Midnight Kiss

by Marcia Evanick

  “Doctor, you’re here.”

  Thane glanced at Nurse Nagel. “Any news?”

  “I’m afraid not, sir. We’re concentrating on the grounds, but I think we should notify the police.”

  His first concern was for Paddy’s well-being. But calling in the police would pose some problems. There would be reports, and the newspaper was guaranteed to pick up on the story. The attention it would generate could be an embarrassment to the home. “His granddaughter is here, and she seems positive that he’s still in the home somewhere. Why don’t we give her some time. Maybe she can locate him?”

  “I haven’t contacted Mr. Baker yet either. I thought I’d wait for you and get your reaction first.”

  Thane smiled his appreciation. “We’ll give Autumn twenty minutes before calling in the big guns, okay?”

  Nurse Nagel sighed in relief. “I’m more than glad to turn everything over to you, sir.”

  Thane went down the hallway looking for Autumn, when he saw her enter the specially equipped bathroom.

  Autumn had already been in Lillian’s room, had checked every hiding space inside, without waking the woman, and had come up empty-handed. Paddy was close by. She knew it.

  Taking off her coat, she marched to the bathroom. She pushed open the door and flicked the light switch. Empty. She checked the only other possible hiding spot—the linen cabinet. It was stacked with piles of towels, washcloths, soaps, and shampoos. No Paddy.

  Thane was leaning against the hall wall when she came out. “Any luck?”

  “I just started.” She walked over to the door marked LINENS. She frowned at the door; it was locked.

  “It’s always locked.” He glanced down the hall. “Where to next? We only have about sixteen more minutes before the police are called in.”

  Autumn was still staring at the door. “Do you have your wallet?”

  Intrigued. Thane handed her his wallet and watched as she pulled out a credit card. With one smooth slide of the card between the door and the frame, the door was unlocked. “I’m impressed.” He put his wallet back into his pocket as she opened the door.

  Shelves from floor to ceiling held sheets, blankets, and bedspreads along with other assorted items. Her hand was reaching for the light switch when a low moan came from behind a pile of blankets. “Paddy!” Light flooded the large closet as she knelt down beside her grandfather.

  Thane quickly moved Autumn aside and started to examine Paddy. He appeared to be waking up. “Paddy, can you hear me?”

  “Of course I can, I’m not deaf.” He tried to rise, but couldn’t.

  Thane helped him to sit and kept a steady hand on his shoulder. “Can you tell us what happened?”

  Paddy glared at Autumn, like a defiant child. “Do I have to?”

  Thane looked at Autumn. She had been right about Paddy being in the home, and she even located him within five minutes. But how did she know? “Autumn, would you like to explain?”

  Autumn’s eyes filled with tears as she gazed at her grandfather. Paddy was all right and unharmed. He might have been a little uncomfortable, which he rightly deserved, but he appeared to be in good health. “He was trying to catch the Kissing Bandit.”

  Flabbergasted, Thane glanced between Autumn and her grandfather. “You’re joking, right?” Who ever heard of an eighty-three-year-old playing detective? Seeing her shake her head, he glared at Paddy. “Are you out of your mind? You could have been hurt.”

  Paddy stubbornly held his ground. “We asked you to stop him, but you haven’t done a thing.”

  Now he understood what Autumn had been talking about. Because of their deal, Paddy had taken it on himself to stop the Kissing Bandit. He helped Paddy to his feet. “That didn’t give you the right to scare Autumn half to death and to upset the entire home. Every spare orderly and nurse is outside searching the grounds for you.”

  Autumn quietly followed Thane as he helped her grandfather back to his room and into bed. She sadly shook her head as Thane continued to scold Paddy for his foolish behavior. It wouldn’t matter; Paddy wouldn’t listen. In a couple of days he’d be on the trail once again. “Thane, could I have a couple moments alone with Paddy?”

  Thane glanced down at Paddy. He looked half asleep already. “I’ll go tell everyone we found him.” He pulled a chair close to the bed for Autumn and left.

  Autumn sat down and covered her grandfather’s trembling hand. “You win, Paddy. I won’t stop Thane from investigating the Kissing Bandit.”

  Paddy’s voice was weak and shaky. “You’re not going to place me in another home?”

  “No, love. Maple Leaf’s the best, and you deserve the best.” She squeezed his hand. “But I want your promise—no more stakeouts. Let Thane handle it.”

  “Since when did you and the doctor become so friendly?”

  Autumn tucked the blanket up under his chin and placed a kiss on his wrinkled cheek. “Since we both discovered we had a mutual interest.”

  “What?”

  She brushed a stubborn white curl off his forehead. “Trying to keep you alive and out of trouble.” She saw his fleeting smile as he drifted off to sleep.

  With quiet, sure footsteps she joined Thane, who was lounging against the door of the home’s main entrance.

  “How is he?”

  “Asleep.” He opened the door, and she stepped through to the parking lot. “The deal’s off, Thane. Find, arrest, or prosecute the Kissing Bandit.” Tears blurred her vision. “Do whatever you wish.”

  “Autumn?” Her tears tore at his heart.

  “He’ll try again if the Bandit isn’t caught. I know my grandfather, Thane. Trust me.” She hurried ahead of Thane through the frosty night toward the car. “The ladies’ pleasure isn’t worth my grandfather’s health.”

  Chapter Seven

  Thane straightened the red necktie and perched the old bellboy’s cap on top of the bald head. He positioned the bony hand to grasp the flashlight and pointed its ray of light toward the floor. The haunted theater now had an official usher, Horace.

  He glanced at his watch and hoped he had enough time to slip into his costume before Autumn showed up for the evening’s activities. That morning Autumn had been unusually quiet and withdrawn. And that afternoon, when he had stopped in at the shop during lunch, the spark had been missing from her smile. She was still upset about Paddy’s adventures the previous night. Thane gave Horace a friendly pat, hoping he’d bring a smile back to Autumn’s lips, and hurried to his office.

  The small washroom in his office was normally neat and clean. That night it resembled the backstage dressing room of a Broadway play. White facial makeup was caked in the sink. An old-fashioned white dress shirt and a pair of black pants were draped over the doorknob, and a black cape with red silk lining hung from a hook on the back of the door. Thane read the instructions on the hair spray can for the third time, shrugged his shoulders, and proceeded to spray his hair black.

  The cloud of mist evaporated as he stared at himself in the mirror. After darkening his brows with an eyebrow pencil, he inserted a set of plastic fangs into his mouth and practiced making scary faces. Bela Lugosi, eat your heart out. Thane’s rich chuckle filled the small room as he quickly finished dressing.

  He peeked out of the door to make sure his office was empty, before stepping into the room. He wanted to surprise Autumn and the rest of the staff. He had stubbornly held his ground and prohibited them from wearing costumes to the party until yesterday morning, when he allowed Autumn and a group of nurses to win the argument. He had rented the vampire costume three days before. Count Dracula held a very special place in his heart. Thane straightened his cape, slipped a vial of fake blood into his pants pockets, and slipped out into the dim hall.

  #

  Autumn parked the truck and gazed at the elegant brick building that was her grandfather’s home. Her hands started to tremble as fear for her beloved Paddy filled her heart. He could have been hurt seriously the night before. And all
because she was more interested in fun and baiting Thane than in listening to the plea of an eighty-three-year-old man. She should have known he would never sit still while nothing was being done to stop the Bandit. Thane had to catch the culprit now, before Paddy tried something really stupid, like hiding in the air vents.

  She glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror. Over an hour in front of the bathroom mirror had produced the creature staring back. Pasty complexion, black smudges under her eyes, and stringy streaked hair matched her depression. She felt right in character. If someone offered her a nickel, she’d go screaming into the night like the banshee she was dressed up to be.

  The first twenty-five years of her life had ended in an alley in New York when she realized that when push came to shove, she couldn’t shove back. She had willingly jumped at the chance to come to Dogwood and shoulder the entire responsibility of Paddy. No one could have been more surprised than she was when she realized she enjoyed running Second Chances. She liked fixing up old things, having a yard to sit in, and painting. Here she was beginning to think she had finally found her niche in life.

  It was all a mistake. She had liked being a cop too. And it had taken Paddy almost getting seriously hurt to make her realize she had failed in her responsibilities once again.

  Autumn opened the truck door and climbed out. Her flowing white gown billowed and swirled around her. She didn’t want to host the Halloween party, but the thought of disappointing the residents caused her stomach to churn. Thane was waiting somewhere inside for her, probably painting smiling faces on the rubber bats and spiders decorating the theater. The man was insistent on not scaring the residents.

  Autumn entered the home and headed for Paddy’s room before looking for Thane. She needed to know he wasn’t suffering any side effects. A frown pulled at her bluish lips. His room was empty. Was he feeling well enough to join in this evening’s activities or had something happened to him?

  She hurried to the nurse’s station. “Where’s Paddy O’Neil?”

  A witch looked up from a clipboard and scratched the wart on the end of her nose. “He’s in the game room,” she answered, her voice crackling with wickedness, “my pretty.”

  Autumn started toward the game room at a more relaxed pace. He must be feeling better. She passed Millicent being pushed in her wheelchair by a six-foot toad. “Enjoying yourselves?”

  Millicent proudly said, “I’ve been to two of the movies today, dear. What’s the secret one being played tonight?”

  “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret.” She looked at the toad.

  “Want to pucker up and release me from the evil spell a wicked witch put on me?” it asked.

  Autumn chuckled at Leon. At fifty-six, married to the same woman for thirty-seven years, father of five, and a grandpa, the orderly was still trying. “What are you supposed to be? A horny toad?”

  Leon and Millicent’s laughter filled the hall as Autumn hurried toward the haunted theater. The secret film was about to start, and she wanted to be there in case Thane pitched a fit.

  Autumn slipped in through the double doors after the lights went off. A startled scream caught in her throat when she nearly bumped into Horace pointing the way down an aisle with a lit flashlight. She had decorated this room, and Horace definitely wasn’t there the night before. Thane must have set him up sometime that day. Why? She had asked him countless times to loan them Horace, to no avail. What had changed his mind?

  Squinting into the darkness, she looked for Thane and spotted Paddy sitting in the last row next to Lillian. She made her way toward the back and leaned against the wall. The room was packed: there wasn’t an empty seat in the theater. A streak of light shone in through the door as Leon pushed Millicent into the room. A chorus of murmurs went through the room as a clown pushed the tape into the VCR.

  She looked around for Thane. He wasn’t there. She pushed away from the wall and slipped out of the room. All she had to do was find Thane and keep him away from the theater for the next two hours. Keeping an eye on the double doors of the theater, she inched her way down the hall toward the dining room, where patients who didn’t want to see the movie were gathering.

  A fluttering of something black caught her eye. She quickly turned her head. Nothing. Curious, she walked over and peered around the corner down a corridor leading toward the female residents’ rooms. A flash of black disappeared around another corner.

  There wasn’t a resident in the home who could move that fast. Intrigued, she followed. Was it one of the staff dressed up, or was she on the trail of the Kissing Bandit? She rounded the corner and stared disappointedly down the deserted hall. He had to have gone into one of the rooms, but which one? Six rooms lined the right side, five on the left along with the shower room and linen closet.

  She cautiously peered into the first room. Empty. She moved to the next room. Empty. Autumn raised one green-tinted brow and started to check the remaining rooms.

  Thane held his breath and flattened himself up against the wall as Autumn’s shadow moved closer. His heart was pounding so loudly, he was positive she could hear it. He felt like a kid pulling his first practical joke. Her foot had just cleared the door he was hiding behind, when he bared his fangs and pounced.

  Autumn’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point when a fury of black and white lunged for her. Years of police work kicked in automatically. Her yell broke the silence as her arm shot out and she used her assailant’s momentum to throw him onto the nearby bed. Before her attacker could gather his senses, she straddled him and applied pressure to his windpipe with her hand. In the faint light from the hallway she noticed the vampire outfit, but his build didn’t match any of the orderlies she knew. Who was he? “Start talking, and it better be good.”

  Thane blinked and wondered why Autumn’s hair had a greenish tint. He knew it was his own fault for ending up in this position. He never should have tried to surprise her by jumping out from behind the door. He had completely forgotten about her police training. Amused by the situation, he grinned and used an extravagant Hungarian accent. “I vant to bite your neck.”

  “Thane!”

  A flood of lights blazed, and an amused hunchback stood in the doorway. “Gee, talk about kinky.”

  Autumn shot Reko a hard look. “Shut up, Reko.”

  “If you two want to be alone, just say so. I was only seeing what was causing all the ruckus in here.”

  Autumn ignored Thane, who was chuckling underneath her, and snapped, “Don’t you have some bells to ring?”

  “Hey, Doc, do you want me to turn the lights back off?”

  His please was cut off by Autumn tightening her hold on his throat.

  Reko flicked off the lights and sadly shook his head at the couple on the bed. “Don’t blame you, Doc. She is one ugly-looking witch.”

  Autumn glared at the empty doorway before focusing her attention back on the man beneath her. “Why are you dressed like a vampire?”

  “It’s Halloween.” He studied her outfit in the dim light. “Where’s your broom and pointy hat?”

  Indignantly she said, “I’m not a witch. I’m a banshee.”

  “Ah, that explains the cry I heard before flying through the air.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “Only my pride.”

  Autumn glanced down to where her hips cradled his. “Is that what you landed on?”

  Thane rotated his hips and grinned at her look of surprise. “It doesn’t seem to be broken.”

  She felt his arousal, quickly stood up, and turned the lights back on. “What are you doing?”

  He stood up and straightened his cape. His fangs flashed as he stalked Autumn. “You never had to ask before.”

  Autumn backed up toward the door. “You never dressed up like a vampire before.”

  “Weren’t you the one preaching on the merits and benefits of the staff dressing up?” He circled to the right, cutting off her escape route.

  “You oppose
d the idea.”

  “Changed my mind.” He moved in closer. “You showed me the error of my way.”

  “Horace is in the theater.”

  Thane chuckled as he reached out and ran a thumb over her lower lip. “I told him he wasn’t allowed out tonight.”

  She smiled against his thumb. “You’re being awfully nice.”

  “I’m a nice guy.”

  She slipped her hands under the cape and caressed his back. “I know you are.” Heat flared in his eyes. “I’ve never kissed a man with fangs before.”

  “I’ve never kissed anyone with blue lips.” He groaned when Autumn invitingly parted her lips. “I’m about to ruin two fabulously done makeup jobs.”

  “See, Augusta,” Beatrice whined. “I told you we shouldn’t come looking for her.”

  Thane and Autumn jumped apart and guiltily stared at the pair of ladies.

  Augusta nervously played with the skeleton pin fastened to the bosom of her dress. “Don’t mind us, we’re just passing through.”

  Thane pulled his cape close. “To where?”

  “The theater,” Beatrice replied.

  “The dining hall,” Augusta said.

  Autumn covered her chuckle with a cough. “I was heading that way myself.” She stepped in between the two ladies and started to lead them down the hall. “Is there anything I could help you ladies with?”

  “Well, since we happened to run into you,” Beatrice said, “We were wondering how long the movie is going to last?”

  Autumn nervously glanced back at Thane, who was following them. “Why do you want to know?”

  “We’re bored,” Augusta said.

  “There’s nothing to do,” Beatrice explained.

  Thane glanced at the ladies. “There are games going on in the dining hall.”

  “No, they’re not,” Augusta complained.

  Thane gazed at the pupils of Augusta’s eyes and tried to remember the exact dosage of medication she was taking. “You must have missed them, Augusta.” They rounded the last corner and slowly shuffled their way to the dining hall. Thane smiled encouragingly at the elderly pair and pushed open the doors. “See.”