Guilt pooled in my stomach all the same. “I’m sorry,” I offered lamely, briefly pressing my eyes shut. “I shouldn’t have attacked you that way. It wasn’t fair.”
He shrugged. “It’s fine. We’re all shaken by this.”
“It’s not fine,” I pressed, firm. “I shouldn’t have said that. I just … didn’t expect this.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I don’t understand how this happened.”
“Well, I’m sure we’re going to get plenty of time to dwell on it,” Raven said, inclining her head toward the other side of the fairgrounds and causing me to swivel quickly. Sure enough, Landon and Terry were heading in our direction, and they didn’t look happy.
“You called the police?” I turned toward Kade, dumbfounded. “What were you thinking?”
“That we have a dead man and the scene looks a lot like the one we found outside the dreamcatcher the morning after we arrived,” he replied calmly, refusing to back down. “We’re going to have to answer questions about this. Keeping it secret helps nobody.”
That was true. Still, we weren’t the type to spread our business far and wide. When one of ours was killed, we handled it ourselves … and pain was almost always involved. “We’re going to need to talk about this later,” I muttered.
“I’m fine with that.” Kade didn’t back down as he took a step away from me and toward the approaching cops. “I stand by this. If you have a problem with what I’ve done … well … you’re going to have to suck it up.”
I didn’t like his tone, but I understood his attitude. It seemed I was stepping on toes in every direction this morning. “I’m sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “This is why I shouldn’t drink. I don’t do well with hangovers.”
He flashed me a small smile. “It’s good to know you’re not perfect one-hundred percent of the time. They had to be called, so that’s what I did.”
“And now we have to deal with them.” I braced myself as they closed the distance. “This is a big mess.”
“What was your first clue?” Raven drawled.
She was officially on my last nerve.
LANDON AND TERRY DIDN’T LOOK happy about the new development. In fact, the grim look they shared told me they were extremely bothered by another body dropping so quickly.
“What can you tell me about him?” Landon asked as he crouched by our fallen comrade.
“Boney Billy,” I replied dully. “He worked the midway for us.”
“How long has he been with you?”
“Five years.”
“Does he have a real name?” Terry asked.
“What?” I yanked myself out of my fuzziness. “Yeah. William Caputo. He’s twenty-seven, at least I think. I’ll have to check his personnel file.”
“Did he have any enemies?”
“Here?” My eyebrows hopped. “We’re a family. No one here did this. It’s the same person who killed your cauldron maker. Did we do that, too?”
Landon held his hands up in mock surrender. “It was a simple question. There’s no need to get worked up.”
“No reason to get worked up?” The fact that he seemed perfectly fine after a night of drinking increased my irritation. “How can you say that? He’s been with us for five years. Sure, the last thing he said to me was two weeks ago when he mentioned my butt looked ready for a spanking, but that doesn’t change the fact that he was one of us.”
Landon’s expression remained flat. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
He shrugged. “What do you want me to say? It’s a terrible thing. We have a monster in our midst. We’re going to figure out who did this. I don’t know what else to offer you.”
“I know a few things about monsters,” I offered. “We’re dealing with something else here.”
“What’s that?” Landon was intrigued. “What’s worse than a monster?”
“A monster doesn’t always realize that it’s the bad guy,” I answered. “Whatever we’re dealing with knows and doesn’t care.”
He pursed his lips. “I take it you get philosophical when you have a hangover. If you’re worried we think you’re a suspect, we don’t. We can clear five of you right off the bat. You were too drunk to commit murder.”
“And the others?”
Landon held his hands palms out. “It’s an ongoing investigation. We don’t even have a time of death. I think the manner of death is pretty obvious.”
“Oh, you think?” Raven’s disdain was palpable. “That big wound in his chest is kind of an obvious tip, isn’t it? You’ve got a happy stabber in this town. I think the question is which Hemlock Cove resident likes jabbing people with pointy things?”
Several of the men snickered, causing Raven to scowl.
“Why do you always have to go the perverted route?” Raven complained to Luke, who must have appeared when I was busy talking to Landon.
Luke shrugged. “We are standing over Boney Billy’s body. He got that name for more than one reason. It’s an homage, of sorts.”
“Whatever.” Raven rolled her eyes to the street, her body tensing when she caught sight of something she wasn’t expecting. I caught a barrage of images from her mind. She wanted me to see, because otherwise she would’ve shuttered. I internally cringed when I realized what was about to happen.
“Margaret Little is coming,” I announced.
Landon and Terry jerked their chins toward the street in unison, and the sound the FBI agent made was something between a groan and a growl.
“Oh, this is the last thing we need,” Terry said, wiping his hands on his jeans. “She is going to be all up in our faces.”
“I’m guessing you’re used to that,” I supplied. “Is there anything that woman doesn’t complain about?”
“No, but I can guarantee this will be worse than anything you’ve seen from her yet.” Terry pasted a bright smile on his face that seemed unnatural given the body on the ground. “Good morning, Margaret,” he called out. “Top of the morning to you.”
Luke mouthed “top of the morning” to me and saluted, which was surreal enough that I choked on a laugh. It was wrong given Boney Billy’s death, but I couldn’t stop myself.
“What is going on here?” Margaret bellowed, the sound of her stomping feet preceding her. “Is it true we have another body?”
There was obviously no reason to lie, so Terry merely extended his hand toward the body. “What do you think?”
Margaret’s face twisted into something unpleasant, which was saying something because the woman never gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling. “What are you going to do about it?”
“Well, we thought we might throw a party,” Landon deadpanned. “Everyone is going to take a turn dancing with the body. And we thought we would invite the tourists to make it extra special.”
If looks could kill, Landon would be long since deceased. Margaret’s glare was ice cold. “You’ve been spending too much time with the Winchesters. When you first arrived in town, you were charming. People flocked to you, wanted to help. Now you’re just an extension of that old bat ruling the roost out there.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Landon said dryly. “What are you doing here, by the way? Is there something specific you want?”
“I want to know what you’re going to do about this,” Margaret barked.
“Well, we’re going to do what we normally do,” Terry said. “We’re going to call the county’s crime scene team to process this. Then we’re going to question people. Then we’re going to follow the clues. Then we’re going to arrest the guilty party.”
“So … nothing as usual?” Margaret challenged.
“That seems unfair,” I interjected, speaking before I realized I would’ve been better off keeping my mouth shut. I managed to hold it together despite the hateful glare Margaret shot in my direction. “I just meant … this barely happened. They haven’t had time to figure it out yet.”
“Thank you for standing u
p for us,” Landon said, “but it’s okay. This is normal.”
“He means it’s normal for them not to solve the crime,” Margaret countered. “I mean … they’ve dropped so many crimes in the last year and a half that I can’t even keep them all straight. Suspects disappear. Others are caught so fast that I have trouble believing they got the right person. It’s almost magical how they solve some cases.”
Ah, that explained it. Magic. The Winchesters were obviously involved in several of these takedowns, which meant Terry and Landon were constantly covering for them. It was an interesting set-up … and I had a million questions. Those would obviously have to wait for later.
“Margaret, we’re really busy here,” Terry said. “Unless you have something to add to this conversation, we’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
“Oh, I’ve got something to add to this conversation,” Margaret intoned. “I’ve got a big something.”
“Aunt Tillie would probably say the only big thing you have is your butt,” Landon offered, avoiding the dirty look Terry lobbed in his direction. “Oh, like you weren’t thinking it.”
Margaret planted her hands on her hips. “I don’t have time for games. The festival kicks off tonight, which means that the rest of the tourists arrive today. The last thing we need is for tourists to learn we have a killer on the loose.”
“We had a killer on the loose yesterday and you were fine with it,” Landon pointed out.
“I wasn’t fine with it, but one death can be explained away and adds a little mystery to the event,” Margaret snapped. “Two deaths – unacceptable!”
“So … you want us to keep it quiet?” Terry asked.
Margaret nodded. “I most certainly do. If this gets out, I’ll find a way to make sure you lose your job.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be as easy as you think,” Terry argued.
“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” Margaret’s tone was frigid. “I don’t want this getting out. If it does, it’s on you. That includes spreading information to your girlfriend, Landon. You’re not allowed to talk to her about this.”
Landon was having none of it. “You can’t stop me from talking to Bay.”
“I can call your boss and explain my concerns, if that’s what you want.”
Landon didn’t back down. “If you feel that’s necessary, go for it.”
“You’ll be sorry.”
“I think you’ll be sorry, but that’s neither here nor there,” Landon said. “We have a job to do. You need to keep your nose out of it. Do you understand?”
Margaret’s face flushed red. “I think we’re at an impasse.”
Landon was calm as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I can live with that.”
18
Eighteen
Margaret’s insistence on watching the fairgrounds was an annoyance I wasn’t prepared to deal with.
“You need to stop glaring at her,” Kade insisted an hour later as he moved up behind me, his hands automatically going to my neck to rub at the tension pooling there. “It won’t do any good.”
“Maybe it makes me feel better. Have you ever considered that?”
Kade moved closer, pressing his chest to my back, and stared hard at my profile as I squirmed. “How much of this is real anger and how much is your hangover?” he asked after a beat.
I scowled. “I don’t have a hangover. I can handle my liquor.”
He waited.
“Fine.” I blew out a sigh. “I no longer have a hangover because Nixie gave me some of her famous herbs to chase it off. I’m fine ... other than that crazy woman watching us as if we’re the murderers.”
Kade grinned. “So ... you cheated.”
“I don’t cheat.” I was offended by the assertion. “I simply took advantage of the options afforded me.” That sounded good, right? “Our playing field isn’t level. We have special privileges given who we are, and I took advantage of that. Sue me.”
Instead of arguing, he chuckled. “You are a crabby little thing this morning.” He pressed a kiss to my cheek before releasing me. “I like it when you’re feisty. It gives me ideas.”
I shook my head. “We don’t have time for those ideas. We need to focus on the fact that one of our own has fallen.”
Kade instantly sobered. “I know. How well did you know him? I think I probably said two words to him the entire time I was here.”
“I really didn’t know him all that well either,” I admitted, the truth of the words causing a pang in my heart. “We’re cliquey, in case you haven’t noticed. We stick to our group and the midway workers stick to their group.”
“And the clowns stick to theirs,” Kade added.
“I don’t know why you always have to bring up the clowns.”
“You know why.”
I couldn’t stop myself from smiling despite the pall hanging over the fairgrounds. “We’re going to have to explore your clown fear later. For now ... we need to question the other midway workers so we can get a timeline.”
“You don’t think one of them killed Billy, do you?”
I shook my head. “I think the odds are against it. Still, it wouldn’t be the first time we had a monster hiding in our midst.”
He kissed my cheek again. “Where do you want to go first?”
There was only one answer to that question, and it was one neither of us was going to like. “Where do you think?”
“Ugh.” He made a face. “That guy is so slimy.”
MARK LANE WAS FORTY-NINE YEARS old and oily enough to make a bodybuilder jealous. His black hair, which was shot through with gray, was messy from sleep when he opened his trailer door.
At first, he grinned when he saw me. I had no idea what he was thinking — but if I had to guess it was something perverted — and the way his eyes lit set my teeth on edge. Very slowly he realized I wasn’t alone. The look he shot Kade was positively hateful.
“I don’t roll that way,” Mark said finally.
Kade’s forehead puckered. “What way?”
Mark winked at me, clearly amused. “Poet knows.”
I did. I also knew Kade wasn’t in the mood for Mark to say something disgusting and derail the conversation. I had to take control before things flew off the rails.
“We need to talk, Mark.” I kept my tone even. “It’s important. Something has happened.”
Mark narrowed his eyes. “Am I going to like this?”
“Not even a little.”
“Well ... then I guess you should come in.” He held open the trailer door to allow us entrance, gesturing toward a small living room set that featured a recliner and loveseat. Kade headed straight for the loveseat, tugging me with him to make sure Mark didn’t try to put the moves on me and ease him out of the seating arrangements. Even though we were about to deliver bad news to Mark, that didn’t mean he was above being a disgusting pervert.
“You two are adorable,” Mark drawled as he lowered himself into the recliner. “Has anyone ever told you that?”
“I tell myself that when I stare in the mirror every morning,” I said, taking a moment to indulge in my rampant dislike for the man before sobering. We had official business today, and it couldn’t wait. “Boney Billy is dead.”
I could’ve tried to couch the news, take a moment to build Mark up and gracefully delivered the tidbit. But I didn’t like Mark enough to put in the effort, and he worked better when dealing with facts.
“What?” Mark blanched, his face going white. “Is this some sort of joke?”
“Yes, we pick a random person to wake every morning to prank with a fake death,” I deadpanned.
Mark glared. “This isn’t funny. In fact ... !”
Kade held up a hand to quiet him. “This most definitely isn’t funny,” he agreed, refusing to back down. “There’s nothing funny about it in the least. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s true ... and we have to deal with it.”
I gestured toward the window. “There is a
n FBI agent standing near the midway right now. The chief of police is with him. They’re waiting for the county medical examiner. This isn’t a joke.”
Mark swiveled in his chair and stared out the window. “I don’t understand how this happened.”
Kade was serious as he rubbed his hands over his knees. “When was the last time you saw Billy?”
“I ... you ... um ... .” Mark trailed off, lost in thought. Finally, he pulled himself together and seriously pondered the question. “I guess it was last night. We all went to the diner for dinner, which is allowed because that was negotiated in our package with the Hemlock Cove officials.”
“I have no issue with you eating dinner downtown,” I said. “Did you all go together?”
Mark nodded. “We had a good time. We ate a lot of food. We listened to the locals. A few of them are nutty, by the way. Did you know that there’s supposedly a witch who lives nearby who has enchanted a pot field so law enforcement gets the trots if they try to find it?”
That was news to me. I had a sneaking suspicion I knew exactly what witch he was referring to. “No, but that sounds mildly interesting.”
“Apparently it’s really good pot.”
I shot him a warning look. “Don’t try tracking down some random person’s pot field. That is just ... tacky.”
“I didn’t say I was going to.” Mark held up his hands to ward off my fury. “It was a normal dinner. Billy was there. He made his usual comments about a few of the women he saw. The town is full of people who are here for the festival. They all fancy themselves witches ... although most are pretty far from it.”
Mark wasn’t supernatural in origin — unless you considered grifting magical — but he was well aware of our extracurricular activities. He merely chose to ignore them because making money was his primary endeavor.
“Did anything out of the ordinary happen?” Kade asked. “I mean ... did you guys talk to anyone in particular? Did Billy show an interest in anyone? Did he split from the group?”
Mark rubbed his chin as he searched his memory. “Nope,” he said finally, exhaling heavily. “I would’ve noticed that. We went to dinner as a group, had a good time and came back together.”
Freaky Witches (A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book 7) Page 17
