There Was a Hand in the Darkness, and it Held a Knife

What are people supposed to do with time off, anyway?

We'd had a great time shooting skeet the other day, but after Finn had left I'd gone back to my usual because he hadn't exactly told me what I was supposed to do with the rest of my time off. Seeing Ace from the roof made me want another tattoo but I had to decide what I wanted and where before I added that to my to do list.

Halloween was the answer to my problems. The diner ran a pumpkin pancake special and the bakery was selling pumpkin cookies for 50% off. I'd asked if I could have some with chocolate after seeing the special and ended up paying full price but it was TOTALLY worth it. The only bummer was that, by the time I'd thought of it, someone had already covered The General in fake, white spiderwebs, making him look even more decrepit than he really was.

When I was finally allowed to go back to work again, I heaved a sigh of relief - the Red Box was probably going to murder me if I went back for another movie and I couldn't go antiquing one more time without throwing some stuff out.

My first night back was the night before Halloween and everyone on staff was busy with decorations. Every year we threw a big Halloween bash where people were invited to dress up and drink discounted booze. We on staff always wore themed costumes to make sure that we were distinguishable from the hordes and this year we'd decided to be the dodgeball team from the Vince Vaughn movie Dodgeball. I was Kate Veatch since I was the only girl on staff and she the only girl on the team.


I came to work early the next day; hair already braided and costume in my bag. I changed a couple hours before the arrival of the masses and was immediately hit on by half the guys there. Typical. I knew it would only get worse as the night went on and people got drunker and drunker though, so I just offered them another of whatever they'd been drinking and walked away.

As I poured drinks that night, my mind was filled with thoughts of self pity. I missed my guy friends - they never hit on me, not even Adam that one time I'd thought something had been off with him. I missed Adam and Finn and, especially, Graham. His business trip had taken longer than expected and he still wasn't back yet. He'd be back soon but I needed him and I still needed to make up with Adam after that phone conversation and... I really needed to get more friends. Then I'd have actual plans on Halloween instead of working all night in a costume that was getting progressively grosser.

My break was at about midnight that night. I went outside, trying to escape all the noise and regain my personal space and immediately felt better. Down the street I could see a group of about 50 people congregating in the graveyard for some kind of festival - the perfect idea on Halloween - and noticed that many of our new patrons were coming from the direction of the bookstore around the corner. The bookstore that should've closed hours ago.

All of a sudden, I was tired. And something was wrong. I'd felt it all night long but the feeling was getting worse and I wasn't sure why. There was no reason to feel the way I did - at least, not that I could think of. I'd thought the feeling had gone away once I'd gotten some fresh air and it had. But now, it was back even stronger than before for no apparent reason.

Then, I heard it. Or, rather, him. Mr. Ling-Ling running down the street screaming, "HE'S DEAD! HE'S DEAD! THERE IS A DEAD MAN NEAR MY NOODLES!!! SOMEBODY CALL DE COPS HE'S - HE'S DEAD! HELP ME! HE'S DEAD!!"

Immediately, I stood and glanced around. Many of the patrons were poking their heads out of the door and opening the windows to see what was going on. The people along the street had stopped in their tracks surprised by Ling-Ling's words and afraid of what they might mean. In the other direction was Mr. Ling-Ling's cart.

On the far side, I assumed, was the body (the only part visible to me were its feet but I'd take Ling-Ling's word that the man was dead). I remembered, at that moment, that we had an escaped murderer on the loose and began to urge people back into the bar.

Then, I was reminded of the alley. The alley beside the bar was poorly lit and the perfect escape route. I gasped and ran to its mouth, stumbling a bit on the gravel and sending it flying.

I wasn't the only one though. What I saw before landing face first in alley floor was enough to make my heart stand still: a bloody handprint on the brick wall and the flash of a blade as its owner tore around the opposite corner and out of sight.

All Children, Except One, Grow Up

I awoke very suddenly the next morning and it took me a second to realize why my heart was racing. Adam. What had happened last night? He probably just stumbled drunkenly home with Nemioy and maybe even managed a couple slurred words of thanks before locking his door and going to bed alone in an otherwise people-less apartment but just to be sure...

He answered on the third ring.

"Adam - are you alright?!"

"That guy...Herold..." His voice didn't sound right. Immediately, I knew that alcohol had won out over good sense. 

I tried to head off any struggle for explanation. "Yeah, he was a criminal. You locked your door after he walked you home, right?"

A pause. "Actually, he came in. And he robbed me fucking blind."

"Shit... Are you okay?!" I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping my stupid reluctance to walk him home myself and thereby avoid any awkward and drunken conversations hadn't gotten him beaten to a pulp.

"No," My heart stopped, but then he continued. "...he took my music! It took me years to make that collection!"I released a breath.

"Jesus Christ, I'm just glad you're not hurt! He murdered people, Adam!"

"I'd rather be dead than without my music."

I shook my head irritably. "You're ridiculous." Then, unable to stifle the disgust I felt at his last words, I hung up.

As my rage towards Adam's apparent lack of value for his own life dried up, I realized that today was one of the first free days I'd had in a while. After working nonstop pretty much since we'd gotten here, I'd finally been given a few days off now that Peter had joined the staff. 

I lay in bed relishing the feeling of freedom and was still there a while later when my phone rang.

Hoping (but doubtful) that it was Adam calling back to apologize, I answered.

"Hey Eliot! It's Finn." Wait. What? "Graham told me you had a couple days off and that you'd probably waste 'em by lying in bed not doing anything. Since I was in the area, I figured I teach you how you're really supposed to spend your days off." 

I nodded, then realized he obviously couldn't see me and managed a slow, "Uhhh hhhuuuuhhh..."

"Eliot? Are you ok? Sorry... I just realized it's kinda early for a day off."

"Oh. Um... no! I mean, it's cool. I'm fine. When do you think you'll be here?"

"Probably about half an hour. That okay?"

"Yup. See you then! Bye!" I said, brightly.

"Bye." And he hung up the phone chuckling.

Immediately, I jumped out of bed and into the shower. Finn and I had hung out when he and Graham were in college together. But since they'd graduated, we'd only hung out periodically whenever Graham had a 'Guys Weekend' and all his college friends were in town. I'd always loved hanging out with him but usually I'd started any interactions between the two of us and it felt kind of nice to be on the receiving end of the attention for once.

When I'd finished my shower, I toweled off and got dressed with care. I pulled on one of my nicer pairs of jeans and a soft comfortable sweater was layered atop a deep purple tank. Just as I finished applying make-up, I heard a knock at the door.

As promised, Finn stood outside the apartment door 30 minutes from when we'd hung up the phone. His hair was short and windswept and he wore clothes that fit him perfectly. "Hey," he said. "Grab some shoes and a jacket. I know the perfect thing for you to do today." At a glimpse of his mischievous smile, I did as he said, locking the door behind me.

Finn brought me to the local grocery store. 

"You're kidding, right?" I turned to him, incredulously. Did he really know me this little - little enough that he thought I'd think that grocery shopping would be what I wanted to do on my day off?

"No. I'm not kidding. We're just no there yet. Follow me." He led me down the ally right before Flannigan's where a produce truck had been parked. It appeared that it had been left alone for hours and, unfortunately for it driver, its freight container had been left unlocked. Besides the evidence of scavenging, it seemed like the entire container was filled with - 

"Pumpkins?" Skeptical, I shot him a look.

"Pumpkins." He confirmed. "Grab a whole bunch of 'em - especially the little tiny ones - and head back to your apartment. I have a surprise."

Now, I was really confused but I simply shrugged and did as I was told. There obviously had to be a reason for this. Right?

On the way back to the apartment I saw Jose across the street. He was this pretty rich guy who lived somewhere around town and was always going around spending wildly large amounts of money on unnecessary things. He tipped well, though, so I wasn't going to complain. Unable to wave at him with my arms full of pumpkins, I did the head nod/jerk that guys sometimes use to acknowledge one another in public and that I'd always found kind of douche-y. He smiled, reciprocated it and continued in the opposite direction down the sidewalk.

When we reached the building Finn told me to go all the way to the roof. Again, I did as he instructed still unsure of what was going on. Upon reaching our destination, however, it all became clear.

On the roof of Maplewood Crest was a skeet launcher.

"No way." I was in awe. "You have got to be kidding me."

"What?" The grin was back.

"We are not launching these pumpkins and shooting at them from the roof of my apartment building."

"Why not?"

"Well, for starters, it would be disruptive to everyone else in town and for another, what happens if we miss and a pumpkin goes falling from the sky and kills someone?"

"That's not going to happen. Plus, I brought silencers so if you want to be lame and not disrupt anyone, we can use them, too."

I looked at him, trying to figure out if he was kidding. Finally I said, "Fine. But only with the silencer."

He nodded. "Here you go then," and handed me a gun, silencer already attached. "Load 'er up then. You get to go first."

I smiled, shaking my head at the whole situation. Checking over the side before giving the first command, I saw Temple Harden, one of the women from my building. Always angry at one thing or another, Temple would probably be the first person to yell at me for what I was about to do. 

A grin already spreading across my face, I gave the command: "Pull!" and Finn let the first pumpkin fly.