side?”
“The east side is just a stone wall, and the north side butts up against the railyard so there’s no access there.”
“You ever have people come in here after the place is closed?” Hayley asks.
The man frowns. “Well, there’s a caretaker at night and—”
“Okay, thank you so much. You’ve been very helpful.” I pull Hayley outside.
She yanks her arm free. “Hey, what gives?”
“You were asking too many questions. He was starting to get suspicious. Come on. This way.”
We head down the lane and find the fountain around a bend. It is indeed at the corner of five converging paths.
“Man, you could get lost in this place,” Hayley muses, and I have to agree.
“Good thing we’ve got the map,” I say.
She points at a bench across the lane. “Who comes to a cemetery and hangs out?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. The fountain is nice. It’s kind of peaceful here.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Let’s sit and get our bearings. If we have to run from this guy, I want to know which way to go.” We sit, and I hold up the map and tap a spot with my finger. “We’re here. Back over there is the entrance we came in.”
Hayley leans in to look, then points over her shoulder. “So that’s over in that direction, right?”
“Right. If the gate is locked, we could get over the brick wall or the low side portions of the wrought iron gate.”
She meets my eyes. “But if he cuts us off, and we have to find another way out?”
“Then we better go find those other exits and see if we can get over them.”
She points to another spot. “There’s the south entrance he was talking about, and there’s the Jewish section, so there must be a gate, but it’s not marked on this map.”
I stand. “Let’s go find it.”
We walk for about ten minutes, taking a wrong turn and losing our bearings.
“This is going to be really hard in the dark.”
“Shit, I didn’t think about that.”
“We’re going to need to remember some landmarks. If we have to make a run for it, remember we need to go past the confederate section and that dying lion sculpture.”
“Yes, and turn at this big Mausoleum.” She points behind me.
I stare up at the creepy looking building and shiver.
“It’s got to be this way.” She grabs my hand, and we head off farther.
We both spot a sculpture on the top of a tombstone. It’s a woman pointing up and to her right as if she’s pointing to the giant Oak tree that towers above us. Hayley’s hand tightens on mine, and we both give each other a wide-eyed look. It’s freaky the way it looks like she’s watching us as we pass under her. The scent of gardenias hangs heavy in the humid air, but I can’t spot a single gardenia shrub anywhere in the area.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Hayley whispers.
“Don’t use the word hell. Not in this place.”
“You’re right. Come on.”
We fast walk down the lane and find the gate in the brick wall. It’s padlocked shut, but the wrought iron scrollwork is only chest high and would be easy to climb over. I spot a mini mart across the street and point to it. “We get separated, we meet up there.”
“Separated?” Hayley squeaks. “I don’t plan to get separated. I hate places like this. I don’t even like scary movies.”
“Don’t be a baby.”
“I’m being smart. No sane person would set up a meeting in a cemetery. Just goes to show what kind of guy you’re dealing with.”
“Well, he told me to come alone, so you’ll need to wait in the car.”
“What? You didn’t tell me that part. No way, Tess, it’s not safe.”
“Well, what then? I don’t want to blow this.”
“Okay, let me think. I’ll hide behind one of those mausoleums with the gun. Anything bad happens, I’ll jump out and save you.”
I start to laugh; this whole plan is so ridiculous.
Hayley smiles. “What? I’m your partner in crime, aren’t I?”
“I feel more like we’re Lucy and Ethel.”
“Hey, they were a team! Don’t knock Lucy and Ethel; they had the whole BFF thing down. Ethel saved Lucy’s ass a bunch of times.”
I put my arm around her. “Come on, it’s a long walk back to the main entrance.”
She pushes out of my hold. “Walk back through this creepy cemetery? No way. It’s almost dark. I’m going over this gate.”
I glance around, but I’m pretty sure we’re one of the last visitors, so I follow her over.
She glances