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.Unbelieving, she looked at him, then looked at me."Perry, they've got the same face!""Yeah," Perry said, glaring at my twin brother Larry."Both of 'em are uglier than Frankenstein, but they don't scare me none."That wasn't true.Neither part of it.Larry's fingers dug in, thumbs squeezing hard, but the kid didn't squirm."Tough boy," Larry said."You ain't afraid of nothin', huh?" He eyed the girl."Your boyfriend is awfully brave.How about you? Maybe the four of us can get together tonight and do something really scary.We'll go for a ride in the Death Car, just like old Hank Caul used to.How about that?"Tears welled in the girl's eyes.Larry had struck a nerve.I unlocked the manacles and moved toward her, remembering her laughter."You pricks," Perry croaked."Hank Caul got her sister, almost got her — "Larry's werewolf fingers squeezed, cutting off Perry's words.My brother grinned at me then, and I grinned back.I stroked the girl's blond hair and she turned away, sobbing."Larry, I'd like you to meet Ellie," I said, and Larry nodded.I took Ellie by the shoulders and wiped away her tears, knowing that I'd terrified her simply by remembering her name.Warm tears; I rubbed them between thumb and forefinger.I couldn't help asking.I had to know."Ellie, did Hank Caul get your sister's skin? Is that why you're all shook up?"She stared at me, speechless.Then she ran, her long hair spilling over her shoulders, blond hair flecked with blood from my wounded wrists.I let her go.Perry tried to break free.Larry wrenched something shiny out of the kid's hand, then marched him down the hall, past Count Dracula and the Phantom of the Opera.I followed, my heavy boots thudding over plywood floor that had been painted to look like mildewed stone.Though I was perfectly willing to share grins with Larry, I knew that Pa would hold both of us responsible for whatever happened to the kid.I hoped my twin wasn't going to go too far.Larry slammed Perry against the Mummy's coffin.The midway lights angled through the doorway, slashing across the kid's face.Pasty, terrified.His lower lip quivered when Larry whispered in his ear, and then Larry shoved him down the stairs, into the crowd.The kid hit the ground hard.Dust puffed up around him.His greasy D.A.was a mess.The gawkers gathered round as if a new attraction had been announced.Come one, come all.See the amazing crow-eating boy.Larry's arm shot out, his fingers flexing stiff, and a bone-handled hunting knife jabbed the dirt between the kid's legs."That wasn't very smart," Larry said.I saw Ellie elbowing into the crowd.Trying to hide.Larry saw her too."Girl, you come here."God knows why, but she did.Larry slipped two tickets into her hand.He grinned."You and your boyfriend come see the Death Car.On me.""I don't want to hear any excuses." Pa locked the battered suitcase and slapped the lid for emphasis."Like I've told you boys a million times: what one does, both do.It's up to you two to watch out for each other."I wanted to tell Pa that was exactly what we'd been doing, but his good eye cut me down before I could get my mouth working."No excuses," he repeated."We've got to be careful in this town.Hank Caul did his dirty work right here, and lots of these folks don't see the entertainment value of our little tent show.Some of 'em had friends or relations who went for their last ride in the Death Car, and they sure don't like the idea of us makin' six bits from every gawker who wants to see it."Again, Pa slapped the suitcase.Larry and I called it "Fort Knox," and I wondered for the millionth time how much money was squirreled inside.Maybe a lot, maybe nothing.The Death Car wasn't the attraction it had been five years ago when Caul's stab 'n' skin murder spree was still big news, and I felt sure that Pa had come back to the little town of Fiddler to stir up the pot, maybe get some national press about local outrage.It was worth a try.Lately Pa had tightened the purse strings, and I was getting pretty tired of working in the Castle of Horrors just to keep some change in my pocket."Pa, the kid pushed us," Larry began."Yeah, and you gave him free tickets," I chided."Not another word," Pa said."You two let me do the thinking." He stared us down and made sure we had that straight."I've arranged for the Ezell boys to take the rest of your shift at the Castle.In the meantime, you two can make yourself useful around here.I'm expectin' company, and I want the Death Car lookin' pretty as a hunert-dollar whore."As usual, Larry couldn't keep his mouth shut [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]