Page 65 of Death at a Scottish Halloween

They gasped.

“No. He was menacing, but he just kept asking me where it was.”

“Where what was?” Mara asked.

I shrugged. “I have no idea what it is he wanted. Like last night, when someone tried to break in, I told them that wedidn’t have any of the belongings of the dead men, and they went away.”

“Wait. Someone tried to break in last night?” They all asked at the same time. Abigail’s eyes had gone wide.

“We were so busy today, I forgot about it. Ewan and Akif came but they’d run off by then.”

“We should go back and find the Dracula,” Mara said. “How dare he try to scare you.”

I laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “I’ll never be doing the maze again, my friends. I love you all, that was it for me.”

“I didn’t mean that,” Mara smirked. “But he has to come out at some point. Would you recognize him?”

“He had one of those rubber masks on like everyone else around here.” I could see two other Draculas in the crowd. “I might recognize his eyes, but it was dark. I can’t be certain.”

“At the very least, you should call the Constable. Or I could call Henry,” Abigail offered.

“Thank you, all, but they are so busy with the crowds, we shouldn’t bother them. I couldn’t tell them much, except he had dark brown, very beady eyes. And he was at least six feet.”

“What about the rest of his costume?” Abigail encouraged me. It was a tactic we used when trying to get as much information from victims and survivors.

I blew out a breath. “Right. Rubber mask. He wore a cape with one of those red collars. But he had on boots and dark pants.”

“Right. That’s enough,” Jasper said. “Abigail, you wait here for Tommy.” He pulled on my arm.

“Where are we going?”

“Back to the maze. The man who was at the gate is a customer of mine, Arthur. I bet he knows everyone who is helpingout. He organizes it all. If that guy was one of the people, he’ll know who it was.”

“He’s right. Let’s go,” Mara said as she pulled me along with Jasper.

We crossed the fête grounds and were back at the maze. I shivered, and it had nothing to do with the cold.

“Hey, there, Jasper, back again?” Tom asked jovially.

“Serious business, I’m afraid,” Jasper said.

The smile dropped from Tom’s face. “What happened?”

Mara nudged me forward. “I, uh, had an uncomfortable moment with a Dracula. I wondered if you might know who he was.”

Tom’s head popped back. “A Dracula? We have zombies and ghosts this go-around. We don’t have anything else. Was it one of the guests? And I should say I’m sorry for that. This is for families. I won’t stand for that sort of behavior.”

“Thanks. It’s OK. It was probably a guest.” I started to walk away, but Mara put a hand on my shoulder.

“Tom, do you remember seeing someone in a rubber Dracula mask about your height?”

He made a face. “Could have. I’m sorry. I just wrangle the crowds and tell them the rules. I can say none of our people have masks this year, inhibits sight. They’re all wearing makeup. So, it wasn’t one of ours. But I’ll check with the boys at the other end. If they see someone come out matching that description, we’ll let you know. I’m sorry, Doc.”

I shook my head. “It wasn’t your fault,” I said. “I think it might be related to something else I’m working on, but thank you.”

“I say we go back to the exit, just in case,” Jasper said. “We can check if one of the ghosts at the end of the maze saw him.”

I really just wanted to go home. I had a small moment of what Abigail called “overwhelment,” in relation to Tommy’s experiences with the environment around him. I was definitely having one of those. My head hurt, and I was sweating under my jacket.