Under a Ghostly Moon (Jerry Moon Supernatural Thrillers Book 1) by William Moore, Beverley Moore Page B

second or two for Moon to gather his thoughts .  For an instant the mixed feelings stirred up by the anger behind Sonia's earlier remark made him feel like serving up a similarly bitchy reply - but there was a certain vulnerability in her eyes that caught him off guard and reawakened the more gentle feelings that had been kindled the night before. He simply said: "I'd like to try," and took her right hand in both of his.
    She smiled and kissed his cheek and said: "Then I'll have a vanilla Green Fairy and so will Avril."

Chapter 6
     
     
    Once Moon and the girls had claimed an empty side table for themselves, he quickly delivered the pint of Guinness to Terry, who was already in deep banter with another ageing biker of similar appearance.  The pair nodded to him without pausing in their conversation except for a foam-muffled "Thanks" from Terry.
    Moon returned to find both girls contemplating him with curiosity .  "I didn't know you were pals with Mad Tez." Sonia made this sound like the least cool thing on earth.
    " I'm not.  Kate suggested he might be able to help me with my article, that’s all."
    " Why?" asked Avril.  "He's not a Goth."
    " No, but he's been a local at the Rest for years and Kate thought he might be able to explain how it became a Goth venue.  He also has some interesting tales to tell..."
    " Like the one about Uri and his two girlfriends being vampires?" Avril laughed.  "That guy is such a druggy!"
    " Are you talking about that very blond Goth who was here last night with the two girls?" Moon was surprised.  "Terry seemed to think they had something to do with the missing people but he didn't say anything about them being vampires.  Do you two know this Uri then?"
    " Yeah, he sometimes plays violin for Unquiet Grave.  I think he writes some of their lyrics too.  He lives with Charli and Roanne, the two girls he's usually with, somewhere up near the Downs.  They're a sort of open ménage a trois, not my cup of tea but very nice people all the same.  They're a bit too heavily into the Goth game.  You know, the type who sleep in coffins and only come out at night, but then there are plenty of wannabee vamps on the scene, look at Sonia with her teeth."
    " Oh, but that's just a bit of fun," Sonia was quick to explain.  "At least they're not permanent like some people go in for - you can buy them on the Internet you know.  I don't know about Uri though, Avril, there's something not quite right about him and his women.  They give me this odd, creepy feeling sometimes."
    " Is that why you kept looking over at them when you were telling me about the missing people last night?" asked Moon.
    " I suppose so.  Was it that obvious? Look, I thought you were writing an article about Goths, not missing persons."
    " I am, but I have a thing for loose ends and several people disappearing over a fairly short length of time is the type of loose end that my natural curiosity makes me want to unravel."
    " Aren't you frightened what you'll find?" Sonia's eyes widened dramatically.
    " Well, yeah, but if something bad's happening it needs to be stopped."
    " So you'll be going after Uri with a stake and a crucifix then?" asked Avril.  "Seems a bit over dramatic."
    " I didn't say that.  It's just that two people in this pub seem to think he's involved."
    " I don't think Sonia's spooky feelings and Mad Terry's hallucinations amount to proof of anything." Avril raised her eyebrows sceptically as she sipped her Green Fairy.
    " Yeah, but you can add some spooky feelings of my own to Sonia's - and I tend to trust my spooky feelings."
    " You get spooky feelings too?" asked Sonia.  "That's great!"
    " Not just feelings sometimes." Moon smiled at her.  "Sometimes I see things too.  You know - spirits, auras, that kind of thing."
    " Oh, come on!" Avril's reaction was full of scorn.  "You're as bad as Mad Terry, the two of you, seeing things and feeling things.  I think I'll leave you both to your delusions." Grabbing