Page 14 of A Gathering of Secrets

Ina looked from girl to girl. “Are we carving them?”

“Definitely carving and using those tea lights for the inside,” Neva said. “Tomorrow, though. I’ve been here since seven A.M. and I’m beat.”

“Says the slave driver,” Ina muttered.

Viola elbowed her. “Let’s clean up and get out of here.”

While Viola and Ina stowed the stepladder and gathered the trash they’d amassed in the course of their work, Neva went to the café. She dumped the remaining cider into the sink and rinsed the pot. She’d just finished wiping the table where they’d sat and drawn out their plans earlier, when the lights went out. The radio fell silent. The darkness that followed was so complete, Neva couldn’t see her hand in front of her face.

“Not funny!” she called out.

“I didn’t do anything,” came Viola’s voice.

Ina countered with, “Maybe your mamm forgot to pay the electric bill.”

Slowly, Neva’s eyes adjusted to the darkness. She could barely make out the front windows from where she stood. Gray light seeping in.

“What do we do now?” Viola asked.

“I think there’s some kind of electrical box out back.” Neva left the café and stopped just outside the rail. “There’s a flashlight in Mamm’s office,” she called out. “I’ll be right back.”

Carefully, she made her way through the darkness and went into the office. Inside, she felt around for the desk, found the flashlight in the second drawer. Relief slipped through her when she flipped it on and a cone of yellow light filled the room.

She was on her way to the front of the shop when a crash sounded. It was like breaking glass and was followed by a yelp.

Holding the flashlight beam in front of her, she ran toward her friends. “What happened?”

“The window,” came Ina’s voice. “It just … shattered.”

“What?” Neva shifted the beam. Her friends stood near the display window, looking startled. Glass sparkled on the floor. She jerked the beam to the window. Sure enough, there was a hole the size of a basketball in the center.

“We were just standing here, waiting for you to come back with the flashlight, when the window just … exploded,” Viola said.

“I think someone threw something,” Ina added.

An instant of silence ensued. It was so quiet Neva could hear the wind rushing through the trees outside.

“What’s that?” Ina motioned toward an object the size of a soccer ball lying on the floor.

Neva shifted the beam. Recognition flashed, followed by a stab of disbelief, of revulsion. “Mein Gott.”

The cone of light illuminated the severed head of a hog. It was white with a pink snout. Cloudy eyes. Mouth open. Tongue hanging out. The smear of blood on the floor gleamed black in the semidarkness.

Gasping, Viola set her hand against her chest and stepped back. “It’s … a butchered hog.”

“Someone pitched it through the window,” Ina said.

“Why would someone do such a thing?” Viola whispered.

The silence that followed sent a shiver through Neva. She hadn’t told her friends what was going on. Hadn’t told anyone. Now, she wondered if she should have. If she should have done something about it.

“It’s a stupid Halloween prank is all,” she said.

“It’s creepy,” Viola whispered.

“What do we do?” Ina asked.

Another exchange of looks, thoughtful this time, and frightened.