Gingerbread Man

And the chief's cop, Ray, was out by the gate, keeping track of anyone coming or going.
    A hand emerged from the earth at one tombstone. A ghostly apparition floated from another. Skeletons leaped up and danced at one more. The children squealed, but left each site with brand-new goodies for their bags.
    The parade took the better part of an hour. By the time they all marched back to the house, every child had a bag full of treats, and most of the parents were wiped out, and had taken refuge in the living room, near the fireplace to await their return.
    "Now what?" Vince asked as the little demons and goblins were herded back into the house.
    "Now, my children," Amanda intoned, almost as if in answer to his question. "Come, come, gather near. It's time for the Count to tell you a delightfully scary Halloween ghost story. And when it's done, the party must end. And you know what happens then?"
    "Trick-or-treating!" the children shouted.
    Vince had to give his head a shake, and made a mental note to have his hearing checked when he got his next physical. Holly, beside him, laughed softly. "Reggie throws a hell of a party."
    "Come, little ones, gather round," Reggie said in his heavily accented, scary voice. He was in an ancient rocking chair now, sitting near the fireplace in his living room.
    "Man, I gotta bring my kids out here for this next year," Jerry said. "They'd love this stuff."
    "You ought to be with them tonight," Vince said. "Instead of out here holding my hand."
    "Kate's got it covered." Jerry looked at Vince. "She knows we're trying to make it safer for all the little demons, partner. She understands."
    Vince nodded. He took a seat in the back of the room where all the other adults had been relocated. He listened only halfheartedly as the old man spun his horrific tale to the wide-eyed kids who were seated around him on the floor, staring up at him adoringly. He didn't make it too scary, Vince noted. And he watched Reggie watching the youngest kids in the group closely, making sure they didn't get too frightened.
    Hard to believe he was a monster.
    Chief Mallory came and stood in front of the adults in the back, motioned with his hands for them to follow him, and quietly led them all to the foyer, off the other end of the large living room.
    "What's this about. Chief?" one man asked.
    The chief drew a breath, glanced at Vince. Vince gave him a nod of encouragement, and he returned it. "All right, listen, I don't want to alarm anyone, here, but I have information you people have a right to know about." He paused, drew a breath. "We have reason to believe there could be a child predator in the area."
    The gasp that went up, the chill that went through them all, was universal. Vince felt it move through the parents in the room.
    "I don't want anyone to panic. We don't know for sure, but I figured it was better to let you know now, than to risk not telling you and having something happen to one of the kids."
    "Something like what, Chief?"
    He glanced at the questioner, but didn't answer. "As I said, we're probably wrong. This is a very slight possibility. But it is Halloween, and I think it will be best for all of you to be alert tonight. Don't let your kids go out trick-or-treating alone. Not even with a group of other kids. Every parent needs to be out there. Keep them close, keep a good eye on them, and get them home early."
    Many voiced questions, but no one got loud, and Vince could see them gazing worriedly at their kids. He saw Holly, looking toward that glittery witch hat that poked up from the center of the group of kids and he knew she was worried, too. The chief just held up his hands until it got quiet again. "That's all I can tell you, because that's all I know. Keep a close watch, stay with 'em. That's all. Now I have to go." Turning, he headed out. Vince took Holly's arm. "Time to go."
    She shook her head. "I want to see Bethany before we go," she said. Vince turned with her as the kids came in hordes from the living room, and he watched the big pointy hat with the green glitter make its way through the crowd.
    Finally, the child made her way through. But the girl wearing Bethany Stevens's hat was not Bethany Stevens.
    Bethany's mother stared at the child. Panic slowly made its way into her face as her gaze bounced from child to child, to every corner of the room. She knew. Vince read it in her face, and believed it. There was some kind of alarm built into mothers where their kids were