The Guild of Fallen Clowns (41 page)

Alan stared without saying a word. Her lips
puckered as she fought with all her might to keep from
laughing.

“Go on, let it out,” he said.

Mary glanced at his stern expression. She
couldn’t hold it any longer and cracked up. Her repressed laughter
resulted in an uncontrollable fit of snorting as she tried to catch
her breath. As soon as the snorts started, her eyes opened wide and
she slapped her hand over her mouth.

Alan smiled. “What was that?” he said. “Do
you have a pig in here somewhere? I swear I heard a pig
snorting.”

They both laughed hard for the next minute.
When the laughter subsided, he looked at her. She looked back and
got her last chuckle out of her system before looking back at the
road. “You make me laugh, Alan,” she said. “I think laughter is the
most important part of any relationship.”

“I guess we’ll be okay as long as we stay
clear of Ferris wheels,” Alan said.

“Or any of those other things on your list
of fears,” she added.

“Oh, right, I was hoping you forgot about
that.”

“I’m a good listener, Alan. Nothing slips by
me.”

“Oh, lucky me. Now you probably want to know
what’s on there besides my fear of heights.”

“No, you can relax, for now. Besides, I
never shared any of my fears with you.”

“That’s right, you owe me one,” he said.

“I do. And I’m going to share with you
something I’ve never told anyone.”

“No, you don’t have to do that, Mary. My
fear of heights was nothing. Believe me, it’s nothing compared to
some other things, which I’ve never told anyone…And, I’m not ready
to share them now, so please don’t give me more than I’m able to
return.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not expecting anything in
return. I just feel comfortable with you and it might feel good for
me to finally say it out loud to someone. You’ll be doing me a
favor by listening,” she said. They arrived at his apartment and
she put the car in park.

“Are you sure?” Alan asked. Mary looked
serious and nodded.

“Okay, here it is,” she said with a big
sigh. “I’m a cancer survivor.”

“That’s it? I mean, that’s great! No, I mean
that’s horrible. Wait, here I go again. It’s great that you
survived it, but it’s horrible that you had it in the first
place.”

Mary smiled. “I know what you meant to say,
but that’s not the end of it.”

“Oh, right, I would imagine you’re afraid it
might come back,” he said. “No wait, that’s bad. I shouldn’t have
assumed that. I’m sure it’ll never come back.” He put his hand over
his forehead in an effort to slow down and think before he muttered
another word.

“Actually, you’re partially correct. I do
worry that it might come back because I vowed to never go through
the treatment again. It nearly killed me and it turned me into
someone I never want to be again,” she said.

“But you survived. You got through it and
you’re the cheeriest, most optimistic person I’ve ever known. You
can do it again if you had to.”

“But I won’t. I promised myself that I’d
never go through that again. I’m not afraid of what happens after I
die. A big part of me looks forward to finding out because I
believe it’s better than this. When my time comes, I’ll be
ready.”

Alan was confused. “I’m not going to pretend
I understand. Maybe because I’m the complete opposite when it comes
to the hereafter.”

“You don’t believe in heaven?” she
asked.

“That’s a good question. I’m not sure. I do
know, or believe, there’s something after this, but it scares me
worse than the idea of there being nothing.”

“What?”

“I guess I am going there,” he said.

“Oh, I’m sorry, you don’t have to respond. I
didn’t intend to bring your fears into this. You don’t have to say
anything more. All I wanted to do was tell you about my thing.”

“No, it’s okay, but I still don’t understand
what you said. If you’re not afraid of dying, what is it that you
are afraid of?”

“I
am
afraid of dying—the process of
it. I feel like I’ve already suffered through it once and we humans
aren’t equipped to go through it more than once. I’m not worried
about what happens to me after, but I do fear going through the
pain and the draining of everything I am. I love life, but during
that time, I wanted to die. I really wanted to die because I didn’t
have the will to live. That’s not who I am. I’m usually a fighter,
but the treatment took that fighting spirit away from me. I turned
into a different person. A person I never want to be again. When my
time comes, I refuse to pass over to the other side as that person.
I want to die as happy as I am right now. I want to be smiling when
I get there. Does that make any sense to you?”

“I suppose, but I’d go through that process
a thousand times if it keeps me alive.”

“Why are you afraid of what happens to our
souls? What happened to you to make you fear it so much?” Mary
caught herself and tried to retract her questions. “Oops, I’m being
too intrusive. See, you’re not the only one who blurts out whatever
they are thinking.”

Alan grinned. “Ever since my father died,
I’ve had dreams. Dark dreams.”

“Nightmares?” she said.

“Worse. I can’t even find words to explain
them, but I know they are much more than nightmares. I see through
death, and it’s more frightening than anything you can possibly
imagine.”

“Worse than chemo?” she said
sarcastically.

“No, I didn’t mean to compare it in any way
to what you went through. I’ve never experienced chemo and I can’t
pretend to know the visions in my dreams are worse. I’m sorry if it
came across that way. Like I said, these dreams are impossible to
put into words. The only thing that resembles anything remotely
describable is that when I’m having those dreams, I always have a
feeling of some sort of evil presence behind me, showing me
things.”

“Showing you what?”

“I don’t know. It’s not something you could
picture. I guess it’s more like thick dread. A depressing kind of
dread and weakness unlike anything in this world.”

“That sounds terrible,” she said. Then she
grabbed his arm, hugged it tight, and leaned her head to his
shoulder. She looked up to his face and smiled. “I’ll tell you
what. I’ll die first. When I get there, I’ll make sure those dreams
don’t come back. I’ll guide you to the light and make sure those
nasty nightmares are gone forever.”

Alan smiled, leaned in, and kissed her
forehead. She squeezed his arm and snuggled her head back into his
shoulder.

*****

The key slipped into the lock. A click
sounded as the hand twisted clockwise and the car’s trunk began to
open. The floor inside was lined with a half dozen partially filled
trash bags. Two more bags were tossed in before the trunk closed
and Geno moved to open the driver’s side door. He entered the cab,
started the engine, and slowly drove through the tall grasses in
the dark field; the headlights remained off until he reached the
road.

Whistling to an upbeat tune on his clock
radio, Alan laid out his Boogy costume on the bed and returned to
the bathroom, where he opened the cabinet below the sink and took
out a tray full of clown makeup, and put it on the counter.

The phone rang, interrupting him from
beginning his transformation into Boogy.

“Alan! Oh thank God,” Dale said.

“Oh, hey, Dale, I’m glad you called because
I’ve got a Boogy gig today, and I was thinking about stopping by
after to see the kids.”

“Sure, that’s fine. I’m working, but I’m
sure Cheryl and the kids would love to see you.”

“Working? I thought you might be calling to
see if I wanted to go to church with you guys again.”

“Church? Not me. That would be Cheryl. I’m
calling to be sure you’re safe.”

“Safe from what?”

“You went to the carnival with that Krauss
chick last night, right?”

“Yeeessss…”

“And everything was okay, right? I mean, she
got home okay? You dropped her off and saw her inside?”

“No, she drove. She dropped me off,” he
said. “What’s this about, Dale? Why are you asking me who drove? My
car was in the shop so she offered—”

“No, it’s not about that,” Dale cut in. “It
looks like we might have a serial killer who killed people that
were at the carnival last night. That’s why I’m calling. I knew you
were there last night.”

“A serial killer?” Alan said.

“Yes—well, maybe. To be honest…” Dale’s
voice lowered. “I haven’t shared this theory with anyone yet, but
last night, a guy jumped off the roof of the Sycamore Building.
Then a girl drove off Wilkes Bridge into the river. Her three
friends got out, but she didn’t make it. Now I’m at the scene where
the body of a cab driver was cut up and put into a bunch of bags in
her trunk. I just got off the phone with her dispatcher and he said
her last fare was at the carnival. All three victims were there
last night.”

“Are you sure that’s not just a coincidence?
It sounds like the first was a suicide. The second could have been
an accident. The third, well, yeah, she was obviously murdered, but
why do you think there’s a serial killer?” Alan said.

“Because he left a calling card. They found
pieces of a broken figure near the jumper. The same creepy clown
figure was in the car beside the girl that drowned. And now I’m
holding the same freakishly ugly figure. This one was inside the
cab of the poor women cut up in the trunk.”

Alan’s face went white. “Creepy clown?” he
repeated.

“Yes, it has a top hat and a black nose.
This thing would give
you
nightmares, brother.”

Alan’s heart raced as he started pacing the
floor. Peepers was back, and Geno lied to him when he said he
destroyed his mold. Now at least three people were dead and he was
the only person who knew the identities of the killer and his
accomplice.

“Alan, hello, still there?” Dale said.

“I—I did something really bad, Dale.”

“What?”

“I sculpted it. I created the mold for those
figures.”

“Wait, no, what? Are you, no way, are you
telling me…” Dale’s voice turned to a whisper. “Are you telling me
you did this?”

“No, I didn’t kill those people but I am
responsible for creating the—calling card. I sculpted the figure
and made a mold so more could be produced.”

“Okay, you’re starting to freak me out,
Alan. You can’t sculpt. Why would you tell me something like this?
You’re scaring me.”

“I know, this doesn’t make sense, but you
have to trust me because it gets worse. I’ll explain later, but
right now I need you to trust me and do exactly what I tell you to
do. I know who’s responsible for the killings.”

“Who is it? I’ll have the entire force there
in five minutes,” Dale insisted.

“No, they can’t help. This is something I
need to do, but I need you to do something else. The figure was
supposed to help people with their fears. The problem is that there
are more figures, of two other clowns. ”

“What do you mean, more figures? Are you
saying there’s more than one killer?”

“No, I don’t think the others are as
dangerous, but I’m not positive. They need to be destroyed.”

“Other figures? I don’t care about the
stupid figures. I want to find the killer who’s leaving them with
his victims. Just tell me who you think this guy is and let the
professionals handle it, Alan.”

“They aren’t people! They’re spirits, evil
spirits!” Alan stammered.

“Look, Alan, I want to believe you, bro, but
do you hear yourself? Do you know what you’re asking me? If you
know anything, please tell me so we can stop this guy before anyone
else gets hurt.”

“Cheryl has one of the figures!” Alan
said.

“What, is Cheryl in danger? We weren’t at
the carnival last night. What the hell are you telling me,
Alan?”

“I wanted to help her with her fear of
crowds so I made a figure for her. I thought these things were
harmless, but now I don’t know. You have to find the figure and
destroy it. Do you know where she is now?”

“Calm down, Alan, she’s probably at church
with the kids. I’m sure she’s fine. It’s just a clown figure,
right? It can’t hurt her.”

“Go now!” Alan demanded. “I need you to
trust me, Dale. Find and destroy her clown.”

“Okay, calm down. If it will make you feel
better, I’ll do that, but then I need to know who you think is
killing these people and leaving these creepy things.”

“Fine, I’ll tell you everything. When you’re
finished, meet me outside the Labyrinth of Haunted Mirrors at the
carnival. I need to destroy the mold.”

“Is that where the killer is?”

“That’s where the evil spirit that killed
those people is. If you get there before me, don’t go inside.
Promise to wait for me. This is something I need to do on my own. I
need you to watch for a guy named Geno. He’s a short guy who runs
the thing. If you see him come out before I get there, grab him.
Don’t let him go back inside. He knows where the mold is and we
can’t let him cast more figures. But you have to promise me that
you won’t go inside. Wait for me.”

“Okay, I promise,” Dale said. “So, you think
this Geno guy is the killer?”

“Dale!” Alan snapped. “Go to Cheryl. Then
wait for me at the carnival.”

Alan hung up and dialed Mary’s cell phone.
It went to voice mail. He hung up and dialed the number a second
time. Again, it went to her voice mail.

“C’mon, Mary, pick up your phone,” he said
as he dialed her home phone.

After three rings, Mary answered.

“Oh, good, you’re okay,” Alan said.

Mary laughed. “Why wouldn’t I be?” she
said.

“It’s just that I tried your cell phone
twice and you didn’t answer, so I called your home phone.”