CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

I’m caught now! Kevin thought. I’m dead meat!

He did the only thing he could think to do: he ducked down very quickly, hunkered over to one side behind the tree, and kept his fingers crossed. Bill Bitner’s crunching footsteps soundly wetly over the leaves in the road. Kevin didn’t dare look up; all he could do was remain squatted down as much as possible. A second later, Bill’s vague shadow fell across the area just to Kevin’s left. The shadow stood still. Then Bill said, “Daggit. I could’ve sworn I heard something back here.”

A few seconds ticked by but they seemed like minutes. Kevin was so scared, he feared his teeth might start chattering, and his heart felt like it might burst right then and there.

But then, to his relief, Bill walked back to his truck, got in it, and drove away.

Holy smokes, am I lucky! Kevin thought, releasing. He didn’t see me after all!

He waited a good five minutes before he dared leave; he wanted to make sure that Bill was far away. The lightning was still flashing, and the rain was still coming down, but not quite as hard as before. The first thing I have to do, he told himself, is go back to the bluffs and find Jimmy.

He trotted back down the path, and in only a few minutes, he was back at the bluffs. He gazed out, his eyes roving back and forth across the long grassy field before the safety fence. But—

No Jimmy! There was no sign of him anywhere!

Where could he have gone?

But there was no point in standing here worrying about it. He probably went back to the lodge, Kevin deduced. And that’s just what I’m going to do.

He jogged back to the path, then followed its way back through the woods. Thunder rumbled in the sky as he made his way; by now, he was soaked, and his sneakers squished with each step. But it didn’t take long before he was back at the lodge.

He rushed through the big front door into the foyer.

“Jimmy?” he called out. “Are you here?”

Kevin’s voice echoed back, but there was no answer.

“Becky?”

No reply.

“Aunt Carolyn?” he called out even more loudly.

But, again, no reply.

Where is everybody?

He dashed up the stairs, quickly checked his room, then Becky’s. Both were empty. Then he stormed back downstairs and checked every room, the hearth room, the kitchen, the dining room and the den.

No one’s here, he realized with a strange, low feeling in his gut. The lodge is empty…

But of course Aunt Carolyn wouldn’t be around. She’s a vampire, he remembered. She’s probably sleeping in her coffin somewhere. But what of Jimmy and Becky? Where would they be, especially on a day like today? They can’t be outside. In this storm? They’d be crazy! They could get struck by lightning!

Kevin, having nothing else to do, wandered around a little. Eventually he came back to the hearth room and sat down on one of the couches. At least it was warm in here. A big, crackling fire was burning in the fireplace. He tried to collect his thoughts, and in a few minutes, his confusion began to pass.

I’ve got to figure out what’s going on around here, he determined himself.

Then, very simply, he thought the single word:

Vampires.

In his mind, he made up a list of everything he’d discovered. The paintings. The wooden stakes. The bloody crosses. In one way or another, they all referred to one thing.

Vampires, he thought again.

Aunt Carolyn was a vampire; he was sure of this now. Awake at night, never to be seen during the day, never outside in the sun. There could be no other answer. And vampires always had helpers or servants to do their work for them. Bill Bitner and Wally, Kevin thought. Digging in the woods with shovels.

But what were they digging for?

Becky had said something, hadn’t she? This morning? She’d said that they were searching for a broken underground water pipe. That was ridiculous! Water pipes would never have been put out in the middle of the woods! And all at once, Kevin finally realized what Bill and Wally must be digging for…

They’re looking for Count Volkov, he thought. They know he’s buried on the grounds somewhere.

But why? Why would they want to dig up a vampire?

Because Aunt Carolyn ordered them to, he concluded. Bill and Wally are her servants, and she must’ve ordered them to try to find Count Volkov’s coffin.

But, again, why?

Kevin thought about this. Why would Aunt Carolyn, a vampire, want to dig up Count Volkov, another vampire?

Then the answer came to him.

Because she wants The Count’s treasure!

It made perfect sense! Aunt Carolyn didn’t have enough money to keep the lodge open, so she wanted to find Count Volkov’s treasure of gold bricks. But, according to the legend, The Count wrote down the location of the gold bricks in his diary but then he hid the diary and never told anyone where it was. After that, the townspeople had chained up The Count’s coffin one day and then buried it. With Count Volkov still alive inside—

So that’s why Aunt Carolyn is having Bill and Wally dig holes all over the place, to find Count Volkov’s coffin, and that’s why they’re digging only when it’s raining, because vampires can’t cross running water—or rain! And when they find The Count’s coffin, they’ll bring it back to the lodge so Aunt Carolyn can open it and threaten to kill The Count with a wooden stake if he doesn’t tell her where the gold is buried! And after he does tell her, she’ll kill him anyway, to keep all the gold for herself, and she’ll probably kill Bill and Wally too, because vampires always eventually kill their servants, and she might also kill—

Kevin gulped as his flurry of thoughts stopped short.

She might also kill us, he thought in pure dread. Or worse, she might turn us into vampires too…

And with that terrifying idea came another thought:

Jimmy and Becky. They’re not here. So… where are they?

Now Kevin was so confused he couldn’t think straight at all now. But if he was sure of anything, he was sure of this:

We’re all in danger…

Then:

Call the police!

By now, there was no other choice. But would the police believe him? Are they going to believe a story like this from a kid my age? That my aunt’s a vampire?

Probably not, but what other choice did he have? Kevin got up then, went to the empty kitchen. His father had always taught him that in emergencies all he had to do was pick up the phone and dial 911. Then the police would come.

And that’s what I have to do now.

He picked up the phone, punched in 911, then put the phone to his ear… and winced.

Aw, no, I should’ve known.

The phone was dead. Aunt Carolyn must’ve anticipated this, and ordered Bill or Wally to cut the phone lines. There was no way to contact anyone…

Kevin supposed he could leave, just walk out of the lodge right now and keep on walking until a motorist passed. But his parents had always taught him to never take rides from strangers, and, besides, it would probably take him hours to get to a main road on foot. So he guessed the only thing he had left to do was continue with his investigation, get all the proof he could, so that when his father came back, he’d believe him.

The secret room, he thought. He planned to return, with better light. That’s what I can do now, go back there, check it out some more. There’s got to be more evidence back there.

He quickly rummaged around through the kitchen, found no flashlight. Then he went to the utility room, and there, hanging right in the wall was a big, foot-long flashlight.

Perfect! he thought.

And there was no chance of getting caught.

Bill and Wally are outside, looking for The Count’s coffin.

So at least he was safe for the time being.

Kevin flicked the flashlight on, to make sure it worked. It offered a big, bright beam of light, and that’s just what he needed. Then—

Is this really a good idea? he asked himself in a last moment of reluctance.

Then, with his heart suddenly increasing its beat, he stepped into the back hallway behind the kitchen, and approached the panel that led to the secret room…