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“But she’ll be starting school soon,” I argue. “You don’t want her to be that dork in her class whose never heard of the greatest holiday in the history of mankind.”
“Charlotte is not a dork.”
“But—”
“Jake, my aversion to Halloween is my own,” she says. “Charlotte usually spends the night with Vincent and Evey at the bar’s annual party. I stay home with a big bowl of candy just for me. I turn the lights down, pour myself a mimosa, and watch girlie movies until I pass out. It’s great.”
I throw on a pout.
Anna sits back. “Does this really bother you?”
“No. It doesn’t bother me,” I say. “I just…”
She tilts her head. “What?”
I scratch my chin. “The holidays are really important family gatherings.”
“Right. They are.”
“And this is my first year among the Silvas,” I say, feigning wonder. “Vincent still hasn’t quite warmed up to me yet and I was hoping that I could turn that around by New Year’s. It all starts with Halloween. Then, Thanksgiving and Christmas…”
“You still can.” She lays her hand on mine. “Take Charlotte to the Halloween bash at the bar. Make it a daddy-daughter thing. She usually has a blast and she’ll probably love it even more with you. When Vincent sees that, he’ll start to thaw out.”
I nod. “A daddy-daughter thing, huh?”
She grins. “You can even come up with an adorable couple costume to wear with her. She’ll love that.”
“That does sound fun… but is it okay to bring a child to a bar on Halloween?”
“Evey and Tommy always make the party family-friendly with games and costume contests,” she says. “Lots of kids show up. The real wild stuff happens after nine and she’s usually passed out in bed by then. It’s fine.”
“Okay. I’ll take her.” I sigh. “You sure you want to sit the night out? It’s our first Halloween together. I don’t want to ditch you at home.”
She waves a hand at the files in front of her. “My world is already a scary place without Halloween.”
I look at the photos between us for the first time. “Whoa — there’s a lot of hot sauce on that lady.”
“That’s not hot sauce,” she says.
I turn away. “… Oh.”
She flips it over quickly. “Sorry.”
I peek over to make sure it’s out of sight before turning back. “I thought you didn’t bring work home with you anymore.”
“I usually don’t, but… we have a time limit on this one.”
“Same guy?” I ask.
She nods. “He’s killed one woman every Sunday since October 1st,” she says. “All young women. All home alone. Just walked right in the front door and…”
She runs a finger across her throat.
“Scary,” I say.
“We have less than two days to find him or he’ll kill again.”
Her eyes get lost in shadows as she looks down and exhales slowly.
