Gingerbread Man

says before he moved away back in the eighties, he had a Halloween party every year for the little ones. It was the biggest event of the year in this town. And Reggie always had lots of special effects and spooky surprises. They still talk about those parties around here."
    "And who's the woman?" He nodded toward where Reggie sat, with the young woman standing at his back.
    "That's his niece, Amanda. She came to live with him when she was little. Mom says her parents were killed in some kind of accident. Poor thing."
    Vince seemed deep in thought. She wasn't even sure he was still listening. "So, do you want to meet him, or what?" she finally asked.
    "Yeah," he said. "I do."
    Odd, how his attitude seemed to have changed all of the sudden. He'd been almost relaxed—or as close to it as she figured he was capable of being—and now he seemed tense and tight again. Even more tense and tight than usual.
    Go figure. Normally, she and her mom would be enjoying snacks with Uncle Marty and Aunt Jen by this point in the festivities. But not this year. Nothing was normal this year, nor had been since O'Mally had come into town.
    They continued to where Reginald D'Voe sat. They had to pick their way among the small bodies all around him. Most of the kids were sitting. Bethany was saying, "Tell us the one about the werewolf, Reggie. Like you did when you came to story day at school!"
    "No, no," another child piped in. "The vampires. Tell us one of the vampire stories."
    Reggie held up a hand as he saw Holly and Vince approaching. "Be patient, my friends, be patient. We have grown-ups to contend with first." But he said it with a smile, as he nodded hello to Holly.
    Bethany jumped off his lap to run up to Holly and grab her hand. "Holly's here!" she said, grinning ear to ear. Then in a conspiratorial whisper to Reginald, "She's gonna help me make my costume for your party, Reggie! It's gonna be the best one in town."
    "I can't wait to see it," Reggie said in a stage whisper.
    Amanda D'Voe sent Holly a smile, as well. But she didn't hold her gaze long. She never held anyone's gaze long. Her eyes were usually cast slightly downward. Amanda was slim and pretty, with hair a light shade of brown that was almost blonde, but not quite. Sweet and painfully shy, she was as much a recluse as her uncle.
    "It's so good to see you both here," Holly said to the two of them.
    "And you, as well," Reginald replied. "Holly Newman, isn't it?"
    Holly smiled. "I'm surprised you remember!"
    "I try to make it a point to know all my neighbors." The man was thin, his face harsh and lined, but he still had that star quality that had made him so famous, and the distinctive appearance with the sculpted features and angular brows. His hair was silver now, but his eyes were just as clear and blue as ever they had been on the big screen. And he still spoke in that unidentifiable accent that was some cross between British and Romanian. "How is your dear mother?" he asked.
    "Oh, she's great. She's here," Holly gestured toward her mom, who was unloading a picnic basket with help from Chief Mallory. She leaned down to Bethany. "My mom brought some of those oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies you like so much."
    "Really?" The little girl's eyes widened. Then she spun on her heel and ran toward Doris and the chief.
    Reginald laughed softly, a deep, quiet sound she'd heard a thousand times in his films. Usually with a diabolical undertone to it, though. There was none tonight. "Your mother is luring my audience away with those cookies," he said, his tone teasing. "She shouldn't make me angry." And that time he used his most menacing inflection, narrowing his eyes and bending those angular brows in a way that had sent shivers up countless spines in the past. The kids seated on the ground around him laughed with delight.
    Amanda shook her head. "Uncle Reggie, you're impossible."
    He patted her slender hand on his shoulder. "Fortunately, I'm quite possible. Now, as for you,"—he said, addressing Holly again—"do you intend to introduce us to your companion or did you bring him as some kind of offering?"
    "Oh, yes, right," she said with an apologetic glance at Vince. "This is Vincent O'Mally. Vince, Reginald D'Voe, and his niece, Amanda."
    Vince extended a hand, and Reginald took it, still smiling. But his smile seemed to freeze when Holly said, "Vince is a detective from the Syracuse Police Department."
    "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. D'Voe," Vince was saying, his tone