Thrill Squeaker

by Christy Barritt

  At the top of the staircase was a cylindrical tunnel. At one time it had probably spun. Right now it just appeared to be a dark abyss that I had to walk through.

  A breeze swept across us as we ventured through the tunnel, and I shivered.

  “The building is just drafty,” Riley whispered in my ear.

  “Of course.” My throat felt tight as I said the words.

  I forced myself to move forward. The clown laughter above us must have been triggered by some kind of motion sensor because, wherever we were, the sound billowed around us.

  I stepped into the next room. This one had tiles dangling from the ceiling that I had to skirt around in order to get through. My back tensed at the thought of what might be hiding behind one of those tiles.

  At least the floor felt relatively solid in this area. We’d have to check where each of the tiles connected with the ceiling. Certainly some of them would have to be replaced.

  I had to agree with Riley, though: opening this building up to the public seemed like just one more on an already long list of bad ideas.

  Just then, I heard Riley gasp behind me. I twirled around to make sure he was okay.

  He was gone.

  “Riley?” I called.

  I darted my flashlight around the room. He was nowhere to be seen.

  At the moment, the floor creaked only feet away from me. I pointed my flashlight toward the sound, just in time to see a shadow disappear in the corner.

  What was going on? I had no idea.

  I only knew that Riley was gone. And someone else was in this building.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  I ’d stepped into an episode of Scooby-Doo. That was all there was to it. Things like this didn’t happen in real life. An abandoned funhouse with no lights, spine-chilling soundtracks, and hidden intruders.

  Who else was in here? Bigfoot?

  My heart shuddered at the thought. No, he wasn’t real. But, then, who?

  Maybe a real-life killer, a person who’d remained faceless up until this point? The person who’d killed Caleb Kidwell? A hit man hired by Scotty Stephens? Or could a desperate Nate, who had a dark, evil side to his plan that he hadn’t let on to, be behind this?

  Could it even be someone who had no real connection, but who was simply just fascinated with this place? With murder?

  I gripped my flashlight again, feeling like it was my only lifeline, at the moment. Other than God, of course.

  Please, Lord, be with us now. Keep us safe.

  “Riley?” I called again.

  There was no answer. Where could he have gone? Maybe this place had one of those trapdoors, and he’d fallen through? That really didn’t make me feel better.

  I needed to know he was safe. I desperately wanted to be safe. And outta here. Now.

  But no man left behind seemed only appropriate at the moment. I couldn’t leave Riley.

  Another one of the dangling ceiling tiles moved. My flashlight shot in that direction just in time to see a shadow disappear across the room.

  My throat clenched and I rubbed it, imagined how it would feel to die by strangulation. Not good. Not good at all.

  At that moment, something cackled at my belt. My radio! That was right. How could I have forgotten about that?

  “Gabby, how’s it going in there?” Chad’s voice sounded over the line.

  “Chad, I need you in here. Now.” My voice cracked with each word.

  “Is something wrong?”

  My gaze scanned the room for any more sign of trouble or danger. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. I’ve got a bad feeling. Please. Come fast.”

  “I’m on it,” Chad said.

  I had to see if I could get out of here. That meant confronting the unknown and possibly running into a stuffed clown and facing moving shadows.

  All of my muscles trembled as I moved forward, one hand outstretched and the other shining a light on my path. I held my breath as I passed each tile. No one jumped out, although my body felt tight in preparation.

  That laughter kept winding my nerves tighter and tighter.

  Finally, I reached the last ceiling tile.

  I stepped out of that room and into another. As soon as I entered it, my head seemed to wobble and the space around me shifted. What was going on?

  That’s when I realized that the whole room was slanted. But the walls were designed to contrast the tilt of the floor, making the entire space a giant optical illusion.

  Brilliant. But not at the moment.

  I heard another creak behind me and decided to pick up my pace. I ran across the floor, my head spinning with each step. At the end of the room was another tunnel. I started through it, only to realize it wasn’t a tunnel but a swirly slide.

  I prayed that there were no parts missing, because if there were, I was a goner.

  I froze as I reached the bottom, mentally evaluating myself for any injuries. I was fairly certain I was okay.

  I’d made it down in one piece. But where was I now? Certainly I was at the end of this horrific place. Surely the exit was close.

  A door opened in front of me. I squinted, the daylight blinding after being in darkness for so long.

  “Gabby?”

  I recognized that voice. “Chad?”

  He stepped inside, blocking the glaring sun. “What’s going on?”

  I grabbed his arm, the urgency of the situation pressing on me. “I lost Riley.”

  He squinted. “What do you mean?”

  “He was behind me one moment. The next moment he was gone. And someone else was in there with us. Someone who could have done something to Riley.”

  “I’ll check it out. Why don’t you wait outside? You look shaken.”

  The offer was tempting. But I couldn’t do that. No way. “I’m going with you. I have to find Riley.”

  I followed Chad into the entryway of the building. As I did a familiar figure emerged from the mirror maze. Riley!

  He rubbed his head and looked slightly disheveled as he blinked. But he was okay! Thank goodness, he was okay.

  I rushed toward him and threw my arms around his neck. “Riley! Are you okay? What happened?”

  “I’m not sure. One minute I was with you, and the next minute I was in a ball pit—a nasty, rat infested ball pit. I think I hit my head on the way down.”

  “A ball pit?”

  “The floor must have collapsed. Thankfully I was standing over the area where the ball pit was.”

  Chad rubbed his chin, looking deep in thought. “There are different paths you can take inside this place. You must have veered off.”

  “Are there trapdoors?” I asked.

  “No, but I think there’s another slide that leads to that ball pit.”

  “That would make sense. I could hardly see my hand in front of my face.” Riley looked at me. “I tried to call for you, but you probably couldn’t hear me over the soundtrack.”

  “What’s up with that?” Chad stared at the ceiling. “It’s unsettling.”

  Just then, another squeak sounded above us. All three of us looked at each other. Someone else was in here still!

  “We should go check this out. End it once and for all,” Chad said.

  Chad led the way, and Riley held my hand. I had no idea what had happened to my clipboard, but now wasn’t the time to figure it out. Now was the time to find some answers.

  Chad seemed to instinctively know how to get through the mirror maze. He led us up the steps again, but instead of going into the roomful of swinging ceiling tiles, we ended up in a room full of . . . what else? Clowns.

  I froze as I glanced at each of them. Most of the mannequins were in decent condition, all things considered. They stood around the edge of the room, each frozen in a different position. One slapped his knee and laughed. Another pointed toward the ceiling, a gleeful smile across his face. Two others climbed on each other’s shoulders to reach a light bulb. Still another attempted to juggle.

  The happy scenes c
lashed with my not so happy thoughts about clowns.

  “There’s no one in here,” I squeezed Riley’s hand tighter. “Do you think that sound came from the room with the hanging tiles?”

  “It came from directly above us.” Chad pressed his lips together in thought. “This room was directly above us.”

  “Whoever it was must have gotten away,” Riley said. “It’s empty now.”

  “Wait one minute.” I shined my light on each of the clowns.

  Just then, one of them blinked.

  I screamed.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  T he clown sprang to life and took off toward the door across the room. Riley darted after him. As the clown leapt over a metal railing, Riley was right behind him, moving with amazing strength and agility. Chad and I were right on his heels.

  That clown couldn’t get away.

  As we reached the other side of a silly mirror room, the door slammed shut. Something slid across the floor on the other side. Riley rammed his shoulder into the wood, but the door didn’t budge.

  “He blocked the door,” Riley muttered, staring at the exit in contempt.

  “We’ve got to go back the way we came,” Chad said. “Follow me.”

  We all took off toward the spiral staircase leading to the mirror maze. We had to reach the man who’d been hiding in here before he got away.

  We darted down the steps, through the lobby, and out the front door. By the time we stepped outside, the man disappeared into the woods.

  I slowed to a stop. There was no way we’d catch him now. He had too much of a head start.

  To my surprise, Riley continued after him. Instead of skirting around the line corral leading to the bumper-car area, he leapt over the railing there, two or three bars at a time before vaulting over a halfwall into the pavilion. He moved surprisingly fast across the floor.

  “That was pretty sweet.” Chad stared in the direction Riley had raced, momentarily distracted from our clown problems.

  “I concur.” I only hoped he was okay. What if Riley came face-to-face with that clown? What if that clown had a gun? This was all just too weird and creepy.

  I shivered again as I remembered seeing the person blink while wearing that clown costume. There was creepy, and then there was creepy. That was the creepiest, by far. It would go down in my “Hair-Raising Hall of Fame,” All Stars Edition. And I had some spine-chilling experiences up there.

  Just then, Riley emerged from the woods. He shook his head and held something red in his hands.

  A wig, I realized. He’d managed to get the clown’s wig.

  I rushed toward him and placed a hand on his chest. “Are you okay?”

  He nodded, a rather somber look about him. “I’ll be fine. The clown got away—but just barely. He had some kind of ATV waiting out in the woods. Once he got on that, I knew there was no way I’d catch him. At least I got this.” He held up the wig. “It must have flown off when he ran away.”

  I took the hairpiece from him and observed it. Each of the stiff fibers looked old and moldy. Disgusting really. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to put that on his head.

  “Why would someone be hiding up there?” Chad began to pace on the walkway near the carousel of mythical creatures—mostly unicorns.

  “I’m guessing here, but what if someone heard us coming and darted into the funhouse to hide,” I mused. “When we got closer, he could have grabbed the clothes from one of the clowns and put it on to disguise himself.”

  “Interesting theory,” Chad said.

  “But it’s also interesting because the clown was slight,” I mused aloud.

  “What are you getting at?” Riley said.

  “If someone is dressing up as Bigfoot, they’re large. They have to be to fill out the costume. Whoever was dressed as that clown was small.”

  “So you think two different people are involved?”

  I shrugged. “Or there are two separate crimes going on.”

  “What are the odds?” Chad muttered.

  I raised the wig. “I’ll check this for hairs or other fibers. You never know.”

  “Even if your theory is right, why is someone trespassing here, anyway?” Chad continued. “This goes beyond college pranks.”

  “Maybe someone’s determined to scare us off this property,” I said. “Whoever it is seems to be doing a good job.”

  Chad sighed. “I’m counting on this paycheck. Sierra wants to cut back on her work hours. We need to pay off our cars. Plus, eventually, I know she’s going to want a house. Who doesn’t after they have kids? And then she’ll want a nice-sized yard so we can have dogs. Then there’s going to be private school—”

  I laid my hand on his arm, things suddenly making sense. “Is that what all of this is about? I was wondering why you seemed so focused.”

  “I’m a family man now. I have two people who are depending on me. I can’t just take odd jobs whenever they come. I need to be out there looking for good leads. Not letting opportunities like this pass me by. If we drop out of this, then all that money I’d been counting on . . .” He shook his head.

  Riley clamped down on his shoulder. “We’re going to get this done, Chad. No clowns or mythical creatures are going to scare us off. Not even rainbow-colored unicorns.” Riley gave a pointed look to the carousel creature beside us.

  “I think it’s admirable that you want to provide for your family,” I added. “But, remember, Sierra is her own person. I’ve never seen her show any interest in having a nice house or driving the nicest cars or even having her kids attend the nicest school.”

  “Have you ever been to her parents’ place?”

  I shook my head. “Nope.”

  “It’s nice. I’m afraid she’s going to morph into her mom.”

  I supposed everyone had fears, even Chad. It wasn’t so much having fear, as it was what you did with it. “Like I said, Sierra is her own person. I know her hormones have been a little crazy lately, but you should give her more credit.”

  Chad paused and shook his head. “You know what? You’re right. My mind is just working overtime. I don’t want to be a disappointment, you know?”

  I knew what he meant all too well. We were having our own little Dr. Phil moment out here in the Bermuda Triangle. “You won’t be, Chad.”

  “Thanks for the pep talk.” He straightened, signaling a shift in our conversation. “Listen, be careful out there. I don’t know what’s going on. You came here to help me fix this place up. But Nate mentioned something about having you investigate Caleb’s murder. At first, I discouraged him, but now I’m seeing how it could be a good idea.”

  “I’m beginning to think that should be more of a priority also. But I think I can squeeze in both investigating and helping you.”

  “You’re the best. You want to go supervise the cabins in Area 51?” Chad asked.

  “If it’s okay, I’m going to run some samples to a friend of mine who works at a lab a few hours from here. It will take the rest of the day.”

  He shrugged like it was no big deal. “Sure thing. Let me know when you’re back.”

  As Chad walked away, I turned to Riley. “Those were some fancy moves you did back there.”

  “I’d told you I’d been training.”

  “In martial arts,” I reminded him.

  He teetered his shoulders back and forth. “There’s some parkour in that. American Ninja Warrior type of stuff. It’s been fun and a great workout.”

  “I want to see some of those moves sometime.” I shifted. “Why haven’t you mentioned this more? I mean, I know you go to lessons a couple of times a week and sometimes on your lunch break. But it seems like I would have known about this before now.”

  He shrugged. “The time never seemed right to bring it up. Plus, apartments and restaurants never seem ideal for these things.”

  “Well, show me something now then.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “For real?”

  I nodded. “For real.”<
br />
  He shrugged. “Okay then.”

  He glanced around before seeming to settle on something. With a start, he ran across the pavement toward the funhouse. As gracefully as a cat, he ran up the wall, grabbed the roof, and pulled himself on top. Once up there, he gave a curtsy.

  I clapped my hands. “Impressive.”

  He hopped down and stood in front of me, grinning mischievously. “Is that all I would have had to do this whole time to impress you?”

  I grinned, liking that he was standing so close. Close enough to kiss. To forget my fears for a moment. “I’ve always been impressed by you, Riley Thomas. I think you know that by now.”

  “Sometimes, I wonder.” His voice got the wistful sound again as he turned his full attention on me. “I’m afraid I hurt you too badly for you to fully forgive me, Gabby. That’s the honest truth of the matter.”

  I opened my mouth, not sure what to say or how much to confess to. But before anything could come out, a horn honked in the distance.

  Riley and I glanced at each other before hurrying down the trail toward the entry gate. There, on the other side of the fence, was a news van. Two news vans, for that matter. And someone already had a camera rolling despite the barrier between us.

  “Is it true that you spotted Bigfoot?” a reporter yelled. “And that you have proof?”

  Riley and I looked at each other. The day kept on getting more and more interesting.

  And that wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Before talking to anyone, I radioed Nate, who met us at the gate. His eyes lit with interest when he saw the news crews.

  “This is most excellent,” he muttered.

  It wasn’t the reaction I’d expected. “What do you want us to do?”

  “Talk to them. Just be honest.”

  “Honest?” I repeated. Perhaps he’d forgotten about everything that had happened. I could simply not answer their questions. “About everything?”

  “Of course. Transparency. That’s what I want.”

  “If you’re sure.” Transparency was great in relationships, but not always in business.

  He nodded. “This will be great publicity for the place. We need all the help we can get. Especially once word gets out about what happened here earlier.”