by Diane Hoh
“Of course Darlene Riggs,” Pete said with a contemptuous sneer. “I’ve been crazy about her for years. But, like I said when you weren’t listening, she saw me as a buddy, and that’s all. And even that ended when she started dating. Never me,” he added bitterly. “She just laughed when I asked her. Thought I was kidding. She dated two or three guys before that jerk, Bo, came along … but never me. After she met him, she hardly knew I was alive. But I never got her off my mind. Then she took up with that creep, Robert Q. And he hurt her!” Pete’s voice rose. “He treated Darlene like dirt!” he cried. “They all did!”
“That look on your face,” Hailey said, her hand behind her back slowly turning the doorknob, “that first night at the diner, when Darlene met Robert Q. I thought it was disgust. But it wasn’t, was it? It was … you were furious at what was happening between them.” Please, please, she prayed, don’t let this door be locked!
“I wasn’t mad at her,” Pete said with scorn. “It wasn’t Darlene’s fault. Every time Darlene meets a guy, she falls like a ton of bricks. That’s just the way she is. I understood, but I knew she’d get hurt, sooner or later. And I swore,” his mouth tightened grimly, “that whoever did the hurting would pay.”
The doorknob turned all the way. Gently, gently, Hailey tugged. She could feel the door give slightly, telling her it wasn’t locked.
“They talked about her,” Pete ranted. He began marching rapidly back and forth in front of Hailey, curling the dumbbell up, down, up, down. “They made fun of her, laughed at her, as if she wasn’t worth anything. Someone had to stop them. Someone had to punish them.” When he glared angrily at Hailey, she was amazed to see tears shining in his eyes. “I thought if she knew I’d made them pay, she’d love me then, but before I could tell her, she was back with Bo again.”
“I’m not sorry I did what I did,” he said harshly. “Even if Darlene doesn’t love me. They all deserved it.”
“I didn’t,” Hailey said. “I never hurt Darlene. Why did you push me out that window?”
Pete shook his head. “You and that stupid roommate of yours encouraged her. I was in the hall that day when she came to your room. She looked so excited. She said you were going to help her.” Talking about it increased Pete’s anger. Hailey’s fear grew, watching his movements increase in intensity until every step he took, back and forth, pounded into the tile like a hammer. That’s the way he’s going to pound my skull with that dumbbell, she thought.
“She was doing it all for Robert Q!” he shouted. “With your help.” Then, more quietly, he added, almost to himself, “She’d be really mad if she knew I pushed you. But,” more cheerfully, “she’s not going to know, is she? I never planned to tell her that part of it. And now, everyone’s going to think Finn did it.” He smiled. “That Finn did all of it. Darlene’s so hung up on Bo now, it wouldn’t do me any good to tell her I’m the one who got even with those creeps for her. So why should I go to jail? Let Finn go. The cops will think you two had a lover’s quarrel when you found out he lied to you. I’ll testify.” He looked very pleased with himself. “I’ll say that I’m the one who told you the truth about Finn. Because I am, right? So I won’t be lying on the witness stand.”
Hailey listened carefully to his words. He was telling her she wasn’t going to leave the basement alive.
Still pacing, Pete glanced toward the tired-looking plaid sofa. “Finn hangs out down here a lot. Working in the darkroom, watching TV. He should be home soon. He’ll get a glass of milk from the fridge and come on down here. And guess what he’ll find?” Pete grinned. “You! Only … only maybe he’ll have a hard time recognizing you by then.”
Hailey’s grip tightened on the doorknob. There wouldn’t be a way out of the darkroom, but the door should lock from the inside. Still, Pete looked strong. Was he strong enough to break down a wooden door?
She would have to take that chance. It was better than no chance at all.
Finn, she prayed, come home!
Pete put a finger to his lips and stood still for a second, thinking. Then he murmured, “And Nell’s punishment will be knowing you’re dead.”
Hoisting the dumbbell above his head, he moved toward Hailey. A sickening, determined look spread across his square, handsome face.
Now! Hailey yanked the darkroom door open, whirled, and darted inside, slamming the door shut in Pete’s face. Fumbling in the dark for the lock, her fingers found a button on the inside knob. She pushed it in and backed away from the door, her breath coming in short, painful gasps.
On the other side of the door, an enraged Pete screamed her name.
Chapter 24
PETE’S SCREAMS OF RAGE assaulted Hailey ears. A vicious kick shook the cheap wooden door.
That door won’t keep him out for very long, Hailey realized.
The darkroom seemed to be little more than a closet. A narrow space, a low ceiling, no windows. As Hailey backed away from the door, something brushed against her face. A string … a light pull? She yanked on it, and the narrow little space took on a soft reddish glow. There were shelves on her left, crammed with photography supplies, a sink on her right with a cabinet underneath it.
“Hailey! Get out here! Now!” The scream was high-pitched, a shrill, frantic sound that turned Hailey’s blood to ice. When she didn’t reply, there was a brief moment of silence and then Pete screamed her name again and slammed something heavy against the door. It shook under the force of the blow.
With the second blow, the wood began to splinter.
The dumbbell, Hailey thought, taking another step backward. He’s breaking the door down with the same dumbbell he’s planning to use to smash my skull.
Her eyes frantically scanned the rosy-glowing darkroom for a weapon … something she could use to save her life.
The door was bending, breaking, under the repeated blows. She had so little time …
“I hate you!” Pete screamed as he hammered away at the door. “I hate all of you! Darlene wasn’t dating Bo anymore. I might have had a chance with her.” He began sobbing, his breath coming in ragged gasps. “If Robert Q hadn’t come along. They all … thought it was so funny … Robert Q sweeping a town girl off her feet. And … and you helped, Hailey … you and Nell. You ruined any chance I had of making Darlene love me!”
The middle of the door was bending inward, the wood splitting, cracking right before Hailey’s eyes.
She could find nothing to use as a weapon. The shelves were crammed full, but she saw no knife, no hammer, no scissors, nothing to defend herself with. Nothing but …
Chemicals! In fat, squat black and yellow jugs. They were lined up neatly under the bottom shelf on her left. Three, no four, jugs. In the dim, rosy glow she could see a warning printed in large letters on the front of the jugs. Meaning the jugs were full of something dangerous. Dangerous … that was what she needed …
“I’m going … to get you, Hailey,” Pete gasped. “You can’t get away now. You should have … minded your own … business.” He grunted with the effort of delivering another solid blow to the splintering door. “I’m almost there, Hailey!” he called gaily. “And then … and then you’re … going to … die!” Another cackling laugh before he set to work on the door again.
Pete’s repeated blows had created an inch-wide opening in the center of the door. She had only seconds left.
Hailey crouched near the bottom shelf, grabbed a jug, forced her shaking hands to unscrew its cap and, clutching the heavy jug, stood up. She realized immediately that the jug’s neck was too narrow. The contents would spill out too slowly, to do any good.
A pail … she needed a pail … something with a wide mouth.
“I fixed Robert Q,” Pete muttered loudly between blows. “I fixed all of them! They deserved it! They got what was coming to them. And now, Hailey, it’s your turn. You won’t get away this time. Not … this … time!”
There! Under the sink, a wide plastic bin, like a dishpan. Hailey grabbed it and dumped half
the contents of the jug into the wide, open bin and lifted it up with both hands.
Then she turned and, holding the bin out in front of her like a gift, faced the door.
“If you’d stayed out of it,” Pete shouted, “I could have made her love me. I could have!”
“You can’t make someone love you!” Hailey shouted back. Pieces of wood flew, and the hole in the door’s middle widened. “People only love other people if they want to!” She could see most of Pete’s face now. His eyes were wild, crazed, his face soaked with sweat from his hammering.
“Shut up!” he screamed, baring his teeth. One powerful hand reached in through the jagged hole in the door and turned the inside knob, releasing the lock.
Trembling violently, scarcely breathing, Hailey hoisted the bin higher. The liquid sloshed dangerously close to the edges. Careful, careful, she cautioned silently … if you spill it on your hands, it’ll burn and you’ll drop the bin. And then you’re lost.
“Here I co-ome,” Pete singsonged happily, and shoved the battered, broken door open. When he was on the threshold, he grinned at Hailey. “Hi, honey, I’m home.”
Hailey waited only long enough to see the wicked dumbbell held high, ready to crash down upon her head. Then, taking a deep, ragged breath, she flung the contents of the bin directly into Pete’s face.
The dumbbell thudded to the floor as Pete’s hands flew to his face. He staggered backward, screaming, a terrible, anguished sound that echoed throughout the basement.
Hailey shuddered and closed her eyes. A sob of horror escaped her lips.
When she opened her eyes, Pete had staggered away from the doorway. His hands still at his face, he was lurching blindly about the basement. The screams had changed to horrible, guttural sounds of agony.
Hailey darted through the doorway, slipped around the corner and raced up the stairs. When she reached the top, she whirled to slam the door behind her and lock it. For added safety, she pulled a heavy table against the door.
“Hail-ey!” Pete screamed from the basement, “Hailey, help me!”
Ignoring the shout, she ran into the living room to locate a telephone. When she found it, she dialed 911. Assured that the police and the ambulance were on the way, she hung up and left the house, gulping in fresh, cold air as she closed the front door behind her. Then her knees gave out, and she sank to the porch floor, leaning against the house. Pete’s shouts were no longer audible, and the cold, damp air was a relief.
It amazed her that there were lights shining in nearly every house on the street. There were people in those houses, getting children ready for bed, watching television, doing homework … and they had no idea what had just gone on at 1006. She had almost died. And no one knew that yet but her … and Pete.
Poor Pete.
The trembling stopped.
She saw Finn coming down the street at the same moment that she heard the first faint sound of the sirens. Would the two of them have a moment alone before the police arrived? They had things they had to talk about. He hadn’t told her the truth about who he was, even if it was to protect first Darlene, and then her. And she had suspected him of murder. They would have to sort those things out. It wouldn’t be easy, and it would take time.
She watched him approach, loving the way he moved … always hurrying, always eager to get to the next place. His hair looked almost black at night and it blew carelessly in the night breeze. She watched him brush it back impatiently as he neared the house, and she imagined the look in his brown-green eyes when he saw her there, tear-stained, her blazer dangling crazily around her shoulders, her hair wild.
The sirens grew louder, came closer, and people began appearing in doorways and at windows.
We will work it out, Hailey thought, Finn and I. While Pete gets the help he needs, Finn and I will take the time to work it out.
Hailey stood up.
Turn the page to continue reading from the Nightmare Hall Series
Prologue
WISHES GRANTED, FORTUNES TOLD.
That was what the sign said on the mysterious booth at the back of Vinnie’s pizzeria.
Alex was the first to notice the booth. Hidden in a dark alcove, it was tall and narrow. The bottom part was made of dark red metal, the top part glass, like a phone booth. At first Alex thought it was a phone booth, which was what she’d come looking for. Then she realized there was no phone inside. Curious, she walked over to get a better look.
And drew back in fear.
Inside the booth sat a figure. The Wizard it said on the glass.
He seemed made of stone, stiff and unmoving inside his red metal booth. His face was long and chiselled, his jaw firm, his painted mouth slightly open. His skin was pale ivory, his beard and mustache snowy-white. He wore a tall, pointed hat and a long, flowing gown to match.
But it was his eyes that Alex would always remember.
Made of glass, they were a deep, dark blue. Icy cold.
Terrifying.
It’s just a mechanical fortune-teller, Alex told herself. A machine that claims it can make wishes come true.
Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was watching her…
Chapter 1
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING back here?”
The voice startled Alexandria Edgar. But it was only Julie Pierce, her roommate. Her twin sister, Jenny, also Alex’s roommate, laughed with pleasure. “Look, a fortune-telling booth! What fun!”
Alex’s friends gathered around the new entertainment, intrigued.
What was it about The Wizard that was making her stomach churn and the hair on her scalp tingle? Alex wondered. He reminded her of something, something unpleasant…she couldn’t think what it was. Or…didn’t want to.
“Look at this!” Julie cried, pointing to the sign on the front of the booth. “‘Wishes Granted, Fortunes Told!’ Think this old geezer will make me beautiful if I ask?”
“You’re already beautiful,” her sister said. “Too bad we’re not identical twins. Then I’d be beautiful, too. Why don’t you ask for something you really need?”
Both twins were attractive, although their styles were distinctly different. Julie wore her blonde hair short, in a stylish flip, while Jenny kept hers long and straight. Julie was silk blouses and skinny leggings, Jenny was jeans and sweatshirts. But their blue eyes, fair skin, and carefree, jaunty walk were the same, and people who didn’t know they were twins usually guessed the truth quickly.
While Marty Jerome and Gabriel Russo carefully checked out the old booth, Julie complained, “My face is so boring. It’s worth a quarter to wish for something much more interesting. Maybe something exotic, like Alex here, with her Bambi eyes and that wild white streak in her hair.”
“Like a skunk,” Alex pointed out drily.
Laughing, Gabe handed Julie the coin. They all watched as she inserted it, and then stood back, waiting.
“I don’t believe in this garbage,” Alex said more heatedly than she’d intended. “You’re just wasting your money.” She looked directly into the cold blue eyes of The Wizard, and her palms began to sweat.
Julie laughed. “It’s only a quarter. And it was Gabe’s quarter, anyway.” She grinned up at red-haired, freckled Gabe with affection.
“If I were going to wish for anything,” Gabe said, “it would be wheels, so I wouldn’t have to walk everywhere. My old man says no car on campus until I’m pulling A’s. I’ve never pulled an A in my life. Miracles, the man wants! I’m so tired of walking, my legs are going to be stumps by the time I graduate.”
“If you graduate,” Marty teased.
As they watched, there was a painful creaking sound, then a whirring noise, and the arm of the man in the booth began to lift slowly.
“This is stupid,” Alex declared darkly. “What a colossal waste of time! I can’t believe Vinnie bought something so dumb!”
“Oh, relax, Alex,” Julie scolded. “It’s fun! Here comes my card. I’m dying to see what it says.”
; With more groaning and creaking, the arm of The Wizard reached up and out, and, a second later, a small white card slid into the opening at the front of the booth. Julie reached down and picked it up.
When she’d read it to herself, she sighed with disappointment. “Not very encouraging,” she said, running a hand through her hair. “I guess I’m destined to go through life with this same old boring face.”
“What’s it say?” Gabe asked. “It was my quarter, so you have to share your fortune with me.”
Julie read aloud, “BEWARE THE LOOKING GLASS, LEST YOU SEE YOUR TRUE REFLECTION.”
“I don’t get it,” Marty complained. “It just sounds like one of those old sayings to me.”
“It could have been written for anyone,” Alex agreed. “These things are all the same. Dumb old sayings like, ‘A penny saved is a penny earned,’ and ‘A stitch in time saves nine,’ that kind of stuff. Those cards have probably been in there for years.”
“My turn,” Gabe announced, moving forward to insert a coin.
“Don’t,” Alex said quietly, adding quickly, “you’re throwing your money away, Gabe.”
“Well, it’s my money,” Gabe said cheerfully, and deposited his quarter.
“You didn’t wish for anything,” Julie pointed out.
“First things first. I want my fortune told. If it doesn’t include a car, maybe then I’ll make a wish.”
More creaking and groaning, more whirring sounds followed the drop of Gabe’s coin. The blue, star-studded arm lifted again. When the card dropped down, Gabe yanked it out and read it aloud. “SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE,” he said with some disgust. “Sure doesn’t sound like I’m getting a car any time soon, does it?”
“This is ridiculous,” Alex complained. “I wish we could forget about this stupid Wizard and go eat. I’m starved!”
“What a party pooper,” Jenny said, but she was smiling as she said it. “I didn’t get a chance to ask The Wizard for my Prince Charming.”