And then the entire crowd faded away.
The sound of sirens suddenly shattered the night. In moments there were police everywhere, followed shortly by Hal, and Jeremy and Zach. At some point Vinnie woke up, much to Kendall’s relief.
The night was mass confusion, but one fact was clear.
The reign of terror had ended.
The bones and bodies would be retrieved, and the dead would be buried.
The ghosts could rest in peace at last.
Epilogue
Kendall was dressed in something black and gray and ragged. Her hair was streaming down her back, and, despite her makeup-induced ghostly pallor, she was stunning as she stepped on stage to duet with Vinnie. Together, they brought down the house on song after song.
The decorations were as macabre as the costumes, and the costumes were both varied and elaborate. Skeletons danced with Indian princesses, and there were at least three mummies, two wolfmen and a horde of Draculas. There were beautiful fairies, giant trees with gruesome faces and more.
The Haunted Holiday Happening was in full swing.
Admittedly, it was a full year later than planned, but no one was complaining.
It was also serving as an excellent way to introduce The Barn, as the new community theater was going to be known.
In the past, a killer had gotten away with murder here—until he had been killed himself during the commission of his last crime.
What psychosis had come upon Victor Grebbe, it was far too late to know, but contemporary doctors would have a field day studying the mind of JonAbel, a brilliant man with a fine career who had been cursed with a criminal hunger.
The last number ended, and Kendall stepped off the stage with Vinnie, who was walking on air, now that Zach had offered to produce the Stakes’s first CD.
“Hey, I’d like my wife back now,” Aidan called to Vinnie.
“I’m returning her safe and sound.”
Drawing Kendall to him for the slow dance that was just beginning, Aidan looked around the room. Jonas was there with Matty, and they were happy. She had been right; by forgiving her husband and standing by him, she had saved him.
Miss Ady, with a clean bill of health, was sitting on a bale of hay and tapping her toes. She smiled and accepted when Jimmy walked up and asked her to dance.
Both his brothers were deep in conversation with attractive women.
In short, everything was good.
And, most importantly, Kendall was in his arms.
“Can we slip out for a minute?” she asked him, her eyes dazzling.
“Out?”
“Please?”
He arched a brow but followed willingly as she led him into the cemetery.
“This is going to seem odd, I know,” she told him.
“Oh?”
“I have something to tell you. And I thought…I thought they should know, too.”
They.
He didn’t ask her who she meant.
“We’re having a little Flynn,” she said in a rush, her eyes on his anxiously.
He picked her up and swung her around, then set her down carefully.
They were standing at Henry’s grave, and now she placed a hand on it and said, “He saved the Flynn baby all those years ago, and he helped reveal the real story. And then, if he hadn’t saved me, well, helped save me—”
They seldom spoke of that night. There was no need. They both knew what had happened, so what did it matter if the rest of the world knew, too?
“You were right to come out here,” he said. “Henry should know. And Fiona and Sloan and Brendan, too.” He smiled. “Nothing could make me happier,” he told her, and pressed a tender kiss on her lips. “Except maybe ditching the last few minutes of the bash?”
“Hey, it’s your brother’s party, anyway,” she said.
“We’ll tell them tomorrow,” he said.
He carried her past the barn full of revelers and up to the house, which was haunted by only the best kind of spirits.
And soon it would also be haunted by the sound of little feet.
Neither of them had all the answers, but they did have one another.
And that was more than enough.