Thomas sipped his tea and peered beyond the parking lot. Barton Falls lay on the horizon, the town’s lights flickering like hundreds of distant fireflies. Chewing on an apple, he returned to the bullpen where Detective Presley conferred with Officer Stanton in the corner. A half-dozen officers worked overtime tonight, but all were out in the field, patrolling Kane Grove and Barton Falls. Thomas believed he was wasting time here. Presley wanted to pin Derek Jordan’s murder on Troy Dean, and there was nothing he could do to change her mind.
He joined Presley and Stanton at the desk and told them about the Violet Lyon connection. Presley leaned back and tapped a pen against her palm.
“That’s curious. Their little skit might be related to the murder.”
“Or it might be a coincidence,” Thomas said, staring down at his clasped hands. “Except I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Now I’m curious.” Presley typed at Stanton’s terminal and located Violet Lyon’s website. The detective opened her mouth. “Wow. Have you seen this?”
Thomas swung his chair around the desk. Gory images from famous horror movies filled the screen. Bloody corpses, screaming faces, severed body parts.
“I’d say Valerie Leonard is into some pretty sick stuff,” Officer Stanton said, setting the case folder aside.
“Sick enough to murder her boyfriend?” asked Presley.
“That’s a stretch,” Thomas said, though the disturbing images roiled his stomach. He pointed at the archive link along the top of the screen. “Click on the archive and find that podcast.”
A screen appeared with replays of Violet Lyon’s recent podcasts.
“This must be the one,” Presley said, moving the mouse pointer over last night’s entry. “Want me to click play?”
“Go ahead.”
The podcast began with a montage of creepy music. Then the sing-song voice of a teenage girl welcomed listeners to her show. As Stanton and Presley leaned toward the speakers, Thomas’s phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number.
“Sheriff Shepherd,” he said, placing the phone to his ear.
Presley set her coffee down and watched Thomas as Stanton concentrated on Valerie’s voice.
“Sheriff, you said I could call if I had information about Derek’s murder.”
Valerie Leonard. It was unsettling hearing the girl talk through the computer speakers and the phone at the same time. He snapped his fingers and prompted Stanton to kill the sound.
“Is that you, Valerie?”
Presley questioned Thomas with her eyes, and Thomas mouthed, “Valerie Leonard.” The detective scribbled a note and handed it to Thomas. The note read, speaker phone. Thomas set the phone on the desk.
“Yes, this is Valerie.”
Worry colored the teenager’s voice.
“You’re on speaker phone with Detective Presley and Officer Stanton with the Kane Grove Police Department. You have information related to Derek Jordan’s murder?”
A sniffle.
“I know who killed Derek.”
Presley glared at Thomas. The sheriff picked up a pen.
“Who murdered Derek, Valerie?”
“It was our teacher, Mr. Pierpoint.”
Thomas confirmed the spelling and pointed at Stanton, who ran a search on the teacher.
“Why do you believe Mr. Pierpoint killed Derek?”
“He called me an hour ago. I don’t even know how he got my number.”
“What did he say?”
“He was very upset over Derek. I’m pretty sure he was crying. But he said some weird stuff that scared me.”
“Like what?”
“That he sleepwalks and doesn’t remember where he went or what he did.”
“Did he say he attacked Derek?”
Valerie moaned.
“He implied it, yes.”
Thomas copied the relevant information on Mr. Pierpoint, as Valerie mentioned the teacher’s close relationship with Derek Jordan.
“We’re sending an officer to your house,” Thomas said.
“That’s not a good idea. My father is upset. He’ll get angry if he finds out.”
“Let us worry about your father. But I need to ask you an important question.”
“Okay.”
“Who is the Halloween Man?”
Silence. Thomas waited before prompting Valerie again.
Finally, the girl spoke.
“He’s not real. I made him up to scare people.”
“You’re Violet Lyon,” Thomas said, as Stanton handed him a printout of Pierpoint’s driver’s license. There was something untrustworthy about the man’s eyes. Was the teacher their killer?
“Yes, I’m Violet Lyon.”
“Okay, Valerie. Since Derek’s attack, has anything out of the ordinary happened?”
“I saw the Halloween Man at school. He’s following me.”
Presley shot Thomas a look of disbelief.
“But you just said he’s not real.”
“Someone heard my podcast and brought the Halloween Man to life.”
“You mean someone is posing as the Halloween Man and stalking you?”
“Yes,” the girl said, choking on her fear. Valerie recounted the locker room incident and the masked man in the parking lot. As Thomas took notes, Valerie described the mythical killer’s appearance.
“Don’t go anywhere, Valerie. An officer will monitor your house from the curb.”
Presley confirmed a cruiser would arrive at the Leonard house in ten minutes. Valerie’s description of the killer kept running through Thomas’s head.
“Detective, get me the evidence bag from this morning. The one with the orange piece of rubber we picked out of the meadow.”
Presley retrieved the evidence and returned it to her desk. Directing the desk lamp over the bag, Thomas held the evidence up to the light.
“What do you see?” she asked.
“Valerie claims her made-up killer wears a pumpkin mask. Does that look like Halloween orange to you?”
Presley took the bag and squinted at the piece of rubber.
“Could be. It’s too small to be sure.”
“Hey,” Stanton said, leaning forward. “Doesn’t Derek Jordan’s stepfather work at a Halloween costume shop?”
“That’s a good point. And he had motive to murder his stepson.” Presley ground her teeth as she considered the evidence. “What if Valerie Leonard killed Derek Jordan?”
Thomas set the bag aside.
“What makes you think she’s the killer?”
“You said it yourself. There’s something off about that girl, and she has an unhealthy fixation with violent horror movies.”
“Video games and movies don’t turn teenagers into serial killers, Detective.”
“No, but her father drives a black Volkswagen Passat.”
“Which we still haven’t examined.”
“Valerie left the house last night without her parents knowing. It’s possible she stole the car, murdered Derek, and drove home before they realized she’d left.”
“It’s also possible Ed Leonard murdered Derek Jordan because
