Ghouls Night Out Read Online Free PDF Page B

all that shit.” Randy waggled his fingers in what was supposed to be a spooky way, I guess. “I hear dead girls are easy—so why you making it so hard, baby?”
    The way he was leering at me made it clear he thought his little double entendre was very clever.
    “You’re drunk, Randy,” Debbie said flatly. “Leave Nicki alone.”
    I appreciated Debbie’s effort, but I could take care of myself. I looked Randy in the eye and asked, “Are you always this stupid, or is today a special occasion?”
    Dale let out another whoop of laughter, causing heads to turn our way yet again. “Randy’s got a real way with the ladies,” Dale said to me, when he’d stopped laughing. “You better watch yourself.”
    “Great idea,” I said sourly, rising from the table. “I think I’ll go look for a mirror.”
    “You going to the little girl’s room, Nicki?” Darlene stood up, too. “I’ll go with you.”
    I didn’t answer, having to squeeze by a too-close-for-comfort Randy and a still-entwined Debbie/Dale sandwich before I could even start looking for the restroom.
    “It’s over here,” Darlene said, with a tilt of her red head toward the back.
    I followed her, weaving my way past tables full of blue-collar guys with shit-eating grins on their faces. Women seemed to be scarce at the Long Branch, or maybe they were just all at home with the kids while their husbands whooped it up over a cold brew.
    Not that there was anything wrong with blue-collar men, mind you—as long as they weren’t blue-collar jerks. But I had a feeling that the jerk factor in this particular bar was pretty high.
    Darlene led the way down a narrow corridor toward two doors marked “Bulls” and “Heifers,” and pushed open the door to ladies room. It smelled like cheap perfume and sour vomit—exactly what I’d expected. A coin-operated vending machine hung on the wall, displaying condoms, tampons, and breath mints.
    Prerequisites in a place like this, I suppose. One never knows when one will be kissing, cramping, or canoodling with the redneck of your dreams.
    “That Randy is such a creep. He thinks he’s a real stud,” Darlene said, heading into one of the stalls. “Don’t let him get to you.”
    “Thanks,” I said, glad my initial impression had been confirmed, “but I think you just insulted a horse.”
    I could hear Darlene chuckling through the stall door. “You got spunk,” she said. “I’ll give you that.”
    Since I’d only come into the bathroom to get away from Randy, I put my purse on the counter and started digging for my lipstick. When I glanced up, my heart nearly stopped at what I saw reflected in the mirror.
    Michelle was standing behind me, soaking wet again. Her lips looked blue, and her skin had taken on a waxy tone.
    “You have to get out of here,” she said, “or you’ll be next.”
    “You are creeping me out,” I answered, frozen in place with a tube of lipstick in my hand.
    “What?” Darlene’s voice came from the stall. “Did you say something?”
    Flustered, I stuck my lipstick back in my purse. “I said Randy creeps me out,” I lied, loudly.
    “Yeah, I know what you mean. He’s been sniffin’ around Debbie like a dog in heat ever since high school, but she ain’t never give him the time of day. Don’t know how Dale can stand hanging around a low-life like him, but there ya go.”
    The toilet flushed, and Darlene opened the stall door.“Must be a guy thing, I guess, or else Dale’s just used to it. They work together at the garage.”
    She came over to the sink to wash her hands, narrowly missing walking right through Michelle, who didn’t bother to move out of the way.
    In fact, Michelle looked lost in thought, and very, very sad. Her gaze had turned inward, and she paid no attention to Darlene whatsoever. Water dripped from her clothes and hair.
    Stalling, I fumbled in my purse again, this time bringing out a tube of eyeliner along with the lipstick.
    “Don’t you get tired of