Richard Laymon - The Traveling Vampire Show

“So, did you see her?” Lee asked.

“I guess we got to Janks Field ahead of the show. Nobody was there except us. And that dog.”

Lee drove down Route 3 at a safe speed just slightly over the limit but after the turnoff, in the seclusion of the dirt road, she poured it on. This didn’t surprise me. I’d ridden with her many times before and knew all about her reckless streak.

I couldn’t complain, though. She’d never crashed.

So I held my peace—along with the dashboard and door handle—while she ripped over the narrow, twisty road. The force of her turns sometimes bumped me against the door, sometimes threw me toward her.

I was tempted to let go and fall against Lee, not to punish her for the wild driving but to have the contact with her. It might’ve been embarrassing, though. And it might’ve made her crash into a tree or something. I didn’t want to take the risk, so I held on tight.

We jerked from side to side, shook and bounced all the way to the far end of the road and burst out of the dense forest gloom into the open gray gloom of Janks Field and Lee almost sent me through the windshield the way she tromped on the brakes.

We skidded to a stop.

Parked near the shack where I’d left Slim and Rusty were three vehicles: a truck the size of a moving van, a large bus, and a hearse. All three were shiny black, and unmarked—no fancy signs announcing this was The Traveling Vampire Show, no paintings of bats or fangs or Valeria. Nothing at all like that. As if the show wanted to keep itself secret as it roamed the roads on its way from town to town.

Several people seemed to be unloading equipment from the truck.

“Looks like the show has arrived,” Lee said.

“Guess so. If that’s what it is.”

“What else could it be?”

“I don’t know,” I said.

“I don’t see your friends, though.”

“Me neither.”

“Think they’re still up there?”

“They might be. Maybe they’re lying down flat behind the sign.”

“Let’s find out,” Lee said. She started driving forward.

My mouth jumped open, but I managed not to gasp. Instead, trying to sound calm, I said, “What’re you doing?”

“We came to find Slim and Rusty. That’s what we’re going to do.”

“But these people!”

“We’ve got every right to be here.”

“Hope they see it that way.”

“No sweat,” she said, bravado in her smile but a flicker of worry in her eyes.

She drove slowly. Over the sound of the engine, I heard glass crunching under the tires.

“You sure about this?” I asked.

“Sure I’m sure.”

“What if we get a flat tire?”

“I don’t get flats.” She gave me another one of those smiles. Then she added, “And if I do, we’ll just have a couple of these strapping young chaps change it for us.”

As she drove closer, a few of the workers stopped what they were doing and watched our approach. Others continued to go about their business. I counted twelve, in all. (There might’ve been more, unseen.)

Though I saw a variety of trousers on them—btue jeans, black jeans, black feather—they all seemed to be wearing shiny black shirts with long sleeves.

Studying their outfits, I noticed that all the workers weren’t men. At least four seemed to be women.

I wondered if one of those might be Valeria herself.

Maybe they’re all Valeria, I thought—and take turns playing the role. Or maybe the real Valeria is whiling away the afternoon in the bus.

Or in the hearse.

As Lee eased her pickup to a stop, I looked over at the hearse. I figured there might be a casket inside, but the rear windows were draped with red velvet. Lee shut off her engine.

A man was walking toward us.

Lee opened her door. It seemed like a bad idea.

“You getting out?” I asked.

“You don’t have to,” she said.

“What about the dog?”

She looked back at me. “Where is it?”

“I don’t know, but it must be around here someplace.”

“Maybe it decided not to stick around when it saw what was coming.”

“Maybe that’s what we oughta do,” I said.

“We’re fine,” she told me, and climbed out.

I threw open my door, jumped to the ground and hurried around her truck. I came up behind Lee and halted by her side. The man stopped a few paces in front of us. He glanced at me, seemed to decide that I didn’t matter, and turned his eyes to Lee.

He was so handsome he was creepy.

His long, flowing hair was black as ink, but he had pale blue eyes. The eyes might’ve looked wonderful on a woman; on him, they seemed unnatural and weird. So did his slim, curving lips. All his facial features were delicate, and he had smooth, softly tanned skin. Except for the slightest trace of beard stubble along his jaw and chin, he might’ve easily passed for a beautiful woman.

At least from the neck up. The rest of him was a different story. He had broad, heavy-looking shoulders and arm muscles that strained the sleeves of his shirt. The top few buttons of his shirt were unfastened as if to make room for his massive chest. He had a flat stomach and narrow hips, and wore black leather trousers with a sheath knife on the belt.

After sliding his eyes up and down Lee a couple of times, he smiled. I’ve never seen such white teeth. Even though the vampire was supposed to be Valeria, I couldn’t help but check this guy’s canines. They looked no longer or more pointy than anyone else’s.

Sounding friendly enough, he said, “If you’re here for tickets, I’m afraid we don’t open the box office until an hour before show time.”

“I can’t buy any in advance?” Lee asked.

“Not until eleven o’clock tonight.”

“But what if I come back tonight and you’re sold out?”

“Oh, that won’t happen. Not here. We sell out at some venues, but this arena isn’t gonna fill up. Nice if it does, but it won’t.” He glanced at me, then said to Lee, “There is an age restriction, you know. The show’s meant for adults, so no one under eighteen gets in. I think your brother’s still a little on the young side.”

“But he’s the one who wants to see it,” Lee protested.

The man flashed a grin at me. “I’ll bet he does.”

“A couple of his friends, too,” Lee added.

“Well, if they’re no older than he is….”

“Maybe they’re around here someplace. They came out ahead of us, so they should’ve been here by now. Teenagers? A husky boy and a slender blonde girl?”

The man frowned slightly and shook his head. “Haven’t seen ’em. Nobody’s here but our crew.”

Turning her head in the general direction of the snack stand, Lee shouted, “SLIM? RUSTY?”

I watched the roof. Nobody popped a head up.

“If they do come along,” Lee said to the man, “would you let them know we were already here?”

“I’d be glad to.”

“Thanks. I told them that they were too young for a show like this. But they’re so fascinated by the whole subject of vampires….” She shook her head. “You know, teenagers.”

“I know exactly,” the man said. “I was one myself a few years ago. And fascinated by vampires.”

“They just had to come out here and see what it was all about. I’m sure they were hoping I’d somehow be able to work magic and buy tickets for them. They seem to think I can do anything. ”

“I’d like to be able to help you….”

“Lee,” she said, and offered her hand.

“Lee,” he said. He took it gently in his long fingers. “Pleased to meet you, Lee. I’m Julian.”

“And this is my brother, Dwight.”