Allhallow's Eve by Richard Laymon

Author:Richard Laymon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: horror;psycho;killer;Richard Laymon;Halloween;small town
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2016-06-06T16:00:00+00:00

A woman in jeans and a sweatshirt opened the door. Sam gazed at her dishwater-blonde hair, her haggard, familiar face. “Thelma?” he asked.

“I’m Marjorie,” she said. Sam glanced at his notepad. “Are you Mrs. Doons?”

“That’s right.”

“You look…”

“Thelma’s my sister.”

“Twins?”

“We’re a couple of years apart. If you’re looking for Thelma, she’s not in.”

“Is she staying with you?”

The woman nodded.

“Could I talk to you?”

“Come in.”

He followed her into the living room, and took a seat. “I’m Sam Wyatt,” he said.

“You’re here about Dexter.”

“Yes.”

“God, that was a terrible thing.”

“Where is Thelma?”

“She’s spending the day in Dendron with our mother.”

Dendron again. As if fate were trying to drag Sam back there, back to the Sleepy Hollow Inn and Melodie. “Your mother lives in Dendron? Could I have her address?”

“There’s really no point in that. Thelma’ll be home this evening. Why don’t I have her phone you when she arrives?”

“I’d prefer to see her as soon as possible.”

Marjorie sighed. “If you insist, then. It’s 354 Tenth Street.”

“Thank you,” he said, writing it down. “When did Thelma arrive in town?”

“Tuesday morning.”

“And she’s been staying here with you?”

Marjorie nodded. “If you think she had anything to do with Dexter’s death, you’re wrong. It’s just an unfortunate coincidence that she happened to be in town this week. She’s been back—oh, two or three times a year since she and Dexter split up. Nothing ever happened before. If she wanted to kill him, she had plenty of chances to do it before now. She was finished with Dexter the night she walked out on him.”

“Why did she come to town this week?”

“Tomorrow’s my birthday.”

“She came in from Milwaukee to celebrate your birthday?”

“Oh, she hasn’t lived in Milwaukee for years. She went there with Babe Rawls. They were only together for six months or so. He treated her shamefully—beat her up all the time and subjected her to…well, I needn’t dwell on all the sordid details. Suffice it to say that she had enough of it, and left him. She’s been living in Hayward for the better part of a year.”

“Do you know where she was Wednesday night?”

“She spent the night here.”

“Did she go out?”

“Why, yes. She went over to the Sunset Lounge.”

The Sunset Lounge. Sam had been there himself that night, with Cynthia. Of course, he hadn’t been looking for Thelma then. At that point, he hadn’t even known what she looked like. She might have been sitting at the next table.

“Did she go there alone?”

Marjorie shook her head. “She went with Ticia Barnes.”

Sam raised his eyebrows.

“They’re old friends,” Marjorie explained. “Ticia used to live next door to us, when we lived on Seventh Street.”

“What time did Thelma leave for the lounge?”

“Oh, nine-ish. You can check with Ticia, if you wish. She picked Thelma up.”

“What time did Thelma get back?”

“I have no idea.”

“You said she spent the night here.”

“And so she did. Phillip and I hardly felt it necessary to wait up for her. We went to bed at our usual time. Maybe Phillip heard her come in, but I’m afraid I was dead to the world.

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