Chapter 12: The Wailing Woman

So it was that Antonia agreed to become the Wailing Woman for the haunted house! The girl did seem happy to have found some friends. It took a little explaining about La Llorona and banshees, the characters her costume was based on. Antonia had never heard of banshees before, but she had heard of La Llorona in California. When she tried out for the part, she turned out to be good at doing a really spooky wail.

"Ooooo!" Antonia cried spookily. "Wheeere are my chiiiiiildren!"

When she was speaking normally, she didn't use a Romanian accent, but she did when she was playing her part, and it made it sound more exotic and mysterious.

"Perfect!" Philip said.

Antonia said that she had a long white dress that she could wear for her costume, and Alice went over to her house with her to have a look at it.

Although there were two years' difference in age between the girls, they seemed to get along alright. Alice didn't wear skirts and dresses as often as Antonia did, being more inclined to jeans and sweaters, but it turned out that she actually had pretty good taste when it came to costumes. Amanda and Doina took the girls shopping on Sunday and helped them get some supplies they needed, but Alice had a special genius for making an ordinary dress into something magical. With the help of some gauzy white scarves, Antonia became a spooky spirit. When the girls put their costumes on to show the boys, Philip told Antonia that she made a beautiful spirit, which earned a smile from her and an eye-rolling from the rest of the boys.

Alice's witch costume turned out fantastic as well. She put it all together herself, except for the makeup, which Antonia did. The pale greenish makeup on her face was truly hideous in the daylight, although Jamie said that it would glow amazingly under black light. It was actually glow-in-the-dark. She wore the glowing bone beads that she'd promised and a "poisonous green" (Alice's words) scarf draped over her black dress. The skirt had neon orange stripes, which would also glow, and there was a matching ribbon tied around her black hat.

"I just wish I could think of something more interesting to do with my hair," Alice said.

"Don't overdo it," Tom advised. "Your costume is good. Your face looks great like that, and you don't want to distract people from it and from your bones."

"Maybe you're right."

Mark jokingly started singing:

Magalena Hagalena Ooga Waga Waka Taka Oka Moka Poka was her name!

She had seven hairs in the middle of her head,

Five were alive, the other two were dead!

Alice giggled, and Jamie and Andy joined him:

Magalena Hagalena Ooga Waga Waka Taka Oka Moka Poka was her name!

She had two eyes in the middle of her head,

One was blue, and the other one was red!

"She used to sing that song all the time when she was little," Philip groaned, rolling his eyes at Lee.

"Just because you could never get her name right!" Alice jeered at him.

Magalena Hagalena Ooga Waga Waka Taka Oka Moka Poka was her name!

She had two warts in the middle of her nose,

One stays short and the other one grows!

"A wart!" Alice said, smacking herself on the forehead. "I didn't think to do a wart!"

"Don't bother," Antonia said. "I think you look good like this. If your face is going to glow in the dark, do you even need one?"

"Maybe not," Alice said. She looked at her hand, which was now covered in glow-in-the-dark makeup.

The boys finished up the last mournful chorus to the song:

A steam roller ran over Magalena . . .

Poor old guy had to buy a new machine-a!

The girls clapped happily for them.

"Divine!" Alice said dramatically. "That song speaks to me. It says: You are a truly hideous witch! Which is what I was aiming for."

"Congratulations," Mark said.

"I'm amazed that you're wearing a dress," Philip said. Lee gave Philip a warning look.

"I wore it just for you," Alice said sweetly. Then, she patted him on the back and walked away.

Philip looked confused and a little worried. Lee decided not to point out the greenish handprint on the back of his black shirt. It would wash out anyway. Assuming that Philip ever got around to doing his laundry.

The rule about Philip respecting his teammates had been working out, more or less. He hadn't called Jamie any names or referred to Alice as a pest since Lee had laid down the law.

But, maybe mentioning that Alice might like him was a mistake. While Philip hadn't insulted Alice, he'd been trying to make it clear to her that he really preferred Antonia. Antonia was closer to his age. She was prettier and dressed nicer. He was definitely not interested in any eleven-year-old sisters of his friends. The fact that Antonia seemed more interested in looking at Jamie's lighting system and talking to him about her personal hero Tesla was beside the point. The other boys completely ignored Philip's crush on Antonia. Antonia also ignored Philip's crush on her. Or maybe she just didn't care enough to notice what he said in the first place. It was a toss-up. Either way, the project proceeded in spite of it.

"I wasn't too happy at first when Mother invited Antonia over," Amanda confided to Lee privately, "but I couldn't really blame her. The poor girl did look pretty bored and lonely."

"I promise that we'll keep an eye on the kids," Lee said. "Everyone will be safe, including Philip and Jamie."

Amanda nodded. "I've been thinking about that, and it occurred to me that if Antonia hadn't made friends with the boys and their friends, she'd soon find some friends at school, and their poor parents wouldn't know anything about what Antonia's father does for a living or how important it is to keep an eye on Antonia. She needs friends, ones who understand her situation. We've worked so hard to keep the boys out of our work, but I'm starting to think that at times like this, maybe . . . maybe it's better not to. We really can keep an eye on all of them better than most other parents would."

Lee got a little thrill out of being referred to as one of the parents. A few years ago, he'd never have expected that. He thought again about the baby that Amanda wasn't expecting. What would that be like to raise a child from a baby? Amanda had already done it twice, but Lee wondered what the boys were like when they were little. In an odd way, he found himself feeling sorry that he'd missed it.

When he left that evening, was surprised to discover that he wasn't just sorry to be leaving Amanda. He was sorry to be leaving the kids, too. Before, he would have been satisfied just to have his wife with him, like a normal couple, but now that he'd gotten closer to the boys, it felt strange not to have them around, too.

"Not much longer," he consoled himself.

He and Amanda still weren't quite sure how they were going to talk to her family and how much they were going to tell them, but now Lee was becoming eager just to tell them and get it over with.

"You did well with what you said to Philip on Saturday," Amanda complimented him. "But, don't think that all talks with him will be that easy. Kids don't always get things when you first explain them. There are a lot of things they don't understand, and you may have to explain things to them all over again later. Even then, sometimes, they only learn through experience."

Lee could see that was true. Philip's crush on Antonia wasn't likely to go any further than his crush on Kelly, even with her working on the haunted house, but it didn't stop him from trying.

Antonia started school on Monday. Lee and Amanda picked Antonia up at her house and took her to school with the boys. It was rainy that day, and now that the kids knew each other, there was no reason not to drop them off together. Besides, with the two mysterious men in the neighborhood, they wanted to keep a close eye on Antonia. Philip, although unaware of Antonia's possible danger, gallantly offered to show Antonia where her classes were after they went to the school office to pick up her schedule. Antonia thanked him but said that Jamie had already given him a map of the campus.

Philip was still fuming as he stomped off to his first class while Antonia and Jamie strolled leisurely after, talking about the school's science fair. Antonia was sorry that she'd missed it.

"Poor Philip," Amanda murmured. "Disappointed in love again."

"Yeah," Lee said. "I'm kind of happy for Jamie, though. He's less shy when he's talking to someone who speaks his language, and Antonia seems to do that."

"I'm a little worried, though," Amanda said as they got back into their car. "I mean, it seems pretty nice that they're getting to be friends, but should Jamie really be dating a girl whose father has so many secrets?"

"You're married to a guy with a lot of secrets," Lee reminded her. "When it comes to that, you have a lot of secrets. Besides, it's not really dating. They're just in middle school. It's really more like hanging out."

"I guess you're right," Amanda said.

That's when Lee noticed the gray car. As other parents dropped off kids and drove away, this car just stayed where it was. There were people inside, but neither of them moved, and there was no kid anywhere around it. The car was all too familiar to Lee. It was the old, gray Buick LeSabre. He'd seen that beat-up thing twice before.

"Amanda," Lee said, pointing, "those are the two men I was talking about, the one from the airport and his friend!"

"What are they doing here?" Amanda asked.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out."

"Lee, wait!" Amanda had her hand on his arm, preventing Lee from getting out of the car. "You can't just walk up there and confront them."

"I can't let them hang around the kids' school, either!"

"Let me call Billy and ask for backup," Amanda said. "I can borrow the phone in the school office. You can stay here and keep an eye on them."

"Well, alright, but hurry."

Amanda got out of the car and headed inside while Lee drummed his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel. He hated just sitting and waiting. The two men didn't really seem to be doing anything, just watching and waiting, but their presence was sinister.

Lee had checked in with Billy earlier to find out what was on the list that the men dropped once it was translated and to see if the lab had any conclusions about what the two men could make with the parts they had bought. The electronic parts were so general, it was hard to tell. Mostly, it was different kinds of wires, wire cutters, small screws, a tiny set of screw drivers, and electrical tape. They could be any number of things from a kid's science fair project to a bomb. Without more information, it was hard to tell.

"Who knows what else they might have or where else they might have been shopping," Lee thought.

The list hadn't mentioned the tools they were looking at down at the hardware store, but for some reason, it mentioned blue shirts, jeans, blue baseball caps, and white paint.

After talking with Billy, Lee went back to the electronics shop and asked if the people there knew anything about the two men, saying that he wanted to return some lost property. Everyone there said that they'd never seen either of them men before and that they'd paid in cash. Untraceable. The sales clerk who had spoken to them said that they seemed to know what they wanted and were asking mostly about brands and prices. Not helpful.

The part about the sleeping pills still made Lee uneasy. They wanted them for a girl about Antonia's age. Now, they were here. They knew where she went to school.

Suddenly, the men started driving. Lee glanced back at the school. Amanda hadn't reappeared, but he couldn't wait for her. Lee started the Wagoneer and threaded his way through the other cars surrounding the school to follow the two men. Maybe now he'd learn something about them.

He managed to follow them at a discreet distance into Washington, D.C. and was surprised when they stopped close to an upscale hotel.

"With what they're driving, there's no way they're staying here," Lee thought.

The men didn't get out of the car. They just waited. Lee waited, too. Just as he was beginning to get restless, a man in a suit and tie came out of the hotel. He strolled along the sidewalk casually until he reached the gray car. Then, glancing around, he casually leaned against it and lit a cigarette. He leaned over and spoke to the men inside. They talked for a few minutes before the man straightened up and strolled back to the hotel, depositing his cigarette in the ash tray near the door.

Lee had no idea who the man in the hotel was. He'd have to check it out later. The gray car was starting to move, and he wanted to stay with it.

He did well for about ten minutes, but the men apparently realized that they were being followed. On a divided road, they suddenly sped up and cut across a median, executing a fast turn and speeding off in the opposite direction. Cars honked as the other drivers slammed on their breaks to avoid hitting them. Lee would have followed, but the other cars blocked the path. There was no way for him to take the same shortcut without hitting other vehicles.

Lee swore and turned off the street as soon as he could. He decided to head back to the hotel and see what he could learn there.

When he got there, he phoned Billy first.

"Lee, where are you? I sent Francine down to meet Amanda, and you disappeared."

Lee explained the situation.

"Amanda and Francine will meet you down there soon. Just wait there."

More waiting. But, this was a more interesting place to wait in.

Lee strolled casually through the lobby, helping himself to a newspaper from one of the racks near the front desk. That was where he saw the friend who had talked to the mysterious men in the gray car. He was standing behind the counter, smiling at him.

"May I help you, sir?"

His voice had a slight Romanian accent.