The young man untied the line holding the launch to the dock, and the boat began to pull away from the slip, its engine roaring loudly.
Cari leaned back against the cabin wall. The wet spray off the water felt cool and refreshing. The little boat lurched forward suddenly, throwing them all off balance, causing them to slide back and forth in their seats.
They all laughed, nervous laughter.
“We’re on our own!” Eric shouted above the roar of the engine, checking out Cari as he said it.
“Party summer!” Craig yelled.
Cari laughed. She realized she was excited, and nervous, and happy, and worried—all at the same time. She felt strange about heading off to an island resort on her own, without an adult. Her parents, she knew, would have a fit!
But it was also very exciting.
Besides, what could happen?
Chapter 5
AN UNUSUAL WELCOME
“Sorry about the bumpy ride,” the young man said, helping Cari onto the dock. “The water isn’t usually this choppy.”
“How’d we get so lucky?” Cari asked dryly, still feeling the rocking and lurching of the boat as she planted her feet on the wooden dock.
“It was great!” Craig exclaimed. “Better than any ride at Six Flags!”
“I’m soaked,” Jan complained, dragging a suitcase onto the dock.
Craig helped the driver carry off the other bags.
Cari scanned the area. “There’s no one here,” she said, brushing her hair back behind her ears. It felt salty and wet. Her T-shirt, also soaked, clung uncomfortably to her skin.
“Rose said Simon would send someone from the hotel to pick us up,” Jan said, concerned. “I don’t understand. Do you think she forgot to call and say we were on our way?”
A sudden gust of wind swirled up the sand on both sides of the dock.
“I guess they’re just late,” Eric said, sitting down on his canvas bag.
“It’s a real pretty island,” the launch driver said.
Cari looked around. He was right. In the early evening light, it was so beautiful, it didn’t seem real. The ocean sparkled, reflecting the rose color of the sky, crashing rhythmically against the sand, now patterned with long blue shadows. The beach stretched away from the dock on both sides of the length of the island.
A narrow road led up from the dock, winding into the tall pine trees, which stretched up, up, up a steeply sloping hill as far as they could see.
“Where’s the hotel?” Cari asked.
The launch driver heaved the last of the bags onto the dock with a quiet groan. He wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his T-shirt. “Up there,” he said, pointing to the trees.
“Through the trees?” Cari asked, feeling nervous.
“Yeah. You follow the road.” He started to untie the rope. “You go by a gatehouse. The hotel is all fenced in. Then you just keep following the road up. You can’t miss it.”
He dropped the line onto the deck and pulled the launch quickly away from the dock, as if he were eager to leave.
“Is there a shuttle bus or something?” Eric asked, looking toward the trees.
But the launch was too far away, its engine grinding noisily. The driver waved once, then roared away without a backward glance.
“Where is everyone?” Craig asked, picking up his bag, then dropping it back onto the dock.
“Maybe they forgot about us,” Jan said.
“Guess we’ll have to walk,” Cari said.
“How come we were the only ones on the boat?” Eric asked, tugging at his ponytail. “Where are all the other people who’re staying at the hotel?”
“Some welcome!” Craig mumbled, staring up the road beyond the dock.
“It felt as if the ocean was pushing against us,” Jan said, her face suddenly in shadow. “I kept thinking it was pushing us away, trying to keep us from coming here.”
“Oooooooooo,” wailed Eric.
“Stop it,” Cari pleaded. “You’re giving me the creeps.”
“Well, first Aunt Rose gets sick. Then the ocean gets rough and pushes against us. These are bad omens,” Jan insisted, nervously fingering the skull pendant around her neck.
“Can’t you forget about omens and ghosts and goblins for once?” Craig asked. “It’s summer—not Halloween.”
“Yeah. Give us a break,” Eric muttered.
“Look, Eric, it’s just a hobby of mine,” Jan said. “Like your hobby is picking your nose.”
“Like your hobby is being a total gross-out” was Eric’s reply.
“Chill out, guys,” Craig said unhappily.
Cari had to smile. Craig was so straight and preppy looking, it somehow never seemed right when he tried to sound cool.
“Are we going to start walking or are we going to wait for Eric’s shuttle bus?” Cari asked.
Jan laughed. “Why don’t we just hail a taxi, Eric?”
“Why is everybody picking on me?” Eric asked in a little-boy voice.
“It’s probably not a long walk,” Cari said, picking up her bag. “Your aunt said the island is very tiny.”
“But she didn’t say it was all uphill!” Jan exclaimed, groaning as she hoisted up her two bags.
Eric swung his canvas bag over his shoulder. He tried to adjust it, but the strap had become caught in his ponytail.
He tries so hard to be cool, Cari thought. But it doesn’t always work for him. But he is kind of cute anyway.
He grinned at her, as if reading her thoughts.
The four of them walked off the dock, onto the road, and into the shadows of the trees.
“Party summer!” Eric muttered under his breath.
“Stop complaining,” Jan said. “We’re here, aren’t we? We’re not hanging around in Shadyside, wondering what to do tonight, hanging out at Cari’s house, wondering which movie we’ve seen forty times to rent again.”
“Yeah, Jan’s right,” Cari quickly agreed, picking up the pace as they followed the road up. “We’re here. We’re not in Shadyside. And there are no parents around, no one to tell us what to do and—”
“I hope Aunt Rose is okay,” Jan interrupted.
“You can call as soon as we get to the hotel,” Cari said.
A stone gatehouse loomed into view. Behind it, a tall wrought-iron fence enclosed the hotel grounds. They walked up to the gatehouse, which was deserted, and read the green and white sign on the fence: HOWLING WOLF INN. PRIVATE PROPERTY.
“If the gate is locked, we’re in trouble,” Craig said.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jan said. “The gate won’t be locked.” Her words were positive, but her voice revealed her nervousness.
“Only one way to find out,” Eric said. He gave the gate a push.
It didn’t budge.
“Turn that handle there,” Craig said, pointing.
“Right,” Eric said. “The handle. Why didn’t I think of that?”
He turned the handle and pushed.
The gate still didn’t budge.
“It must be locked,” Jan said. “I knew it!” She tossed down her bags and sighed dramatically.
“Take it easy. There’s a phone in the gatehouse,” Cari said, peering inside. “Look. We can use it to call up to the hotel.”
“Great!” Jan cried, obviously relieved.
“It’s getting dark so early,” Craig said, raising his eyes to the sky.
“It’s just the trees,” Cari said. “They’re blocking the sun.”
She opened the narrow glass door, stepped into the gatehouse, and picked up the phone.
“Hey—there’s no dial!” she exclaimed.
Eric poked his head in. “It must be some kind of intercom phone,” he said. “It’s probably connected to the hotel.”
“But there’s no dial tone or anything,” Cari said, the receiver at her ear. “Guess it’s not on.” She replaced the receiver and stepped out of the tiny gatehouse.
“So we’re locked out,” Eric said, sighi
ng unhappily.
“Well, so what?” Cari said, a devilish look on her face. She’d had a sudden inspiration. “We’ll spend the night on the beach!”
“Great! A beach party! It’ll be beautiful!” Jan quickly agreed, brightening a little.
“What’ll we eat?” Eric asked glumly.
“The gate’s open,” Craig said.
“Huh?” Cari wasn’t sure she heard right.
“The gate’s open,” Craig repeated, a broad grin on his handsome face. “There was a latch down there,” he explained, pointing. “It just had to be flipped.”
He pulled open the gate.
“Let’s go!” Jan cried happily, picking up her bags.
“I always said Craig was a mechanical genius,” Eric exclaimed.
“I still want to spend the night on the beach,” Cari said, pouting.
“We’ll have the whole summer for that,” Craig said brightly.
All four of them chattered enthusiastically as they made their way up the sloping hill, through the trees. Birds twittered and trilled. A tiny baby rabbit ran right across their path without stopping.
Then suddenly the Howling Wolf Inn came into view.
“How beautiful!” Cari cried.
They all stopped in the middle of the road to admire it.
It looked like a set designer’s idea of a resort hotel, enormous and white with a sloping, red-shingled roof, set back on a wide, manicured lawn, two wings jutting out from a central building along the top of the hillside, a screened-in porch filled with wicker chairs and chaises, twin columns on either side of the red front doors.
As Cari and her friends drew closer, they could see the bay behind the hotel and the wooden stairs leading down to a private beach with several canoes tied to a small dock.
“All right! Get a load of that beach!” Eric cried.
“It’s perfect,” Cari said. “Just perfect.”
“It’s better than Aunt Rose described it,” Jan said breathlessly.
“There’s the pool,” Craig said, pointing. “It’s enormous. And that must be a pool house behind it.”
“Where is everybody?” Cari said suddenly.
“What?” Jan asked, her eyes still surveying the majestic old hotel that seemed to stretch endlessly in front of them.
“There’s no one in the pool,” Cari said.
“Maybe they’re all inside having dinner,” Eric suggested. “I know that’s where I’d like to be.”
“But there are no lights on in the rooms,” Cari said. “There’s no one on the beach. No one walking on the grounds. No one on the porch.”
“Cari’s right,” Jan said quietly.
Cari had a sudden chill.
“The whole hotel just for us!” Craig exclaimed.
Everyone ignored his cheerful outburst.
“Come on,” Jan said, leading the way up the expansive front walk onto the porch and straight to the tall, red double doors that formed the entrance. She tried to pull the doors open, but they wouldn’t budge. So she rang the bell.
Cari could hear it chime somewhere deep inside the hotel.
They waited more than a minute or two. Then Jan rang the bell again.
A few seconds later the door was pushed open a few inches. A very pale, middle-aged man with unruly tufts of black hair standing up on his head and a very stern, unpleasant expression poked his head out the crack.
“Go away. Please. We’re closed,” he said and pulled the door shut.
Chapter 6
FEAR
“Some welcome,” Cari said glumly, staring at the red door.
“Did he say they were closed?” Eric asked, his eyes behind the wire-rimmed glasses wide with disbelief.
“Maybe this is the wrong hotel,” Craig said, grinning.
Cari gestured to the engraved bronze sign set in the shingles beside the doorway: HOWLING WOLF INN. ESTABLISHED 1853.
“For sure,” she said. “There are probably two Howling Wolf Inns on this island. Let’s go find the other one.”
“Right. You lead the way, Craig,” Eric said, rolling his eyes.
Jan, who hadn’t said a word, sighed and kicked her suitcase. “I don’t understand it,” she said. “I know that Aunt Rose arranged this very carefully. She spoke to the owner several times and—”
“But there’s no one here!” Eric cried. “The place is empty. It’s closed. Just like the man said.”
“Wow,” Craig said, shaking his head.
“That’s a helpful comment,” Cari cracked. Then she immediately regretted it, seeing the hurt look on Craig’s face.
“He was so rude,” Craig said. “I really don’t believe this.”
“Maybe he’s building a monster down in his basement laboratory,” Jan said. “He’s about to bring it to life tonight, and he doesn’t need four teenagers interfering with his plans.”
“Ooooooooo,” Eric howled a scary movie howl. “Welcome to Castle Frankenstein!”
“Give us a break,” Cari said, sighing.
As Eric started to howl again, the front door was suddenly opened all the way. “Whoa!” Eric cried in surprise and stumbled down the steps off the porch.
A tall, distinguished-looking man with wavy white hair and a full white mustache stood before them in the doorway. He was wearing a khaki safari jacket over stylish, pleated white trousers. He smiled at them, and his dark eyes seemed to twinkle.
“Good evening,” he said in a deep rich voice. His smile didn’t fade as he looked at them as if searching for someone he knew.
Jan said hello and started to stammer out something else. But he interrupted her. “Please accept my apologies for the behavior of my servant, Martin. I am afraid that your appearance caught Martin a little off guard, and the poor man doesn’t deal with surprises very well.” He chuckled, a warm, conspiratorial chuckle.
“I’m a bit surprised to see you here myself,” he said, staring at Jan. “Where is Rose? I understood she was coming with you.”
“My aunt got sick before we reached Provincetown,” Jan explained. “She told us to go on ahead. She’ll come on the next launch. Didn’t you speak to her?”
“You must be Jan,” the man said, not answering her question. He extended a large hand and shook Jan’s vigorously. “Yes. Yes. I can see the family resemblance.”
“Thank you,” Jan said uncertainly, finally managing to disentangle her hand from his.
“Excuse me. I’m being as rude as Martin,” the man said, holding the door open wider and motioning for them to go inside. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Simon Fear. Simon Fear the Third, to be precise. I am the owner of this humble inn.”
“Simon Fear?” Cari blurted out. “I live on a street called Fear Street. Back in Shadyside. There’s an old burned-out mansion down the block. It’s—”
“It belonged to my great-uncle,” Simon said. “A very mysterious man, as I’m sure you’ve heard. I haven’t been back to Shadyside in many years, not since I chose to live here year-round. Has it changed much?”
“I don’t think so,” Cari said, not sure how to answer.
“Is everyone in the Fear Street cemetery still dead?” Simon asked, and then he laughed heartily, throwing his head back and closing his eyes.
Cari and her friends, dragging their bags into the front hall and lobby, replied with nervous laughter.
Cari studied the lobby. It was huge but sparsely furnished, with dark wood walls and a high ceiling with exposed wooden beams. The chairs and tables, grouped along one wall and in clusters in the corners, were heavy and wintry, dark wood and plush velvet and leather cushions, not what Cari expected to find in a summer resort.
It looks more like a hunting lodge, she thought.
“Just leave your bags here,” Simon Fear instructed. “Martin is probably preparing rooms for you now. When he’s finished, he’ll take the bags to your rooms.”
“Where is everyone?” Jan asked, scanning the vast, empty lobby.
“We’re
closed,” Simon said, pulling at his white mustache and studying her as he answered her question. “I can’t believe your aunt didn’t receive my letter.”
“Letter?”
“Yes. The phones were out all last week. So I sent an overnight letter. Rose knew we were refurbishing the inn, redoing the dining room and some of the guest rooms in the old wing. I thought the work would all be finished by now. But in the middle of everything, the workers picked up and left. In my letter, I asked Rose if you could all come in two or three weeks when the work is finally finished and we’re up and running.”
“Aunt Rose must not have received the letter,” Jan said unhappily. “So we’ve come all this way for nothing.”
“I’ll gladly put you up until the launch comes from Provincetown tomorrow evening,” said Simon sympathetically. “Martin is a very good cook. And you can use the pool and the beach while you wait.”
So much for our party summer, Cari thought, surprised at how miserable and disappointed she felt. So much for clambakes at night on the beach, and meeting new kids, and swimming in the ocean, and being on our own for an entire summer—and maybe meeting someone special.
“Have you eaten dinner?” Simon asked.
“No,” Eric quickly replied.
Everyone laughed. Eric’s reply had been so impassioned.
“Come into the dining room,” Simon said, leading the way, taking long, expansive strides. “I’ll ask Martin to prepare something.”
Cari and Jan exchanged glances as they followed Simon Fear to the dining room. Jan looked as disappointed as Cari felt. “What a shame. This place is neat looking,” Jan whispered.
Cari nodded in agreement. She checked out the boys. Eric seemed to be tense and unhappy, but Craig had his usual calm expression. He was always the same—he always seemed to float through any situation.
He must be disappointed too, Cari thought. Why doesn’t he show it?
“Here we are,” Simon said, gesturing as they entered the large, carpeted room. He flicked on several low-hanging chandeliers and the room brightened into view. Two long tables were set with tablecloths and china and silverware by the long windows across the back of the room. The rest of the tables had chairs stacked upside down on them. Scaffolding stood beside the wall to the left, a stained canvas drop cloth hanging over its side. Part of the wallpaper was peeled off behind the scaffolding, and some of the ceiling molding had been removed.