“Oh yeah,” said Ricky, “introductions. Red, this is the Party-Monster. He likes to stir things up, go a little wild, and generally party like a madman. And that’s Dave.”

“Hello,” said Dave.

“Hi, Dave,” said Ronnie. “Hi, Party-Monster. We won’t take up much of your time, Ricky, but if you’d be willing to talk to us, that’d be great.”

Ricky peered at him. “Did it get dark in here all of a sudden?”

Dave and the Party-Monster burst out laughing.

Ronnie smiled, and nodded. “It’s because of my skin, right?”

The laughter stopped. Ricky paled. “What?”

“The joke,” said Ronnie. “It’s because I’m black, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ricky said. “I was just asking about the … the lights … they … I was just …”

“It’s okay,” said Ronnie. “It’s fine. We all have our prejudices.”

“I’m not prejud—” He frowned, tried again. “Prejudiced.”

“You can make jokes about whatever you want to,” said Ronnie. “It’s a free country, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“We just want to talk to you, Ricky. That’s all. Will you talk to us?”

“Uh … why?”

“Because you might be able to help us with something,” said Linda.

The Party-Monster stared at her. “Your boobs are huge.”

“They are big, yes. Do you have anything to add to that?”

The Party-Monster shook his head dumbly.

Linda nodded. “I didn’t think so. Ricky, we want to know about the Narrow Man.”

There was a scene in An American Werewolf in London where the two American guys walked into a Yorkshire pub, and all the talking stopped and everyone turned and stared at them. Kelly had just seen that movie a few months ago, after it was referenced on In The Dark Places. She was reminded of it now.

“I’m gonna call the police,” said the bartender. “You come in here, disturbing the peace …”

He pulled out a phone and Ronnie smiled, leaned over, and snatched it out of his hand. “No cops,” he said.

The bartender’s eyes bulged with anger, and all of a sudden he was taking a baseball bat from behind the bar and he was swinging it and just as quickly Ronnie had snatched that from his hands, too.

“We just want to talk,” Ronnie said calmly.

“Get them!” Dave yelled.

Ronnie dropped the bat and then dropped Dave as the Party-Monster made a grab for Linda. She flipped him over her hip and when he slammed to the ground she twisted his arm until he cried out. Ricky swung a beer bottle at Kelly’s head, but she just stepped forward and slammed her forehead into his face.

Ricky staggered back against the bar, blood pumping from his nose.

Nobody else in the bar moved.