The Chapter Ends by Poul Anderson (which ebook reader .TXT) 📕

“You can do it, Ethan,” Christy encouraged.

Ethan glanced at her. “I hope I can get that cat without having to pay an arm and a leg for it,” he said to me.

“I have all the faith in the world in you,” I said. “You’re going to get it on the first try.”

He turned and looked at me, giving me a look. “First try? You certainly do have a lot of faith in me.”

“Of course I do.”

He stepped up to the booth and took the three balls the booth operator held out to him. Then he took aim and tossed one into the first basket. The ball bounced out of the basket and he turned and glanced at me.

“It’s okay,” I said. “You can do this. I know you can.”

“Come on Ethan,” Christy said. “Get that black cat for Mia. Boo needs a twin.”

He laughed and shook his head. “Boo needs a twin,” he muttered. He tossed the ball again, and this one bounced out with the other.

“Oh no,” Devon kidded. “Looks like Boo might not get a twin.”

Christy slapped at his arm. “Don’t say that you’ll curse him.”

“Yeah Devon,” Ethan said as he tossed the third ball. “Don’t curse me.” The ball bounced but rolled back into the basket. He turned and looked at Devon. “See? Don’t be so negative.”

Devon shrugged. “You’ll have to pay if you want that cat. It’s not going to be easy.”

Ethan toss the two remaining balls and won a tiny reindeer for me. He turned and looked at me. “How does a reindeer sound?”

I shook my head. “No. I need that black cat. Boo needs that black cat and you can’t let him down.”

“How did I know you were going to say that?”

The cat ended up costing Ethan fourteen dollars to win. We traded up all the smaller items he won in each of the games until we had enough credit to get that cat. I put the cat under my arm, and we strolled along the walkway looking at the rest of the games.

Devon won a large stuffed reindeer for Christy and she decided to keep it and put it beneath the Christmas tree. The Christmas season had started off with a bang, and I couldn’t wait to see what was in store for us for the remainder of the year.

Chapter Two

I got up early the next morning to help my mother with the candy making. I wasn’t a morning person, but I didn’t have a choice. The Christmas season was in full swing and so were we. We were going to make more candy than we thought we were capable of this season. I was sure of it. Our online sales had taken off earlier in the year and we were up to our elbows in candy orders.

It was just after four o’clock in the morning as I drove down Spooky Lane toward the candy store. The streetlights were still on and the ground was covered in snow. It was beautiful. As I drove, I thought about the fun we had had the night before and without thinking, I took a turn down Ghostly Lane before heading to the candy store to take another look at the carousel. As I drove past the plaza, I saw that the carousel lights were still turned on. That was odd. Why would they be left on overnight? I drove through the parking lot of the plaza and then parked for a moment. Wouldn’t Sam have turned off the carousel lights before leaving? It didn’t make sense.

The snow was trampled down in the parking lot and the plaza from all of last night’s visitors and the place was deathly quiet. After a minute I got out of my car and slowly walked toward the carousel. It was cold out and I pulled my coat tighter, thankful for the wool scarf I was wearing. When I got to the area people had lined up for the carousel, I stopped. A chill went up my spine. I suddenly had the feeling that something wasn’t right here, but other than the lights being left on, I wasn’t sure what it was. The portable chain link fence had been removed and the gate to the wrought iron fence around it was unlocked.

I walked past the line queue and up the steps to the carousel deck. I reached a gloved hand out and put it on the saddle of the closest carousel horse. Sam had done a phenomenal job restoring everything on the carousel. The woodwork on the body of the carousel and the horses had intricate patterns carved into them and he had taken great care to sand them and repaint them. I began walking the deck of the carousel, wondering if there was a way I could get to the inner chamber where the motor was. There had to be some kind of light panel in there to shut the lights off.

As I walked around the curve of the deck, I stopped. Suzanne Wilson had played the lead elf and she was slumped over on one of the benches. My heart pounded in my chest and I reached into my coat pocket for my phone. It was too cold for anyone to sleep outside, and I knew she probably wasn’t asleep. I couldn’t see her face, so I walked slowly toward her.

“Suzanne?” I called softly.

Silence hung in the air. I took three more steps forward and stopped again. “Suzanne?”

When she didn’t answer me, I walked closer and stopped in front of her. “Suzanne?” I whispered. I could hear the tremor in my own voice.

I reached a hand out and touched her shoulder, pushing her back on the bench. Her head dropped to the side, and I saw blood on the white collar of