The Fall of Candy Corn (16 page)

Candace didn't believe in ghosts. It seemed, though, like Kurt did. One thing was for sure. There definitely was something going on at The Zone, and she'd bet anyone a month worth of pizzas that it wasn't supernatural.

13

Candace was really grateful to have Kurt as a boyfriend. It had nothing to do with looks, though he was gorgeous. It had nothing to do with his style, which was dashing. It had everything to do with his knowledge of esoteric history and his willingness to share it.

“Okay, so tell me again what happened to all the signers of the Declaration of Independence,” she said, sitting across from him at the referee cantina.

He recounted the chilling list. Most of the men were killed or ruined outright. The sacrifice they had chosen to make was staggering. She scribbled furiously on her notepad as she listened. In her mind she imagined what their fates must have been like as destruction rained down on them, their homes, and families.

She asked him a dozen questions and took thorough notes. Fortunately her teacher was allowing interviews as a legitimate form of research for the paper.

“Thank you,” she said at last, when he had answered every question on her list. “I think I have enough to write ten papers.”

“No problem,” he said, finishing up his dinner. “I'm back to work. You?”

“I'm going home to beat a paper on Colonial America out of this,” she said, waving the notepad in the air.

“Good luck with that,” he said.

“Thanks.”

At home she wrote the paper in just under two hours. It was a record time for her, and she felt really pleased with the results. In addition to her interview with Kurt, she had consulted half a dozen books for her information. It was the last of her papers, and she was certain that it was the best.

When she was done, she called Tamara. “Want to go for some coffee or dessert?”

“I'd love to, but it's going to take me at least another five hours to write this paper,” Tamara said with a sigh.

“That's okay. I have another question though.”

“What?”

“I've been thinking about trying to switch a shift with someone so that I can attend one of the nights of Scare. I've heard you and my parents talk about how fun it was, and now I'm totally curious.”

“You're not seriously going to ask me to put myself in a position to be frightened again, are you?”

“Actually, I am. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather scream like a little girl with.”

Tamara laughed. “Well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse?”

“I was hoping you'd say that.”

“Fine, I'll go. Just tell me when.”

“Great. I'll see who I can bribe into switching with me.”

Candace hung up and made her way back to the park, hoping to catch some of the regular cart vendors still on duty. She made a beeline for the cart storage area, hoping to run into someone. She found Martha and explained her mission.

“I'm sure Megan would love to switch,” Martha said. “Her cart's currently in the Exploration Zone if you want to go ask her.”

“Great, thanks!”

Candace had switched shifts with Megan before, over the summer. She hadn't realized the other girl was a regular referee instead of just seasonal.

The Exploration Zone was dominated by the Atomic Coaster, a roller coaster that looked like a giant atom. The zone was dedicated to science and exploration. Several buildings housed attractions and hands-on exhibits dedicated to astronomy, physics, geology, biology, archaeology, and chemistry. It was home to the Muffin Mansion kitchen, an experiment in chemistry if ever there was one. Candace found Megan in front of a huge building with a lifesize T-Rex apparently breaking out of it.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Megan asked in surprise.

“Actually I was looking for you. I need to have one of the Scare nights off this weekend, and I wanted to know if you'd be willing to swap a Saturday or Sunday day shift.”

“Would I ever! I work Saturday from nine to four. I'd love to switch it for the Saturday Scare shift.”

“Awesome. Thank you.”

“Not a problem. I should be thanking you. I'd love to be working Scare every night.”

“Why aren't you?”

“They already had enough vendors signed up by the time I asked about it.”

Candace felt bad for her. She wondered if they added an extra position for Candace when she was removed from the maze.

“That's too bad.”

Megan shrugged. “If people keep quitting Scare, then I might get moved after all.”

“People are quitting Scare?” Candace asked.

“Lots. They're scared of the ghost,” Megan said.

Candace laughed. “That's silly. There's no such thing as ghosts.”

“That's what I think. Lots of people are spooked though.”

Since Candace didn't believe in ghosts, the real question seemed to be: Who was scaring the Scare referees?

“Thanks again. I'll put in the paperwork.”

Megan nodded cheerfully, and Candace moved away. She was so deep in thought that she jumped, startled, when someone grabbed her shoulder.

“Hey, Candy.”

It was Brandon.

“Where's your evil twin?” Candace snapped.

“Good one. Oh, Will is somewhere about.”

“What do you want?” Candace asked.

“A date.”

“No.”

“Then a kiss,” he leered.

“No! Get away from me. I have a boyfriend, and he'll take care of you.”

“Ooh, I'm scared.”

Candace saw a flash from the corner of her eye, and then a broom hit Brandon in the back of the head.

“Sorry,” Sue said, smiling innocently. “I can be so clumsy sometimes.”

Brandon muttered something under his breath before taking off.

“Thank you,” Candace said.

“No problem.”

“That's the third time someone has had to rescue me from that creep and his friend,” Candace said.

“Next time you might want to try decking one of them,” Sue suggested.

The idea had appeal, but Candace didn't know the first thing about fighting or punching. Plus what about turning the other cheek? She sighed. She was going to have to work it out, because she was pretty sure this wasn't the last she would see of Brandon and Will.

“Hey, I heard you're running Sugar Shock,” Sue said, changing the subject.

“Helping to run it,” Candace corrected. “Martha's the one in charge.”

“Good luck with that. I think it's awesome, by the way, that you're helping out.”

“Would you like to help out?” Candace asked. “We could use a few more refs working that day.”

“Sorry. That is one day I'm definitely not working. I'm bringing my brother and sister to it.”

“Cool! How old are they?”

“Gus is nine, and Mary is seven.”

“Our target demographics,” Candace said with a laugh.

“Tell me about it! Mom brought them last year, and they couldn't stop talking about it for weeks.”

“Then I'll have to work doubly hard to make sure they're more impressed this year than last,” Candace said.

“That would be great.”

“Hey, I've got a question. Maybe you could answer it.”

“What?”

“Why do they call it Sugar Shock?”

Sue smirked. “You ever seen several thousand kids jacked up on way too much sugar all at the same time all in the same place?”

“No,” Candace admitted.

“Once you have, you'll understand.”

Candace heard the train coming and out of reflex glanced toward the tracks to make sure she was well clear of them. What she did see turned her blood cold. A little boy was sitting on the tracks, licking an ice cream cone, oblivious to the oncoming train. The train blasted the horn several times in urgent succession.

Candace sprang forward into the path of the train and grabbed the boy. She saw Pete's face inside the engine, his eyes wide in terror, and she could tell that he was shouting something she couldn't hear.

She jumped off the tracks, falling as she did. She managed to twist so that the little boy landed on top of her. The ice cream cone went flying in the air and was obliterated by the train as it rushed by.

Candace scrambled to her feet, thrust the little boy at Sue, and took off after the train. Something was terribly wrong. When she caught up with the train, it was at rest fifty yards from the station. Security and at least two supervisors were on hand.

Pete was sitting on the ground beside his beloved train, his face ashen.

“I knew it! I told them to fire you, that one day you'd go too far and someone would really get hurt!” one of the supervisors was shouting.

“It wasn't his fault!” Candace interrupted.

All eyes turned on her. “I saw the whole thing. Pete wasn't trying to hurt the kid; he was just as frightened as the rest of us. I'd be willing to swear that this was no prank on his part,” Candace said.

“What happened, Pete?” the other supervisor asked quietly.

Candace could see that Pete's hands were shaking. “The brakes failed,” he said. “I don't know how, but they did. I couldn't stop. I just had to stay with her and let her run herself out,” Pete said. “Is the boy all right?” he asked Candace.

“He is. I left him with Sue,” Candace assured him.

“It's easy enough to check out,” one of the security guards said, heading for the train.

Five minutes later he had confirmed that the brakes had malfunctioned. Satisfied, Candace turned to go, not wanting to stick around for the paperwork. Pete would be fine.

“Thank you,” Pete called after her.

“Any time,” she said. “Have them call me if they have any other questions.”

As soon as she was out of earshot, she pulled out her cell. “Josh, it's Candace, can you meet me for coffee?”

Twenty minutes later she was in her favorite coffee shop with Josh. She was drinking her customary hot chocolate with a shot of raspberry. Josh was contenting himself with a hot cider with whipped cream. She finished telling him about the last hour.

“Wow,” he said. “It's kind of weird how close you've been to so many accidents.”

“I was thinking of something else,” she said.

“I'm all ears.”

“I don't believe that Scare is haunted.”

“Neither do I. Unfortunately, fifteen people have quit in the last three days.”

“I also think these accidents aren't accidents.”

He leaned forward quickly, eyes narrowed. “I've been thinking the same thing myself.”

Several things that had seemed like coincidences started falling together. What was it Tamara had said about there being no coincidences?

“In the Candy Craze maze right before that board came loose and hit me in the head, I thought I saw someone. It looked like a costumed character, but not one of the ones that belong in that maze. I had forgotten about it until now.

“Then I saw someone dressed like a fisherman with a hook on his hand go into the Haunted Village maze several minutes before the rest of the referees showed up. When security showed up after the girl was hurt, the fisherman was nowhere to be found.”

“I heard something about that. It turned out the girl's ex had an alibi for that night. The police are still trying to figure out who did it.”

She shuddered. “Thanks for warning me in a timely manner,” she said sarcastically.

“Sorry,” he said with a grimace. “Anyway, what about today before the train ran amok? Was there anyone out of place?”

“Actually, yes. Brandon. He only works Scare. There was no reason for him to be there, so close to the accident. Also, his friend Will wasn't there, and I've never seen one without the other.”

“Suspicious, but not conclusive,” Josh said.

“Who would benefit from convincing people that the park was haunted?” Candace asked.