‘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.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The windows high in the wall at the far end of the pool glowed dimly with gray light from outside. Turning around, Abilene looked up at the row of windows sheltered by the porch. They were barely less dark than the blackness surrounding her.
The half-circle of the archway was like the mouth of a tunnel, but the moonlit night beyond it was where she had already been, not where she was going.
Abilene turned away from it. She waded slowly forward.
She couldn’t see Cora or Helen. She couldn’t see anything at all except for the murky strip of windows way off to her right.
She could hear the others, though. The sounds of their breathing, along with her own. And the slurpy sounds of their wading. They seemed to be in front of her. But not very close. They had continued across the pool while she had paused to look around.
‘Abby?’ Helen’s hushed voice was high and shaky.
‘Right behind you.’
‘I don’t like this.’
‘Me neither.’
‘I can’t see a thing.’
‘Shhhh.’
‘What?’
‘I thought I heard something.’
‘Oh, Jesus,’ Abilene murmured.
Then yelped as she bumped something and arms clamped around her.
