“Let me give you a ride back to school,” Flynn offered. “Or somewhere else, if you want.”
I considered his offer. “Yeah, back to school would be best.” If Riley came looking for me, that’s the first place he’d go. Then he’d go to my dorm room. I’d head back there. I could do with a shower and a change of clothes.
“Okay, no problem.” He turned to Laurel. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be back in ten.”
Laurel gave a half smile. “Sure.” She got to her feet and gave me a hug. I braced myself, half expecting a premonition to hit me, despite never having gotten anything from Laurel before, but none came. “Be careful, okay?”
I nodded. “You, too.”
Flynn and I left his apartment and walked to his car. I chose the passenger side this time, and tried to not glance at Flynn’s strong, handsome profile as he drove. He didn’t seem to want to look at me either.
The moment we pulled into the college parking lot, my heart sank. Parked between the student’s vehicles, I recognized Riley’s bike as easily as I would recognize Riley himself.
Chapter
8
“Oh, crap.” I muttered.
Flynn glanced over to me. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Riley is here. He’s probably been wondering where I’d gotten to.”
Flynn lifted his eyebrows. “He’s got you on a short leash?”
I bristled. “It’s not like that. I expect he’s heard a girl is dead and is worried about me.”
Then I saw him, storming down from the main building, his hair blowing back from his face. He clocked me, and then saw who was driving the car I was climbing out of.
“Where the hell have you been?” he demanded as he approached.
“I’ve been at Flynn’s, with Laurel as well,” I quickly added.
“You should have let me know where you were.”
“I couldn’t. My phone is broken, remember? Anyway, I don’t need to report back where I am twenty-four-seven.”
“You don’t own her, bro,” Flynn retorted from out of the open passenger door.
“Stay out of this,” I snapped at him.
“No problem. I’m out of here.” He reached over and pulled the passenger door shut, before backing out of the lot and driving away.
Riley grabbed me by the shoulders. “Have you heard? A girl’s body’s been found on the beach. I was worried sick it might have been you.”
Sadness swamped over me, drowning my anger. “It wasn’t me.” People were looking now. “I can’t talk about this here. Let’s go back to your place.”
His blue eyes searched mine. “You know who it is, don’t you?”
I found myself fighting back tears again. “Please, Riley. Just take me home.”
His expression softened and he slipped his arm around my shoulder and led me toward his bike. We were gaining suspicious glances, and I hoped no one was trying to link Riley to the body found on the beach. I knew plenty of Sage Springs residents had been untrusting of the carnival folk, but I had hoped that reputation hadn’t followed Riley. Protectiveness rose up within me. If anyone even attempted to suggest Riley had something to do with Melissa’s death, they’d have me to deal with.
We rode back to the trailer, me clinging to Riley’s waist, my face pressed against the breadth of his back. I couldn’t get thoughts of Melissa out of my head. Though I’d known her for a little more than a month, the idea that she no longer existed in this world was something I was struggling to get my head around.
We bundled into the trailer and Riley turned to face me. “Okay, talk to me now.”
“The body on the beach is Melissa. She went missing from her bedroom last night, and her parents are worried sick. The rest of her circle did a spell to try and find her, and they didn’t come up with anything. They said it was as if she no longer existed.”
Riley pushed his dark hair back from his face. “Jesus.”
“Yeah, and that’s not all. I dreamed about her last night, though I didn’t know it was her at the time. I felt like it was happening to me. I dreamed about someone chasing her and then they caught her and … and …” I choked on my words, and couldn’t manage any more.
Riley pulled me into his arms. “Hey, hey. It’s okay now.”
I shook my head against him. “No, it isn’t. Melissa is dead, and we don’t know who killed her. Nothing is okay.”
He rested his lips against the top of my head. “God, poor Melissa. I can’t imagine how frightened she must have been. What a horrible way to die.”
I didn’t need to imagine how she’d felt when she was dying. I had felt it with her as if it were happening to me. Unconsciously, I put my hand to my throat, half expecting to find welted rings around my neck.
Moving away from Riley, I said, “The thing is, other than her parents, me, Dana, and the rest of her circle were the last people to see Melissa alive. The police are sure to want to talk to us.”
“So? You’re innocent. It’s not as if you had anything to do with her death.”
“No, but I know more than I’m supposed to. Should I tell them? If I can tell them what route she ran when he was chasing her, they might find a clue they wouldn’t have done otherwise.”
“He?” said Riley.
“Huh?”
“You said ‘he,’ but you don’t really know it was a man. You said you didn’t see who did it.”
“No, I didn’t, but the fingers were really strong. I’m not sure a woman could have that kind of force over me. I mean, over Melissa.”
“Anyway, you can’t tell the police anything. You’re already on their radar because of what happened with Bulldog. You need to stay out of this.”
Guilt swarmed over me. “I know, but …”
“Elizabeth,” he said, his tone sharp. “You have no possible way of explaining how you might have seen someone chasing Melissa. If you tell them you dreamed it, they’ll think you’re crazy. Please, if they want to talk to you, you tell them you had a party with your friends on the beach and then came back here to me.”
Briefly, I wondered how Riley knew Melissa was killed in the middle of the night, and not any other time.
I sighed. “I know, you’re right. I just feel horrible protecting myself when I might know something that will help find Melissa’s killer.” A shiver wracked through me. “God, there’s a killer out there.”
Riley must have noticed. He put his arm around my shoulders and guided me to the couch. “Sit down. I’ll make you something to drink. Tea, or coffee, or something stronger?”
“Tea would be good.” I didn’t want to drink alcohol right now. Though it barely affected me, I needed to keep my head as clear as possible.
Riley went into the kitchen and made my drink while I sat huddled up on the couch. He brought the steaming mug of tea in and handed it to me.
“Thanks.” I took a sip, but the tea was hot, and I jerked the cup away from my mouth, spilling some on my sneakers. “Oh, damn it,” I said, bending down to put down the cup and wipe the spilled tea with my hand.
As I bent, the slip of paper with Flynn’s number written on it fell from my pocket and drifted to the floor. The paper was positioned upward, Flynn’s name clearly legible.
Riley frowned and picked up the slip of paper. “Why do you have his number?”
“My cell is broken. What if I needed to contact him?”
Riley’s eyes darkened. “Why would you need to do that?”
“Because of everything that’s happening with Melissa and my dreams.”
“He’s not part of Melissa’s circle. What’s he even got to do with this whole thing?”
My frustration mounted. “He’s my friend, Riley!”
“No, he isn’t. He’s another guy who wants to get in your pants. He’s admitted as much!”
“It doesn’t matter what he thinks,” I snapped. “I’m with you. Everyone knows that.”
“What do you think they’re going to be saying about you ridin
g around in his car and going to his apartment? You’re going to start rumors if you’re not careful, Icy.”
“I don’t think you stalking around campus trying to hunt me down is going to help with the rumors either.”
“I was worried about you.”
“There seems to be a fine line between you being worried about me and acting like a fucking stalker.”
He glared at me and I glared back.
Sudden headlights lit the gravel trail leading to Riley’s trailer. We both glanced toward them, but the tension simmered between us. I was furious with him, not only for acting so jealous, but also for making me feel as if he needed to keep an eye on me every second of the day. I wasn’t some helpless little girl wandering around in a big, dangerous world. I was capable of being dangerous myself.
A car pulled up outside the trailer and we both got to our feet. Two men climbed out and Riley headed to the trailer door, and stepped out to meet them. I was hot on his tail.
What now?
The men looked past Riley, toward me, and my heart sank. The formal way they held themselves made me guess who they were, and I knew exactly why they were here.
“Ms. Bandores?”
I stepped past Riley and sensed him tense. “Yes?”
The older of the two men pulled out an ID from the inside of his jacket pocket. “My name is Detective Samuel Rockmore. This is my colleague, Detective Lee Wyman.” The other, younger man gave me a nod. “We’d like to you speak with you, if that’s all right?”
I glanced back at Riley, but he didn’t meet my eye. “You want to talk here?”
Both men glanced at the trailer. “Can do. Or you can come down to the station with us?”
I was still pissed with Riley. Having an excuse to be out of his company sounded good. I also wanted him to know I was capable of doing things on my own, and I didn’t need him holding my hand the entire time.
“Is this about the body that was found?” I asked. I didn’t want to appear either too knowledgeable, or completely clueless either. Rumors had been flying around town all afternoon. “I don’t know why I would be able to help you.”
“I’m afraid the body has been formally identified, Ms. Bandores. The body is that of Melissa Wilder. I believe you knew her?”
He was studying my face, gauging my reaction.
I didn’t need to fake it. Hearing her name spoken out loud made the strength leave my body, my knees weakening, my breath expelling in a gasp. I must have begun to sag, because Riley’s hand was suddenly on my elbow, steadying me. But I shook him off and pulled myself together.
“Melissa?” I asked. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sorry. Her family has identified the body.”
“Oh, God.” I brought my hand to my mouth.
“We’ll bring you back in an hour or so.”
“No, it’s fine.” I turned to Riley. “I’m going to stay at the dorm tonight. It only seems right.”
His eyes leveled with mine. No hint of a smile lightened his expression. “Whatever you want.”
I got into the back of the detective’s car. I was hurt Riley hadn’t put up more of a fight to be with me, but I couldn’t have it both ways. I couldn’t ask for my space and then complain when he didn’t run after me. How fickle would that make me?
As the car pulled away from the trailer, I twisted in my seat to watch Riley turn around and head back inside. I bit down on my lip, trying not to cry. First Dana had turned on me, then I’d suffered the loss of Melissa, and now Riley and I had fought as well. Misery settled in my soul and I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to give myself some comfort. It was stupid feeling sorry for myself when Melissa had lost her life, and I wanted to shake myself out of my mood, but ever since I’d had the dream about her, a chill had entered my bones and I hadn’t been able to shake it. I had the horrible feeling worse was to come.
The police car drove down the track, and headed back out onto the coastal road.
“What the hell?” came the voice of the older detective who was driving, Samuel Rockmore.
“Damn fog again,” the other detective, Wyman, muttered.
As I leaned forward to try and see what they were talking about, white tendrils of mist drifted past the back windows. The view from the front windshield was already obscured with fog, and within seconds fog had enveloped the whole car. The car’s headlights reflected back at us, glaring off the white mist, so Detective Rockmore switched them to fog-lamps. Not that it did much good. We still couldn’t see anything.
“Shit,” the older detective swore. He turned back to me. “You all right back there?”
I gave a nervous shrug. “It’s only fog, right?”
“Yep, we get it every year, but it’s not normally this bad. The warm air flows over the cold ocean and it makes the moisture in the air condense. Then the summer winds blow the fog into land, though you see it more often out to sea. It’s normally in the morning and is burned off by noon or early afternoon. I don’t know why it’s suddenly started making an appearance at random times.”
“You know a lot about the weather,” I commented, wondering why he’d suddenly decided to give me a meteorological lesson. Perhaps he thought it would make me feel better. “You both aren’t from Sage Springs, though.” I figured I would have seen them around during the investigations into what happened at the fairground accident the previous month, and then the incident at the garage with my car and the poor guy who worked there.
“Nah,” he said. “We’ve been brought in from Portland because of the murder enquiry.”
“So Melissa was definitely murdered?”
He must have realized he’d said too much. “That’s what we’re here to find out.”
“We can’t sit here all day,” said Wyman. “You want me to drive?”
Detective Rockmore tutted. “I can manage.”
He crept the car forward, leaning over the steering wheel as he drove, no more than five miles an hour. I hated the feeling I had no control over what might happen next. I worried he’d drive the car over the cliff, or another vehicle would come plowing into us.
He turned onto Ocean Drive and headed past the beach and into town. We drive by other cars sitting on the side of the road, the drivers too frightened to attempt to move anywhere.
A loud bang came as something hit the windshield, a black form taking up the space for a fraction of a second, before bouncing off again. Rockmore slammed on the brakes and I jolted back, pinned by my seatbelt, and bounced against the headrest, my teeth snapping together.
“Holy crap!” declared Wyman. “I think you hit something.”
“More like something hit us,” said Rockmore. “I was barely moving.”
They both turned back to me. “You wait here, okay?” Rockmore told me. “Don’t move.”
I gave a shrug. Where could I go, anyway?
Both detectives opened their doors and climbed out, before slamming them behind them. I could just make out the shapes of their bodies through the fog as they walked around to the front of the car to try and figure out what they had hit. An animal of some kind? Or a bird, maybe? Was the creature hurt, or would it have run off? I struggled to imagine it being too badly injured considering how slowly we had been driving.
I was starting to wish I’d stayed with Riley.
Click … click … craack-ck-ck-ck….
It was that sound again! The strange click-click-click of bones cracking. My heart rate skyrocketed and I spun around in the seat, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. It sounded too loud to be from outside of the car. But I couldn’t see anything that might be responsible for the noise.
Could it be coming from the trunk?
I stared at the back seat, half expecting something to come busting through the material and grab me. My heart pounded, my mouth running dry, and I swallowed hard.
Click-click … click-click-click-click … Craaccckkk …
There it was again.
Oh God, what was that?
The two detectives were still standing in front of the car. Though I couldn’t make out the expressions on their faces, I could see the shape of the younger one, Wyman, with his hand in his hair, while Rockmore shook his head, his hands on his portly hips.
I was frozen. I couldn’t figure out where the sound was coming from. I didn’t want to open the car door for fear of letting the fog in, and with it whatever this thing was that seemed to hide in the mist. I also had a horrible feeling, from their lack of reaction, that the two police officers hadn’t heard a thing.
They’d seen it, though, or at least they’d felt it bounce off the windshield. This whole thing wasn’t in my head.
I reached out and banged my hand on the window closest to me. My palm left sweat marks against the glass.
Both men turned back and headed around, and climbed back in the car.
Rockmore frowned at me. “Everything okay, Miss?”
“Yeah, I just wondered if you saw anything.”
“Nah, must have been an animal, but it’s run off now.”
“You didn’t hear anything then?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. If it was hurt, it might have been making a noise.”
“No, there was nothing.”
“Looks like the mist is clearing already too,” said Wyman. “I guess it’s passing right over us.”
Something inside me untwisted and relaxed. He was right. The fog was thinning already, and we were parked in the middle of the street. Stores and coffee shops were locked up on either side of us, the street deserted. Everyone had hidden in their houses or cars while we were surrounded by the fog. It was as if people knew things might be hidden within it.
It’s like the dark, I realized. Only it was a dark where no amount of flashlights or nightlights would help to keep the terrors away.
I shivered.
The detective started the car up again and drove toward the station. I was still aware of my notion that the clicking had sounded as if it had come from the trunk. I sat forward, not allowing my back to touch the upholstered seat, for fear of something bursting through it. It was like my version of a child not wanting to put their feet out from under the blanket for fear of a monster grabbing them.
Twisted Magic (The Dhampyre Chronicles Book 2) Page 7
