Ethan leaned back, feeling a chill run down his spine. He imagined one of those fishermen standing on the pier with a blank, detached face, and then calmly stepping into the dark water.
Gina closed the notepad where she had been making jottings and looked at her father. Her face was focused, a flicker of anxiety in her eyes.
"What now?" she asked.
"Are we going to look for these cursed items?"
David was silent for a few seconds as he navigated the minivan through a narrow street. Then he answered without looking back:
"First, we talk to the relatives and the people around. We need to understand exactly what they bought from Pinky. If those are the amulets or masks, we destroy them. If not… we keep looking. But carefully. Things like that don't just sit idly on a shelf."
Ethan looked out the window, but he no longer saw the houses or the fog over the river. That wooden mask with the long nose kept spinning in his head. It felt to him as though even now, from a distance, it continued to watch them.
Gina laid the notepad on her knees and added quietly:
"If this really is possession… then we might be too late. People have already bought these souvenirs. And who knows how many of them are sitting at home right now, trying to end their lives."
David nodded but didn't say anything. The car continued down the streets of Riverdale, approaching the first address.
David turned onto the town's main street, slowly driving the minivan past old buildings and the occasional pedestrian. He caught his children's eyes in the rearview mirror and said calmly:
"First, we need to eat. I suggest we drop by a diner before looking for new clues. Everyone is tired, and it's hard to think straight on an empty stomach. At the same time, we'll listen to what the locals are talking about."
No one objected. After last night and the long drive, even Ethan had worked up an appetite, though his thoughts were still quite unpleasant.
A couple of minutes later, they parked outside a small diner with a bright neon sign reading "Riverside Diner." The sign flickered slightly, casting pink and blue reflections onto the wet asphalt.
As soon as they opened the car doors, a thick, appetizing aroma of french fries, bacon, and freshly brewed coffee hit them.
The smell was so ordinary, so grounded, that for a second it felt as if last night in the woods had never happened at all.
They climbed out of the minivan. David adjusted his jacket, hiding his bandages, and gave the children a nod:
"Keep your cool. No unnecessary questions. If you need to dig for case info, make sure you get it very subtly."
Inside, the diner was warm and noisy. A few local residents sat at the counter and tables, talking quietly. The smell of food grew even stronger, fried onions, coffee, fresh pastries.
Behind the counter, an elderly waitress with a tired but kindly face nodded to them and pointed toward an empty table by the window.
They took their seats. Ethan looked out the window; the river was visible from here, and the fog over it still hadn't completely burned off.
Gina leaned back in her chair coordinates of exhaustion, rubbing her leg under the table. David picked up the menu, but his eyes remained alert,he was clearly listening to the chatter at the neighboring tables.
"What can I get for you?" the waitress asked, approaching with her notepad.
While they were placing their order, Ethan kept thinking about his father's words. About the cursed items. About how somewhere in this town, someone was already carrying death with them without even suspecting it.
The diner seemed like a very friendly place. But all three of them knew that the peace in Riverdale was nothing but an illusion.
Somewhere to the side, an old jukebox was quietly playing a song by The Doors—"The Changeling." The restless, driving rhythm and Jim Morrison's low, raspy vocals filled the space, as if underscoring the hidden anxiety of this town.
David didn't waste any time. He only glanced at the menu briefly and answered confidently:
"The kids will have the kids' combo meals with cola, and I'll have the house special,steak with potatoes and vegetables."
The waitress nodded, quickly scribbling down the order.
"Anything else? Coffee? Juice?"
"Coffee, black," David added.
"And water for everyone."
The waitress wrote it down quietly, save for the muffled music of The Doors. David leaned back in his chair, looking out the window at the river. His face remained focused but tired.
Ethan sat opposite him, staring at the fog over the water. Next to him, Gina quietly massaged her neck. As the waitress finished writing the order and was about to leave, David stopped her with a soft but firm tone. He leaned forward slightly so as not to draw outside attention and said quietly:
"Excuse me, miss. We're here looking into the disappearance of those fishermen. Have you heard anything? What might have happened to them that night?"
The waitress froze. She glanced around, checking to see if anyone else was listening to their conversation, and lowered her voice almost to a whisper. Her eyes turned grave.
"Everyone in town knew those boys," she began, leaning closer to the table.
"They came in here often. Especially after fishing, loud, cheerful, always left good tips. But a couple of days ago Jim… he's one of the missing men… got into a massive fight with Acosta. He's a local bully and a heavy drinker. They had a real brawl right out there in the parking lot."
"Fists flying, shouting, threats… Jim was yelling that Acosta 'would get what's coming to him,' and Acosta answered that he'd 'drown him in the river like a dog.'"