by Alyssa Day
First, we'd save my friend. Then, we'd catch Vern.
And then it was going to be Revenge of the Swamp Cabbage all over this town.
19
By the time I reached my car, I was gasping for air and praying that my out-of-the-way parking spot wasn't blocked in.
"Thank you, thank you, at last something goes right," I chanted frantically while I fired up the car and drove carefully until I was outside of the festival traffic and heading for Mellie's. When I got there and skidded to a stop in front of her house, I was glad to see Vern's car—a gray sedan, perfect for an accountant—wasn't there.
But Jack's truck wasn't there, either. Maybe he'd gotten blocked in? If he was on his way in tiger shape, he'd still be close behind me. Maybe I should wait.
Then I remembered the coughing that I'd heard when I'd dropped off the soup. Mellie could be sick. She was almost certainly in danger. What if Vern got here before Jack?
I jumped out of my car and raced up to her porch and banged on the door, but nobody answered. I realized Mellie was almost certainly too ill or too locked in chains in the attic to come to the door.
I looked under the flower pots on the porch with no luck and then tried the lintel over the door.
Bingo!
I hurriedly unlocked the door, scanning the street for Vern's car or Jack, and then went inside.
"Mellie! Mellie, are you here? It's Tess!"
Silence.
Dread trailed icy fingers down my spine. Maybe I was too late. Maybe she was already dead, or locked up somewhere else, or…
"Stop it," I told myself. "Get looking. She might just be too sick to answer."
I ran into the kitchen, just in case she was chained to the refrigerator or something, but there was nothing unusual except a stack of sturdy logs of palm hearts, cut to the same size as the ones in the basket he'd sent me.
"Mellie!" I ran back into the front room and started for the stairs, only to see the door hanging wide open.
I'd definitely closed it.
"Jack?"
A nasty laugh floated down the stairs toward me. "No, it's not Jack."
Vern. But not Vern as I'd ever seen him. He had an expression of such hostile malice on his face that I barely recognized him. Worse—he was dragging Mellie with him.
And he was holding a knife to her throat.
"Why are you doing this, Vern?" I tried to keep my voice calm and even in spite of how afraid I was for Mellie. She looked so sick and weak, and her wrists were red and bleeding from where he must have had rope or some kind of restraints on her.
Vern looked down at his cousin blankly, almost as if he'd forgotten her. "Oh. She's nothing, Tess. I just used her to get to you."
I frantically tried to think of what would keep him talking. "To me? But—but what about Ann Feeney? Is she nothing, too?"
He made a high-pitched howling sound that was so eerie I could feel chills race down my skin. "She was everything! Everything, Tess, but she laughed. I proposed to her, but she laughed at me. Said nobody proposes after only three dates, and she was getting ready to break up with me anyway. I showed her."
His lips parted in an insane grin. "She'll never laugh at anybody again."
"I—oh, Vern," I whispered.
But he was off again. "Did you like it? Did you like the ring? Ann threw it back at me, but you liked it, didn't you, Tess? We just have to keep that stupid tiger away from you."
I edged toward my left an inch or so, backing away from the door so as not to spook him.
"Come downstairs, Vern, where we can talk, okay? Let's put Mellie on the couch to rest, and you can tell me all about it. About Ann and the ring."
His eyes lit up for a moment, but then he scowled. "Trying to trick me. You don't love me yet, but you will. Once I kill that tiger, you'll love me. I'll keep you with me until he's gone. You'll love me then."
A slight sound from outside gave me hope and a little bit of courage.
"Yes, Vern. Yes, I'm sure I'll come to love you, But I'm afraid of knives. You don't want to scare me, do you?"
He took a step down, still dragging Mellie, and stared at me suspiciously. "You don't mean it," he said, and he pulled Mellie toward him, slicing a shallow cut on the side of her neck.
I caught my breath and then started crying. "Yes, I do mean it. I promise I do, Vern. But now you're scaring me. I don't like the sight of blood after what happened to Jeremiah. You know about that, right? Please let Mellie go, and we can talk."
Vern studied my face and then came down the last step, finally releasing Mellie. She slumped sideways but didn't fall down hard enough to hurt herself more than she already was.
I saw the faint flicker of a shadow outside the window.
"Vern! Vern, look at me," I said, needing him to turn his back to the window. "We can talk about where we'll go on our honeymoon, okay? I'm tired of Dead End. How about Hawaii? Or Europe? Wherever you want."
He stumbled toward me, a terrible hope in his eyes that was terrifying to see. "Yes, Tess. I think I'd like to go to Alaska. I never want to be hot, like it is here, ever again. You're the apple of my eye, Tess. You are the apple of my eye."
I tried not to flinch. "I know, Vern. I know."
"We can live in a little log cabin, and we can go fishing, and…"
I prompted him. "Yes! I love fishing. Uncle Mike taught me how when I was a little girl. We'd have so much fun in a log cabin. Maybe we could—"
An explosive shattering of glass announced Jack's arrival on the scene, and Vern whirled around to face him, crouching, knife in hand.
I bent down and grabbed the palm log I'd carried in from the kitchen earlier and put on the floor next to the stairs and gave it my Dead End High softball team best, aiming to swing it clear through his back. When it connected, it knocked him down to his knees and the knife went flying. Vern frantically scrabbled for the knife, but it was too late.
A full-grown Bengal tiger now stood between my stalker and his weapon of choice.
I ran up the steps to Mellie, pulling out my phone to dial 911.
For once, Belle, the dispatcher, didn't give me any crap. "Andy, Susan, and the ambulance are on the way, Tess."
I hung up and put my arms around Mellie. "It's okay, Mellie. It's okay. The ambulance is on the way."
She opened her eyes and stared at me. "Is it really you? Oh, Tess, thank God. Thank God."
She burst into tears, and I was crying, too.
"I knew you'd figure it out. I knew you'd understand the jelly donut message," she sobbed.
I laughed while still crying. "Mellie. Maybe next time try something a little less subtle."
Within minutes, the sheriff was there, and Susan took Vern, now screaming incoherently, into custody.
"I'll get your statement later," Susan said, and Jack and I nodded.
"You know where to find us," I said wearily.
The ambulance arrived seconds later, and the EMTs loaded Mellie onto a stretcher and carried her off. They wanted to take me, too, but I shook my head.
"I'm fine. I just had a swamp cabbage versus feral children incident. But why were you late?“
Jack winced. “My truck was blocked in. I had to run. And I’m in big trouble, aren't I?"
I just sighed. "Jack, I'm just too darn tired. Take me home?"
"Absolutely."
He took my hand and we started for my car, but then I changed my mind.
"No. I want to see the fireworks. I feel like I earned fireworks. Fireworks and funnel cakes."
"Your wish is my command," Jack said, and then he hugged me like he never wanted to let me go. "Don't ever do anything like that again," he said, his voice ragged. "If I'd lost you—"
"Little late to worry about losing me, after you abandoned me to a herd of feral children."
"Tess—"
"Do you have any idea what they did to me?"
"Tess—"
"I may never, ever forgive you," I told him. "In fact, now that I think
about it—"
But then he kissed me until I forgot what I was going to say, and we had our very own fireworks right there on the sidewalk next to my car.
When we finally had to stop kissing and catch our breath, Jack smiled down at me, his eyes shining like emeralds. "All's well that ends well?"
I smiled sweetly. "Revenge of the Swamp Cabbage."
20
When we finally made it back to the festival, it was time for the actual fireworks. Jack leaned back against the side of the bulldozer and pulled me with him until I was resting against him with his arms loosely circling my waist.
The fireworks were amazing, and we oohed and aahed right along with everyone else. When Aunt Ruby came by, I even hugged her, although I was still planning to think of some horribly wonderful way to get even.
This was one of my favorite things about life in Dead End. Times like this, surrounded by family and friends. We still had to deal with the issue of Shelley's uncle, and Bonnie Jo wasn't getting any younger, but problems were easier to face when you knew you weren’t alone.
I could see Eleanor, Bill, and his niece on a bench across the street. Uncle Mike and Shelley walked over to stand next to me and Jack. Dave Wolf and his son wandered over to stand with us, too.
Even Lorraine, pretty as a picture in a yellow dress and yellow orthopedic shoes, stopped by to say hi.
"No more margaritas for me," I whispered. "And definitely no more spying missions."
She just laughed. "Never say never!"
Jack's phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at it and then put it away. "Dallas is at the hospital with Mellie. The doctors say she's going to be fine."
"Hopefully they lock Vern away for a long time and get him the help he needs," I said, shuddering at the memory of the look in his eyes at Mellie's house.
"We'll find out about it from Susan tomorrow. Maybe… huh. That's weird."
I shook my head. "No. No more weird. I have had enough weird."
I felt the rumble of his laughter against my chest. "Okay. How about, that's unusual?"
"What?"
He pointed.
It was Susan, not on her way to Orlando at all, and she was still in uniform, heading straight for us.
"What's going on, Susan?" I took a step toward her, suddenly scared to death she'd say Vern had escaped or he wasn't really the stalker.
It was none of that, though.
It was far worse.
Susan walked right up to Lorraine.
"Lorraine, you're under arrest for the murder of your husband in 1970."
"Earl? But he ran away! He left me!"
Susan sighed. "I'm sorry, but I have a skeleton in my evidence room that says otherwise."
Lorraine turned to me, grabbed my hand and stared into my eyes. "Tess. Find Beau. He'll know what to do." Then she nodded at Jack and followed Susan back down the street.
My friend was in trouble.
Revenge of the Swamp Cabbage was going to have to wait.
Respectfully Submitted,
Tiger’s Eye Investigations
Are you dying to know what happens when a skeleton found in Dead End turns out to be the bones of Lorraine's long-lost husband? PREORDER Blink of An Eye NOW! Want Darla Holliday's secret recipe for Lemon Lush—and you don't even have to wrestle for it? Scroll down!
Have you read the first book in the Tiger's Eye series – free for a limited time? Try Dead Eye NOW!
Note from Alyssa Day:
I have loved Jack’s character since he first showed up in my brain in 2006, surly and snarling, in the first book of my Warriors of Poseidon paranormal romances. When he was left alone and lonely at the end of that series, he kept asking me when I was going to give him a story. (Interested in paranormal romance? Want to try the book that started it all? Read ATLANTIS RISING, for FREE, here: https://BookHip.com/LHZNVK.)
I did one better: I decided to give him his own series! And Jack needed to find a new job, and a new life, and when he went home to the craziest town in Florida he found both. . . and he found Tess.
I’m thrilled to announce that the Tiger’s Eye Mysteries will continue for at least twenty books in total, and you’ll be able to read the continuing adventures of Jack, Tess, and the gang for years to come!
If you want the scoop on all new releases, behind-the-scenes details, and the chance to win prizes, Text ALYSSADAY to 66866 to sign up for my newsletter. I promise never to sell, fold, spindle, or mutilate your information so you will get no spam—ever—from me.
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Thanks again for reading—you rock!
Hugs,
Alyssa
Thank you!
Thanks so much for reading my book! I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it!
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Thanks again for reading—you rock!
Alyssa
Books by Alyssa
THE TIGER'S EYE MYSTERY SERIES:
Dead Eye
Private Eye
Travelling Eye (a short story)
Evil Eye
Eye of Danger
Eye of the Storm
Apple of My Eye
Blink of An Eye
Eagle Eye
A Dead End Christmas
Eye for an Eye
THE VAMPIRE MOTORCYCLE CLUB SERIES:
Bane's Choice
Hunter's Hope
Redemption's Edge
POSEIDON'S WARRIORS SERIES:
Halloween in Atlantis
Christmas in Atlantis
January in Atlantis
February in Atlantis
March in Atlantis
April in Atlantis
May in Atlantis
June in Atlantis
July in Atlantis
August in Atlantis
September in Atlantis
October in Atlantis
November in Atlantis
December in Atlantis
THE CARDINAL WITCHES SERIES:
Alejandro's Sorceress (a novella)
William's Witch (a short story)
Damon's Enchantress (a novella)
Jake's Djinn (a short story)
THE WARRIORS OF POSEIDON SERIES:
Atlantis Rising – FREE review copy: https://BookHip.com/LHZNVK
Wild Hearts in Atlantis (a novella; originally in the WILD THING anthology)
Atlantis Awakening
Shifter's Lady (a novella; originally in the SHIFTER anthology)
Atlantis Unleashed
Atlantis Unmasked
Atlantis Redeemed
Atlantis Betrayed
Vampire in Atlantis
Heart of Atlantis
Alejandro's Sorceress (a related novella; begins the Cardinal Witches spinoff series)
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
Random
Second Chances
NONFICTION
Email to the Front
Darla Holliday's recipe for Lemon Lush:
In real life, Darla Holliday is my lovely and wonderful sister-in-law. She was kind enough to allow me to use her name in this book and share this recipe with you. (She refuses to admit that it has started any wrestling matches at family reunions.)
LEMON LUSH
A. CRUST
Take 1 stick of butter, 1 cup of flour and cut them together and then pack this mixture in the bottom of a glass baking dish.
Bake 15 min
utes at 350 degrees – Cool
B. 2ND LAYER
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Cool Whip
Beat together, with Cool Whip added last, and put on cooled crust
C. 3RD LAYER
2 pkgs Lemon instant pudding
3 cups milk
Beat 2 minutes and pour over 2nd layer
D. 4TH LAYER
Cover the entire thing with more Cool Whip
(Wrestling optional)
About the Author
Text ALYSSADAY to 66866 to sign up for my newsletter and get release day news, behind-the-scenes scoop, win prizes, find out where Alyssa will be making personal appearances, and more!
Q: “What is the reading order of your books?”
A: Here you go: —> https://alyssaday.com/books
Alyssa Day is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than forty novels filled with kissing, laughter, mystery and magic. Alyssa’s paranormal series include the Vampire Motorcycle Club and Poseidon’s Warriors paranormal romances and the Tiger’s Eye Mysteries paranormal mysteries. In an Alyssa Day book, the good guys always win and happily ever after always prevails!
Alyssa’s many awards include Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award for outstanding romance fiction and the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for Best Paranormal Romance novel of 2012. She’s a recovering trial lawyer who loves life outside of a courtroom. Her books have been translated into a zillion languages, but she’s still holding out for Klingon.
You can hang out with her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AuthorAlyssaDay) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/authoralyssaday/), where she talks about her rescue dogs and her future pug ranch, and her blog, where she talks openly about her struggles with depression and shares funny family stories and behind-the-scenes tidbits (www.alyssaday.com/blog). Love talking about books? Be a DayDreamer! Join Alyssa’s VERY SPECIAL group for superfans for fun chatting, sneak peeks, prizes, and more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/DayDreamersAlyssaDay.
