Blood Games

CHAPTER TWELVE

It was after dark when they returned to the Wagoneer with the boxes, ice chest and stove.

‘We might as well take out whatever we’ll need for the night,’ Cora said.

‘What’re we planning to do?’ Abilene asked.

‘That’s Helen’s department,’ Cora said.

‘So what’s on the schedule?’ Finley asked.

‘I suppose pigging out on nacho chips isn’t in the cards?’

Abilene was glad to hear Helen joking about her deprivation.

it’ll be easier on you,’ Cora said, ‘if you don’t talk about food.’

‘Okay if I think about it?’

‘Try not to.’

‘Why don’t we go down to the hot spring?’ Abilene suggested, handing the ice chest to Cora, who slid it into the rear of the car. it’s cooler now. The pool’ll feel good.’

‘Sounds fine to me,’ Helen said.

‘This time,’ Vivian said, ‘we can take our suits and towels.’

‘Does that mean you want your suitcase?’ Cora asked from inside the car.

‘Yes.’

‘Let’s take all the suitcases,’ Cora said. ‘And the sleeping bags. This running back and forth to the car is gonna get old real quick.’

The others agreed, so she unloaded the luggage and bedrolls. ‘Is that everything?’ she asked.

‘Aren’t we taking any food at all?’ Helen asked.

‘We’ll eat in the morning,’ Cora said.

‘Great,’ Helen muttered. ‘Anyway, what about the water? Or is that forbidden, too?’

Cora crawled backward, dragging a two-gallon plastic bottle out of the car. She slammed the tail gate shut. ‘I wonder if the spring water’s okay to drink?’

‘You’d think so,’ Abilene said. ‘But I wouldn’t want to drink it.’

‘It’s hot,’ Helen pointed out.

‘It’s had our butts in it,’ Finley warned.

‘I’m not gonna drink that stuff,’ Vivian said.

They picked up their things and began trudging up the steep driveway.

‘There’s supposed to be a lake not far from here,’ Helen said.

‘I’m not about to drink lake water, either,’ Vivian told her.

‘We’ve got this,’ Cora said, and shook the bottle. ‘Plus two more in the car.’

‘That should be plenty.’

‘We only agreed on one night, people.’

‘I’m sure there must be a stream, too,’ Helen said.

‘We’ll have to do some exploring tomorrow,’ Cora said. ‘I’d like to see that lake.’

‘Maybe it’s got a Boy Scout camp,’ Finley said.

‘You’ve reformed, remember?’

‘Maybe that kid was a scout,’ Abilene said as she climbed the front porch stairs.

Vivian groaned. ‘Did you have to mention him?’

‘Probably with the Beaver Patrol,’ Finley said.

Helen giggled.

‘All right!’ Finley blurted. ‘Starving hasn’t dimmed your sense of humor.’

Nudging open the front door, Abilene was greeted by the glare of the Coleman lantern atop the registration desk. She squinted against its brightness, then turned away and watched the others come in.

‘Where’ll we want to sleep?’ she asked.

‘How about a Holiday Inn?’ Vivian suggested.

‘We can worry about that later,’ Cora said, letting her sleeping bag drop out from under her right arm. She set down her suitcase and the water bottle.

‘Just leave our things here?’ Abilene asked.

‘Might as well. I don’t think we’ll be sacking out downstairs, do you?’

i’m certainly not going to sleep down there,’ Vivian said.

‘Too hot and damp,’ Abilene said.

There in the lobby, they opened their suitcases. Abilene took out her towel. She didn’t much want to wear her swimsuit in the pool, but she saw that Vivian and Helen had theirs, so she found her bikini before shutting the suitcase.

‘Should we change here?’ Helen asked.

i’m not going anywhere without my duds,’ Vivian said, rolling her suit inside her towel.

‘Wary of visitors,’ Finley said.

‘You’re dam right.’

Cora lifted the lantern down from the registration desk. The others turned on their flashlights. They followed her to the doorway behind the staircase, and down the narrow flight of stairs to the pool area.

At the bottom, Finley shone her light on the door marked GENTS. ‘Anybody in…’ She paused as her voice resounded through the darkness. Speaking softly, she said, ‘Anybody in the mood for a john inspection?’

‘Feel free,’ Cora told her. i’m going in the water.’

‘Hickok? There’re probably lockers. Maybe we’ll find something interesting.’

‘Not me. Maybe tomorrow.’

‘I’m sure not going in there at night,’ Helen said.

Probably afraid there might be a shower room, Abilene thought. Probably remembering that phantom hand from when she was a freshman.

Vivian had kept on walking.

‘Some other time,’ Finley said.

They continued forward to the edge of the pool. There, Cora set down the lantern. In spite of its bright glow, it left both ends of the pool in darkness and failed to illuminate the far side. The beams of their flashlights searched those areas, sliding along the water’s surface, sweeping across the archway that led outside, shining on the empty expanse of floor beyond the right end of the pool, the stools and bar, probing every dark corner.

‘Nobody here but us chickens,’ Finley said.

‘Unless behind the bar,’ Abilene muttered.

Cora already had her T-shirt off. Balancing on one foot, she tugged off a shoe. ‘If it worries you, go look.’

‘Me?’

‘Maybe somebody should,’ Helen said, shining her light on the distant bar.

‘I’m not going over there alone.’

‘Gobble-gobble-gobble. ’

‘You check it out, Finley. You’re such a fearless explorer.’

‘Ah, Hickok, what a pussy.’ Laughing softly, shaking her head, she strode quickly alongside the pool. She left the lantern’s brightness behind. Abilene and Helen kept their flashlights on her back.

In unison, they flinched at the noise of a heavy splash.

Abilene whirled around. She saw Cora, long and pale, gliding beneath the water.

Vivian stood motionless beside the pool, gazing toward Finley.

Abilene turned again, and picked up Finley with her flashlight just as the girl stepped behind the bar.

‘Hey. What the…?’ Finley crouched, disappeared.

‘What are you doing?’ Abilene called.

No answer.

‘She’s just screwing around,’ Vivian said.

‘I know. But I wish…’

A sudden harsh clamor made Abilene jump, Helen yelp, Vivian gasp ‘Damn! ’

Abilene, shaken, yelled, ‘You bitch!’

Finley stood up behind the bar. ‘That was just me kicking the bucket.’

‘You’re a riot.’

‘I know, I know.’ She made a little bow, then stepped around the bar and walked toward them. She tossed her flashlight into the air. It tumbled high, its beam somersaulting. She caught it and switched it off.

‘One of these days,’ Helen said, ‘you’re gonna be sorry.’

‘Hope I didn’t upset anyone.’ Joining them, she started to unbutton her safari shirt.

‘Where’s Cora?’ Vivian asked.

They turned to the pool. Abilene saw no one swimming. She heard no sounds except a soft lapping of the water. She saw nothing gliding beneath the surface.

‘Don’t tell me she’s starting to play games.’

‘Oh, man,’ Helen murmured.

The beams of four flashlights began criss-crossing the water. ‘Hey, Cora!’ Finley yelled. ‘You’re making the babes nervous!’

Something pale moved in the archway.

All the lights hit Cora at once. Wincing, she squinted and ducked her head. ‘Gimme a break.’

They lowered their lights.

‘It’s really neat outside. Come on.’ She started to turn around. ‘Just wait for us,’ Vivian said. She sounded upset. ‘You shouldn’t have gone out there alone.’

‘I’m a big girl.’

‘Just wait for us,’ Vivian repeated.

‘Okay, okay.’

The idea of venturing to the outside pool changed Abilene’s mind about wearing a suit.

Finley finished undressing, entered the pool, swam to its far side and waited near Cora while the others put on their swimsuits.

‘I’m taking my flashlight,’ Helen said.

‘Me, too,’ Abilene told her.

‘What about the lantern?’ Helen asked.

Vivian grimaced. ‘No. Leave it here.’

‘It’d ruin the view,’ Cora said from the archway.

‘It’d light us up like

‘Sitting ducks?’ Finley suggested.

‘That’s right,’ Vivian said.

Finley, laughing, waded after Cora. The two of them vanished through the archway as Abilene, Vivian and Helen jumped into the pool.

The hot water felt wonderful sliding against Abilene. She made her way to the center of the pool, found the barred opening, and stepped on top of it. She lingered there, savoring the soft rub of the currents that rolled up from below. Raising the flashlight overhead, she squatted so the water covered her to the neck.

Then she realized that Vivian and Helen were already outside. She was alone. As she looked around at the bright lantern and the darkness beyond its glow, she felt a crawly sensation on the back of her neck.

She waded quickly to the archway and hurried through it.

The others were all in the smaller pool, sitting on the submerged ledges along two of its sides. Helen and Finley sat at the south end. Facing them across the water were Vivian and Cora.

‘Isn’t it terrific out here?’ Cora asked.

‘Nice,’ Abilene said. She waded over to the north end, put her flashlight on the edge, then sank down and sat beside Cora.

‘Fresh air.’

The air was warm, but cooler than inside. Its sulphur odor was not so strong, and Abilene could smell the sweet aromas of the forest.

Directly overhead was the porch. From its edge all the way to the treetops at the far end of the lodge’s grounds, the night sky was sprinkled with stars. There were no clouds that Abilene could see.

The high, full moon cast its brightness down on the woods, the field, the ruin of the swimming pool, the brick barbecue and the old picnic table. It lit the area under the porch, as well.

It glinted silver on the rippled surface of the hot pool.

It shone on the girls, gleaming on their hair, painting their skin with its milky glow, leaving black shadows where it couldn’t reach.

Nobody looks quite right, Abilene thought.

Faces pale on one side, dark on the other. Faces that seemed to have holes instead of eyes. She supposed she must look just as strange.

‘Look at all those stars,’ Cora said.

‘I know I’m thrilled,’ Finley said.

‘Bet you don’t see stars like this in L.A.’

‘Maybe we should go back inside,’ Vivian suggested.

‘It’s much nicer out here.’

‘We’re so exposed.’

‘With moonlight like this,’ Abilene said, ‘I could probably read a book by it.’

‘Anybody could be out there. Watching us.’

‘Still worried about that kid,’ Cora said.

‘Maybe he’ll come over and join us,’ Finley said, if he does, I call firsties.’

Abilene realized that they all had their heads turned, were gazing out at the moonlit grounds as if expecting someone to creep out of the forest.

‘What if someone does come along?’ Helen asked, her voice hushed.

‘Stop it,’ Vivian said.

‘We’ll just let Finley keep him busy,’ Abilene said, ‘while the rest of us skedaddle.’

‘My pleasure.’

‘Nobody’s gonna come along,’ Cora said. ‘Why don’t you all just settle down and enjoy yourselves. Helen, you’ve got a story to tell us, don’t you? About the murders?’

‘Maybe this isn’t the best time to tell it.’

‘I’ll second that,’ Vivian said.

‘This is the perfect time for it. Just pretend we’re sitting around a campfire.’

‘This is like sitting around a campfire,’ Abilene said. ‘You know? Supper’s over. Nothing else to do before bedtime. It’s warm and cozy. We’re all gathered here, surrounded by the dark.’

‘Campfires are bright and cheerful,’ Helen pointed out. ‘Finley’s bright and cheerful. She can get in the middle and make crackling sounds.’

‘Cracks is more like it,’ Cora said.

‘I’m hot enough. I just might burst into flame.’

‘People do, you know,’ Helen said. ‘Sometimes, they just bum up for no apparent reason. I’ve read accounts of that happening. I read where some guy went up in smoke, and it happened so fast that his clothes didn’t even get burnt. All they found were ashes and charred bones inside his clothes.’

‘They were probably flame retardant,’ Abilene said.

‘Maybe the guy was a vampire,’ Finley suggested. ‘We made this movie where a guy — one of your basic Dracula types — just crumpled to crap right inside his duds.’

‘Night Fang,’ Helen said.

‘Yeah, that’s the one.’

‘You were script supervisor?’ Abilene asked.

‘Right. It was my last big epic before I moved up to assistant director.’

‘I saw it,’ Helen said. ‘The sunlight got him. But that’s different from spontaneous combustion.’

‘I feel like I’m gonna spontaneously combust.’ Finley stood, turned around, and climbed onto the submerged shelf. She sat on the edge of the pool and crossed her legs. And sighed. ‘Ahhh. This is much better.’

‘Are you sure you want to be sitting up there?’ Vivian asked.

‘Yep.’ She stretched, folding her hands behind her head, arching her back, twisting slightly from side to side. ‘Nice breeze.’

‘You really do stick out,’ Helen said.

‘Do I? Thanks.’ Lowering her arms, she gazed down as if inspecting her breasts. ‘Not as much as I’d like, actually.’ Helen chuckled. ‘Not them. You.’

‘You are awfully visible,’ Abilene said. ‘You look like a snowman up there.’

‘Gee, I should’ve brought my camouflage makeup.’

‘You stick out like a sore thumb,’ Helen told her.

‘Why don’t you get back in,’ Vivian said, ‘before somebody sees you?’

‘Nobody’s gonna see her,’ Cora said.

‘Ah, the voice of reason. You’d think we were in a war zone, the way these babes are carrying on. We’re in the middle of nowhere. Wishful thinking aside, that kid showing up was a fluke. There’s probably nobody but us around for miles.’

‘That’s telling ’em,’ Cora said.

‘It’s not true, though,’ Helen said. ‘There really are people who live in these hills.’

‘The dreaded Hill People,’ Finley said. ‘Who prowl the woods by night.’

‘I’m not joking. I read about them.’

‘Are these the same people who spontaneously combust?’ Finley asked.

‘These are the same people who invaded the Totem Pole Lodge twelve years ago and slaughtered everyone.’

‘All right]' Finley pumped a fist beside her face. ‘We get to hear the story, after all.’

‘Lucky us,’ Vivian muttered.

‘I guess so,’ Helen said. ‘Since Fin wants to insist nobody’s around for miles. The fact is, half a dozen families live within a few miles of here. Or did, anyway. I don’t know if they’re still around. But back at the time of the murders, there were the Sloanes, the Hacketts, the Johnsons…’

‘The Hatfields and McCoys,’ Abilene interrupted.

Finley laughed. ‘You’ve got your geography screwed up, Hickok.’

‘Well, it was never my strong suit.’

‘Let’s shut up and listen,’ Cora said.

‘Anyway, there were these families. They lived near here and they were hill people. They lived in shacks. They didn’t have much to do with the outside world. They hunted and fished and kept to themselves.’

‘Probably some terrific banjo players,’ Abilene said. ‘Apparently, there was a lot of inbreeding.’

‘Halfwits and harelips,’ Cora said.

‘I thought we were supposed to shut up and listen,’ Finley reminded her.

‘And don’t you forget it,’ Cora said.

‘I was behaving.’ Finley leaned back and braced herself up with stiff arms. ‘Go on, Helen.’

‘Well, Cora’s right. The inbreeding did result in some abnormalities. The book didn’t go into much detail about it, just that some of them were retarded and some looked kind of freakish. But they minded their own business, and generally tried to keep their distance from the lodge. They were in the woods all around here, though. So when guests from the lodge would go out fishing or hunting, sometimes they’d spot one or two off in the distance. They used to make jokes about bagging one. How they could have the head stuffed, and hang it up in the lodge along with the other trophies.’

‘These lodge guests sound like charming people,’ Abilene said.

‘Hunters are all like that,’ Vivian said. ‘Macho bastards.’

‘You’ve known some?’ Abilene asked.

‘Hell, my father was one.’

‘I thought he was a neurosurgeon.’

‘He was that, too.’

‘I thought doctors only played golf.’

‘My dad played Daniel Boone. He made me help him dress out a deer when I was ten years old.’

‘What did you dress it in?’ Finley asked.

‘A Tipton shirt,’ Cora said, and laughed.

‘I didn’t dress it in anything. I had to cut off its head and gut it and…’

‘Jesus,’ Helen muttered.

‘I can’t picture you doing something like that,’ Abilene said.

‘Well, I puked all over it.’

‘That I can picture.’

‘He would’ve fit right in with a crowd of guys who think it’d be laughs to plug a hillbilly. He and his pals were all a bunch of gun-toting assholes.’

‘Guys and their guns,’ Finley said.

‘Anyway,’ Helen went on, ‘they did end up shooting one of those people.’

‘It wasn’t on purpose, though,’ Helen said. ‘Three guys from the lodge were out deer hunting. They were over near that lake I mentioned. Something moved in the trees, and they opened fire. Then they went over to it, and what they found instead of a deer was a teenaged girl. Only she wasn’t dead. She was hit in the shoulder, is all.’

‘Not only assholes,’ Finley said, ‘but lousy shots.’

‘It’s not funny,’ Vivian muttered.

‘One of the hunters wanted to take the girl back to the lodge and get her to a hospital. At least that’s what he claims, and there was nobody left to refute him. Henderson. He told the whole story to the police later. He said the girl would’ve been all right if they’d gotten her some medical attention. But the other two were against it. They said there’d be hell to pay if it got out about them shooting her.’

‘It was an accident, wasn’t it?’ Abilene said.

‘Sure. And they figured they’d be all right with the authorities. What worried them was the girl’s family.’

‘Her kinfolks,’ Finley said.

‘Right. When something happens to blood relatives, people around here go nuts. They believe in an eye for an eye. They wouldn’t rest until they’d gotten their revenge, and they wouldn’t be very picky about who they nailed. The hunters were here with their families. Henderson had a wife and two little daughters back at the lodge, and the other two guys told him that nobody’d be safe. Especially daughters. But everything would be all right if the girl they shot could just disappear. That way, nobody would blame people from the lodge. Maybe she just got lost, or ran afoul of some wild animals. One of the other families might even get blamed. Apparently, there was bad blood between some of the clans, and the hunters knew about it.’

‘So they’re discussing all this,’ Cora asked, ‘while the poor kid is lying there bleeding?’

‘I guess so.’

‘What a bunch of bastards.’

‘They were hunters,’ Vivian said. ‘What do you expect?’

‘A little decency.’

‘Fat chance.’

‘The girl couldn’t hear them anyway. She was a deaf mute.’

‘Terrific,’ Vivian muttered.

‘Henderson says he told the guys they were talking about cold-blooded murder, and how this eye-for-an-eye stuff was no excuse to kill an innocent kid. She couldn’t exactly tell on them.’

‘She could point them out,’ Abilene said.

‘And grunt.’

‘You’re seriously disturbed, Finley.’

‘They told Henderson she had to be eliminated, but he didn’t listen. He knelt down and opened her shirt so he could get at the wound. He started to cut off one of her sleeves to use as a bandage, and that’s when one of the other guys clobbered him. Hit him in the head with a rifle butt. He says it knocked him out cold, so he didn’t have anything to do with what happened next.’

‘There’s a likely story,’ Finley said.

‘That’s what the cops thought. But they didn’t have any evidence against him, so he was never prosecuted. They never found the body. They never found out who she was. They never even found evidence that the murder had taken place, at all. Henderson’s story was all they had to go on. So he was never even arrested.’

‘But Henderson said they killed her?’ Abilene asked.

‘Yeah. And they raped her, too.’

‘Jesus,’ Cora muttered.

‘Henderson was pretty sure they did. When he came to, his buddies were both naked. So was the girl. And the girl was dead by then. Her throat had been slashed. And the guys were busy opening her up and stuffing rocks into her. You know, so she’d sink.’

Vivian groaned. ‘I knew I didn’t want to hear this.’

‘I’m surprised they didn’t kill Henderson,’ Abilene said.

‘It’s only his word,’ Cora said, ‘that he didn’t go along with the whole thing. He might’ve had at her, just like his two buddies. Maybe he was even the one who killed her.’

‘What he claimed,’ Helen explained, ‘was that he was afraid they would kill him. Guys get shot all the time in hunting accidents. So Henderson acted as if he’d had a change of heart and approved of what they’d done. They were still afraid he might turn them in, though. So they had him shoot her. That way, if the cops found her body, there might be ballistics evidence that Henderson’s rifle had been used on the girl.’

‘Pretty smart,’ Abilene said. ‘Or smart of Henderson, making that part of his story.’

‘Well, that was when they stopped being smart. Their idea was to swim out into the lake with the body and let it go. They figured the rocks would sink it, and it’d never be found. But one of them went down to the shore for a look around. They were on the far side of the lake, but apparently it isn’t very large. And the guy who went to scout around noticed some people from the lodge swimming off the dock on the other side. They were afraid they might be seen. So what they decided was to hide the body and come back after dark to take care of sinking it. They covered it with some bushes, then went back to the lodge.’

‘Henderson made up a story about falling down and hitting his head on a rock. He told his family he was still feeling dizzy and sick, and that he thought he’d better check into a hospital. So they all packed up and left. They drove into town. They found an emergency room, and he was being examined right at about the same time that everyone back at the lodge was sitting down in the dining room for supper.

‘Nobody at the lodge was alive the next day when a fellow and his wife showed up to register.’

‘My God,’ Cora said.

‘There were twenty-eight bodies, including the owner and his wife and three kids.’

‘What happened?’ Abilene asked.

‘Somebody found the girl, obviously,’ Finley said. ‘And got pissed.’

‘I mean, how the hell do you kill twenty-eight people?’

‘Well, there was poison in the Mulligan Stew. Apparently, no one died from the poison, though. Not everyone ate it, for one thing. A lot of the kids were served hot dogs and hamburgers. Mostly just adults ate the stew. The thing is, though, that the killers didn’t wait around long enough for the poison to kill anyone. Maybe they just kept watch until people started getting sick so there wouldn’t be much of a fight. Then they stormed the place. With guns and knives and hatchets and axes.’

‘They killed most of the people right there in the dining room. But some got away, at least for a while. Bodies were found all over the place: behind the registration desk, on the stairs, a few in the upstairs hall. A headless body was even found in there,’ she said, nodding toward the archway entrance to the inside pool.

Vivian grimaced. ‘In the water.’

‘Floating.’

Abilene’s skin suddenly felt crawly. ‘Oh, yuck.’

Vivian was already on her feet, turning around and climbing out.

‘Thanks for telling us,’ Abilene said.

‘Oh, calm down,’ Cora said. ‘This was twelve years ago, for godsake. It’s not like we got any on us.’

‘Even so…’ Abilene muttered. The hot water caressing her skin suddenly seemed thick and foul. She saw Vivian standing on the concrete, arms lifted away from her body, head down — inspecting her body as if she expected to find something hideous clinging to her skin.

Abilene was tempted to follow her example. But Helen and Cora were still in the water. And it was ridiculous to think that the pool could still be tainted after all these years. Besides, she’d already spent a lot of time in it. The harm was already done.

‘This,’ she said, ‘is like eating an apple and being told later that it had a worm in it.’

‘You’re grossing me out, Hickok.’

‘You mean you aren’t already grossed out?’

‘So the pool had a stiff in it. Big deal.’

‘I knew we shouldn’t have come to this place,’ Vivian said.

‘Pussies,’ Finley said.

‘It’s ancient history,’ Cora pointed out. ‘I don’t know why anybody’s getting upset.’

‘I need a shower,’ Vivian said.

‘Good luck,’ Finley told her.

‘Why don’t you just sit down and relax,’ Cora said. ‘I want to hear the rest of Helen’s story.’

‘You mean there’s more?’ Vivian asked. She didn’t sound pleased.

‘Well, that’s just about it. Guess I should’ve left out the part about the body in the pool.’

‘Wish you had,’ Abilene said.

‘Ignorance is bliss, Hickok. That must be how come you’re always smiling.’

‘Take a leap.’

‘Maybe I shouldn’t tell the rest,’ Helen said to Cora.

‘Go on. If anybody doesn’t want to hear it, they can cover their ears.’

‘I imagine we’ve already heard the worst,’ Abilene said. Without saying a word, Vivian sat down on the pool’s rim and crossed her legs. She began to flick her hands against her thighs as if brushing off ants.

‘Anyway,’ Helen said, ‘bodies were found all over the place.’

‘So we understand,’ Abilene muttered.

‘A few had been shot. But most of the wounds were in the legs, as if the attackers only used the guns to cripple them. The actual killings were done with sharp instruments. All the bodies were found with their bellies split open. Just like the girl the hunters killed. But it didn’t stop with that. They were mutilated and dismembered in all sorts of awful ways. Eyes were gouged out. Heads were split apart down the middle, or cut off at the neck. Arms and legs were chopped off. Same with the genitals of all the guys.’

‘Oh, for Godsake,’ Vivian muttered.

‘There were women whose breasts had been…’

‘I don’t want to hear this!’ Vivian clapped her open hands against her ears. ‘Just quit it! You don’t have to rub our noses in it. Christ’

‘Okay, well…’

‘What about the women?’ Cora asked. ‘Had they been raped?’

Helen, casting a glance at Vivian, nodded. ‘And then some,’ she said.

‘The cops never got anyone for it?’ Abilene asked.

‘They figured it must’ve been the girl’s family. Or maybe more than one family was involved. I mean, there were an awful lot of assailants. They’d tracked blood all over the place. The cops think there must’ve been anywhere from twelve to fifteen of them. Including women and children.’

‘Some of the killers were kids?’

‘A real family affair,’ Finley said.

‘The problem was, the cops didn’t know the identity of the girl who’d been killed by the hunters. So they didn’t know who to go after. They went around questioning the locals, but they never came up with anything. So the massacre at the Totem Pole Lodge was never solved.’

‘If there were bloody footprints everywhere,’ Abilene said, ‘there must’ve been fingerprints, too. All they would’ve had to do is round up all the people in the area and try to come up with matches.’

‘I guess they didn’t do that,’ Helen said.

‘When it comes right down to it,’ Cora said, ‘maybe they didn’t want to find the culprits. The cops must’ve been local people. Maybe they had a pretty good idea who did it, but they just decided to let it go.’

‘Afraid they’d stir up more trouble,’ Finley suggested.

‘That doesn’t seem likely,’ Abilene said. ‘We’re talking about a major atrocity. Cops aren’t gonna just look the other way.’

‘Who knows? Once they heard Henderson’s story, maybe that’s exactly what they did.’

‘I don’t know,’ Helen said. ‘I just know that they never arrested anyone. And the lodge was closed down, right after the killings, and never reopened. Apparently, some bank owns the place. They’ve tried to sell it off, but everybody around the area knows what happened here. Potential buyers find out pretty quick, too. Once they hear about the massacre, they won’t have anything to do with the place. On top of all that, the book says that the lodge is supposed to be haunted.’

‘Surprise surprise,’ Finley said.

‘People who’ve come near it at night have sometimes seen lights inside. And heard strange noises.’

‘This place is no more haunted than I am,’ Cora said. ‘The locals probably made up all that garbage just to keep people away from the place.’

‘Hey,’ Finley said. ‘That kid this afternoon? Maybe he took us for spooks.’

‘Yeah,’ Abilene said. ‘We might be contributing to the legend.’

‘Improving on it,’ Finley added. ‘Ghosts of bare-ass babes.’

‘Joke about it,’ Vivian said. ‘For all we know, he might be part of the bunch that murdered all those people.’

‘He would’ve made a hell of a killer,’ Finley said. ‘What’d he do, brain ’em with his bottle?’

‘He couldn’t have been older than four or five back then,’ Abilene said. ‘Unless he’s older than he looked.’

‘I don’t mean he was necessarily in on it. But his family might’ve been. Maybe the girl was his sister, or something. What if they have him come over to check on the place, and he’s supposed to let them know if anyone’s here?’

‘Maybe they’ve got us surrounded.’ Finley swiveled her head, making a show of scanning the moonlit grounds.

‘We didn’t do anything.’ Helen sounded nervous.

‘We’ve done plenty,’ Abilene said. ‘But nothing to them.’

‘They’ve gotta be maniacs,’ Vivian said, ‘to’ve killed all those people like that. Who knows what it might take to set them off? Suppose it’s enough that we’re staying here?’

‘We’re at the lodge, so we’re fair game?’

Cora sighed. ‘Come on, gals. You’re letting your imaginations run wild. Before you know it, you’re gonna get yourselves so worked up you’ll want to pack up and get out.’

‘Which is what I’ve wanted to do from the start,’ Vivian reminded her. ‘But now that we know what happened here… Those maniacs probably still live in the same place. Somewhere nearby. And maybe they do know we’re here. And maybe they don’t like it.’

‘Maybe they enjoyed the last chop-fest so much that they’re eager for another.’

Cora let out a loud sigh. ‘You’re not helping matters, Finley.’

‘Hey, I’m on your side.’

‘Then quit horsing around.’

‘I don’t think we should stay,’ Vivian said.

‘See? What’d I tell you?’

Turning toward Vivian, Helen said, ‘We already agreed to give it at least one night.’

‘That was before you told us what’d happened here.’

‘I don’t see how it really changes anything,’ Cora said.

‘Besides,’ Helen said, ‘I did tell you there’d been murders.’

‘You didn’t say there’d been twenty-eight.’

‘Twenty-nine,’ Finley corrected. ‘Don’t forget the gal the hunters killed. Or maybe she shouldn’t count, since she didn’t get trashed in the lodge.’

‘The place was a slaughter house. I’m not gonna be able to sleep a wink, knowing I’m in a place where all those people were killed… mutilated.’

‘Good,’ Finley said, if you can’t sleep, you can be our official lookout.

‘What do you think, Abby?’ Vivian asked.

She shrugged. ‘Even if I’m on your side, it’d still be three against two for staying. I’ve got to admit, though, the place has lost some of its charm. I might be in favor of leaving if we had somewhere to go. But the nearest town is — what — forty miles away? On these roads, it’d probably take us a couple of hours to get there. And we don’t even know if it has a motel. We could end up spending a very long, miserable night. And I’m tired already.’ Even as she mentioned it, she yawned.

‘So you don’t want to go?’

She finished her yawn, then said, if I thought there was any real danger

‘Hey,’ Cora said, ‘I wouldn’t stay, either, if I thought someone might show up and attack us.’

‘None of us would,’ Helen said.

‘Finley might,’ Abilene said.

‘Just if I can get it on tape.’

‘So that’s it, then, huh? We’re going to stay? In spite of everything?’

‘It’s supposed to be creepy,’ Helen reminded her. it’s that, all right,’ Abilene said.

‘Should we go back in, now?’ Helen asked, ‘i’m starting to prune.’

‘You oughta climb out and cool off,’ Finley suggested.

‘Just ignore the audience in the woods.’

‘Thanks anyway. Is everyone else ready?’

‘I’ve had enough,’ Abilene said, and yawned again.

‘We keeping you up, Hickok?’

‘I am starting to get awfully groggy.’

‘It’s the hot water,’ Cora told her. ‘i’m feeling about ready to hit the sack, myself.’

‘Why don’t you all get out?’ Vivian suggested. ‘We can walk around to the front. It’ll give you a chance to dry off and get cool. Besides, I’m not stepping foot in that water again.’

‘I don’t want to walk,’ Helen said. ‘I’m not wearing any shoes.’

‘I’m not wearing anything,’ Cora said.

Abilene laughed. ‘Since when does that bother you?’

‘Since she heard about the wild hillbilly clan,’ Finley said. ‘Anyway, all our stuff’s in there.’

Vivian rose to her feet. She picked up Abilene’s flashlight. ‘If I have to walk alone, I will.’

‘That’s all right,’ Finley said. ‘I’ll go with her.’

‘You scared of the water, too?’ Cora asked.

‘Oh, sure. I just don’t need to get wet again.’ She uncrossed her legs, stood up, and brushed off her ramp. ‘You guys go on through the pool. We’ll circle around and meet you.’

‘You’re naked,’ Helen pointed out.

She looked down at herself. ‘Yep.’

‘Be careful,’ Abilene said.

Finley, striding alongside the pool with Helen’s flashlight in her hand, said, ‘Never fear, the Fin-man’s here.’ To Vivian, she said, ‘Let’s keep the lights off unless we need them.’

Abilene was glad to hear it. In spite of Finley’s carefree faЈade, she wasn’t reckless.

‘Ta ta for now,’ Finley said. She and Vivian began walking away, staying on the granite beneath the porch, heading towards the north end of the lodge.

Cora stood up and turned around. ‘Watch your tails,’ she called.

Finley gave her ramp a jaunty swish.

In a low voice, Abilene said, ‘Let’s keep an eye on them for a minute.’

‘Intended to,’ Cora told her.

‘Viv’s really spooked,’ she whispered.

‘You’re telling me.’

‘Maybe we should leave tonight.’

‘She’ll be okay.’

‘I sure didn’t think it’d upset her so much,’ Helen said, coming up behind them.

it was a pretty awful story.’

Finley and Vivian disappeared around the corner.

‘I hope they’ll be all right,’ Abilene said.

‘Let’s get on in.’ Cora, turning around in the chest-high water, waded past Helen and halted facing the archway. ‘When did the lantern go out?’

‘Oh, my God,’ Helen said.

Abilene followed Helen. They stopped at Cora’s back.

Beyond the archway was darkness.

‘It probably just ran out of fuel,’ Cora said. She didn’t sound troubled.

‘God, why did we give them both the flashlights?’ Helen sounded greatly troubled.

‘No big deal.’

‘Maybe we should go around,’ Abilene said.

Cora didn’t answer. She slipped through the archway and vanished.

Helen and Abilene followed.