t who I thought I was.

My last name wasn’t the same as the signature on the check, after all. Not really. My last name was O’Hare.

I was the O’Hare baby.

O
N
F
RIDAY,
T
ESS’S CAR
was delivered, complete with four brand-new tires. And a brief announcement on the radio and in the newspaper that the crash of The Devil’s Elbow had been due to a “loose rail,” which would be quickly repaired, ended speculation in Santa Luisa about recent events at The Boardwalk.

When Tess questioned Gina at the hospital about how her own accident was being explained, Gina shrugged and said, “I guess I fell over the railing.” And when Tess looked plainly disgusted by that answer, Gina continued, “Tess, I wish you’d quit worrying about it. It’s over and done with, and I’m going home soon. You’ll drive yourself nuts if you don’t forget about it. Daddy said The Devil’s Elbow will be good as new and we won’t even remember the crash happened after a while. I’ll be good as new, too. Can’t you relax?”

Tess couldn’t. Completely convinced that both accidents had been anything but accidental, but not having a shred of proof, she felt helpless and frightened. This wasn’t the end of it, she was sure of that. There was more to come.

She went to Trudy’s birthday party on Saturday, hoping to learn something. The people attending all had parents on the board. If she kept her eyes and ears open, maybe she’d come up with some answers. But she went with a sense of dread that something bad was going to happen. She was convinced the phone call hadn’t been a joke.

The party was held at night, on the beach below The Boardwalk. Darkness had fallen before Trudy’s guests arrived, but the area was bathed in the amusement park’s neon glow, with additional lighting provided by tall pole lamps scattered along the beach. The rain had temporarily ceased, and only a few innocent-looking clouds floated now and again across the half moon. A Saturday night with nothing to do in Santa Luisa, combined with the results of Chalmers’s investigation, had brought increased business to The Boardwalk. Laughter and music, along with the usual smells of hot dogs, popcorn, and cotton candy, gave the party site the proper atmosphere.

When Tess arrived, Sam and Guy Joe, in cutoffs and short-sleeved sweatshirts, had already built a small, cozy fire. Trudy, unsuitably dressed for a picnic in an elegant yellow jumpsuit, her hair piled on top of her head, sat in a lawn chair like, Tess thought to herself, a queen waiting to greet her subjects. And Candace, cocooned in a dull blue muu-muu, busied herself removing food items from a wicker hamper. Several blankets were spread close together to provide seating and some slight protection against the rain-dampened sand.

Doss arrived shortly after Tess. Beak came next, a huge bouquet of multicolored balloons in hand. Presenting them to Trudy with a dramatic flourish, he asked where the food was.

“Here, Beak,” Trudy said, offering him a red box crammed full of chocolate-frosted brownies. “Take this temptation out of my path. We’re not having hot dogs until I open my presents, but you can start with these. If I eat even one, the chocolate will go straight to my hips.”

Beak selected two very large brownies. Then he donned a party hat of pink crepe paper trimmed with silver and began dancing on the sand, his mouth full of brownie, arms and legs flailing to music from the cassette player Trudy had brought. Grabbing another tiny hat, this one bright yellow, he slid its thin elastic band over his head and clamped the pointed little hat over his nose.

Laughing at his antics, Tess found it hard to imagine that this silly, crazy boy could have had anything to do with sabotaging The Boardwalk.

Then Trudy cried, “Beak, you look like a psychotic chicken!” which wiped the smile from Tess’s face.
Psychotic
wasn’t a word to be thrown around too lightly these days. And Beak hadn’t laughed when Trudy said it. Hadn’t he heard her? Or had he decided to ignore it because it hit too close to home?

A sudden hand on her shoulder startled her and she jumped and whirled around.

“For Pete’s sake!” Sam said. “Relax! You’re as nervous as my old man when the stock market takes a dive. What’s the matter with you?”

“Nothing.” She twisted a strand of hair around her finger nervously. “But you shouldn’t sneak up on people like that.”

“Sneak up? You looked lonesome standing over here all by yourself. How come you haven’t joined the party?”

Because I don’t trust anyone, she wanted to answer, but didn’t. Because I’m waiting for doom to strike, her mouth got ready to say, but didn’t. Because …

“I thought you’d be more relaxed now,” Sam said, watching her face carefully, “now that we know The Devil’s Elbow crash was accidental.”

She laughed harshly. “Yeah, that’s a big relief, isn’t it?”

“You still don’t believe it?”

Beak ran over to Candace and tugged at her hand, insisting that she join him in his crazy dance. To Tess’s surprise, Candace did.

“Sure, I believe it,” Tess lied, because she couldn’t tolerate one more person telling her to forget about it. “Any reason why I shouldn’t?”

He knew she was lying, and looked hurt. “No, I guess not. Take a walk down to the water with me.”

“No.” She wasn’t going near the water. A drowning would make a great “accident,” wouldn’t it? Besides, she should stay here. Since she was the only one who expected something bad to happen, she needed to keep her eyes open. Maybe if she really paid attention, she could somehow prevent another disaster.

“Well, then walk up the beach a little way with me. C’mon.”

She hesitated, watching Doss. He seemed uncomfortable, sitting off to one side of the blankets by himself. She knew he had come only to please Gina. Just as Trudy had probably invited him only to please Gina. Although, who knew about Trudy? Maybe she had a reason for wanting all of them there. Doss’s father was no longer on the board of directors, but he
had
been. Maybe that was why Doss had been included at Trudy’s party.

On the other hand, if it was Doss who had caused the crash and taken the saucer and made the telephone calls and sent the ugly note, this would be the perfect opportunity for him to do more damage. With Gina safely in the hospital, he wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally hurting her while he was targeting any of the others.

She wished with all her heart that this evening was already over, and they were all safely back in their own homes.

“Trudy hasn’t opened her presents yet,” she told Sam.

“Yeah, I noticed. She’s too wrapped up in your brother to unwrap presents. Hey, a little play on words there? Wrapped up, unwrap, get it?”

“I got it. I just didn’t think it was very funny.”

“It wasn’t supposed to be funny. It was an accident.”

That word again.
Accident.
She had learned to hate it.

Laughter from The Boardwalk echoed out over the beach. People were having fun up there. She wished she could join them. “I wish Trudy would open her presents and feed us. I’m starved!” She was stalling. The thought of food sickened her.

“Have a brownie.”

“Too sweet. I want real food.” Something as sweet and gooey as a brownie would be worse than trying to swallow ordinary food. “She promised us hot dogs.”

“Well, while we’re waiting, take a walk with me.”

Beak and Candace were still cavorting on the sand, Guy Joe was being held captive by Trudy, and Doss was delving into the brownie box. He seemed to have relaxed a little and he didn’t look the least bit dangerous.

Maybe she could leave them alone for a few minutes. It would give her a chance to explain her theory about the board of directors to Sam. If he laughed at her, she’d simply never speak to him again. But if he didn’t, maybe together they could figure out what to do. They wouldn’t walk very far.

“Okay. But just for a few minutes.” Casting one last quick glance across the party group to make sure everything was okay, Tess turned and joined Sam. “And we can’t go far.”

They plodded silently across the damp sand. The night wind tugged gently at her hair, sent her short, full red skirt billowing around her legs. Because she had her head down, Tess didn’t notice until too late that they had been walking toward the disabled Devil’s Elbow. The lights trimming its lengthy frame were still on, but the tracks were bare, the cardboard signs still waving on the thick rope fence.

“I don’t want to be here,” Tess said clearly, stopping in her tracks. “Let’s go back.”

“Don’t be silly, Tess.” Sam looked down at her, annoyance bringing his brows together. “The thing isn’t even working now. The new cars haven’t been delivered yet. What’s there to be scared of?”

“It gives me the creeps, that’s all. Makes me jittery just looking at it.” And it did. She kept hearing the screams …