“Just tell me,” I urged. “I’ll handle it better. I promise.”
“Well,” he said slowly. “Here’s the deal. I know that Archer Nash and Roxy Rococo used to have some kind of thing going on between them.”
“Thing?” I asked. “What kind of thing?”
He seemed nervous. “You know, a personal thing.”
“They were dating?”
“Yeah, I don’t know how serious they were, but I know it went on for a while. Like a couple of years.”
Years? Well, that sounded pretty serious to me.
“Lou always liked Roxy. He was always hitting on her and asking her out. She and Archer tried to keep things between them a secret, but we all knew, so Lou had to know too. But he had eyes for her anyway. Then last week, I saw something I shouldn’t have.”
“What?” I asked as my stomach did a little nervous flip-flop.
He paused and let out another deep breath. “We were all at the diner after the show. Lou got up to go to the bathroom, and a few minutes later, Roxy got up too. I didn’t think nothin’ about it. But then I decided to go too.”
He stopped and looked at me. “It’s not weird or anything. It’s a multiple person bathroom.”
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t think it was weird. Go on.”
“Well, I turned to go down the hall toward the bathrooms, and I saw them making out in the hallway. I felt all embarrassed seeing them like that. I turned around to go back to the table, and I ran right into Archer. He saw the whole thing.”
“Wait,” I said, leaning forward. “Are Archer and Roxy still dating?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. But I never heard for sure that they broke up.”
I tried to take in this information, make sense of it all. “Did Archer seem upset when you were all back at the table?”
Kodiak shrugged again. “He was quiet, that was for sure.”
“So, you think he might have killed Lou in some fit of jealousy?”
“I’m not saying nothin’ for sure,” he said. “I’m just sayin’ it’s a possibility.”
I felt sick to my stomach. I was going to have to tell Grandma Dean. I sent her a quick text. “Don’t do anything alone with Archer Nash. We need to talk later.”
I put my phone down just as we were pulling into the parking lot at Urgent Care. I recognized Casius’ car by the front door. I wanted to help my new friend, but I also wanted to be by Grandma’s side to protect her from a possible killer.
My phone buzzed, and it was Grandma Dean. Her reply made my blood go cold.
“Wish you would’ve sent that five minutes earlier . . .”
10
I sent Grandma another text and asked her where she was. I got nervous when she didn’t answer right away, so I sent a text to Virginia and Greta asking if they knew where she was. I hoped that someone would text me back soon.
Kodiak put his eyepatch back on, and we headed to the doors of Urgent Care. When we walked in, I could see Casius sitting in the waiting room. He was surprised to see us.
“What are you two doing here?” He tried to act like he wasn’t happy to see us, but I could tell he was.
I walked over to him. “Let’s see your ankle. How bad is it?”
He was still wearing his clothes from the show—black suit with a purple shirt. He was even wearing a cape. The outfit was nice, but the cape made me chuckle inside. He lifted up a pant leg, and Kodiak and I gasped.
“Dude, that’s friggin’ broke,” Kodiak said. “Even with one eye, I can see that.”
Casius looked up at him. “One eye, huh?”
“How exactly did this happen?” I asked.
Casius dropped his pant leg and sat back up in his chair. “I did a disappearing act, and I hid off stage for a minute. When it was time to go back on, I slipped on something wet by the stairs that led back up to the stage. I twisted my ankle when I fell. It’s so dark back there, I didn’t even see it.”
That sounded suspicious to me. “What was it? What did you slip on?”
“I think it was dog pee. I had a dog with me, and I think when we were waiting backstage, it might have relieved itself.”
“Why do you have a dog in your show?” I asked.
“People go crazy over animals. I can do a disappearing act, and people will clap. I can do the same thing with a dog, and people will give me a standing ovation.” He smiled. “Plus, I like dogs.”
Kodiak laughed. “You come across like you’re so scary, but really you’re just a softy.”
I sat down on the other side of him. “Did you finish the show like this?”
“Well, yeah. Those people paid a lot of money to see the show tonight. Plus, if I didn’t go back on, it would ruin the illusion. I wasn’t about to do that.”
A nurse brought out a wheelchair and pulled it up in front of Casius. “Are you ready Mr. Nine?”
That sounded so strange. I’d have to ask him if that was really his last name. I was becoming intrigued by stage names. It was almost like these people led double lives.
Once Casius was in the wheelchair, I patted his leg. “Good luck. I’m sure you’re in good hands.”
The nurse smiled. “The best! We’ll have you all fixed up before you can say ‘Abracadabra’!”
Casius rolled his eyes, and thankfully, the nurse was already standing behind him, so she didn’t see. I couldn’t help but chuckle. The life of a magician seemed anything but magical.
We watched Casius as he was wheeled through the waiting room and disappeared behind a set of double doors.
I looked over at Kodiak. “Is his last name really Nine?”
He laughed so hard, he snorted. “No. It’s Usldinger.”
I cringed. “Yikes. No wonder he changed it. I wonder how he came up with the last name Nine.”
“His real last name has nine letters,” Kodiak answered. “For a magician, he’s not very creative.”
I thought Casius Nine had a nice ring to it.
“So, what’s your real name?” I asked. “Surely, it’s not really Kodiak.”
He moved over into Casius’ old seat and dropped his voice so no one else would here. “Brent Davis. But don’t tell anyone.”
“Brent,” I repeated in a whisper.
“Yeah, but Kodiak has been my nickname for years. I was obsessed with bears when I was a kid.”
“Do you have them in your show?”
“Nah, too dangerous. But I do have an alligator. And I have wildlife that’s a little tamer—snakes, lizards, a couple of racoons . . . small things I can bring on a stage.”
I furrowed my brows. “Aren’t people upset there’s not a bear?”
Now he looked upset. “I never promised anyone a bear. But I’ll show you what I do have. Look at this.”
He pulled out his phone and handed it to me. I watched a video of a dog jumping rope, a cat jumping through swinging hoola hoops, and a pony playing a song on a piano.
“You’re smiling,” he said, “so that must mean you like it?”
“Is this part of your show?”
“Yeah. I’ve always loved animals,” he answered. “And it’s so fun to work with them every day. I like to get them from rescue places and give them a good home and train them. Sometimes, I look at these animals that people have discarded, and I’m blown away by their intelligence. Animals are smarter than people, if you ask me.”
“Where do you keep all of these animals?” I asked.
He smiled. “At my ranch just outside of town. I have a whole zoo out there.” Kodiak nodded toward the door that Casius had walked through. “Casius gets his animals from me. He’s real good with them.”
My phone buzzed, and it was a text from Grandma saying she was back at the hotel. Archer had just dropped her off.
“Want me to take you back to your hotel?” he asked. “It’s awfully late.”
I sat there, torn.
“I’ll tell you what, I’ll take you to your hotel and come back here and wait for C
asius. One of us will text you and let you know what happened with his ankle, though I can guarantee you, the news won’t be good.”
I still felt bad leaving, but I wanted to talk to Grandma before she went to sleep. Plus, I still needed to call Owen. I walked out the door, hoping for the best for all of us.
“How’s Casius?” Grandma asked as soon as I walked into our hotel room.
I shrugged. “He’s getting an x-ray, but Kodiak is pretty sure his ankle is broken. What happened with you and Archer tonight? Where did you two go off to?”
Grandma was sitting in bed working on a word search, and she put her pencil down and closed the book. “He just took me home. Willie and Billie invited Greta and Virginia to some lookout.”
I cringed. “To a lookout or to make out?”
Grandma chuckled. “I don’t even want to think about it. It’s like those two have turned into Hattie and Irene.”
I sighed and sat down in a chair in the corner. The lamp by Grandma’s bed was emitting a soft, golden light in the otherwise dark room. The air conditioning unit was quietly humming along next to me. and my eyelids started to droop. I was exhausted. But there was something I needed to tell Grandma Dean.
“So, I guess I should tell you what I learned about Archer Nash tonight,” I started.
“That he was dating Roxy Rococo?” Grandma asked.
I sat up straight, the exhaustion leaving my body. “You knew about that?”
Grandma nodded. “I couldn’t help but notice the dirty looks she was giving me, so I asked Archer about it on the ride home.”
I sat back in my chair. False alarm, the exhaustion was still there.
“Are they still together or did they break up?” I asked.
Grandma leaned over and put her word search book on her nightstand. “He says they broke up months ago.”
“Do you believe him?”
“It doesn’t really matter, does it? I’m just here to . . .”
She stopped mid-sentence and stared at her lap.
I walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. “You know it’s okay if you start dating again. As long as he’s not a killer, he’d make a great boyfriend.”
“Who knows,” Grandma said, sliding under the covers, “maybe he is.”
“A great boyfriend?” I asked.
“No,” Grandma said, closing her eyes. “A killer.”
11
I could tell Grandma didn’t want to talk anymore, so I reached over and turned off her light. I grabbed my phone and went into the bathroom so I didn’t disturb her while I called Owen.
I made myself comfy in the bathtub and looked at my phone. It was one thirty in the morning. That seemed too late to call Owen. Maybe I would just text him instead. I sent a quick text and asked if he was still awake. While I waited for his answer, I looked up at the ceiling. I wondered what Grandma really thought about Archer. They seemed to have an instant connection. The way they talked and laughed. They had only known each other for a short time, but they already seemed to be comfortable and at ease with one another. Maybe it was something in the Branson air. Virginia and Greta certainly felt comfortable with Willie and Billie. And in some way, I even felt comfortable around Casius and Kodiak. Maybe that’s just how people felt when they weren’t being smothered with humidity. But then I thought about Roxy. I definitely didn’t feel comfortable around her.
My phone rang, and I answered it as quickly as I could so it wouldn’t wake Grandma.
“I can’t believe you’re still up,” I said to Owen.
He sounded exhausted. “I can’t either. But I wanted to talk to you. We didn’t get a chance to talk before you left.”
I wanted to say that I had been available to talk before we left, but he didn’t seem to be. But I kept my mouth shut. We were both tired, and I knew that would just start some sort of argument that neither of us had the energy for.
“How’s Branson?” he asked.
I should’ve just said, “Fine,” and then let him do all the talking so I would know why he wanted to chat so late at night. But no. Maybe it was the exhaustion, maybe it was the trauma of seeing Lou, or maybe it was the emotional stress I had over Grandma coming face to face with Thomas (if she ever got up the nerve to go to his house), but whatever it was, I burst into tears. “Lou is dead, Casius possibly broke his ankle because he slipped in pee between magic acts, and did you know that if a bird is falling from the sky and you open your car window at that moment, it could get sucked in and hit you in the face?!”
Owen was silent for a minute. “Have you been drinking? Did someone give you moonshine? I heard that’s popular up there.”
“No,” I sniffed. “I haven’t been drinking.”
“Is it drugs, then?” he asked. “Because at this point, I’m hoping it’s drugs.”
“It’s not drugs,” I said wiping my face.
“Who is Lou, who is Casius, and why are you worried about birds falling from the sky?”
I filled him in on everything that had happened in the short amount of time we had been there—Lou’s death, Greta and Virginia acting like Hattie and Irene, and Hattie and Irene being up to something, but we didn’t know what that was yet.
He listened quietly while I explained everything. Finally, he spoke. “So, this Lou guy . . . you guys are leaving the investigation up to the police, right?”
“Of course,” I said, like that was a crazy question to even ask. “We are staying out of it. I might have questioned Casius a little bit, and I might have a few things I want to talk to Kodiak about. And of course, Grandma is getting some information here and there from Archer. But other than that, we’re staying out of it.” I sighed. “Besides, I kind of feel like I’m on my own here. I’m the only one who hasn’t paired off with someone.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Owen asked quietly. “If anything, that shows real growth on your part . . . right?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Is this what growth feels like? Because it’s pretty awful.”
Owen laughed too, but then he became serious. “I know you and I are in this weird place right now, and we haven’t really had a chance to talk about us or where we’re headed, but I hope we can do that when you get back. I miss you.”
I was quiet. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt content being single.
I didn’t want to hurt Owen’s feelings, so I told him we’d talk when I got back. If he noticed any apprehension in my voice, he didn’t let on.
We ended our call, and I closed my eyes. I was fully dressed, lying in a bathtub in Branson, Missouri wondering who killed Lou and how Casius was doing at the Urgent Care. Then my phone buzzed. It was a text from Kodiak. “Yep, I called it. It’s broken.”
At least that answered one question.
12
The next morning, Grandma Dean burst in the door followed by Greta and Virginia. My heart was pounding as I looked at the clock. Eleven thirty in the morning.
“You guys nearly scared me to death!” I said, sitting up in bed. “What a terrible way to wake up! What’s going on?”
Grandma was pacing, which was very unlike her. “I don’t even know what to tell you first.”
I looked at Virginia and Greta, hoping they would fill me in, but they looked just as concerned as Grandma.
“Will somebody please tell me something?!”
Grandma looked at me, her arms crossed. “First of all, I had breakfast with Archer this morning, but I stopped by Hattie and Irene’s room first. I knocked and knocked, and there was no answer.”
“Well, they said they were going to go to breakfast this morning,” I reminded Grandma.
“Did they go to breakfast?” Virginia asked. “Or did they leave sometime last night, and they’re not back yet?”
“We’re afraid they’re missing,” Greta answered. “We’ve texted them several times, and they haven’t answered. We’re worried sick about them.”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” I tried to
reassure them . . . and maybe myself. “Maybe Paulette saw them this morning. You know how much Hattie loves the koi pond. Did you check with her?”
The grannies all looked at one another. Judging by their faces, they hadn’t.
“Let’s go,” Grandma said. She opened a dresser drawer and pulled out some clothes for me. “Get dressed. We’re going to go look for them. We’ll start with Paulette.”
I got dressed and quickly brushed my hair. Grandma must have really been concerned about Hattie and Irene because she didn’t even lecture me on my lack of makeup.
We opened the door of the hotel and were greeted by the ever-smiling Paulette. “Well, hello ladies!” she said. “What can I do for you?”
Grandma walked over to the counter. “Did you see two of our friends this morning? Did they by chance come in here?”
Paulette looked us over like she was trying to figure out who was missing. Then she smiled. “Oh yes, the two that talk like sailors?”
“Yes,” Grandma said, relieved. “They were here this morning?”
Paulette nodded. “They came in and asked if I had any coffee filters. They said they needed two. I gave them a couple, and they took them to the bathroom with them. When they came out, they saw a truck outside, and they seemed excited and ran out.”
Grandma turned to us and sighed. “Who knows what men those two have gotten involved with?”
“Oh no,” Paulette said shaking her head. “I saw two women in the truck, not men.”
We looked at each other, confused. Women? And what was up with the coffee filters?
Just then, Greta’s phone buzzed. “It’s Hattie!” she squealed. “She just sent me a text.”
“You tell her she needs to come back to the hotel right away,” Grandma scolded. “I got some information today that we all need to discuss.”
Greta’s thumbs went crazy typing. The woman texted like a teenager. Then she looked up and smiled. “They’re on their way.”
Road Trip (Glock Grannies Cozy Mystery Book 6) Page 6
