Read Online Death of a Pumpkin Carver by Lee Hollis - Free Book Online
Authors: Lee Hollis
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with boxes of Junior Mints, M&Ms, and packages of Red Vines.
âAre you planning to feed everyone in the theater?â Hayley whispered, stunned by the amount of food they were carrying.
âWeâre hungry,â Gemma said, tearing open the plastic packaging and taking a bite of licorice.
âItâs not like we didnât just polish off two whole pizzas across the street,â Hayley said, shaking her head.
Dustin was stuffing fistfuls of popcorn into his face.
âI almost forgot, Dad. Hereâs your change,â Gemma said, reaching into her pants pocket and pulling out a ten-dollar bill and some coins.
âYou can keep it as long as you split it with your brother,â Danny said, winking at her.
Hayley nearly fainted.
Danny had given the kids forty bucks.
Where was all this spare cash coming from?
He was obviously making a point.
He wanted to make it clear he was a good father.
Generous.
Giving.
Reliable.
Many of the things he hadnât been when they were married.
The previews concluded and the feature film started.
The familiar piano theme from The Exorcist began playing and the credits rolled. Hayley loved this time of year when the Criterion Theatre featured a Halloween Chiller series of classic horror films. Unlike Halloween , this movie didnât scare Hayley much. She wasnât afraid of the supernatural, only real-life threats like crazed serial killers and man-eating sharks. But she loved the movie anyway and couldnât wait for the part where the little girl possessed by the devil spins her head all the way around and vomits pea soup.
The kids had never seen the film and she was confident they were going to think the gross-out scenes were cool.
Dustin leaned over Gemma to talk to Danny. âHey, Dad, when we were standing in the popcorn line . . .â
âShut up! The movieâs started!â Gemma hissed.
She hated people talking during a movie.
It was one of her biggest pet peeves.
âYou shut up! Youâre not the boss of me,â Dustin snarled.
âMom, tell him to be quiet,â Gemma whined.
âI was just going to tell Dad about running into two of his friends,â Dustin said before turning his attention back to the screen where Max von Sydow was discovering a strange amulet on an archeological dig in Iraq.
Danny swallowed a handful of popcorn and then turned to Dustin. âWho was it?â
Dustin shrugged. âThey didnât tell me their names. I asked if they went to high school with you but they said no. They werenât from around here.â
Gemma sighed and huffed and rolled her eyes, trying to watch the movie.
Danny whipped his head around and scanned the theater. Suddenly he audibly gasped and his face turned a ghostly white.
He turned back around and stared at the screen, obviously disturbed.
âIs everything all right?â Hayley asked.
Danny nodded, his eyes darting back and forth.
âWhat is it?â
Hayley spun around and spotted two large muscular men, one bald and goateed and the other with a thick head of wavy black hair and a tan complexion, possibly Hispanic. They sat in the back row and seemed to be staring daggers at Danny.
âCome on. Letâs go home,â Danny said.
âWhat? The movie just started!â Gemma whispered.
âIâm not feeling well. You can stay if you want to but I have to get out of here,â Danny said, jumping to his feet and dumping his bag of popcorn on the floor.
Danny quickly made his way through the row of seats toward the aisle, knocking knees and stomping on feet and causing a loud commotion.
Gemma and Dustin exchanged confused looks, then picked up the tray of candy, grabbed their sodas, and followed their father.
Hayley couldnât believe what was happening.
But she wasnât about to stay and watch the movie alone.
She stood up and quietly apologized to the patrons as she scuttled past them and chased her
âAre you planning to feed everyone in the theater?â Hayley whispered, stunned by the amount of food they were carrying.
âWeâre hungry,â Gemma said, tearing open the plastic packaging and taking a bite of licorice.
âItâs not like we didnât just polish off two whole pizzas across the street,â Hayley said, shaking her head.
Dustin was stuffing fistfuls of popcorn into his face.
âI almost forgot, Dad. Hereâs your change,â Gemma said, reaching into her pants pocket and pulling out a ten-dollar bill and some coins.
âYou can keep it as long as you split it with your brother,â Danny said, winking at her.
Hayley nearly fainted.
Danny had given the kids forty bucks.
Where was all this spare cash coming from?
He was obviously making a point.
He wanted to make it clear he was a good father.
Generous.
Giving.
Reliable.
Many of the things he hadnât been when they were married.
The previews concluded and the feature film started.
The familiar piano theme from The Exorcist began playing and the credits rolled. Hayley loved this time of year when the Criterion Theatre featured a Halloween Chiller series of classic horror films. Unlike Halloween , this movie didnât scare Hayley much. She wasnât afraid of the supernatural, only real-life threats like crazed serial killers and man-eating sharks. But she loved the movie anyway and couldnât wait for the part where the little girl possessed by the devil spins her head all the way around and vomits pea soup.
The kids had never seen the film and she was confident they were going to think the gross-out scenes were cool.
Dustin leaned over Gemma to talk to Danny. âHey, Dad, when we were standing in the popcorn line . . .â
âShut up! The movieâs started!â Gemma hissed.
She hated people talking during a movie.
It was one of her biggest pet peeves.
âYou shut up! Youâre not the boss of me,â Dustin snarled.
âMom, tell him to be quiet,â Gemma whined.
âI was just going to tell Dad about running into two of his friends,â Dustin said before turning his attention back to the screen where Max von Sydow was discovering a strange amulet on an archeological dig in Iraq.
Danny swallowed a handful of popcorn and then turned to Dustin. âWho was it?â
Dustin shrugged. âThey didnât tell me their names. I asked if they went to high school with you but they said no. They werenât from around here.â
Gemma sighed and huffed and rolled her eyes, trying to watch the movie.
Danny whipped his head around and scanned the theater. Suddenly he audibly gasped and his face turned a ghostly white.
He turned back around and stared at the screen, obviously disturbed.
âIs everything all right?â Hayley asked.
Danny nodded, his eyes darting back and forth.
âWhat is it?â
Hayley spun around and spotted two large muscular men, one bald and goateed and the other with a thick head of wavy black hair and a tan complexion, possibly Hispanic. They sat in the back row and seemed to be staring daggers at Danny.
âCome on. Letâs go home,â Danny said.
âWhat? The movie just started!â Gemma whispered.
âIâm not feeling well. You can stay if you want to but I have to get out of here,â Danny said, jumping to his feet and dumping his bag of popcorn on the floor.
Danny quickly made his way through the row of seats toward the aisle, knocking knees and stomping on feet and causing a loud commotion.
Gemma and Dustin exchanged confused looks, then picked up the tray of candy, grabbed their sodas, and followed their father.
Hayley couldnât believe what was happening.
But she wasnât about to stay and watch the movie alone.
She stood up and quietly apologized to the patrons as she scuttled past them and chased her
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