Sweet Murder

by Tegan Maher

  "I'm not letting you out. We're practically in the middle of nowhere. I'll take you back to the shop."

  He laid a hand on my arm, but I jerked away.

  "Noelle, I—"

  A piercing pain shot through my head; I can only describe it as sounding like a squealing microphone. I grasped my head with both hands and dropped my head between my knees.

  Shelby's voice sounded in my thoughts, but it was like she was trying to speak underwater. Her voice was barely recognizable.

  Noelle ...lp me ...

  I tried to close out the background static and focus on her voice. I drew the blanket of my mental barrier in so that it was nearly closed. Then, like a photographer bringing a picture into focus, I concentrated solely on my sister's consciousness.

  Shelby! Where are you?

  Hit my head.

  Okay, but where?

  Hunter was shaking me. "Noelle! What's going on? Are you okay?"

  I shrugged him off. "Stop! Be quiet for a minute."

  He withdrew his hand, but I didn't open my eyes to see what his reaction was. I was too busy trying to pick up the scattered pieces of Shelby's thoughts.

  Of all her gifts, telepathy was the one she had the most trouble with. We'd actually decided she could only grasp the occasional stray thread—kind of like being able to pick up a radio signal from two towns over. Sometimes she could get a little static or send a phrase or two short distances, but that was about it.

  Sister, focus.

  Trying. Floor.

  Floor? What floor?

  Barn.

  Our barn?

  Yeah.

  I'm on my way. Hold on!

  Hurryyy...

  Shelby? Shelby!

  She didn't respond.

  I opened my eyes and looked at Hunter. "We have to get to my place. Now!"

  "What? Why? Noelle, what's going on?"

  "Shelby's hurt. I don't have time to explain. Just ... freakin' drive—fast!"

  He was looking at me like I'd lost my mind, but he pointed the truck in the direction of the farm and gunned it while I called 911.

  Chapter 25

  W

  e were a solid fifteen minutes from my place, but with my constant urging, we arrived in just under ten. I was out of the door and running toward the barn before the truck even came to a complete stop.

  By the time I made it to the barn, I could hear the wail of the ambulance as it came up the driveway.

  I yelled her name, but the only answer I got was a hungry nicker from one of the horses and an anxious kick to the stall wall from another. I ran down the aisle, looking in every stall.

  Aunt Adelaide popped in, wringing her hands. "She's over at the foot of the ladder. One of the boards broke and she fell backwards and hit her head."

  "How long ago?"

  Hunter was running beside me. "How long ago, what?"

  I ignored him, listening to Adelaide.

  "Maybe twenty minutes ago? It's so hard for me to keep track of time. I heard her call out, and by the time I found her, she was already unconscious."

  I was to the ladder in just a couple more steps, and my heart jumped into of my throat when I saw her lying on the floor with a pool of blood drying underneath her head. I knelt down beside her and felt for a pulse. It was there, but thready.

  Her legs were tangled in the mess of broken boards. Her jeans were torn from where she'd tried to pull her legs free, and I could see more blood on her legs where she'd scraped them on the wood in the process.

  I shook her while Adelaide hovered across from me, though I was afraid to move her much in case she'd hurt her back or neck. I pinched her cheeks and demanded she wake up, my voice choked and tears flowing freely down my cheeks. The medics had the gurney in the barn and I called out.

  Once they bent over Shelby, Hunter pulled me back so they could work. They untangled her feet, then put the c-collar on her and rolled her onto the backboard, then lifted her to the gurney and rushed out of the barn.

  While they worked, I concentrated on finding her mental threads.

  Shelby! Shelby, we're here.

  Nothing.

  Shelby Kay! You answer me right now!

  Nothing again, then I heard her. She was faint, but she was there.

  'Mkay. Stop yelling.

  I'd never been so glad to hear her voice in my entire life, even if it was just in my head.

  We got you, sister. You're on your way to the hospital. You're going to be okay.

  K. Sleepy. Love you.

  Love you too. Rest, but come back to me, okay?

  K

  I collapsed onto a grooming stool in front of the nearest stall and dropped my head in my hands. I'd never been so scared in my life and, though I felt better since I found her and she was now in good hands, I knew she still wasn't out of the woods. Still, I needed just a minute to breathe before I followed the ambulance.

  Hunter was just standing over me, and couldn't seem to decide what to do with himself. He was staring at me like I was a crazy lady, and I couldn't really blame him, but I didn't have it in me to give him the rundown right that second.

  After a minute or two, I stopped shaking and felt collected enough to walk to the truck.

  He seemed to be rooted to the spot, even when I was halfway to the truck, so I figured he might need a bit of a nudge. "Hunter! Are you coming?"

  He seemed to realize he was standing there like a half-wit because he jumped to action and beat me to my door, which was still hanging open. He swung it closed after I was in and jogged around to the driver's side.

  I was watching him out of the corner of my eye as we pulled out of my driveway, trying to figure out how I was going to answer the question that was inevitably coming. He was flexing his jaw again. The poor man was going to get TMJ. I figured he was mulling over the events of the last half-hour, trying to find a non-crazy, logical answer. Of course, he couldn't because there wasn't a realistic answer in his wheelhouse.

  Three minutes later, he blurted, "What the—what just happened? How did you know she was hurt? Right in the middle of a conversation, you grab your head, look like you're in excruciating pain, then tell me to bring you here, doing everything but putting your own foot on the gas pedal. Oh, and you called an ambulance on the way, like you knew she was hurt."

  His words were starting to jumble together and he was gesticulating like an Italian lady who just found out somebody switched her wine for water. As a matter of fact, that pretty much summed up his entire demeanor.

  "Calm down. There's a logical explanation."

  "Logical explanation?!" His voice jumped about three octaves.

  "Hunter, that's the opposite of calming down." As mottled as his face was, I was beginning to fear he was going to have a heart attack. "Should I drive? You don't look so hot."

  "No, you're not going to drive, dammit! You're going to tell me what just happened."

  He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. I was down with the breathing, but I was pretty sure he should have his eyes on the road.

  "Okay. But keep an open mind. And maybe look at the road."

  At least he had to open his eyes to give me the stink eye. "I'm listening."

  "I'm telepathic,” I said, deciding to just rip the Band-Aid off. “And apparently so is Shelby, though we didn't think she was."

  He looked like I'd hit him square in the forehead with an ax handle. It was so comical that, had the situation not been so dire, I would have laughed.

  "Telepathic." His voice was flat.

  "Yes. Telepathic." I rubbed my temples. "I read minds and can project my own, among other things."

  "Other things?" He was starting to sound like a parrot I'd seen when I was on vacation in Key West.

  "Yes. Other things. That's not really what's important right now, though. You asked what happened and I'm trying to tell you. When you and I were talking, this horrible screeching noise erupted in my head. Then Shelby asked for help and told me where
she was."

  He was silent for a few seconds, then nodded as if he were humoring me. "Of course she did. That's a perfectly logical answer, just like you promised."

  For some reason, the snark really got my goat, and I did something I never did. I answered him in the only way that would shut him up.

  Yes. It is a perfectly logical answer. Don't be an ass.

  He snapped his gaze to me, then lowered his brows. "You didn't really just do that. That's not possible."

  I sighed, weary, and leaned my head back against the headrest. "Yes, Hunter. I did just do that. I'm spent and don't have time to take the long route, trying to convince you of the existence of extraordinary cognitive functions, so I just skipped straight to the part where you'd tell me to prove it."

  He started to say something, closed his mouth, then ended up with a lame, "Okay, then."

  It was obviously not okay, given the only good way to describe his expression was freaked out but faking it. Still, he remained quiet for the rest of the trip to the hospital.

  I texted Raeann and told her what had happened, and added a quick note about Hunter.

  N: Hunter just found out the hard way that I'm not exactly his version of normal. Will explain later.

  R: What? You can't just say that, then say you'll explain later.

  N: Yes I can. Not now.

  R: I'll meet you at the hospital.

  Though I knew nothing would have kept her away from the hospital, I was grateful when she said she’d be there. I really didn't want to be alone, and I didn't want to answer a ton of questions from anybody or jump through hoops like a circus monkey.

  When we pulled up in front of the hospital, Rae's car was already there. I turned to Hunter as I grabbed the door handle. "Thanks for helping me out. I've got to get in there and make sure she's okay. I'm sure you have some thinking to do, and I know you have a murder to investigate, so go do what you have to do. Call me later if you want."

  That sounded kind of blasé, but I didn't have it in me to think of something better to say.

  He surprised me by reaching out and squeezing my hand. "I'm sure she's going to be fine. I'll talk to you later."

  I just nodded, not sure if I was looking forward to our next conversation or not.

  RAEANN AND JAKE WERE waiting for me just inside the emergency room doors. She pulled me into a huge hug. "She's going to be okay, sugar. I just know it. She's as hard-headed as you are, so one little bump to her noggin isn't going to do her in." I gave her a half-smile, but my heart wasn't in it.

  A nurse came out of the ER and I stopped her and asked for a progress report.

  "She has a scalp wound on the back of her head that they're stitching up now, and then she'll go for an x-ray to make sure she doesn't have a skull fracture."

  "But ... there was so much blood."

  "I bet there was. She has a pretty good gash, and even small cuts to the scalp bleed like crazy." She smiled and laid her hand on my arm.

  "If it makes you feel better, she's awake and lucid enough to threaten bodily harm to anybody who shaves her head. That's usually a pretty good sign."

  I smiled. That sounded just like Shelby. I thanked her and she continued on her way. While I was filling out the registration information, a tall, dark-haired doctor in green scrubs emerged from the ER and approached me.

  "Are you Shelby's sister?"

  "I am. Is she all right? The nurse said she was going for x-rays but that she was awake."

  "She is. I'm Doctor Adams, by the way. At this point, the x-ray is just a precaution, but I'd like to cover all the bases before I release her. Her pupils are responding equally and she's lucid, so I doubt she has any serious damage."

  Relief swept over me.

  Raeann was standing right beside me and his eyes shifted to her when she asked, "So she'll be able to go home as long as the x-rays are fine?"

  He smiled at her and I'm almost positive his gaze flickered to her cleavage before he caught himself and made eye contact.

  "Yes, as long as somebody will be there to watch her. Since she lost consciousness, she probably has a mild concussion and may be a little sleepy. There's no need to keep her awake, but it's a good idea to wake her every couple of hours for the next eight hours or so if she doesn't wake up on her own."

  "Thank you so much, doctor. May we go see her?" My brain believed the doctor, but my heart needed me to see her for myself.

  "Of course. The guy from x-ray will be here in just a few, but we're finished stitching her up."

  We went in, and sure enough, she was sitting up with her cell phone in her hand, taking a selfie.

  "Seriously, Shel?" Rae asked.

  She quickly typed something and then looked up.

  "I'm not posting it to Facebook," she said. "Cody was worried about me, so I sent him a pic. So, when can I leave? I'm starving. The doctor said to take it easy though, so I probably shouldn't strain myself by folding laundry."

  Yep, she was going to be just fine.

  Chapter 26

  W

  e went to Brew4U to pick up my truck and Raeann gave us both a hug before she went inside to finish closing up, assuring us she'd stop by later.

  Cody was waiting on us when we got home. He was wearing a groove in the porch pacing and when we pulled up, he rushed around to Shelby's side and jerked her door open.

  "I've been so freaked out since you texted. I know you said you were fine, but I had to come see for myself."

  He looked her over like she was a calf at an auction when she climbed out of the truck and she laughed when he took her arm and tried to help her out.

  "I wasn't lying. Here—look for yourself."

  She turned around and pulled her hair to the side, showing off the row of neat stitches. He was both repulsed and intrigued. "Wow, that's sick. Do you like, have a concussion or anything?"

  She nodded and gave him the doe eyes. "Yeah. The doctor said I had to stay under observation in case I have a brain bleed."

  I rolled my eyes. "You're giving me a brain bleed. Cody, she's fine. The doc said she just needs to rest and that we should keep an eye on her."

  "Phew. That's great! I have to go help Uncle Will, but if you need to go anywhere, Noelle, just give me a call and I'll come sit with her when I'm done."

  It was nice to see somebody care about her. She didn't have many friends so I was glad they'd met, motorcycle and all.

  "Thanks, Cody. I don't have anywhere I need to be, but I'll keep it in mind, just in case."

  They said their goodbyes, then he pulled on his helmet and started his bike. I turned toward the house, but Shelby stopped.

  "I want to see where I fell." Ugh. Morbid teenage curiosity.

  "Okay, but then you're going in the house and finding something on Netflix."

  As we made our way to the barn, Adelaide popped in and started fussing over her. We started to give her a rundown of what had happened, but she held up her hand. "I already know. I popped into the hospital right as they were stitchin' her up." She shuddered. "That's one of the few times since I died I've been glad I don't have an actual stomach. I only stayed long enough to see that she was all right, then left."

  I was impressed. A week ago, she had no idea she could leave, and now she was just popping around wherever she wanted. "Wow, you're getting pretty good at the whole travel thing. Have you found anyplace you can't go yet?"

  "I don't know. I haven't really tried anywhere besides the salon and the hospital. Both times, I just focused on the spot and I was there, though." She tilted her head to the side. "The hospital was easier, but I don't know whether that was because I was so worried, or because I've already done it once."

  We reached the entrance to the loft and Shelby gasped. "Wow, it looks like somebody bled to death here."

  I wrinkled my nose. "Yeah. Imagine how I felt when I found you here."

  She gave me a squeeze and laid her head on my shoulder. "Thank you. I remember yelling for you, and when you answered, I
thought I was dead. But then I woke up in the ambulance."

  Adelaide's forehead crinkled. "You didn't yell. You called out to her telepathically. You didn't know that?"

  "What? No. I just remember falling, and this really sick feeling—and a sort of mushy, crunchy sound—when my head hit the concrete. I tried to untangle my legs so I could catch myself, but they were caught in the wood. Next thing I know, Noelle was yelling at me in my head."

  I didn't know what to make of that. I'd assumed she'd called out on purpose. And I didn't yell at her. Not on purpose, anyway.

  "Well, you may not have meant to yell, but you did."

  I was confused.

  She gave me the 'duh' look. "You just said you didn't yell at me, at least not on purpose."

  Adelaide looked back and forth between us like she was missing something. She could join the crowd on that one.

  "Shelby, I didn't say that; I thought it."

  She looked at me suspiciously. "Think something else."

  You still have to fold the laundry tonight. It's only towels.

  She scowled. That's so not fair. I almost died; I shouldn't have to do laundry, even if it is towels."

  I don't know which of us was more stunned.

  "Oh my god," we said at the same time.

  Now Addy was just irritated. "One of you two better start talking right now, before I find a way to take a broom handle to your backsides!" She'd never laid a hand on either one of us, but if the look on her face was any indication, she was ready to break the streak.

  "Apparently Shelby's telepathy has manifested in its full glory."

  She snickered. "Now I'll know what you really think."

  "Shelby, that's not how it works. You have to respect people's privacy, plus the noise will drive you nuts if you leave your mind wide open."

  I crossed my arms. "And by the way, you can't read me. I've had years to practice closing my mind and I doubt you'll find a chink in my armor anytime soon."