The Creeping Dead: A Zombie Novel (34 page)

“Mike, you’d be surprised. No one really knows what goes on within a marriage behind closed doors, or outside it for that matter. So what happened?”

“I told him to get lost. I told him not to bother that poor woman. He looked like he was going to get physical for a moment.”

“Did he threaten you?”

“No, not overtly. It was the look in his eye and the way he loomed over me. He even dared me to take the first punch.”

“Well, did you?”

Mike chuckled bitterly. “I’m still standing here. Aren’t I?”

“So, then what happened?”

Mike shrugged. “I left. I saw Billy ring the doorbell, and Marie answered, but I have no idea what happened afterwards.”

Holbrook looked Mike up and down. “You seem pretty worked up about Billy. Mike, don’t take this the wrong way, but where were you the night he was murdered?”

Mike was incredulous. His expression turned sour. “I was home sleeping in my bed. Jesus, Chief.”

“Now don’t get upset with me, Mike. I have to look at all the angles. It’s my job. I don’t suppose you have an alibi…”

“Everyone’s well aware of how you felt about Billy,” snapped Mike. “Where were
you
last night, Jim?”

“There’s no need to get nasty, Mike.”

“Well, are you going to haul me in, too?”

“Why, should I? Actually, the reason why I’m here is because Marie told me you had her kids. I have to call Youth and Family Services in on this one. Marie has family in upstate New York who can take them, but they won’t make it down here until after the storm.”

“What are you asking, Chief? Spit it out.”

“Marie said she’s comfortable with the kids staying with you until her brother can get here.”

“That’s fine with me,” said Mike. He looked over at the two children, who were hopping up and down and smiling. “This is an ugly situation. How am I supposed to break it to them?”

“I don’t want you to do that,” said Holbrook. “You’re doing enough already.”

“Telling them now won’t do any good,” said Mike.

“I’ll drop by this evening, after the parade, and break it to them,” said Holbrook.

Mike nodded, his heart torn apart. He felt so sorry for those children. First, their grandmother went missing. Then, their mother murdered their grandmother and father. “What a mess. I still can’t believe Marie would do something like that.”

“Like I said, you never know what happens behind closed doors.”

“I suppose so. I’m going to get back to the kids now. The parade is about to begin.”

“Sorry about the bad news, Mike.”

Mike nodded and made his way back to the children.

“Everything okay?” asked Dharma.

Alessandra slipped her hand back into his. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Hey, kids, your mom had a cool idea. You’re going to have a sleepover at my house tonight.”

Alessandra and Salvatore looked surprised. Alessandra smiled politely, but Salvatore, being older, looked uncomfortable.

“Is everything okay?” asked Salvatore. “Did they find Nana?”

Mike saw Alessandra’s smile fade as she picked up on Salvatore’s uneasiness. “Remember what your mom said about getting out and having fun while they search for your Nana?”

The children nodded.

“Well, your mom wants you to get away for a bit and have some fun.” Salvatore looked unconvinced. Mike managed his best smile given the circumstances. “I have board games, lots of them, and we can make s’mores.”

Dharma sensed that something was wrong. Poor Mike. He was doing his best to shield the children from whatever Chief Holbrook had told him.

“Hey, Mike, can I sleep over, too?” she asked.

Mike looked a bit lost for a moment, but he quickly caught on to what Dharma was doing. She was helping him. “Sure, Dharma! The more the merrier!”

This new development won Alessandra over immediately. “Yay!”

Salvatore’s face brightened a bit, but he still felt awkward about it.

Dharma bumped him with her hip. “Oh, c’mon, grouchy pants. It’ll be a blast. I bet we can stay up late. Right, Mike?”

“Oh, yeah,” said Mike. Then he leaned in. “Just don’t tell your parents.”

That was it. Mike’s subversive remark was the last bit of enticement that Salvatore needed. A puckish smile crept across his face, and he began to lighten up.

Dharma put her arm around him. “This is going to be the best night
ever
.”

Her eyes met Mike’s, and Mike conveyed a nonverbal thank you to Dharma. She nodded in acknowledgement, both of his thank you and her realization that something was wrong as per Mike’s aside with Chief Holbrook.

Dharma had just taken an awkward situation and made it seem like an impromptu adventure. However, Mike had lost the jovial spirit. He stood there, his soul heavy with bad news, looking shell-shocked.

Holbrook took his place in the parade, beside the Mayor who had yet to arrive. He watched the crowd, lost in thought, his mind mulling over all the angles of the recent murders. The truth was, in Holbrook’s estimation, none of this added up.

Firstly, he didn’t like Mike for Billy’s murder. Billy’s body was ravaged with a force and fury that didn’t match a man of Mike’s age and physical limitations. Secondly, the 9-1-1 tape recorded Mario yelling about his mother being a vampire and being bitten, and Holbrook heard animalistic sounds in the background. Lenny Krueger told Joann that Sophia Russo was covered in blood and tried to bite him in the parking lot.

Then why did the two officers walk in on Marie with a knife through her husband’s temple?

None of it added up. Holbrook was just glad the two missing persons cases were off his desk for the moment, although neither ended well. The murder investigation would have to wait. The priorities were now crowd control and possible evacuation of the barrier island.

Vinnie stood right in front of his pizza shop with other spectators waiting for the parade to begin.

Ted shoved his way through the crowd and over to him holding his skateboard.

“Where’s your better half?” asked Vinnie.

“I was hoping you knew,” said Ted. “He won’t answer his cell. I dropped by his house, and he wasn’t home.”

“I’m sure he’s somewhere in the crowd looking for us.”

The Stonewall High School marching band sounded down the boardwalk. The crowd stirred in anticipation, drowning out the usual din of the arcades and carnival games.

Not too far down from where Vinnie and Ted stood was Lenny in full Magma Man garb, grinning from ear to ear.

Tara was meandering through the crowd with Marcus and Tyrell when she saw Lenny standing alone.

“That’s my new patient standing over there,” she said to Marcus. “He’s by himself. Let’s go keep him company. I’ll introduce you.”

She led Tyrell by the hand, and Marcus followed. They walked between the wall of spectators and the boardwalk storefronts until they were right behind Lenny. Tara called his name, and he turned around. When he saw her, his face lit up.

“Hi, Lenny!”

“Hi, Dr. Tara!”

Marcus caught up with her. Lenny was looking down at Tyrell and smiling.

“Lenny, this is my son, Tyrell.”

Lenny stuck out his hand to shake, but Tyrell high fived it instead. Lenny was taken off guard, but was positively tickled by the greeting.

“Hi, Tyrell. My name is Lenny!”

Tyrell smiled. “You like Magma Man, too?”

“How could you tell?” said Tara sarcastically.

“He’s my favorite superhero,” beamed Lenny, puffing out his chest.

“Lenny, this is my husband, Marcus.”

Marcus stepped forward and extended his hand.

Lenny high fived it and winked at Tyrell. They all laughed.

“The parade is starting,” said Lenny.

“Is it okay if we stand here with you and keep you company?” asked Tara.

“Of course,” said Lenny, making a grand inclusive gesture.

“How’s your mom doing?”

“Oh, she’s okay,” said Lenny. “She’s working at the office.”

Across the way, in his small radio booth, Johnny Wong announced the parade over the air.

“It’s a cool, cloudy day here in Smuggler’s Bay—thank God—and the eighteenth annual Circus Faire parade is underway. People from all over the tri-state area have gathered on the iconic Smuggler’s Bay boardwalk to watch the clowns and circus performers march.

“Some of the clowns are Smuggler’s Bay locals, and some are even boardwalk vendors dressed up to join in the fun. We have jumping poodles, dancing bears, clowns on stilts and unicycles, fire breathers, and more!

“Leading the pack is the Stonewall High School marching band!”

Trumpets, trombones, and drums filled the air as students carrying the Stonewall High School banner marched in front of the band. Spectators on either side of the boardwalk waved and cheered as the band belted out the theme to
Octopussy
, cross fading into the James Bond theme.

As they passed, Lenny mimed the opening sequence of every Bond movie, where Bond pulls out a gun and shoots the camera.

“And right behind the band is the Mayor of Smuggler’s Bay, Christopher McDonald, and Police Chief Jim Holbrook!”

McDonald, ever the politician, hammed it up with the crowd, while Holbrook waved modestly, obviously uncomfortable with the spotlight. He scanned the edges of the crowd, noting the strategic placement of his officers and the auxiliary police.

Joann, seeing his awkwardness, blew him a kiss to razz him.

“I heard you wrapped up the two missing person cases,” said McDonald out of the side of his mouth. “Nicely done. Feel better?”

“Chris, there was nothing nice about it.”

“What was the deal with that clown?” asked the Mayor. “I heard he tried to eat a man.”

“He took a good bite out of Alice Krueger’s arm too,” added Holbrook. “Drugs.”

McDonald shook his head in disgust. “Well, once this is over you can focus on the storm, not that I think there’s anything to focus on.”

“Don’t forget the murder investigation.”

McDonald smiled and waved. “Jim, looks like you have your murderer. You killed three birds with one stone.”

“I don’t think Marie murdered Billy. I’m not even certain Marie Russo did what it looks like she did to Mario and Sophia Russo.”

“Why complicate things, Jim? You have everything wrapped up nicely with a bow. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best explanation.”

Holbrook really didn’t feel like arguing with Mayor McDonald at the moment, particularly when he didn’t have any evidence exonerating Marie. He saw Robbie and Lena standing on the side across from Johnny Wong’s radio booth. They were both waving to him.

As he and McDonald came up on where Lena and Robbie stood, Holbrook quickly darted to the side, snatched Robbie up, and put him on his shoulders. He ran back to resume his march beside McDonald.

“Hi, Mr. Mayor!”

McDonald quickly moved on from his prior conversation with Holbrook. Like flicking a switch, he flashed a toothy smile at the boy. “Hello, Robbie! So glad you could join us!”

Robbie sat atop his father’s shoulders, a wide grin on his face as the crowd on either side of the boardwalk cheered and waved to him. It made him feel special to have his father pluck him out of the crowd and join the parade.

Holbrook felt better having Robbie on his shoulders. Thoughts of missing persons, murders, and superstorms fell by the wayside. He felt Robbie hopping up and down and waving on his shoulders. He was glad he could include Robbie. One of the few perks of the job.

Ted grabbed Vinnie’s arm. “Look, there’s Frankie.”

“See, I told you…” Vinnie said as he followed where Ted pointed.

Frankie staggered around, pale as a ghost, with dark shadows under his eyes, behind the wall of spectators a few storefronts down to their right.

Frankie grabbed a woman by the hair, like a caveman. She let go of her stroller as he yanked her head back and sank his teeth into her throat. There were screams, and the crowd parted around him, obscuring him from view.

“What’s he doing?” asked Ted, who ran over to the throng.

“Ted, wait…” Vinnie turned to his left, his attention drawn by a stirring in the crowd farther down the boardwalk. There were screams and yells as people began to back away from another spot.

Joann was on the radio immediately. “We’ve got two crowd disturbances.”

“I see them,” responded Lawson.

“On it,” said Pike.

A man stumbled out from the crowd disturbance down the boardwalk right into the path of one of the unicyclers.

Joann waved Breslin over. “We’ve got a drunk.”

“Let’s go,” said Breslin.

The two officers crossed the parade line and ran to intercept. The man staggered over to the swerving unicycler and snatched her off the bike, throwing her to the ground. The woman screamed as he began to tear into her with his fingers and teeth, spraying blood all over himself.