The Midnight Tour

Its latch clicked.

Dana watched her.

“Let’s go,” Tuck said.

“Don’t forget to lock it.”

“Oh, it doesn’t lock.”

“You said...”

“That was just a fib in case our friend was listening.”

“You aren’t going to lock it for the night?”

“Can’t. The lock’s broken. Has been for years.”

“Maybe you should get it fixed.”

“Maybe.” Tuck laughed softly, then started down the stairs.

Dana turned around and hurried to the bottom, glad to be putting distance between herself and the attic.

At the bottom, she picked up her shoes and stepped out of the way.

Tuck hooked the cordon in place.

They both started putting on their shoes.

“Sorry I forgot to warn you about the dummies,” Tuck said.

“That’s all right. What’re they doing up there?”

“Just hanging out.” Finished putting on her shoes, Tuck stood up. “Actually,” she said, “they’re former exhibits. One’s the cop...”

“Dan Jenson?”

“Right. He was moved to the attic back in ’79 after they busted him up. Then when Janice bought the place, she put the Zieglers up there with him. She needed to get them out of the middle of the hallway. Caused too much traffic conjestion. Ready to go?”

“All set.”

“Next stop,” Tuck said, “the nursery.”

This time, Dana waited just outside the door while Tuck ducked under the cordon and hurried through the room.

Tuck found nobody.

They continued down the corridor to the room where Lilly’s boys had been slain. Again, Dana waited while Tuck did a quick search.

“So that’s it for up here?” Dana asked as they returned to the stairway.

“That’s about it. The other doors are all kept shut and locked. Nobody can get into any of them without a key. So, I guess our boy must be downstairs.”

“Or girl.”

“It’ll be a guy,” Tuck told her. “Girls never pull this sort of crap. Not by themselves.”

“Never?”

“Hardly ever.”

“You saying girls are chicken?”

Tuck grinned. “Maybe not chicken. Maybe just smarter.”

“I’ll go along with that.”

Laughing, they started to descend the stairs.

“How often do you have to go through all this?” Dana asked.

“Pain in the ass, huh?”

“A major pain.”

“It gets easier the more often you do it.”

“I hope it’s not every afternoon.”

“It varies. We’ll sometimes go two or three weeks without a problem. Then again, sometimes it might be two or three days in a row.”

“I could do without it completely,” Dana said as they reached the bottom of the stairway.

“Rhonda’s probably right outside. I can get her to finish up with me, if you’d rather...”

“Trying to get rid of me?”

“It’s your first day. You’ve done plenty.”

“I’ll stick with you,” Dana said.

“All right, good deal. Let’s see how Ethel’s doing.”

Dana followed Tuck into the parlor and watched her scurry about in search of the missing tourist.

“Are you sure we started with a hundred and fifty players?” Dana asked. “Maybe we were one short...”

“Nope. I checked, myself. We started with a hundred and fifty players in full working order.”

“So one is definitely still out.”

“Yep.” Pausing, Tuck stared down at Ethel. “She still decent?”

“Semi-decent.”

“Good enough. I’d sure like to get my hands on whoever was in here screwing around with her.”

“Better be careful what you wish for,” Dana said.

Tuck came out. Together, they crossed the foyer and entered the dining room. They both glanced under the table, then split up to walk around it. They met again before stepping into the kitchen.

As they searched the kitchen, Dana said, “What if we can’t find him,”

“If we can’t, we can’t.”

“Does it ever happen?”

“Now and then.”

“Somebody just disappears?

Tuck grinned at her. “Now and then.”

“Oh, terrific.”

Off to the side of the kitchen was a door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY. Dana opened it and leaned in. She glanced at the old-fashioned toilet, bath tub and sink. In one corner stood a water heater. On the floor was a modem electric space heater. There were plush purple rugs and matching towels.

But no tourist.

“Make sure nobody’s in the tub,” Tuck said.

Dana groaned. Then she stepped through the doorway.

Tuck had pointed out the special “employees only” restroom yesterday, but this was the first time Dana had entered it. The air smelled like fresh, scented soap. Murky light filtered in through the window curtains.

A breeze came in with the light, filling the curtains and lifting them gently.

Turning her back to the window, Dana stared at the bath tub.

It looked very old and very large. It was nestled in shadows. against the far wall.

From where she stood, she couldn’t see all the way to its bottom.

If somebody’s hiding down there...

How ironic to pee my pants a few steps away from a toilet.

Fear growing in her belly, she rushed toward the tub.

And saw its bottoms.

Empty.

“All clear,” she called out. Then she added, “I think I’ll take advantage of the john while I’m here.”

“Help yourself.”

She returned to the door and shut it, then stepped over to the toilet.

This was really much nicer than the public restrooms out back.

Seated on the toilet, she found herself staring at the tub.

You hardly ever see them that big, she thought.

A green bath mat was draped over its side.

A bath mat?

“Hey, Tuck,” she called out, and realized she’d used the wrong name. “Lynn? Does somebody actually take