Under the Boardwalk

by Barbara Cool Lee

  Hallie glanced over at Windy. She leaned against the Wurlitzer with his eyes closed. She looked exhausted, and very young. "Are you okay?" Charlie said quietly to Windy.

  She opened his eyes and nodded slightly. Charlie settled down on a box to watch them. She put the gun in her lap and pulled out a cigarette, which she lit with shaking fingers. She did care about the kids. She didn't want them to get hurt, and she apparently was deluding herself into thinking Julian was going to let them go when this was over.

  Charlie smiled tentatively at them, an apologetic smile. So she had divided loyalties, Hallie thought. She wasn't letting Julian in on everything she was thinking. Hallie gave Charlie what she hoped was a friendly smile. Charlie looked down, embarrassed.

  "What are we going to do?" Windy whispered.

  Hallie gave a slight shrug of her shoulders. She turned around and ran her hand over the glass front of the band organ, and traced the etched "Wurlitzer" in the glass with one finger. In the reflection she could see yet another old King Kong looming behind her, and another pair of eyes as well. She brushed the dust off the glass. Kyle.

  She turned around and leaned back against the machine with what she hoped was a neutral expression. She stared blankly off into the middle distance. There he was, standing behind the gorilla, barely ten feet away. Their eyes met. She quickly looked away. When she glanced back, he was gone.

  There he was, on the other side of the gorilla. He seemed to be working his way toward the stairs, where Julian was working. Please, Kyle, she silently begged. Don't do it. Julian reached into his waistband and adjusted the gun there. He looked up and saw her staring at him, and grinned. "Ready to go to work, baby?" he sneered.

  She turned away. She looked around the cellar. With all this stuff in here, there should be something they could they use against JJ and Charlie. Charlie's hand shook as she held the gun, but if they jumped JJ, she could fire and kill them all. She couldn't just stand here. She had to do something.

  Hallie looked at the machine she and Windy leaned against. It was a giant thing, towering over them. It seemed even larger now that some of the other junk had been cleared away from it. Light glimmered off the dusty front of the machine. She could still see Kyle's form reflected in the sections of glass not covered by the logo. She quickly stepped in front of the glass to block the reflection. She glanced at Julian and Charlie. They hadn't noticed. She rubbed her hand over the glass again, seeing her own pale face reflected. Her hair was a mess, as usual. She brushed the stray strands into place. No sense leaving a messy-looking corpse, she thought.

  She was going to die, she thought. Julian would make sure of it this time. And Charlie? Charlie would go along, if for no other reason than because she was too scared not to. Kyle. Somehow the thought of him dying was more horrible than anything that could happen to herself. He had a mission in life. He had to live. His life had a purpose and a meaning, not the least of which was the young woman leaning against the machine only a couple feet away from her.

  She set her jaw. Maybe she didn't have any important mission in life, but she wasn't going to give up yet. She wasn't much, but she was a survivor. Dave Cooper hadn't defeated her, and this little worm Julian wasn't going to either.

  Her eyes refocused on the glass in front of her, and she noticed the logo again. Wurlitzer. She traced it with one finger. A band organ. She wondered if it was as loud as the music at the carousel was. She couldn't hit Julian over the head with it, and that's all that mattered at this point.

  She noticed Windy was looking at her quizzically.

  She shrugged and stepped back to lean against the side of the machine and survey the room again.

  Something bumpy rubbed on her shoulder. She looked down. There were two buttons on the side: one said "lights" and the other said "power." She glanced up. Charlie was watching her. Hallie tried to look casual. Charlie looked away again. Hallie leaned against the buttons, pressing as hard as she could with her shoulder.

  Nothing happened.

  Her mind started racing. What did these things run on? Steam engines? Solar power? Little hamsters jogging on exercise wheels? She took a step back and glanced down. There was an electrical cord coming out of the back of the machine. How mundane, she thought. Now, where did that cord go? It ran along the floor out of sight on the opposite side of the machine.

  Hallie felt her heart start to thump in her chest. She looked up and saw Kyle edging closer to Julian. He would have to cross several feet of open floor to reach him, though. Kyle saw her looking at him. She widened her eyes, trying to convey, somehow, don't move yet. I've got a plan.

  Hallie took a step forward, so she could see Windy leaning against the other side of the machine. Her eyes were on her, and they were wide and shocked-looking. She frowned, and Windy nodded imperceptibly toward the corner where Kyle hid. So she'd seen him, eh?

  Hallie looked at Charlie and Julian. They were still oblivious.

  She looked back at Windy, who was making an admirable effort to look casual. Good kid, she thought.

  She motioned with her eyes to the switches hidden on her side of the machine, praying that he really did know "every obscure detail" about her family's history.

  Windy looked at her quizzically. She rolled her eyes again, then looked significantly at the Wurlitzer name.

  Her eyes widened.

  Hallie tilted her head slightly toward the back of the machine.

  Windy looked up at Julian. Hallie shuffled her feet, and Julian started, glaring at her. Windy used that moment to look behind her, then quickly bent down out of sight.

  "All right, you two. Time to get to work," Julian growled.

  "Just tying my shoelace, JJ," Windy said.

  "Well get on with it. Start with those horses there—and be careful. They're worth a lot of money."

  Windy straightened up. "Sure, no problem," she said. She glanced at Hallie, and winked. Windy went over to Charlie and held out her hands. "You should probably untie my hands if you want me to do anything."

  Charlie glanced at Julian for approval. He nodded. Charlie set the gun down next to her and got the zip-ties off of Windy's hands.

  "What about you?" Julian said, turning to Hallie. "Are you just going to stand there? Get moving."

  "Okay," Hallie said, and leaned against the side of the machine.

  There was a loud whoosh like the sound of air escaping a giant balloon, then a huge blaring chorus of The Carousel Waltz broke loose.

  Charlie and Julian both turned toward Hallie at the first sound, and Kyle leaped out from behind the gorilla toward Julian. Julian raised his gun toward Hallie. She dived behind the nearest box, accompanied by the cheerful musical din. She felt something on her head, and realized she was covered in rubber bats. She brushed them aside impatiently. Hallie peeked out from behind the cover of a bumper car to see Julian and Kyle struggling over the gun right by the stairs.

  Charlie stared dumbfounded at the band organ, apparently not noticing Julian and Kyle across the room. Charlie covered her ears to stifle the roar of the music. Windy slipped behind her.

  Charlie turned to see where Windy had gone. Hallie used that moment to slip out from behind the bumper car and come up behind Charlie. The gun lay on a box right beside her. Hallie reached for it, but Charlie glanced back and saw her.

  Charlie quickly picked up the gun, then looked around for Julian.

  Kyle had him down on the floor, and with one hand he was pressing Julian's gun-hand back against the cement floor. Kyle reached with his free hand to try to wrest the gun away, but Julian kicked him savagely in the stomach, and Kyle's grip loosened. Windy sprang up behind him and tackled Julian from behind.

  Julian rolled over and pushed Windy into the gorilla, and it came tumbling over on top of her. She lay still.

  Kyle had tried to catch the gorilla as it fell, and that gave Julian the upper hand. Julian twisted Kyle's arm back, and he raised the other hand with the gun.

  "No!" Hallie screamed an
d she dashed over to grab at the gun hand. Julian hit her across the temple with the gun, and she fell back on top of the gorilla, and Windy.

  Windy let out a cry and tried to sit up. They both were struggling to their feet when Julian said, "stop."

  They turned around and saw Julian and Kyle sprawled halfway up the stairs, Julian's gun at point-blank range against Kyle's temple.

  Hallie watched in horror as Julian cocked the pistol. The band organ blithely played on.

  "Julian!" Charlie shouted over the roar of the music. They all looked up.

  Charlie's hand was remarkably steady as she aimed dead-center at where Julian's heart presumably lay.

  He pointed his gun straight at her. "You little b—" he started to say.

  The sound of two shots echoed through the cellar. The glass front of the band organ shattered, and the music ground to a halt.

  Kyle sat down on the stairs abruptly.

  Windy fell back against Hallie and she held her up. "I'm all right," she whispered. "He missed."

  Hallie watched as Julian stood poised on the stairs, his shirt bright red, an astonished look on his face. The gun fell out of his hand and bounced down the stairs with a clatter, then Julian toppled over and down the stairs after it.

  Charlie rand and knelt beside Julian. Kyle got shakily to his feet and gently took the gun out of her hand, then bent over to take Julian's pulse. He shook his head. Charlie didn't seem to notice.

  Kyle grabbed Charlie by the arm none too gently and dragged her to the stairs. Hallie and Windy followed them up. Tom lay on the floor, Zac sat tied up near him. Hallie could hear Tom breathing, but his breaths seemed to be coming in great gasps. Kyle pushed Charlie into a corner, where she sat down on the floor and sobbed.

  Kyle handed the gun to Hallie. "Watch her," he said. She nodded.

  He grabbed Zac, hugged him quickly, then cut his zip-ties with a knife and helped him to his feet. He handed Zac his keys, then took him by the shoulders. "Go to Tom's office and call the sheriff and an ambulance." Zac took off running. Kyle knelt beside Tom.

  Hallie sank down on the floor and leaned her head back against the vampire's legs. She kept the gun pointed at Charlie, but there didn't seem to be much need. Charlie sat with her head in her hands, sobbing as if her life had ended. Don't cry, Hallie thought. Shooting Julian was probably the first smart thing you've done in a long time.

  Tom coughed. Kyle bent over him, whispering and holding his hand. Tom clenched his hand and opened his eyes.

  Windy got down on her knees beside Kyle on the floor.

  Tom tried to sit up.

  Kyle pushed Tom gently back down. "Just lie still. Everything's going to be all right."

  Tom gripped his hand. "I'm sorry, Kyle. For everything."

  Kyle shook his head. "I'm the one who's sorry," he said. "You're family. I should have believed in you."

  "No," he whispered. "It was my fault, all my fault."

  Kyle looked confused. "How could it be your fault, Tom?"

  Tom closed his eyes. "I was too slow, too slow," he muttered. He turned his head away, and mumbled under his breath.

  Kyle and Windy looked at each other, then back at Tom. Kyle bent his head down near Tom's face. "I don't understand, Tom," Kyle whispered. "What do you mean?"

  Tom kept muttering to himself, eyes shut tight against some image only he could see. "Too slow," he whispered.

  "Tom," Kyle said firmly. "Talk to me."

  Tom opened his eyes. He swallowed hard, and Hallie saw tears welling up in his eyes. He gripped Kyle's hand tighter. "I let you down. I let you all down. Jonathan and Emma...." His voice trailed off. "I was too slow...."

  Windy bent her head down to Tom's. "You ran to get help and they died before you could get back," she said.

  Tom shut his eyes and nodded. He raised his uninjured arm up as if to brush away the image before his eyes. "I know you hated me for it, Kyle," he whispered, eyes still closed. "I hated myself for it, too. I was too scared to go back into the building. I just stood there and waited for the fire engine. I just stood there...."

  "Listen to me," Windy said.

  Tom opened his eyes. "Windy?" He looked confused. "But you're missing."

  Windy smiled. "Not any more. Listen to me, Tom. It wasn't your fault."

  Tom looked away. "I killed your parents," he whispered.

  "No you didn't," Windy said firmly. "I read every detail about the fire. The fumes from the burning fiberglass must've knocked them out in seconds. If you had gone back into the building, you'd have died too. One of the news reports said you had to be hospitalized for smoke inhalation, isn't that right?"

  Tom nodded.

  "If you had gone back in you'd be dead. You couldn't have saved them, Tom."

  A glimmer of something like hope flashed in Tom's eyes.

  Kyle sat back on his heels, a look of sudden comprehension on his face. "You did the best you could—no one could have done more," he said. "My God, I never said that to you."

  Tom said hesitantly: "It wasn't my fault?"

  Kyle gripped his hand. "It wasn't your fault."

  Hallie heard a truck pull up outside. She peeked out the door. "It's the police."

  "It's all over," Tom whispered, a look of relief on his face. He had been unconscious through most of the nightmare that had taken place here tonight, Hallie realized. But he'd been living with his own personal nightmare for thirteen years.

  Hallie looked around at the haunted house: a carousel pony on its side by the door, Charlie sitting dazed beside it, Tom lying on the floor. "All the nightmares are over," she said.

  ~*~

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Hallie put the last of her things in the box and shut the lid. Her two little boxes were packed now. The attic bedroom was empty of every last trace of her presence. It was time to go.

  The week since they'd caught Charlie and Julian had passed in a daze. Windy was back home safely. Zac's shoulder was dislocated, but Dr. Lil said he'd be fine after some quiet rest—which he was loudly protesting. Tom was expected to be as good as new—maybe even better than new now that he and Kyle had started to talk again. Now the Madrigal family was complete once again, and it was time for Hallie to get back to her own life. Windy had insisted that Hallie was welcome to stay, but Hallie knew she couldn't.

  She could picture herself staying here forever, though. She could close her eyes and see herself here; she could easily see Kyle walking through his fields with a couple of little Madrigals in tow, little ones with her unruly dark hair and his vivid emerald eyes. And his smile. She could see it all, and it scared the heck out of her. All her life she'd been a foolish dreamer and not one of her dreams had ever come true. This one wouldn't either.

  She looked out the window. Outside, Kyle's red pickup sat parked out by the barn. She couldn't help smiling as she remembered the way Kyle had gently teased her about the barn bats swirling through the night air. It all felt so right here on the mountain, with the old adobe house, the fields and forests surrounding them, and... Kyle.

  But this wasn't her home. She had been just a guest here, and now it was time to leave, time to leave before her heart broke inside her. All her life she'd been rootless, drifting, going from one foster home to another. Those years had taught her the lesson. And her disastrous marriage had brought the message home. She wasn't going to have the roots the Madrigals had. She wasn't going to ever have the kind of history and family support they had. She had to leave now, because she knew how much more painful it would be if she stayed. Each additional day her hopes would rise further, and then the ending would tear her to pieces.

  She had to get out of here before her silly childhood dreams destroyed her. She didn't think she could survive another broken dream. It was better to let go now before things went too far.

  Hallie picked up the box and carried it downstairs and out to the pickup, ignoring the ache in her hands. Dr. Lil had insisted on giving her a brochure for a physical therapy retreat�
�one well beyond her budget. Another dream out of her reach.

  So she put the box in the truck bed with the rest of her things, then stood back to take one last look at the old adobe, memorizing the crack in the face of the little saint under the peak.

  She turned toward the bay. It was one of those days where the air was clear and the land stretched away from Pajaro Mountain all the way to the sea. She imagined she could make out the tiny shapes of the roller coaster and Ferris wheel down by the beach. Closer, only a few feet away, she watched one last time while Halloween pounced on a blade of grass. This was Kyle's world, and it would never be hers.

  She heard a rustle behind her, and turned around.

  Kyle was putting the lid back on one of her boxes. He wore dark pressed jeans, a clean white shirt with a bolo tie, and a black suit jacket. The California rancher version of a business suit, she guessed. His hair was still damp from the shower, and he'd brushed it back, which emphasized the tiny lines around his eyes. He looked tired, almost as tired as he had when the kids were missing. Hallie wondered what he had to worry about now. Well, it wasn't her problem.

  "Ready?" he asked.

  She nodded, not daring to speak. He opened the passenger door of the truck. She got in without touching him. If she could just get to the bus station without touching him, without speaking, maybe she wouldn't cry and make a fool of herself. His life was full, complete without her, and there was no reason for her to waste her time imagining things she couldn't have.

  They drove in silence down the mountain. They both looked without comment when they passed the new metal railing that marked the spot where Julian had pushed Windy's Bug into the berry field. Now Hallie was a part of the local history, just like Paco's Bluff and Great-Grandmother Rose with her cherry trees and all the rest. At least that was something she could take with her.