Chapter 2

Grace was up with the sun the next morning, and she knew her rising before the alarm had nothing to do with the light shining behind the curtains, and everything to do with excitement. She couldn't decide whether she was jazzed more about the maze or her seeing Molly again, and finally decided it was both.

She had plenty of time to shower and dress before hopping into the truck and driving to the maze. The morning air was bound to be quite nippy in the mountains in October, so she chose a form-fitting pair of jeans and a warm flannel shirt cropped just at the waist, and topped it with her heavy jacket. She also wore her wool-lined boots. Gloves and a knit cap finished off her outfit.

A cup of coffee and a small sticky bun bought at Caffeine Ivy's and devoured en route to the maze sufficed to quiet her growling stomach until after she'd walked the maze with Molly, and they went for a proper breakfast. The last thing she wanted was to treat Molly to a symphony of gurgles and rumblings from her empty belly. Yuck City.

She pulled into the parking lot, pleased to see the maze in all its golden glory under the bright sun. Tomorrow was opening day, and the forecast called for clear, cool weather. It should be perfect.

Molly hadn't yet arrived. Grace got out of the truck and leaned against it, one foot crossed over the other, waiting. Maybe Molly wasn't coming. Maybe she'd changed her mind. Maybe, maybe, maybe. The maybes were killing her.

Then she heard a putt-puttering sound, and an older, white Chevy Blazer rumbled into the lot. Well, most of it was white. One door was a battered red.

The Blazer pulled into the space next to Grace's Silverado, and Molly bounced out. She was grinning and dressed warmly in jeans, a sheepskin-lined denim jacket, and boots.

"Good morning!" Grace called as Molly trotted over.

"Morning! Brr…it's a chilly one today."

"It won't take long to walk the maze — I designed it, after all — and then we can go somewhere nice and warm for breakfast."

"Sounds good. All I had this morning was coffee, and my stomach has been yelling at me all the way down here."

Grace eyed the truck. "Blazer girl, huh? I would've taken you for a Jeep kind of girl."

Molly's lips turned up in a wry smile. "I wish. On my salary, it's the Blazer or my own two feet." She shrugged. "I got her in college. I know she's not pretty. She's banged up and scratched and showing her age, but she's paid for and gets me where I need to go."

"And there's nothing wrong with that at all. Car payments suck." Grace was sorry she'd brought it up. She didn't want Molly to feel bad about her vehicle or think Grace was being an automobile classist. "After college, when I started my firm, I drove a — no lie — a Yugo. It was used, of course, ancient really, and barely ran, and was as ugly as Satan's taint. The air didn't work, and the heat barely did. But like you said, it was paid for and got me to where I needed to go." She decided to change the subject. "What did you study in college?"

"First, I have no idea what a Yugo is. Second, I majored in Digital Art Major. My work is a combination of fine and digital art. It's kind of cool. Maybe you'd like to see some of my pieces sometime."

"I'd love that!" Grace exclaimed. "And a Yugo, for your edification, was a car. A very uncool car, even when it was new, which mine was not."

Molly laughed. She was wearing gloves but tucked her hands under her arms anyway, as if they were still cold. "Ready?"

"Absolutely. Leave your purse here…it's perfectly safe."

Molly tossed her purse onto the front seat of the Silverado. "Then let's go, fearless leader. I can't wait to see it."

"Okay. Now, it won't be as scary in broad daylight as it will at night, especially without all the sound and light effects and spooky music, so keep that in mind."

"Okay. Oh, is that the kiddie maze?" Molly pointed to the scaled-down version sitting across the field from the full-sized one.

"Yep. The kiddos have their own maze, full of jack-o'lanterns and not-so-scary stuff." Grace was proud of her mazes, even the little ones. "It's pretty straightforward so they don't get lost, and their parents can practically reach over the bales and pluck them out if they have to. At least they can grab their child's hand and lead them out of the maze."

"That's so cool!" Molly kept pace with Grace, and just a step behind.

They reached the entrance to the large maze. "I'll have a couple of ‘undead' ghouls collecting tickets here." Grace pointed to either side of the entrance. "Two high schoolers wearing face paint that I've hired for the occasion. The ticket booth is halfway between the big maze and the small one."

Molly nodded. "I saw it. Even that's decorated. You do a really good job at theming."

"I try," Grace said, feeling a blush of pleasure at the compliment. "Once they take your tickets, you're on your own. There are no guided tours of the maze. That would take the fun out of it. You're getting the only one."

"Speaking of, instead of leading me on a tour, do you want me to go ahead and see how long it'd take for me to work my way through it?" Molly offered.

Grace paused. "You wouldn't mind? I mean, I offered to give you the VIP walk-through."

"I don't mind. It'd be fun, and you can always come to rescue me if I get too stuck."

"It would be a help if I knew approximately how long it would take somebody to navigate it. And what you think of it, of course." Grace grinned at her. "Okay, whenever you're ready, go. I'll trail behind you. If you get too turned around or need me to fetch you out, just holler."

Molly took off at a fast pace. Grace gave her a couple of minutes, then followed behind.

Grace came to the first split and took the left path, wondering if Molly had done what most people do — choose the right side of the fork. If she had, she was headed into a twisting series of dead ends.

She paused, wondering if she should go back and find Molly, then decided not to. If Molly wanted to be found, she'd call out. Molly was probably having a blast exploring the maze.

Suddenly, the quiet was shattered with an earsplitting scream. Grace's feet took wing as she raced back the way she'd come, all the way to the fork without missing a turn and taking the right-hand path.

"Molly! Molly! Call out so I can find you." Grace yelled.

"I'm here! Oh, God, I'm over here!"

Grace tried to follow the panicked voice. She made a few false starts, but soon enough found Molly standing at a corner of the maze, the one with the pumpkin-headed monster in it. Molly's face was as white as paint, and her fingers were digging into the straw of the bales behind her as if she was holding on for dear life.

"Molly? Are you okay? What happened?" Grace skidded to a stop, breathing hard and scared half out of her mind. She looked around but didn't see any threat besides the fake pumpkin man statue. Then she gave Molly the once over to make sure there were no obvious wounds or blood she should be aware of. There was nothing. Molly looked fine — only clearly terrified. "What's going on?"

Molly was shaking hard and took a faltering step toward Grace. Grace caught her, drawing her into an embrace, holding her tight. "It's okay. I'm here now. I'll get you out."

"It…It's n-not that. I wasn't l-lost," Molly whimpered. Her shaking hadn't stopped, and she was sniffling, her face wet with tears. "I mean, I w-was, but that's not what s-scared me."

"Then what? Is it the pumpkin dude? He can't hurt you."

"N-no, not that. It's around the c-corner."

"What is?"

"G-go see. Maybe I imagined i-it. Or maybe it's fake." Molly wept through the words though, and Grace decided whatever Molly saw, she hadn't imagined it. Something was around the corner that had frightened the hell out of her.

"Is it a person? Is somebody over there? Did they threaten you?" Grace looked over Molly's shoulder, scouting for something she could use as a weapon. If somebody was around the corner she wanted to be prepared before charging there and finding herself outgunned.

The only possibility she saw was one of the big rocks they used to help brace the pumpkin man. The figure was tied to the bales of hay with zip ties, but they used large rocks piled around the feet to not only brace the figure against an errant gust of wind but to keep people from getting too close to the figure.

She gently pushed Molly away. "Stay here," she whispered. "In fact, go back. Just follow this path and keep going left. That'll bring you to the entrance. My cell phone is on the front seat of my truck. Call 911."

Molly shook her head vehemently. "I don't want to leave you."

"It's alright, Molly. Go. Hurry!"

Grace watched Molly reluctantly turn away and follow the path out. Then she bent and picked up one of the heavy rocks. She didn't know if she had the strength to chuck the weighty stone at someone, but it was better than nothing.

She took a deep breath and yelled. "Hey! You! Whoever you are, the police are on the way. I'm armed, so you better hit the dirt. You're on the wrong side of the maze; you'll never find your way out, so there's no use running. I'm coming over now, and I want to see you face down on the ground."

She crept toward the corner, her heart pounding in her chest. What if the person over there had a gun? No, if they were going to shoot someone, Molly would be dead. It was probably some college kids trying to play a prank, or who had come to the maze before it opened and freaked at getting caught. And it certainly wouldn't be the first time she'd caught high school kids coming out here to drink or make out.

Still, it was best to be cautious. She inched toward the turn, holding her breath now, trying to be as stealthy as she could. Maybe she should just wait for the cops to get here. That would be the smart thing to do, right? The sensible thing?

But it was her maze, her baby, and it was her date who'd been scared witless. It pissed her off and Pissed Off Grace was very different and far less cautious than Sensible Grace.

Taking it almost an inch at a time, Grace turned the corner and froze.

A body was sprawled out on the floor of the maze.