The Midnight Tour (5 page)

“I’ll try. Might be tough, though. I’ve been calling you Tuck since we were kids.”

“For which I’ve never properly repaid you.”

‟Think nothing of it,” Dana said.

“Anyway, try to avoid it, okay? The thing is, I’m the boss of things over there. It’s bad enough that I look like I’m only about fifteen years old.”

“A
mature
fifteen.”

“I’m also only twenty damn years old and have to go around giving orders to all these
older
people. All I’d need is to have them hear you calling me Tuck.”

‟Don’t they know your name’s Tucker?”

“Maybe, maybe not. Nobody uses my last name over there, but they all know Janice is my stepmother. Maybe they think my name’s Crogan.”

“She should’ve changed
her
name when she married your dad.”

“Would
you
change your name to Tucker?”

“If I married a guy named Tucker.”

“Anyway, she didn’t. Just don’t call me Tuck in front of the employees, okay?”

“You don’t call me Moose, I won’t call you Tuck.”

“I never called you Moose.”

“Right. You preferred Bullwinkle.”

“Okay, I won’t call you Bullwinkle. I promise. Nothing but Dana. Or
Miss
Lake,
if I have to berate you for doing something stupid.”

“Would I do something stupid?”

“Oh, not you.”

“So,” Dana said, “what
should
I call you?”

“Boss lady.”

Dana cracked up, and Tuck grinned. She waited for Dana’s laughter to subside, then said, “Lynn would be fine.”

Nodding, Dana lifted her cup. Steam drifted off the dark surface of the coffee. She blew it gently away, then took a sip. “Mm, good.”

‟Do you want something to eat?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Good. We don’t have much time. We can grab a bite at the snack shop after we get there. Or we can stop for doughnuts on the way. Are you still a doughnut hound?”

“You bet,” Dana said. “But I’m not that hungry right now. I don’t usually eat much in the morning.”

“About ready to go?”

‟Yep. You said to be ready by nine. I’ve been ready since I walked in.” She took another sip of coffee, then another.

“Take your time. We don’t have to rush off right away. I’m the boss, after all.”

‟Yeah, but you shouldn’t be late.”

‟Even if we don’t get there till nine-thirty, I’ll still be the first one to arrive. Nobody’s all that gung-ho
.
It’s just a job to them, you know?”

‟What is it to you?”

‟A passion!”

Dana laughed. ‟Right.”

“Do you want the truth?”

‟If you’re up to it.”

‟I love
it all. I really do. I love being the boss...”

“You’ve always been great at giving orders.”

‟It isn’t just that, either. There’s something about Beast House. It’s got
history,
you know? An
awful
history, but...There’s something sort of old and romantic and mysterious about the place. I just love it there. It’s like a strange little piece of the past is still alive...I mean, you can
feel
it.”

‟If you say so.”

‟Did you feel it yesterday?”

‟Mosdy, I just felt a little spooked.”

Tuck grinned. ‟Good. You’re supposed to. But after you get used to the place, it probably won’t seem so creepy anymore.”

‟Probably?”

‟Well, it actually seems to get
worse
instead of better for some people. That’s pretty rare, though.”

“I hope that doesn’t happen to me.”

‟Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. Me, I like the place
more
all the time.”

“Someday, maybe it’ll be
yours.
”

‟I ain’t gonna hold my breath,” Tuck said.

‟You’re Janice’s only heir, aren’t you?”

‟Well, shit, I guess so. She doesn’t have any brothers or sisters, and you
know
what happened to her parents.” Tuck frowned as if thinking about it for a few moments, then said, ‟Other than Dad and me, she’s got nobody else except an uncle and cousin. But Janice is just in her thirties, for godsake. I doubt if she’ll be pitching forward on her nose in the near future. Besides which, she might even have a kid of her own someday.”

“She hasn’t so far.”

“Yeah, but she’s only been married for a couple of years.”

“She’s how old?”

Tuck frowned for a moment, then said, “Thirty-six.”

“Well, that’s not
terribly
old to be starting a family.”

“For all I know, she might
already
be knocked up. And if she’s not, she probably
will
be by the time they get back from the cruise. I mean, two months together in the South Pacific? I damn near get pregnant just
thinking
about it.”

“Have they been trying to have a baby?” Dana asked.

“Jeez! How would I know? She’s a great gal and everything and we really like each other, but it’s not like being with you. She my dad’s
wife.
I mean, I can’t just ask her about stuff like that.” Tuck raised her eyebrows. “Do you want any more coffee?”

“Nope, I’m fine.”

“Maybe we’d better get going.” She reached across the table for Dana’s cup. “I’ll rinse these out and batten down the hatches. You might want to grab your windbreaker. You never know when the fog’ll come rolling in. It can get pretty nippy.”

Five minutes later, Dana followed Tuck into the three-car garage. They walked past the eighteen foot cabin cruiser, then past a Mercedes, before climbing into the red Jeep Wrangler.

“I don’t know how you can stand living in such squalor,” Dana said.

“It’s tough.” As the automatic door rolled upward, Tuck started the Jeep’s engine. “I’ll probably have to move out if I ever get married.”

“Don’t get married. No guy would be worth it.”

“Nobody
I
know,” Tuck said. Laughing, she backed out of the garage.

As she turned the Jeep around, Dana gazed at the front of the house. With its many outside stairways, its passageways and balconies, the enormous stucco house looked more like a nice hotel than . like a private home. “It’s
really
fabulous,” she said.

“Amazing what you can do with a few million bucks, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t mind living in a place like this.”

“You
are
living in a place like this,” Tuck said. “All summer.” She aimed the remote over her shoulder. As the garage door started to close, she put the remote away and headed down the long, narrow driveway.

The morning air blew Dana’s hair. She took deep breaths. She could smell the woods
and
the ocean.

Though the area immediately in front of the house was bright with sunlight, the driveway soon took them into thick woods. There, in shadows as heavy as dusk, the rays of the sun looked like golden pillars slanting down through the trees. Haze drifted like smoke in the gold.

Dana smiled at Tuck, and shook her head.

“Not exactly like Los Angeles, is it?” Tuck asked.

“Not exactly. I can’t believe I’ll be spending the whole summer here.”

“Neither can I. Man, am I ever glad you could come.”

“You’re
glad!”

“You bet I am.” Tuck picked up speed on the downhill. She took the curves awfully fast.

Too fast for Dana’s taste.

Even with the seatbelt on, Dana felt her body being shoved from side to side as they raced around the bends.

It’s okay, she told herself. Tuck knows what she’s doing. She’s probably driven in.and out of this place thousands of times.

Tuck glanced at her and grinned, then faced the front again. Her long, blond hair was streaming behind her in the breeze. “We’re gonna have a great time,” she said.

“I hope so.”

If she doesn ’t slam us into a tree.

“And you know what?” Tuck asked. “I couldn’t have stayed home this summer if you hadn’t agreed to come.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“They were all set to drag me along with them on their damn cruise.”

“Oh, that would’ve been a fate worse than death.” ,

“I
hate
cruises. Yuck!”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Have you ever gone on one?”

“No.”

“just wait.” Some hair blew across her face. She fingered it out of the way with one hand while she steered around a curve with the other. “It’s like being on a floating prison full of chipper weirdos. But Dad didn’t want me staying here alone. So I’d be out somewhere on the briny sea, right now, if you hadn’t come to stay. I owe you bigtime.”

Shrugging, Dana said, “I’m sure you could’ve gotten somebody else.”

“I didn’t want anyone else. You’re my best friend. Besides, you’re the only person Dad would’ve agreed to. It was you or nobody.”

“How come?”

“Hell, don’t ask me. He likes you. He trusts you. He thinks you’re a regular Girl Scout.”

“I’ve got
him
fooled.”

Tuck smiled at her. “No you don’t. He’s right.”

“Aw, shucks.”

“Anyway, I thought you should know. It’s not like I’m doing
you
all the big favors. You’re doing a major one for me just by being here.”

“Why don’t you do
me
a favor and slow down?”

“This is nothing. You wanta see me
really
go fast?”

“That’s all right. Some other time. When I’m not in the car, for instance.”

“All right, all right.” Tuck eased her foot down on the brake pedal, and the Jeep slowed down.

“Thank you,” Dana said.

“You’re always so cautious.”

“You’re always so reckless. Maybe that’s why your dad didn’t want you to stay by yourself.”

“I don’t think that’s why.”

“Was he afraid you might throw wild parties?”

“Nah. It was the whole idea of me being alone in the house. You know, it’s so enormous and there’s nothing around it but the woods. No neighbors or anything. It can get a little creepy when you’re there by yourself. Anyway, I think Dad had visions of the Manson family or Hannibal Lecter coming for me.”

“In which case, a lot of good
I’d
be.”

“It’s just some sort of mental aberration on Dad’s part. He seems to think I’ll be fine if you’re staying with me. It’s not because you’re such a big, strapping brute, either.”

“I hope not.”

“Not that you aren’t.”

“I see that living in the lap of luxury hasn’t robbed you of your native charm.”

“Nope. Thank God, huh?”

“Yeah. It would’ve been a major loss. Anyway, if they’d forced you to go on the cruise with them, what would they have done about Beast House?”

“Put Clyde in charge,”

“Who’s Clyde?”

“Clyde Bennett. You met him yesterday. He’s a charmer. He’s gotta be thrilled to death about me being head honcho this summer.”

“Does he give you a hard time?” Dana asked.

“He used to.”

As they glided around a bend, the two-lane public road came into sight. Tuck slowed the Jeep and came to a complete stop.

This is where you’ve gotta start being careful,” she explalned. “Some of the people around these parts drive like maniacs.” She eased forward, checking in both directions, then stepped on the gas. “Beast House,” she yelled, “here we come!”

Chapter Four

THE STORY ACCORDING TO PATTY

“Hello again,” Patty said.

Owen, relieved by the interruption, settled back in his seat and leaned sideways a little to look up the aisle at the guide.

“Is everyone enjoying the scenery?” she asked. “It’s pretty terrific, isn’t it?”

Looks good from here, Owen thought.

Patty was standing casually with the microphone close to her mouth. She held on to a support pole with her other hand. The hand was high, as if she’d raised her arm to ask a question.

“This section of Pacific Coast Highway can be a little frightening,” Patty said. “But you folks probably enjoy a good scare, or you wouldn’t be on your way to Beast House. Am I right?”

Some of the passengers responded, “Right.” Others chuckled.

“To put your minds at ease, I can tell you that we haven’t lost a bus over the cliffs in the past three weeks. That trip, I hear, was very exciting for a few seconds. But I miss the guide. She and I were pretty good friends. Her name was Bubbles.”

“Give me a break,” Monica muttered.

“Not Sandy?” asked a man in an aisle seat just in front of Patty.

“Good one,” she told him.

“How about Rocky?” suggested another passenger.

“Actually, all three perished. It was a terrible accident. But I’m sure we’ll fare better. Won’t we, Al?” The driver raised his arm and gave a thumbs-up. “He doesn’t let a little thing like cataracts get in his way.” After a short pause, Patty asked, “How many of you have been to Beast House before?”

Looking around, Owen saw eight or ten of the passengers raise a hand.

“What’s that, about one out of five? Pretty good. That’s about typical. We get a lot of repeats. There’s something about Beast House that just keeps drawing people back to it. Especially weirdos. No offense.”

A
lot
of riders laughed at that one.

“The house has had a long and colorful history. Mostly, the color has been red. I won’t get into much of that, though. What I want to do, now, is tell you a few things that won’t get covered to any extent on the tour.

“Beast House has been a popular tourist trap...attraction...since 1932. For those of you who aren’t whizzes at math, that’s a while ago. The Great Depression was going on. Herbert Hoover was President of the United States. Edward the Eighth sat on the throne of Great Britain. Germany’s comeback kid, Adolph Hitler, was defeated that year in a run-off election for the presidency when a guy by the name of Hindenburg burst his balloon...so to speak.”

“Oh, the humanity, ” someone threw in.

“Exactly,” Patty said. “In 1932, the Japanese invaded Shanghai. Al Capone was sent to prison in Atlanta. The Lindbergh baby got himself kidnapped and murdered. Amelia Earhart was still among the unvanished. Gary Cooper starred in A
Farewell to Arms
and Shirley Temple made her first movie. Not only that, but 1932 marked the birth of Senator Edward Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor.”