by Amy Boyles
Without hesitating, I snatched the glossy black phone from him. “Oh my gosh! You found it! I came earlier, sat down and left. Thank you so much!”
And just to prove how over the top and believable I wanted to be, I threw my arms around Bama and said, “Roll Tide.”
EIGHT
Needless to say, we got our food to go and ended up back at Grandma’s house with the phone in hand.
“Okay,” I said, displaying the phone like a model on The Price is Right. “I need y’all to jailbreak this baby.”
Grandma gave Milly a confused look. “Dylan, you must talk in old-people speak. I do not know what this jailbreaking is.”
I laughed. How foolish of me to expect them to know these words. “Right. What I mean is, I need you to open the phone so I can find out more about Flynn.”
Milly snorted. “What do you think we are, cyber geeks? We don’t know anything about opening phones.”
I sank onto the couch. “Seriously? What am I supposed to do?” I pressed the phone to my forehead and sighed. “I can’t give up now.”
Nan entered the room. She wiped her hands on a towel draped over her shoulder. “Why the long face?”
I didn’t bother to look up. I stared at the floor, wallowing in my sorrows. “We got Flynn’s phone, but I can’t open it.”
“Let me see it.”
Now Nan was a great bodyguard, but I didn’t expect her to be tech savvy. But what the heck? It’s not like I had a lot of other options.
I let her have it. She studied it for a minute. Lots of “hmms” and “mmms” came from her. Then, “Here you go. It’s open.”
Every cell in my body flared to life. I shot from the couch. “What? How’d you do that?”
She shrugged. “Most people don’t bother to give a good password. They use one, two, three, four. Just tried that. It worked.”
“I could kiss you.”
She waved her hand. “Nah. Save it for something real, like when I use my broadsword to save your life.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
I immediately went to Settings and turned off the pass code feature. I scrolled through the numbers to make sure this was Flynn’s phone and bingo! It was.
Next I flipped to Text Messages and found what I was looking for at the very top.
Meet you tonight at the rendezvous?
Flynn had answered, Yes.
Crap. Where was the rendezvous? I scrolled down to see if an address had been sent, but there wasn’t one.
My heartbeat fluttered in my throat as panic overtook me. “Flynn’s supposed to meet someone tonight, but I don’t know the address. They only call it the rendezvous. How am I supposed to get it?”
Grandma hitched one shoulder. “Say it got deleted. That’s always how it is with electronics. They screw up this or that.”
I worked my bottom lip. “I don’t know. If it’s someplace he’s supposed to know by heart, that’ll look suspicious.”
Milly caned over to the table and snapped her fingers. A pitcher of fresh sweet tea appeared. She poured herself a glass, took a luxuriously long sip and smacked her lips.
“It’s worth the risk,” she said. “Otherwise you may never know.”
“If he is a Maleficium, we don’t want him in our town anyway, do we?”
“No, ma’am,” Grandma said.
Nan grabbed the broom and slashed the air. “I’ll take him down all by myself. That no-good rat.”
I shrugged. “Okay. Here goes nothing.”
I typed, My phone got fried. I lost the address. What is it?
I waited for what seemed like forever before it came in.
Three hundred Sycamore. Eight.
“Sycamore?” I said. “Isn’t that where the old O’Reilly house is?”
Milly nodded. “The one that’s supposed to be haunted? That’s the one.”
I shuddered. “Maybe Flynn’s into Ouija boards and haunted houses.”
Milly and Grandma exchanged a look that said, and maybe elephants named Dumbo flew.
“Okay, maybe not. But what could he be doing out there?”
Milly swiveled the ice in her glass. “Could be trying to catch ghosts, spirits, use them to his will. Could be trying to create a portal to a world so devilish only a horror author could imagine it. Heck, I don’t know. And you won’t know until you check it out.”
“Roman will probably be back,” I said. “How am I supposed to sneak out without him knowing?”
Grandma wiggled her fingers. “Leave that to me.”
“Now I’m scared.”
Grandma raised her nose. “Dylan, I don’t understand why you don’t trust me.”
“So many reasons,” I mumbled. “But seriously. Y’all will take care of him—I mean, keep him busy?”
“Sure,” Grandma said. “I’m great at that.”
I thanked them and was about to leave when Sera entered, carrying several casserole dishes in a box. “There you are,” she said to me. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Here’s your supper.”
She plopped the box into my outstretched arms. “Thank you.”
Grandma’s gaze swiveled from Sera to me to the box. “What’s this?”
Suddenly the heat of my grandmother’s stare made me very uncomfortable. “Oh, this? It’s just something Sera whipped up for my dinner. No biggie.”
Milly snorted out a line of tea from her nose. Then she bent over and laughed so hard I thought she might fall to the floor.
“Dylan’s been having Sera make supper for her.” She pointed at me and laughed until tears streamed down her eyes.
“It’s not funny,” I said.
“Dylan,” Grandma said, sounding horrified, “is this true?”
I shifted from foot to foot. “Maybe it’s a little true. Just a teensy bit.”
Then Grandma, in typical Hazel Horton style, threw her hands into the air as if this was the greatest calamity that mankind had ever faced. “Dear Lord, you mean you can’t cook?”
“Shhh, don’t say it so loud,” I said. “The world might hear you.”
“She can’t cook,” Milly cackled. “Dylan can’t cook.”
“Sorry,” Sera said meekly. “I thought they knew.”
I stiffened my jaw. “Okay, so I can’t cook and I don’t want Roman to know. Is that such a big deal? I’d rather lie than have him taste burned chicken. Or worse, one that’s cooked on the outside but raw on the inside.”
“Ew,” Nan said. “Did that happen?”
“Yes, it happened, and I’m not happy about it,” I spat. “But luckily I threw it out before Roman could die from food poisoning. That’s when I turned to Sera.”
“I can’t have my sister killing her husband,” she said, shrugging. “It’s not good.”
Grandma’s eyes bugged out like they were a gift that kept on giving. “So you’ve been cooking for her?”
“I’ve been paying,” I explained. “It’s not like I get it for free.”
“But what’re you going to do when Sera gets married and moves to Monkey Town?”
Crap. I gnawed my cheek pouch. “I haven’t thought about that. Maybe by that time I’ll have mastered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Heck, maybe I’ll order in every night. I don’t know. Would y’all stop harassing me? It’s bad enough I’m living a lie.”
“But I bet it tastes great,” Milly said, hooting with laughter.
Grandma threw one side of her gauzy white scarf over her neck. “Well, before you start gallivanting off to find Polly Parrot, maybe you’d best learn how to scramble an egg. I’ll show you.”
That was my cue to scatter like a cockroach. I peddled toward the door on feet that didn’t exit the house fast enough.
“That’s okay,” I said. “Sera said she’d give me lessons.”
“I did?” she said.
If she’d been close enough to kick, I would’ve. “Okay, well, anyway. I’ve got to go.”
I raced out the door and to my house in about
three seconds flat. By the time I got inside, set everything in the kitchen and started unpacking dinner, my phone chimed.
Got news. Be home at five. Love you.
Roman. That gave me just enough time to clean the house, warm the food, take a shower and attempt to look beautiful when I lied to my husband and said I wasn’t working on the Flynn case.
The thought made me cringe.
I mean, it might not even be a Maleficium case. The Stone guy might not even be doing that.
Maybe.
Which reminded me. I needed someone else to stalk that haunted house tonight. No way was I going by myself.
Sera. She’d be perfect.
I texted her, and she made plans to meet me downtown at eight. Now, to get the stars aligned so that I could sneak off with her. I’d need a miracle for that.
Or maybe just some private time with my husband.
Wink, wink.
Roman arrived right at five. I opened the door, and he swept me into his arms. The heat from his body warmed me to the bone. I wrapped my arms around his neck, drinking in the leathery scent that trickled from his skin.
He kissed the nape of my throat and settled me down as if I weighed no more than a feather.
His green eyes sparkled. The dark, smudgy lashes that framed his eyes snatched my breath. I was immediately reminded of the attraction I had for my husband. It punched me in the girlie parts, making my body tingle as if my nerve endings were raw and exposed.
“Darlin’, I missed you something fierce.”
I sank to one hip and fisted a hand there. “Bet you didn’t miss me as much as I missed you.”
He brushed a strand of hair from my cheek. “Want a bet?”
I tipped my chin. “Yeah. How’re we going to know who won?”
He threaded his fingers through mine and tugged me to his rock-hard chest. “What’d ya say we find out naked?”
I threw my head back in laughter. “Sounds good.”
A little while later I was feeding Roman completely baked chicken from my fingers.
“All you need is a palm frond and this would be paradise,” he said.
“So I’m supposed to feed you with one hand and fan you with the other?”
He propped his arm beneath his head. “Too much for you to tackle all at once?”
I scoffed. “I can multitask with the best of ’em. Don’t underestimate me.”
“Darlin’,” he said, pulling me close. “The last thing I do is underestimate you.”
Which took my thoughts directly to Flynn. Before he had a chance to ask, I changed the subject.
“Tell me about Swamp John.”
“His name is Kyle Carpenter.”
I pumped my hands like weighing scales. “Kyle Carpenter, Swamp John. Same thing.”
He chuckled. “Not the same thing. Not in our business, but Kyle Carpenter was home.”
My eyebrows shot to attention. “He was?”
Roman nodded. “Yep. Didn’t know a thing about Polly Parrot.”
“And you believed him?”
Roman studied me. “Yes, I believed him. He brought me into his house. There was no sign of a wooden bird.”
“He could’ve hidden it.”
“His alibi for the day Polly was stolen checked out, too. It seems Kyle has a job at a hardware store. They said he was at work all day.”
I jutted out my jaw. “Well, I’ll be darned. So that leads us back to Reid.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, entwining his fingers in mine. “And what have you discovered?”
A bubble of delight filled me. I knew more than Roman. “Apparently she’s been hanging out at the pool hall several nights a week. She didn’t go last night, but she’s bound to be primed for it tonight.” I poked the air. “And I met her boyfriend, Jeremy. He’s premed.”
“Oh,” Roman said, rolling his eyes, “so he must be perfect?”
I punched his shoulder lightly. “No, silly. All I’m saying is he’s got to be somewhat together to be premed.”
“Now I get it. And what did you think about him?”
I shrugged. “He introduced himself. Said he wanted people to know who Reid was hanging out with. I figured that made him okay. I mean, if he’s leading her astray, he wouldn’t want attention brought on himself.”
Roman scratched his cheek. “Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t know. But I do know we need to check out that pool hall, see who else might be in there swaying her.”
“Sounds like a solid plan.”
“And what about the other one?” he said.
My stomach bottomed out. I twisted my fingers together in some weird hope that if I looked uncomfortable enough, I might just disappear and not have to deal with this situation. A stupid thought, I know, and obviously one that wasn’t going to happen.
“I haven’t been able to track down the woman yet to give her back her stuff.”
That was true. I wasn’t exactly lying, just not divulging every ounce of truth that happened to be shoved up my rear end.
“Have you tried?” Roman said.
Now I was in trouble. I glanced at my watch. “Oh my gosh, look at the time. I bet Reid’s going to be heading down to the pool hall any minute. We’d better get on that.”
“Dylan,” Roman growled. “Did you even try giving her back the package?”
“Well,” I said slowly as if I could stretch out the word forever and not have to answer his question, “I’m working on it.”
Also, not an exact lie. I was working on the case, and if I worked on the case, then I could give back the envelope. So I was sort of working on several things.
His green eyes speared me. “If you haven’t tracked her down by tomorrow and given up that file, I’m going to do it myself.”
I gulped. “Okay.”
My phone bleeped. I leaned across Roman’s exposed chest and snatched it from the nightstand. It was a message from Sera.
Reid’s heading out.
I smiled. “Like I said, Reid’s on the move. It’s time to get this show on the road.”
Roman rose and tugged on his shirt. “Okay. Let’s go see if your baby sister is who we’re looking for.”
My chest tightened. I said a silent prayer that she wasn’t. The last thing I needed was for Reid to be a criminal. Or a kleptomaniac. Let’s face it. I had enough problems.
Roman’s phone blipped. He glanced at the face.
“What is it?” I said.
He frowned. “It’s from your grandmother. She says she needs me next door for something that only a man can do.”
I bit down a smile. “I’ll go check on Reid. Catch up when you can.”
He shoved his phone in his pocket and kissed my forehead. “I won’t be long.”
I shrugged. “It’s no rush. Take your time.”
But it was a rush. A real rush. It was nearly eight o’clock. I had to figure out what was going on with Flynn Stone and get to Reid before Roman ever knew I was gone.
Grandma better keep him busy for a while.
NINE
I met Sera a block away from Sycamore Street. She wore linen pants and a light sweater. The nights were finally beginning to cool down from the searing summer heat.
“Why are you wearing white?” I said.
She glanced down at her clothes. “Oh? Is it too bright?”
I nearly smacked my forehead. “We’re going to spy on people. Spy on them. We can’t be seen.”
“Hmm,” she said. Sera glanced over both shoulders and then washed her palms down her body.
Her clothes instantly transformed to black.
“Whoa,” I said, “you’ve been holding out on me. That was so cool.”
She blew on the tops of her fingers. “It’s a little trick Milly showed me.”
I leaned back in admiration. “Did you do that whole thing on purpose? To show off?”
Sera hooked a hand around my elbow. “No. Come on. Let’s go see if we can find your guy.”
I pointed to the car
. “Get in. We’ll ride over.”
Sera climbed into my sedan, and I drove over to the next street. Sycamore was built on a hill with the number three hundred being at the very end and on a low, sloping lot, which would give us a great vantage point for whatever Flynn was doing.
We rolled to a stop about ten minutes before go time. “I hope no one arrived early,” I said.
Sera scanned the other cars. “I don’t see anyone else. As long as we stay back far enough, we should be fine.”
I tapped the steering wheel as I studied the house. The supposed haunted house was your basic abandoned home that scared children who chanced a glance at it.
The two-story would’ve been a mansion in its heyday, but now it was dilapidated. The paint had faded to gray. Black shutters hung crookedly like they were clinging with their last bit of hope. The front windows were broken, probably by kids throwing stones. Kudzu left unchecked snaked up the sides, choking the life from what was left of the skeletal remains.
Sera shuddered. “Place gives me the creeps. Why would anyone meet here?”
I hitched a shoulder. “Beats me.”
As we spoke, a sleek black SUV pulled up in front and parked. Several seconds later a silver sedan slid up behind it. A blonde woman climbed from the SUV, and a man exited the car.
He was slimly built with a mop of brown hair. He glanced around nervously and pushed his glasses up his nose. He fumbled with the buttons on his shirt as if to make sure none of them had gone missing, and he smoothed his hair as the woman approached.
He took her hand awkwardly, though there was absolutely nothing awkward about her. She moved like liquid silver with a fluidity that seemed to ooze sexuality in the same way that he oozed nerdiness.
“That’s them,” I whispered.
I watched as she pointed to the house. He balled a fist and smacked it against his thigh. He nodded, and they both climbed down the broken walkway to the mansion.
They glanced around before slipping around back.
“What in the world are they doing?” Sera said.
I unclipped my seat belt and let it retract. “Come on. We’re about to find out.”
Sera stared at me as if I was crazy. “I’m not going down there.”
