“I haven’t been in a while myself,” she said.
The city seemed to be teeming with people, even though it was a weekday. The air was already a hint cooler, and the sun was low in the western sky. Shadows seemed to darken doorways, as lights came on in the streets and streamed from shops and bars.
They crossed Front Street and continued to the square. The bar was crowded. There were advertisements everywhere for Fantasy Fest.
Body painting here. Whatever body part you want-painted!
Costumes of the absurd!
Beer for a buck!
Live your Fantasy-clothes optional up in the Garden!
“Hmm. I guess we are pretty decadent here,” David said.
“Grown-ups still like to dress up, that’s all,” Katie said.
“Or dress down. I’ve seen lots of costumes that consisted of nothing but body paint,” he said, grinning.
They’d reached the bar. Clarinda, dressed casually in a white pinstripe dress-one that made Katie glad that she had changed-came running out to meet them. “Can you believe it? It’s crowded as hell in there, and we haven’t gotten to the first of the activities. But we’ve got a table up top, so we can see the sunset and some of the performers.” Clarinda smiled broadly, looping her arm through David’s. “Come on up and meet Jonas. He’s a conch, too, but younger than you-he was in our class in high school.”
“Sounds great,” David said pleasantly.
It might have been a normal night, Katie thought. Two couples out to enjoy time together.
Jonas was tall, on the thin side, with a shy smile, but a pleasant manner. He seemed honestly pleased to meet David, and greeted him without any mention of the past-or the present.
“The city is insane!” he said, beckoning to their waiter. Katie and David ordered the draft-beer special for the night. David had his camera in his pocket, and though it looked like the usual slim digital camera that many people carried, Katie noticed that the lens was larger than most, and that it seemed to extend farther. Jonas asked him about the camera and David showed it to him, giving him the technical specifications. As he did so, Clarinda turned to Katie.
“You doing okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine. Why?”
“Well, that poor girl…it’s a similar murder.”
“Yes.”
“It means a killer is loose,” Clarinda said, and shivered. “I’m not making a move by myself, not a single move. I’ve moved right in with Jonas, and you know that I always liked keeping my independence. You-you’re hanging with David, right?” she asked.
Katie opened her mouth to answer, but Clarinda kept going. “I mean, all you have to do is know him to know that he didn’t kill anyone, but it is so bizarre that he’s back here, and that girl…you know?”
“I have complete trust in David,” Katie assured her.
As she spoke, David, who had been showing the camera to Jonas with the lens extended, suddenly stood.
He stared through the camera for a long moment.
She tried to see what had so captured his attention.
Below them, one of the local entertainers-originally from France-was performing with his multitude of cats. Cats that walked on wires and hopped over one another, and cats who jumped through burning hoops. Katie had always liked the man-he adopted strays to train, or saved animals from the local pound. A group was around him, laughing and chatting, and he had just chosen two youngsters to come up and help with the act. Beyond him were a pair of comedians who worked with balloon animals, and they had the group around them laughing, as well.
Beyond the entertainers was the sea, darkening like the sky. It was a calm night. Sea and sky together were picture-perfect.
The lights in the square suddenly seemed to brighten.
The sun had taken another plunge downward into the night. Orange, mauve and crimson streaks were streaming across the sky, with a deep purple on top, promising that night was nearly here.
David suddenly moved. He dropped the camera on the table, and he was gone, streaking down the stairs to the ground level below.
“David!”
Katie strained again to see what had attracted his attention before grabbing the camera and bolting down to follow him.