It was late, and Destiny had gone to bed. Before retiring though, she had mentioned something to Dustin that had caught him by surprise: Asher seemed awfully friendly with Leota after the trial. It wasn't a fact Dustin wanted to ponder on, but, like Destiny, it was something that had caught his attention. What had his brother known that day?
Destiny had also asked Dustin if he could stop by the ballroom on his way to the graveyard and ask the ghosts to keep their "swinging wake" quiet that night. So, Dustin went about his way through the long corridors, which were now oddly silent. Then he would go lay down in the back of his hearse, like every night, staring at the ceiling for a few hours, mulling over his thoughts until he fell asleep. A week ago, those thoughts would have been about the mistakes he'd made in life or the dumb thing he'd said that day. Lately though, he preferred to drift off to sleep with much more pleasant experiences playing in his mind. Dancing with Destiny was his favorite.
Now standing in front of the ballroom doors, Dustin reached out to grab a handle. A throaty chuckle made him stop and look up.
"You've been 'angin' around the flesh 'n' bones too much, mate," Asher grinned. "Opening doors," he scoffed. "Next thing you know, you'll be trying to go to the loo." For the sake of irony, or maybe it was stupidity-- Dustin didn't know-- Asher took out his flask from his blazer pocket and took a swig.
Watching the swallow of alcohol splash on the floor, Dustin commented dryly, "That'll stain the carpet." Looking back up at his brother, he asked, "What brings you here?"
Shaking his flask, Asher smirked. "Almost out. I was just getting a few quickie snifters before I hit the old slab for the night. What about you? Setting up another party for you and your 'schnookie'?" he asked teasingly.
"No, I was just going to ask everyone to keep it down tonight."
Asher chuckled again. "Good luck with that!" About to step through the door, he waited for Dustin to follow. When his brother didn't, he asked, "What's wrong? You're lookin' more mopey than usual."
Dustin hated to voice the questions running through his mind, especially since Asher actually sounded concerned. But he knew if he didn't get some answers soon, it would eat at him all night. And that meant no reveling in memories of spinning across the dance floor. "Asher, Phineas just told me about how he and his friends died…"
"Oh not that rot again!" Asher groaned. "Ezra just needs to get over it! You can tell 'im that he can take me bein' stuck in this God-awful house as a way to call it even!"
"It's not about the grudge," Dustin interrupted his rant. "I have to ask…"
"Yes?" Asher sounded annoyed.
"At Ezra's trial, you were with Leota. Look, I know it's really none of my business but…" He trailed off with a sigh. "You weren't, uh, courting her, were you?"
"Courting?" Asher laughed. "Sure, mate, if you want to call it that. Why?"
"I was just curious. Leota was the one who killed us, and Phineas and Ezra and--"
Frowning, Asher grumbled, "'Ey, it was nothing serious! Just a lit'le fling. Thought maybe I'd give a bit of brown sugar a taste. Heh, if you catch my meanin'." He winked.
With a shudder, Dustin mumbled, "There was a visual I didn't need." Quickly regaining his composure, he continued, "I just have one more question. Did you know he was innocent?"
"Who?"
"Ezra. Did you know Ezra was innocent?"
"Well I know now… What is that look for?"
Something in Asher's tone had made Dustin angry. He was being so flippant about someone's life! "Then! Past tense! Did you know then that he was innocent?"
Fists clenched at his sides, Asher growled, "I don't 'ave to take the third degree from my own brother on something that 'appened seventy bloody years ago!"
"You did, didn't you?" accused Dustin. "Even knowing he was framed, you continued to try and convince a jury he was a murderer! And you knew it was Leota too, right? The whole time! And you lied and twisted words and put an innocent man to death just for a fling?"
"Dust," Asher's words quivered, "I--I didn't know that later she would--"
"It doesn't matter about the later. You knew what was going on back then." Voice lowered with disillusion and defeat, Dustin moaned, " I thought that despite the boozing, the gambling, all the women you chased, I thought deep down you were a good person, Asher. I defended you God only know how many times, and this is how you repay my trust in you? I thought maybe, I don't know, maybe some of my morals had rubbed off on you after all these years. I was blind."
"Dustin," Asher whimpered, shoulders slumping, "I never meant to--"
"You were still so selfish, all for the sake of money and a night with some girl."
Feeling defensive again, Asher snapped back, "I can't believe you're 'ung up on this after all these years! People make mistakes! You need to learn to let things go! You cling to this. You--you cling to life! What's done is done, Dustin. Now drop it!" Turning on his heel, he stormed away.
Dustin groaned and tried to brace his head against the wall. Going through, he was treated with a view of wires and pipes. "Nice way to handle that, self-righteous git," he mumbled to himself. The rest of his body following his head, he walked through and into the ballroom.
Later that night, rather than visions of Destiny, Dustin tossed and turned to scenarios of how he could have handled things a lot better with Asher.
Destiny knocked on the attic door and waited for a reply. Not hearing anything, she knocked again. Feeling it was safe to assume Emily wasn't in, Destiny stepped inside. "Good morning," she said nervously to the bats as they nestled in for the day's sleep. From underneath the piles of junk, she could hear the pop-up ghouls yawning and snoring.
"Hey!" she hissed, trying to poke one.
With a snort, he woke up, blinking his bulging eye. "Wha' da ya want?"
"Are there any Halloween decorations in here?"
"Should be." He paused. "It's Halloween?" he asked hopefully.
"Yeah."
A few-toothed grin spread across his ugly face. "WHOO-HOO!" Springing up, he flew around the attic, rousing his companions. "Halloween! It's Halloween! Everyone wake up!"
The mortal couldn't help but smile at seeing how excited the ghosts were. They popped in and out of boxes, searching for decorations. "Here are some lights!" "Ooh, cardboard cut outs!" As they found things, they put them in a pile. "Ew! A shrunken head!" "Hey! A sarcophagus!" "OW! Whuf arf youf doin', stufid!" the mummy within shouted. "Sorry, Ak-tem-hop!"
Making her way to the back of the room, Destiny searched too. The joy the spirits felt seemed to have gotten to her. With the exception of passing out candy, she hadn't celebrated Halloween since she was ten. It was too late now to go get a costume, and she did not want to deal with the stares she got the last time she left the house. Maybe there would be something here that she could wear.
The further back she got, the more feminine things became. There was a dressmaker's dummy, a big pincushion, a spinning wheel, dresses, dainty gloves, and even an old pearl purse. Long neglected baby toys were piled in a wicker stroller. Destiny felt her throat tighten as she picked up a moth eaten, dust covered doll. In the attic, there were a lot of things that were just knickknacks, stuff that had been stashed up there "for the time being, until that garage sale." The baby accessories were different, though. They were intended to stay there as a sad reminder to George and Lily of what almost was, and what they probably hoped could happen one day.
"Oh, this just isn't fair at all!" a high-pitched voice whined.
Destiny put down the toy. "Emily?" Pushing a wheeled rack of dresses aside, she found the ghost. Emily was sitting at a boudoir, frustratingly trying to put on makeup.
"A little bit of blush on my cheeks, that's all I want!" she cried. "Maybe some mascara! Is that too much to ask?" She flung a small bottle and put her head in her hands and sobbed.
"Emily, what's wrong?" Destiny asked, stepping up behind her.
Startled, the girl jumped with a yelp. "Oh, Miss Chalmers," she greeted, her visible heart pounding. "I didn't hear you come in." After wiping her nose on her arm, the blond bride sniffled, "What do you want?"
"Well, I was hoping I could find a Halloween costume up here." Quickly brushing that dilemma aside, she asked with genuine concern, "Why are you upset?" She picked up an antique bottle of mascara and examined it. "Can't find your color?"
"No!" Emily cried, snatching the makeup from the mortal. "I can't… I can't… Well! Look!" She took the black goop covered applier out of the bottle and tried to run the bristles over her eyelashes. The cosmetic just dripped onto the floor. "It doesn't work!" she sobbed. Illustrating her point further, she jabbed the bristles in and out of her eyeball. Destiny gagged. "See? Nothing!" She threw the mascara into a drawer. "I just thought maybe I could make myself look nice for…" She twirled a lock of hair and bit her bottom lip. "For Koji."
Oh Lord, Destiny thought. How do I handle this one? "You shouldn't worry so much about it, Emily. Koji will like you for your…" She faltered. "Unique personality and charms!" She forced a grin, hoping the lie wouldn't show through her teeth. "You don't need makeup!"
Emily glowed, her heart fluttering. "You're right! What do I need this junk for?" she gestured with disgust at the cosmetics.
"Yeah! Good for you!" Destiny cheered half-heartedly. Turning to look in another box, she grimaced. Poor Emily. Maybe once she spoke to Koji she would understand that some relationships were just not meant to be. Destiny suddenly felt like a hypocrite.
"'Ello, love!" Bea poked her head up through the floor. "I heard from Dusty, who heard from Amelia, who heard from Huet, who heard from Manny, who heard from Little Leota, who heard from one of the blokes up here that you are planning to celebrate Halloween." Bracing her palms on the floorboards, she wiggled the rest of her slender form through. "So," she continued, brushing off her sleeves, "what's the plan?"
Destiny glanced up from her searching. "We've got decorations; just need to put them up. Koji's going to bring candy and movies." Going back to rummaging, she said, "All I need is a costume. You'd think in a place like this it'd be easy to find." Picking up a snow globe with two Jazz Age figures frozen forever in mid jitterbug she blew the dust off it and then shook it. "Any ideas, Bea?" she asked, watching the confetti snowflakes whirl and swirl.
"As a matter of fact," a grin spread across her freckled face as she stared at the snow globe, "I do. Hang on a mo'!" Bea dove headfirst into a closed trunk. Destiny could hear her shuffling things around and muttering to herself. Taking a closer look at the faded pink case, the mortal could see the initials L. G. inscribed in elegant gold calligraphy under the handle.
After knocking on the inside of the lid, the girl ghost announced, "Found it! Be a dear and open this up, would you? I say, it's rather stuffy in here." No sooner had Destiny opened the trunk Bea popped up, waving her prize enthusiastically. With a flick of her wrists, she unfurled it. "So," she asked, waggling her eyebrows, "what do you think? There's a matching hat, too!"
Destiny ran her fingers over the fabric. Grinning at Bea, she exclaimed, "It's perfect!"
Dustin was doing what he did best when he had a lot on his mind: Cooking. Maybe Asher had been right and he should just let certain things go. Dustin decided to not mention the incident to Destiny unless she specifically asked about Asher again. Even then, he wouldn't elaborate. He would just have to accept his brother for who he was and what he had done and leave it at that. No point in being petty.
Looking over his treats, he gave an approving nod. He picked up the still warm tray and walked out into the hallway. "Destiny," he called out, "I made some cookies. You wouldn't mind acting as my official taste tester would you?" Sticking his head around a corner, he sang, "They look like cute little pumpkins and have orange frosting!"
"Ooh, I'd love to try!" Destiny jogged out of her room.
When Dustin caught sight of her he dropped the tray. Thankfully, none of the cookies bounced out. "Sorry!" Practically falling, he scrambled to grab it. "I just--uh… Wow," he breathed, standing up.
"You like?" she asked, feeling her cheeks blush.
"I love."
She was wearing a dark green flapper dress with a layered skirt that stopped just a little bit above her knees and was loose enough to flare out when she turned. In his mind's eye, he could picture her twirling, the skirt spinning out with her. A matching cloche hat clung snugly to her head. All she needed was a gaudy glass bead necklace and a pair of short heels and the outfit would be complete.
Destiny took a cookie. "Bea suggested it. I thought it was cute." An orange crumb-speckled lip quirked up in a smirk. " Judging by that look on your face, I'd say you think so too." Taking a cue from so many romance movies she'd seen, she coolly reached over to push up his slack jaw. Her fingers just went through.
Smiling, he shut his mouth as she tried pushing it up a second time. "Are you going out to a party later?" he asked.
"No. If I'm going to pass out candy and decorate, might as well dress up too."
"You think people will actually bring their children here?"
She took another treat. "Only one way to find out."
All Hallows Eve is a very special time for spirits. It gives them a surge of energy, a rejuvenation. The exact cause of this has been argued for centuries. Some say it is the night when the veil between the spiritual plane and the physical is thinnest. Others claim that the fabric of the universe unravels a bit and the holes allow supernatural energy to flow through. One theory is that the energy from the hyped-up-on-sugar-children radiates out and into the spectral entities. Or perhaps it's just that ghosts are psyched that little kids will dress like them. There's no greater boost than an ego boost. Whatever the cause, it affects the whole of the supernatural world.
For those dealing in the more magical arts, Halloween gives a boost of power.
Madame Leota was very well aware of this.
Cackling with glee, ghosts flew around the outside of the mansion, stringing up lights, setting up cardboard cutouts, and hanging up any decorations that dangled. Someone had tied a little noose to one of the front yard's oak's branches. George kept nervously poking it. Excited at the prospect of new hauntees, some specters even went through the trouble of cleaning the moss and mold off of their gravestones.
It was early that evening when Koji pulled up into the driveway. "Whoa," he breathed when he saw the mansion. It was a bizarre transformation. Using spooky decorations Destiny and the ghosts had made a scary home look not so scary. It even had a little cheesiness factor. Reaching into the backseat, he grabbed a bag of candy, an oddly shaped box, and a cane. Before getting out of the car, he grinned into his rearview mirror. There was no denying his makeup was great. Rick Baker would have been proud.
With hardly any snow on the ground and no ice coated sidewalks and steps, tonight would be great for trick-or-treating. But with temperatures due to be dropping later, the kids wouldn't be out very late. That meant the possibility of leftover candy, and Koji was all to happy too see to it that the leftovers were well taken care of. Every October thirty-first, the hospital was ready with a stomach pump with his name on it.
Standing on the front porch, he lifted the doorknocker with the handle of his crooked cane and knocked out the tune to "This is Halloween."
Destiny answered the door. She bit her lip. Then she snorted. Unable to control it any longer, she burst out into a fit of laughter.
"What?" demanded Koji.
"Are you the Asian Ezra?"
He smirked. "Very funny." He had to admit, in his attempt to make his face look skeletal he did look like the hitchhiking ghost. "Check this out. Does Ezra have this blingalishous grill?" He pulled his black lips back and pointed to a gold tooth. "He doesn't have this cool cloak, this nice hat, or this wicked looking cane, does he?"
Without missing a beat, she looked him over and said, "I give up. Are you a dead pimp?"
He had no snappy comeback. "You know, I actually don't know. Just thought it looked cool." Stepping in, he asked, "Would you mind getting the plastic bag off my arm? Thanks. That's candy." Still gripping the hatbox, he looked around the foyer and glanced into the hallway. "Where's L. L.? I've got a surprise for her."
"Oh, Koji!" The shrill cry wasn't from the tiny ten-year-old. Emily bounded through a wall and to his side. Hugging him tightly, she declared, "I've missed you so much!"
"AAHHH! AAHH! DON'T HURT ME!" he screamed, trying to spring out of her grasp.
"Silly! I would never hurt you." She did not seem offended at all by his outburst. She was just happy he was there.
Slowly lowering his arms from his face and his bent knee from over his crotch, he squeaked, "Really?"
"Of course." Batting her eyelashes, she pouted, "I'm really sorry about earlier. I didn't know you weren't like those nasty men who were with you." Looking at his legs, she asked, "Are the bruises gone?"
"No," he answered flatly.
Before he could endure any more of Emily's weird flirtation, Little Leota materialized by his side. She tugged on the end of his coat to get his attention. "Hi Koji." Rocking from heel to toe shyly, she said, "I heard you've got a surprise for me." Smiling hopefully, she stared up at him, her green and blue eyes sparkling.
Koji grinned ghoulishly back. "Yup," he shook the hatbox. "I got you a gift."
Pure joy swept across the little girl's face. "I've never gotten a surprise gift before!" The young man lowered the box for her and she carefully pulled off the lid. After a few seconds of digging through tissue paper, she found it: A brand new brown fedora hat. A small gasp escaped her lips as she slowly lifted up the hat and placed it on her head.
"What do you think?" he asked.
Flinging her arms around him, she shouted, "Thank you! It's wonderful!"
"You're welcome."
"Although," she took it off and looked at the inside of it thoughtfully, "it's not as great as yours. But no hat can be."
Very, very slowly, Koji took off his fedora. He studied it, his beloved fedora. It had taken years for it to get so worn and bent into the perfect shape and so many stains had gone into making it those splotchy shades of brown and he couldn't even remember what it took to give it that distinct scent that was all its own.
His beloved fedora.
"Here, I think you should have this one instead." He handed her his hat.
"Really?"
He nodded.
"Thank you, Koji!" After giving him back the new one and putting the old one on, she gave him another hug. "You're the best friend I've ever had."
"And you're the most manipulative little witch I ever met," he playfully replied.
"Thank you."
George Gracey's laughter erupted from the air. Appearing between Destiny and Koji, he put his arms around their shoulders. "Being that it's All Hallows Eve, I assume we're going to have some fun tonight, hmm?"
"Your idea and fun and mine are probably a bit different, Grandpa. Decorations are one thing, but I would like for people to keep thinking that what happened was a hoax. Are we clear?"
"Yes, yes, of course." He waved the words aside.
"And don't forget…" Destiny lowered her voice to a whisper. "There is still the matter of you-know-who to discuss."
Becoming somber, George nodded. "By the way, where is Mr. Dust?"
"Making cookies."
"No offense," Emily leaned in towards Destiny's ear, "but you've got weird taste in men."
"Look who's talking."
Emily looked around. "Who?"
Koji put on his new hat. It would take ages for it to mold into the right shape. "I brought a projector, some old movies, and a screen we set up in here. I just have to get them out of the car."
Destiny followed him out to help, as did L. L. Emily went too, just to follow Koji. George stayed, staring at the closed gallery door. "What is it you want, Leota? And what will it take to stop you?"
"Why are you reading?"
"Because it's a good story."
"You're hiding behind the book, George."
"I am not!"
Destiny rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the screen. Koji had brought a bunch of black and white horror classics. She, Dustin, the former paranormal investigator, and Emily sat on the couch. George took the small loveseat, his face hidden behind an open, upside-down novel. Little Leota sat on the floor, her eyes wide as she hugged her hat.
From the ballroom, the faint sounds of a party could be heard. Destiny had explicitly told the ghosts to keep all spiritual shenanigans in the house. For the first time in decades, the graveyard was quiet.
Emily gave a little "Eep!" as the fanged nosferatu crept around a corner. "Did you fight anything like that, Koji?"
"Yeah," he bragged, shoving a pumpkin cookie into his mouth. "Only he was… three times scarier than him. With bigger claws."
Dustin chuckled softly. The foolishness of some young men trying to impress the opposite sex was laughable. He glanced at Destiny. Her eyes were glued to the screen. He looked at the black and white vampire. Then back at Destiny. Yawning, he stretched his arms up, and then eased his right arm down towards her shoulders and—
KNOCK-KNOCK!
"I'll get that." Destiny sprang up and grabbed the candy bowl.
Dustin dropped his arm in defeat. "Drat."
"Trick or treat, savvy?" said a bandana and bead donned little pirate, holding up his bag.
"Aye, a treat it be!" Destiny gave him some taffy. "Happy Halloween!"
"I saw you on T.V!" the swashbuckler's mother exclaimed.
Scowling, Destiny muttered, "So did half the state."
This continued on for another hour, with Destiny answering the door and having to say, "Yes, that was me on the news. Happy Halloween!"
Even Dustin got a chance to pass out candy. Destiny had to make a lavatory visit at the same time Koji went to the kitchen to make popcorn. When there was a knock at the door and no one seemed to be in a hurry to answer it, Dustin got up from the couch, went to the closet and grabbed a sheet to drape over himself, and got the candy bowl. Making sure his entire form was covered, he opened the door. A couple of young boys, ages nine and ten, held out their bags.
"Treat," said the first, Joey, dressed in tattered baggy clothes to look like a bum.
"Or we give you a trick," finished the second, Todd, a zombie. Peering up at Dustin he frowned. "You're not very scary."
Sighing, Dustin just held out the bowl and muttered, "Just take some and be on your merry way, please."
"Taffy!" exclaimed the tramp, offended. "Lookin' at this place, you'd think the rich weirdoes who bought it could afford decent candy!"
"Yeah!" the zombie agreed. "Like, where's the big candy bars?"
"At another house," the ghost answered dryly, not even sure if the boys could hear him.
"You're just gonna stand there and not say anything?" Yep, Joey confirmed it; they could not hear him.
Dustin decided it would be best just to go inside and shut the door on the brats. But just as he turned around…
"Where do you think you're goin'?" Todd stamped a foot down on the sheet. With a ZIP noise, it fell off, revealing nothing but a floating candy bowl. The boys stood there with their mouths open in shock.
"A-heh," Dustin chuckled, dragging the sheet inside. He slammed the door just as the kids started to scream. "Little buggers," he muttered.
"Smooth like jagged glass," Koji mocked.
"You could have helped."
"Yeah but watching you deal with it is just so much more funny." Smirking, he set the candy bowl on the table and lead Dustin back to the sofa. "Destiny says she's got something she needs to talk about."
Grimly, Dustin took a seat beside his favorite mortal. Emily and L. L. were still watching the movie, oblivious to the grave mood that had suddenly overcome the small group. Destiny, George, Dustin, and Koji crowded together.
"It's Leota," George began softly. He looked down unsurely at the book he held. It was the same one he had hid behind earlier. Perhaps it held the key to this whole mess. "She's concocted some sort of scheme involving Destiny…"
"This'll teach 'em." Growling, Todd reached into a handkerchief Joey had tied at the end of a stick. It didn't serve as merely a prop to make the bum look more authentic. Carefully, the young zombie pulled out a few rotten eggs. The backyard graveyard was full of prime targets. Luckily, he had a lot of eggs. And then he could T. P. that dead oak tree.
Pulling his arm back, he crowed, "You think you're so scary? You ain't met Todd Eisner!" Before he could hurl the stink bomb, something wet cracked against the back of his head. Joey stared at him with wide eyes as he reached back and pulled broken shell and rotten yolk out of his hair. "What the--"
More eggs pelted them. Screaming, they bolted for the cemetery's exit. Suddenly, their path was blocked by a headless man on a horse shaped sheet. The headless horseman flailed a sword threateningly over their heads. Tripping over each other, they scrambled out and onto the road, shrieking and crying.
"That's what you get for messing with the original pranksters, punks!" Ezra called, hurling one last egg and knocking Joey off-balance.
"Let's T. P. their house!" Gus cheered, clapping.
Phineas pointed and laughed. "Heh, that old crow figured out where her rotten eggs went!" The hitchhikers snorted and guffawed as a mangy black bird dive-bombed the boys.
The sheet covered horse nickered and trotted up to the trio. "You were such a good boy Rolly!" the "horseman" cooed. As her head appearing, Bea grinned and sheathed the sword. She slid down and lead the expired equine back to his usual spot. When she had returned horse and armor free, the four friends made their way to the mansion.
They never noticed the man crouched in the shadows by the porch.