Allhallow's Eve: (Richard Laymon Horror Classic) Read Online Free PDF

to his English class, and entered.
    Miss Bennett glanced at him. There was no malice in her eyes. She continued talking about Huck Finn.
    Eric hurried to his seat. The rat had been worthwhile, if only because it got him transferred to Miss Bennett’s class. He liked her a lot. She was pretty – so pretty that he often got horny just looking at her – and she never put him down.
    He watched her talk. Her blue eyes were shiny and intense. She held a paperback copy of Huckleberry Finn in one hand. Her other hand gestured, pointed to students for answers, and sometimes brushed aside the blond hair over her forehead.
    Eric’s own hair hung down, tickling his right eyebrow. He wanted to push it into place, but Doons hadn’t let him wash his hands. He didn’t dare touch himself.
    God, what a crud.
    Doons and Nate both.
    They’re probably pals.
    Eric used the back of his wrist to shove the hair away. He rubbed his eyebrow.
    ‘Eric?’ asked Miss Bennett.
    ‘What?’
    ‘Do you have something to contribute?’
    ‘Uh, no.’ He blushed. ‘I was just scratching.’
    The class laughed.
    God, what a day!
    When the period finally ended, he rushed to the bathroom and washed his hands. No matter how much he scrubbed, he still felt they were dirty.
    He went without lunch because he had no money to buy it.
    The rest of the day, his stomach felt empty and he was careful to keep his hands away from his face.
    Finally, the last period ended. He walked home alone, and opened the mailbox. Quickly, he flipped through the envelopes. One neatly typed envelope was addressed to him.
    Unlocking the door, he hurried into the house. He tossed the other mail onto a lamp table. With a trembling hand, he tore open his letter.
    He pulled out the single sheet of paper, and unfolded it.
     
JOIN THE FUN
SPOOK-HOUSE HALLOWEEN PARTY!!!
THRILLS, GAMES, PRIZES, REFRESHMENTS!!!
COME IN COSTUME – BRING A FRIEND
TO THE BIGGEST, BEST
SCARIEST!!
HALLOWEEN PARTY EVER
WHEN? OCTOBER 31, 9 PM
WHERE? THE OLD SHERWOOD HOUSE
823 OAKHURST ROAD
DON’T MISS OUT!!!

6
     
    Martin Bodine, proprietor of Marty’s Motor Lodge, scowled at the photo. ‘Not here,’ he said.
    ‘The picture’s six or seven years old,’ Sam told him.
    ‘Still not here.’ He pushed the photo back across the registration desk. ‘Sorry,’ he said. He didn’t look sorry.
    ‘ Has she been here?’
    ‘When?’
    ‘Within the past week.’
    ‘No.’
    ‘She could look different, now. A different hair style or color…’
    Martin sighed. ‘I’ve got twenty rooms, Mister Wyatt. As of right now, fourteen of ’em are vacant. That means I’ve got six parties under my roof. You think I wouldn’t know it, if this gal was one of them? Let me tell you, I’d know it. She’s not here. She wasn’t here last night, or the night before. As far as I know, I’ve never seen the gal my whole life. All right?’
    ‘All right,’ Sam said. ‘Thanks for your help.’
    ‘Any time.’
    Sam walked to the door, clamping the photo of Thelma to his clipboard. Marty’s Motor Lodge was thesecond motel he’d checked after searching Dexter’s house and finding a picture of the ex-wife. He’d struck out at both. There were no more motels to try – not in Ashburg. Maybe she’d taken up lodgings in one of the neighboring towns, but Sam doubted it. More likely, she was staying with a friend.
    He climbed into his patrol car and drove to the Food King, where Charlie Dobbs had spotted Thelma yesterday. Outside its doors was a pile of pumpkins. Sam remembered buying one only a few days ago. He’d planned to carve a jack-o’-lantern this evening. Now, he doubted he would get to it. He wondered if Cynthia had a pumpkin. It would be fun, getting together with her and Eric to make jack-o’-lanterns. Maybe next year, he thought, hurting with regret.
    Inside the store, he found the crew-cut manager behind a booth, okaying a woman’s check. He waited until the woman left.
    The manager beamed at him.