Chapter 25: Love Around the Corner
On the streets, Danny, Dawn, and Tara crossed paths.
Dawn and Tara recognized Danny—he was attractive and had been with a beautiful girlfriend.
Normally, Tara might have given him a second glance, perhaps even flirted for a potential hookup.
But because of Art the Clown, she just wanted to go home as soon as possible.
Dawn was different. She'd even wanted to take a picture with Art the Clown, let alone a handsome guy—especially since it was two nights before Halloween, with the holiday itself just two days away.
Of course, she wanted to spend it with an attractive man, and this one looked promising.
"Hello, handsome! We met at the diner. Where's your girlfriend? How could she leave you here alone? So irresponsible."
Danny glanced at the heavily made-up Dawn: "I had her picked up and taken home."
When he saw the two of them, he knew the owner and employees of the diner were probably already in trouble.
Sometimes, being too involved isn't a good thing.
But at least Danny got to eat a meal, so he'd get a small revenge for the owner and employees, and he was also curious about Art the Clown's capabilities.
Dawn's eyes lit up even more when she heard Danny had connections. He was definitely loaded, and she even extended an invitation on the spot.
"If you don't mind, you can come to my place for the night. I don't think your girlfriend would mind, right? After all, I wouldn't tell, would I?"
Faced with such obvious desperation, Danny couldn't be bothered to respond, only looking at the embarrassed Tara and saying,
"You two should go home early or take a taxi."
After speaking, he continued on his way, regardless of their reaction. He had to see what was happening at the diner.
After Danny left, Tara couldn't hold back and confronted Dawn.
"Are you insane? First, you provoke a psychopath, and now you're thinking of bringing a random guy home?"
Dawn said indifferently, "It's normal to want company when you're lonely. At most, I'll share him with you."
"..."
Tara wasn't interested in that. She felt this night before Halloween was terrible.
She hoped the next few days leading up to Halloween wouldn't be so bad.
The diner.
Because Halloween was approaching, there were two jack-o'-lanterns at the entrance, following local customs.
From mid-October, people carved pumpkins into lanterns, and orange and black became the main colors, symbolizing the warding off of evil spirits.
There are many versions of Halloween's origin.
The main version is that the Catholic Church designated November 1st as All Saints' Day, but the date was close to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, so they eventually merged.
By the end of the century, as Irish immigrants brought Halloween customs to North America, Halloween lost most of its religious significance and became a traditional holiday focused on celebration and costumes.
It is generally believed that Halloween originated from harvest celebrations and festivals honoring the dead in ancient Western European countries such as Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Danny also celebrated Halloween—when in Rome, do as the Romans do.
However, the jack-o'-lanterns looked like they were meant to ward off ghosts.
Could it be ghosts scaring ghosts?
When Danny arrived at the scene, the shop door was closed, but the lights inside were still on.
With a gentle push, the door creaked open.
The worst-case scenario had occurred. As Danny walked in, he saw a lot of what looked like ketchup on the floor—the color was indeed similar to ketchup.
This was dark humor.
Arriving at the back area, the owner and employees' heads were displayed in a row, but their bodies were gone.
He couldn't quite remember if they'd been eaten. He didn't know if Art ate them, but he remembered Pennywise from It was quite fond of eating people.
One kid, out of curiosity, was eaten whole, arm and all.
Since Art wasn't at the crime scene, he could only search nearby.
Danny didn't want to wait until morning. Morning would be two days before Halloween.
On that day, the children of Salem would wear various costumes and participate in parades or parties, while adults often hosted gatherings.
There was also "trick or treat."
One of the children's favorite activities.
Knocking on doors to ask for candy.
If no candy, then a trick!
As well as various activities like haunted house adventures.
In short, all sorts of people in costumes would emerge that day.
It would be better to contain Art, this menace, as soon as possible.
On another street,
the two friends' car tires had been slashed.
Tara immediately thought of the man who had told them to go home early or take a taxi, but then she thought it impossible.
From his appearance and demeanor, the possibility was very low.
She inexplicably thought of the clown.
As if on cue, a police announcement came over the radio.
And the location was the diner where they'd just eaten. The owner and employees had all been killed, and witnesses reported it was a clown carrying a black garbage bag.
This sent a shiver down Tara's spine.
She quickly nudged Dawn.
"Let's not wait for help. Let's just call an Uber home."
Dawn was somewhat dismissive. She thought a murderer who had killed would have fled the area and wouldn't still be around.
A normal murderer's psychology would indeed be like that.
Tara, exasperated, called her sister Victoria to pick her up. After the call, she felt a sudden urgent need.
Opening the car window, she realized they were in the middle of nowhere.
If she could, she really didn't want to just pee on the street like Dawn had.
Sharp-eyed Tara noticed a maintenance worker at a nearby building who'd just opened the door and was lighting a cigarette outside.
She immediately opened the car door and went to talk to him.
"Hello, sir, may I please use the building's restroom?"
The maintenance worker was about to refuse when Dawn from the car chimed in,
"Please, it's just one trip to the bathroom. Tara will definitely make it worth your while."
The worker's eyes lit up as he looked at Tara's outfit. She indeed looked good, with a leather jacket and pants, and noticeable cleavage.
For a moment, his interest was piqued, and he said,
"I can let you in to use the restroom, but later..."
You know what I want in return. The worker didn't finish his sentence, but he thought the woman in front of him should understand his meaning.
Tara originally wanted to refuse, but her urgent need wouldn't allow it, so she pretended to agree for now, planning to deal with the creepy worker after using the restroom.
"Of course."
The worker's lips curved into a smile, and he cheerfully opened the building's main door, even kindly telling Tara the exact location to save time.
Tara entered the building and found it very run-down.
As for the restroom, it was even more indescribable—completely grimy.
But for now, she could only force herself to endure the disgust and chose a stall that looked relatively clean.
A few minutes later, Tara felt completely relieved.
She looked at the restroom with distaste and was about to leave.
Suddenly, a baby's cry attracted her attention.
Could it be an abandoned baby?
Out of curiosity, Tara didn't leave immediately but followed the sound.
"Ah!"
A hand suddenly landed on Tara's shoulder, startling her. She turned around to see a disheveled woman holding a doll, and the sound was coming from the doll.
Tara tried to talk, but she found the woman seemed to have severe mental issues and kept talking to herself.
She wasn't going to waste any more time. She just wanted to leave the building immediately.
Tara ignored the woman and pushed through the door the way she came.
She'd only walked a few steps when she froze.
Because she'd found love around the corner.
The clown she'd met at the diner was standing there, his face covered in blood, with a sinister smile.
The two of them locked eyes for a few seconds.
Their gazes met...
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