Demon Dancer. Alexander Valdez

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      Chapter 9

      Inside the Dance Hall

      The day before I had to leave was spent with my buddies riding our bikes down at the brick pits. We didn’t have a care in the world that day until we ended up on the riverbank, looking across at the dance hall.

      I can’t say what came over us, but we now found ourselves riding over to the street and across the bridge. We were now in front of the main padlocked entry doors to the hall. The cars were whizzing by as each of us had a try on tugging on the chain. Just then, two well-dressed men approached our group and asked us what we were doing there. They told us not to be fooling around the property and also asked if we had broken any of the windows around the side. I spoke up and said we only knew of one broken window last time we saw.

      The man informed us that all the windows were broken and that he was going to have the law come over and take our names as likely suspects. We were surprised by this information because that building had been part of our lives for years, and we knew for a fact that the windows were intact.

      If they were broken now, it had to have been in the last few days. I was adamant with telling the man that we had absolutely nothing to do with the broken windows. I even insisted that we all walk around to see this damage he was referring to.

      As we made our way around to the side of the building, my buddies all acted horrified to see that all the windows were broken out. We knew it wasn’t us but couldn’t relate that we had been in the dance hall a few days prior and that there was only one broken window that day. I think the men started to believe us because their tone softened toward us. We asked them who they were and if they owned the building.

      The informed us that they were attorneys who represented a Las Vegas group that considered purchasing the property for a future hotel site.

      I struck up a conversation with them and made it clear that we were local boys who always had a curiosity about the inside of the place. It was then that the man who was now known to us as Mr. Kinsey and his partner Mr. Jamison said that they were going inside to give it the once-over visually.

      “You boys wanna come in and see?” he asked.

      I spoke up quickly with a “Yes, we would, sir.” I knew I’d better respond quickly before one of my mates showed any sign of resignation due to fear. We had to act curious and not close to peeing our pants. Besides, there were grown-ups with us, so nothing to fear, right?

      Mr. Kinsey pulled out a ring of keys and fumbled through a couple of tries before he got the right key. The chain was off now as the door slowly creaked open, revealing all the trash and dust we had seen a few days before. My fellas and I didn’t want to take the liberty of snooping around with these men in the building; we had to act amazed as if it were all new to us. They didn’t take too long of a look and started making their way to the front doors. I asked them why they had no interest in the rest of the place.

      “It will all be torn down to make way for a new hotel, son,” Kinsey said. “No need to waste more time than necessary here.”

      Out we all went, and the chain and lock were placed on the door. On my way out, though, my eyes were staring intently on the corner of the room where I felt that the slamming noise might have come from. Somehow, I felt a sinister presence, but I couldn’t explain why. My neck hair had a slight sensation, and I felt that old someone or something was watching me feeling.

      The men walked off to their car while the fellas and I headed home for dinner. I said goodbye to my friends and informed them I’d be back in a few days.

      “Don’t get in too much trouble,” I said as I pedaled off on my bike.