Tequila for Two: An Althea Rose Mystery (The Althea Rose Series Book 2)

by Tricia O'Malley

  “Surprise,” Cash said softly, his lips quirking in a smile just for me, making my insides feel like jelly.

  “Ahem.” The man behind him cleared his throat and Cash laughed, pulling back from me.

  “Althea, I’d like you meet my brother, Dylan.”

  Well, color me surprised. Had I known I’d be meeting family today, I would have looked a little more presentable. Immediately reaching up to smooth my hair and praying I didn’t have any boogers in my nose, I peeked around Cash to the man who stood behind him.

  It was easy to see, now that we were close up, that Cash and Dylan were brothers. They were both close in height, with the same muscular build, though Dylan’s hair was several shades lighter than Cash’s. Black Wayfarer sunglasses concealed his eyes, and he wore a distressed grey t-shirt tucked into fitted seersucker shorts. He had an easy style about him, but it only took a quick brush of my power against his mind to know that this was the gay brother Cash had promised to introduce to Beau. Knowing Beau, he was going to faint on sight when he got an eyeful of Dylan.

  “Hi Dylan, so nice to meet you. I’m sorry I’m kind of a mess, I’ve just been scuba diving,” I explained, stepping around Cash and reaching out to shake Dylan’s hand.

  Dylan shook my hand and then, when most people would have let it go, he held it for a moment longer, openly perusing me. From anyone else it would have been rude, but I didn’t get that sense from Dylan. After a moment, he turned to Cash and nodded.

  “I like her,” Dylan said. Cash laughed and ran a hand through his hair, causing a few short pieces to stick up and making me want to go over and smooth them down. Or run my hands through his hair. Or over his body.

  Down, girl, I ordered myself.

  “I like him as well,” I told Cash, and he laughed again. “Wait – Dylan and Cash. Is there a theme here?”

  “Our mom’s a big music buff,” Dylan laughed.

  “Ahh, that makes sense,” I said with a smile.

  “We wanted to catch you early. I was hoping we could maybe poke around and look at few potential neighborhoods before going to lunch at Lucky’s,” Cash raised his eyebrow meaningfully at me. “Then maybe after, I can ditch this tagalong and you and I can have some alone time.”

  My mouth went dry at the thought.

  “He means he wants to get in your pants,” Dylan elaborated and I coughed, almost choking on a laugh.

  “Thank you for the clarification, much appreciated,” I choked, torn between hilarity and embarrassment.

  “I think Beau’s going to like him,” I finally said, turning to look at Cash.

  “Oh yeah, Dylan’s going to owe me big time for this introduction,” Cash agreed.

  “Yes, I’ve heard many things about this Beau of yours. I can’t wait to meet him,” Dylan said with a smile.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Ms. Rose, we need to speak with you,” said a voice from behind me and chills went down my spine.

  I turned to see Chief Thomas and a deputy standing there.

  “Hey now, what’s going on here?” Cash asked, immediately stepping in front of me. Cash was naturally suspicious of the local law enforcement after my last run-in with the police.

  My protector.

  “Ms. Rose is a person of interest in an ongoing murder investigation. I’ll need to speak with her now.” Chief Thomas didn’t even crack a smile, and that’s when I knew things were about to get serious.

  “Did something happen, Chief Thomas?” I asked, my spidey-senses tingling.

  “Another body was discovered this morning.”

  I gasped. “Who is it? Please don’t tell me it’s someone I know.”

  “An investor in the condo development. Herman Lavish. Do you know him?”

  Bewildered, I shook my head, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cash’s shoulders tense.

  “I knew him.”

  “Mr. Williams, we may need to talk to you as well. For now, we’ll be taking Ms. Rose with us.”

  “Wait a minute, am I under arrest? Or are you asking to speak with me?”

  Chief Thomas leveled a look at me, his shoulders back and his demeanor calm.

  “I’m suggesting you come with me so that I may speak with you.”

  “Fine, let me get my stuff,” I said, my cheeks flaming in embarrassment. The first time I meet a member of Cash’s family, and here I am being called in by the local police force as a person of interest in a murder case. As first impressions went, it was pretty shitty.

  I didn’t even spare a glance for Sienna as I gathered my dive bag, but Trace touched my shoulder as I passed him.

  “Promise to call me? I’ll be on standby,” he whispered.

  “Yeah, I will,” I nodded dully, horrified that this was even going to become a thing.

  All I could think about were my black flip-flops, forgotten on the beach where a murder had occurred.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  A FEW OF the other dive boat crews, already back from their morning dives, looked at me curiously as I followed Chief Thomas down the dock, his deputy behind me. I know how it looked – like they were arresting me. I groaned as I thought about how quickly this gossip would fly around town.

  Cash and Dylan fell in line behind us, and I kept my back straight, trying not to think about what Dylan would be telling Cash’s family about me. Maybe I’d been silly to think that Cash and I would be a good fit. Perhaps he and I were just two different breeds. I couldn’t imagine his mother being happy about her son dating a girl with tattoos who got hauled in for questioning by the cops.

  I tried to shake off my negative thoughts as we drew near to where my bike was locked up.

  “Chief Thomas, that’s my bike. Should I follow you to the station?”

  “Why don’t you just ride with us? We’ll give you a ride back to your bike,” Chief Thomas said lightly, and I stopped to square off with him.

  “Listen, this is starting to sound eerily like I am being arrested. I’m psychic, remember? Don’t try to pull shit over on me,” I seethed and then clamped my lips together, looking briefly at the cloudless sky as I counted to five and mentally kicked myself.

  I had no idea if Cash had told his family what I did for a living, but the cat was out of the bag on that one now, too. Chalk this up to one of the crappiest mornings ever.

  “A psychic, huh?” I heard Dylan say to Cash as Chief Thomas held open the back door of his sheriff’s car for me, confirming my suspicions that Cash hadn’t told his brother what I did for a living. For some reason, this irked me even more and I found myself wanting to kick the back of the seat as Chief Thomas and his deputy got in front.

  “Was this really necessary? You know I would have come down to the station,” I pointed out as we drove through town.

  “We’ll take you back to your bike,” Chief Thomas said calmly.

  “That’s not the point. That was the first time I was meeting one of Cash’s family members. How do you think this is going to look?”

  Chief Thomas shot me a brief look of sympathy over his shoulder as we pulled into the parking lot of the station.

  “I’m sorry. Sometimes a murder investigation takes precedence over everyday life,” Chief Thomas said, reminding me that sometimes it’s not all about me.

  I bit back my response as I followed Chief Thomas into the small station, my head hanging down.

  Tequila Key doesn’t have a lot of crime, and the police station reflected that. A small stucco building, it housed a two-person jail cell, a few offices, a front desk and waiting area, and an interrogation area, all painted in a cheerful, blinding turquoise. I have no idea why so many seaside businesses insist on painting the interior of their spaces the same color as the ocean, but there you have it.

  I stiffened when I realized I was being led into the interrogation area.

  “Now, why does it suddenly feel like I need to call my lawyer?” I asked lightly, standing on one side of a grey metal table while Chief Thomas took a seat across
from me.

  “Althea, you are not under arrest. This is an informal questioning. We could do this in my office as well; it’s just that there are more chairs here,” Chief Thomas sighed.

  “But it’s just me and you,” I pointed out, still refusing to sit.

  “Not for long it won’t be,” Chief Thomas grumbled and I looked up as I heard voices outside the door.

  “Let him in,” Chief Thomas called, and in a moment, Cash’s strong frame filled the door.

  Cash looked directly at me.

  “Do you need a lawyer?”

  My heart clenched a bit. He didn’t even ask if I’d done anything wrong, he was just immediately ready to ride to my rescue. Oh yeah, I could see myself falling for this one, I thought.

  “No, because I haven’t done anything wrong,” I said.

  Cash moved around the side of the table and, taking my hand, pulled me over next to him to sit in one of the two uncomfortable plastic chairs.

  “Where’s Dylan?”

  “Getting coffee.”

  I nodded, biting my lip, unsure of how to proceed, so I allowed the silence to fill the room as Chief Thomas sighed and leaned back in his chair.

  “Althea, you know that withholding information on a crime is illegal, right? It’s technically blocking a police investigation.”

  Cash shot me a glance, but I just nodded, waiting to see what Chief Thomas had to say.

  “We’ve had a report that you were on the beach the other night, along with Ms. Lavelle. Her car was seen leaving the beach.”

  Ice shot through my veins as I flashed back to our run from the beach and my forgotten flip-flops.

  “Who told you that?” I asked, going on the defensive.

  “It was an anonymous tip,” Chief Thomas said. A muscle jumped in his cheek and I knew he was lying. Feeling no shame, I reached out and scanned his mind.

  “Prudie?” I screeched, almost jumping out of my chair. Chief Thomas sighed and ran his hands over his face, shaking his head slightly.

  “I keep forgetting you’re psychic.”

  “How could you forget? I literally just brought it up moments ago, at the wharf,” I pointed out, internally seething about that nasty gossip Prudie. I was already planning what I would do to ruin her life.

  “Listen, it’s been a long morning,” Chief Thomas began, and I really looked at his face for the first time. Dark smudges hung under his puffy eyes and I realized that he’d been up for a long time already this morning. Deciding to cut him some slack, since he had so recently helped rescue me from being held captive, I took pity on him.

  “Sorry, but what the hell has that old bat been feeding you?”

  “She reported seeing Luna’s car driving away from that beach. Since it’s an undeveloped area, not a lot of cars go down that road. I’m sorry, but I have to follow up every lead.”

  “How do you know I was in the car?” I asked.

  “She said there were two people. You and Luna are always together; it was just a hunch,” Chief Thomas sighed.

  “Why am I here and Luna isn’t, then?” I asked, pointedly.

  The Chief hesitated. “I can’t find her,” he admitted and I felt my stomach drop.

  “What do you mean you can’t find her?” I asked, enunciating each word precisely as alarm bells went off in my head.

  “Nobody is answering at her condo. Her car’s there. Your store is locked. Nobody has seen her. She’s not answering her phone.”

  “Did you knock on her door for a long time? Sometimes she sleeps in.”

  Chief Thomas leveled a look at me and I shrugged.

  “Okay, okay. You knocked for a long time. I don’t like this,” I said, biting my lip. “Do you mind if I try to text her?”

  “Go ahead,” Chief Thomas said and I dug in my bag.

  Hey, it’s Thea. Text me immediately.

  Then, feeling even more suspicious, I called her; the call went straight to voicemail.

  “Now that’s even more strange,” I admitted, fear creeping up my spine.

  “What?” Cash asked.

  “Her phone never goes to voicemail. Never. She keeps it on in case her grandmother out at Seashores Living needs her. It’s never, ever, off.”

  “I think it’s time to tell me what’s going on,” Chief Thomas said gently.

  I turned to see Cash watching me carefully, his eyes curious, but I read no judgment coming from him. Still, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to tell him I’d been doing a magickal ritual naked on the beach with my white-witch best friend.

  See, there’s this point in new relationships where your significant other finds out who you really are. You know what I’m talking about – whether it’s your secret addiction to the Bachelorette, your love of all things Disney, or that you close your eyes every time you go over a bridge – there’s always this turning point where they pull that exterior flap away and take a peek at what’s really going on inside. And it can be terrifying.

  I wanted the high to last a little longer with Cash. I just didn’t have faith that he would stick around once he really knew how weird my world was. I’m not apologizing for who I am – I’m just saying that I’m a realist. Not a lot of guys are going to stick around psychics and witches, and that’s just a fact.

  Could I hide it just a little bit longer? If I asked Cash to leave now, he’d be even more curious about what was going on, and I’d probably hurt his feelings as well. Not seeing a way out of this, I sighed and turned to Chief Thomas.

  “We were at the beach that night,” I said softly, looking down at the table.

  “Jesus, Althea,” Chief Thomas swore.

  “I think you’d better catch me up on what’s going on here,” Cash said evenly, his eyes darting between Chief Thomas and me, his shoulders tense.

  “Friday morning we discovered a body laid out on a pentagram on North Beach, where the new condo development is going in. Someone killed him, drilled holes in his head, then planted seeds and saplings in the holes.”

  “Saplings?” Cash said in confusion.

  “Saplings. It looked like some sort of offering. There’s a Pagan festival in town, so the manner of death could fall in line with some sort of weird offering to the earth. Then we found a second body this morning,” Chief Thomas continued, rubbing his temples with his fingers. I felt kind of bad for him. Police work can be a thankless job sometimes.

  “How was he murdered?” I asked softly, and Chief Thomas trained his eyes on me.

  “This body was found where the hole for the foundation of the building has been dug. A chain had been wrapped around his neck and used to choke him.”

  I shivered at the thought of it, shaking my head in confusion.

  “I don’t understand. This is nothing like the other murder. I’d thought it was Horace,” I said, then trailed off as Chief Thomas raised an eyebrow at me.

  “Who’s Horace?”

  I sighed, knowing I would have to backtrack now and go over the whole story. I didn’t want to even start with it all as I was really worried about where Luna was.

  “Were you at that beach last night?” Cash interrupted as I was about to speak.

  “No, we weren’t,” I insisted, shaking my head back and forth fervently.

  “No, that’s right – you were coming from the other direction, very fast, now that I think about it,” Chief Thomas said, rubbing his hand along his chin.

  “Luna got pulled over after we left the Pagan festival last night,” I said to Cash.

  “Festival? I thought you said you were coming from a party, Ms. Rose. It seems like it’s one lie after another with you,” Chief Thomas said, anger making his cheeks flush red.

  “Okay, here’s the truth,” I began, refusing to look at Cash.

  Knowing I was about to lose him.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  “SO YOU’RE TELLING me you were learning a magickal ritual, is that correct?” Chief Thomas asked again. I shrugged, refusing to meet Cash’s eyes, but I c
ould feel how tense he was next to me.

  “Not like, a bad one, or anything,” I began.

  “But there was a pentagram,” Cash said, his voice angry.

  “Not a bad pentagram,” I insisted, turning to him.

  “I don’t know what a bad one is,” Cash said, his lips thin with anger.

  “Hey, I don’t really know either. That’s more Luna’s territory. I just know that if it’s facing up, or North, it’s a good one,” I explained helplessly.

  “Okay, so what is the purpose of a good pentagram?” Chief Thomas asked gently.

  “I honestly don’t know. I probably should, but I don’t. Basically Luna was teaching me the correct manner to cast a protective circle.”

  “And why would someone need to cast a protective circle?” Chief Thomas said, as Cash swore and shook his head.

  “Um, if you were going to run a ritual. You know, like setting a good intention, or seeking balance, bountiful harvest,” I was blathering at this point, so concerned with Cash’s dismissal of me that I didn’t really know what I was saying.

  “So… a dead body with saplings in his head could be a good gift for a bountiful harvest?” Chief Thomas asked slowly.

  “God no, that’s horrible. You don’t offer gifts. At least not that I’ve learned. You just protect yourself and run the ritual. I’m sorry, I wish I knew more.”

  “So what would the purpose of a body on the pentagram be?” Chief Thomas asked.

  “I don’t know. I honestly think it was probably just happenstance. Like, it was already there, so they used it. I felt the evil; that’s why we ran,” I blurted, and Chief Thomas’s mouth dropped open.

  “You felt the evil? Is that so?” Cash said, turning to shoot a glare at me. “You know, you could have told me about some of this. This is quite a surprise for a Sunday morning.”

  “Well, if you had called me yesterday, I would have,” I said indignantly.

  “I was working. You know? Work? I don’t have a set schedule like you do,” Cash said hotly. “I was trying to finish things up so I could come down here and surprise my girlfriend, who is apparently running around on beaches with murderers and casting magick spells while I’m gone.” His voice had risen to a shout and both Chief Thomas and I sat back as silence – except for Cash taking a few deep breaths of air –filled the room.