As we drove, Cherilyn chatted away about the storm, the pantry—a reaction to what had happened, or not happened. I felt stunned. I went over it in my head and still made no sense out of it. The candle lighting itself, the runes on the wall glowing, shadows moving from nothing, the fear—it had been like a nightmare. Maybe it was hysterical hallucinations we shared. I didn’t really believe that but I couldn’t explain what had happened.
“Let’s have lunch,” Cherilyn said, much too brightly. “Let’s fucking eat lunch and forget all the shit that happened, okay?” She screeched to a halt and pulled off to the side before she burst into tears.
“Cher, honey, I’m so sorry. I should never have taken you there.”
“Don’t be silly. I know you didn’t know anything about the place. I don’t know why I got so scared. I think I’m a wuss. I don’t know how you deal with the bodies, and visions, and ghosts. Obviously I’m not cut out for this and all I saw were a few scribbles on a wall.”
“It was more than that and we know it, even if we aren’t sure what it was.”
Cherilyn stared at her phone while we talked.
“What?’
“Look.”
I looked. There was nothing there. The pantry wall was blank, as if it had been whitewashed.
We stared at each other. “Well, shit.” I flipped through the other pictures. At least the circle and pentagram showed up good and clear. I should never have touched the candle. It’s what started it. I’d have to go back and get it later, but I wouldn’t involve Cher in that, for sure.
I touched Cherilyn on the arm. “How about if we go back to my house, have lunch, and forget this mess. I wonder if we had any hail damage at home. Speaking of, what did it do to your car? I didn’t pay attention.”
She laughed. “Like there were no distractions.”
“Well yeah.”
“I did manage to park under a tree that blocked a lot of the hail. It should be easy to fix.”
We pulled up in front of the house as Mumsie ran out. “Tali, I was so worried. You were gone and the storm came, and hail. The boys were really worried.”
“Sean and Rusty? I told Sean to work in the yard and stay away from Rusty for the day.”
“No, silly. Amen Ka and Chung Po. They kept going on about witchcraft and runes and such. I don’t know what they were so agitated about. Do you?”
“Did we get any hail damage?”
“We lucked out. Just missed us. But did anything happen you need to tell me about? I sent Sean over to Rusty’s since he couldn’t work in the yard like you wanted. You and I can do a better job anyway.”
“Let’s eat lunch with Cher, and later I’ll tell you all about it.”
She caught the hint and went to the kitchen to make tea and cut some French bread. Definitely better than crackers.
By the time we finished lunch, it was as clear outside as if there had never been a storm. Gotta love Texas weather. No matter what time of year it was, if you didn’t like the weather, you only had to wait a minute or two for it to change. Except, that is, when you were ready for the July triple digits to go away. Then it was hot for the rest of your life.
Cherilyn said her goodbyes without saying anything more about the incident at the house. I wasn’t sure if she was still frightened, wanted to pretend nothing had happened, or was keeping her cards close to the vest in case there was a juicy story there.
I couldn’t wait to pick Mumsie’s brain regarding the Rayburn house. Something must have happened there and I bet she knew what. She always knew tidbits she failed to share, not maliciously, but just because her brain was so full of info at all times. She was interested in everything and knew bits and pieces about most of the families in Love county.
I went out to the shed to drag out the rakes. It was windy but not impossible. I found a basket for the pecans “I found gloves for us both,” Mumsie yelled from the deck.
“Gloves? It’s not cold.”
“Tali, work gloves, you idiot, unless you want pecan stain under your nails and scratches all over your fingers along with splinters from those old rake handles.”
“Oh.” I didn’t always think to do the Southern-lady-protecting-her-skin thing like I should.
Mumsie walked up with two straw hats and a couple of pairs of old gloves. “Here you go. This will keep your hair out of your eyes.”
“I could accomplish that with one of my baseball caps, you know.”
“I hate baseball caps on women, especially when they turn them backward. They look like poorly dressed adolescent boys. Men too, for that matter.”
“You are becoming old-fashioned in your old age.”
She jammed one of the straw hats on her head, tied the ribbons she’d sewn into the crown under her chin, and pulled on gloves. “Bite your tongue, young lady. You are the stick-in-the-mud around here, not me. You were old before you were ten.”
Pecans littered the ground under the large tree in the back yard so we began there. Someone was burning leaves, I could smell it in the air. I loved this time of year, especially when the air had cooled off from summer and the first hints of a freeze began to be felt. It could get cold by Halloween, or at least crisp.
We bent over, our heads touching as we picked up the brown nuts to put in the basket. “What do you know about that abandoned house out on seventy-six, the one with the grasses behind it? Didn’t it used to belong to the Rayburn’s?”
Mumsie straightened up so fast, she cracked me under the jaw with her head. I rocked back, grabbing hold of my chin, wiggling it to make sure it wasn’t broken.
“Oh, honey,” she laughed. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you.”
“What’s wrong with you?” I snapped. “It’s not funny.”
“I know it isn’t, but the expression on your face was priceless. Sorry.”
“Why did you jump like that when I mentioned the house?”
“It was strange. I dreamt about that house this morning after I returned to bed. You know, after I was roused so rudely.”
“Okay. I said I was sorry. I didn’t sleep well either. A lot of dreams I couldn’t remember, panic when I woke up. Anyway, what about the house?”
“That house belonged to the Rayburn’s all right, but not the ones with money who were in the legislature and owned half the county at one time. This was another branch altogether. They always had gossip going around about them, marriage trouble, boyfriend difficulty. Abuses of all kinds were rumored to have gone on in that house. There were stories of ghosts, and about the practice of witchcraft, even as late as the thirties and forties. You wouldn’t think about those as suspicious times but with the depression, money troubles, drought, it wasn’t a great time, at least that’s what my mother said.”
“Did Grandma know any of them personally?”
“Her best friend was one of the cousins, Blessy, and that was who filled her in about everything. Could have simply been over-imagination, but she never struck me as the type. She moved out of the county before you were born. I heard she had children and grandchildren.”
We stood under the pecan tree, hats pushed back, leaning on our rakes like gossiping farmers.
I told her what had happened during the storm, what I had seen, and Cherilyn’s reaction. “What do you think could be going on? Wouldn’t we have heard if some witchcraft thing was going on? You know how people love to build that up and spread it around.” The expression on Mumsie’s face stopped me cold. “What?”
“That’s what I dreamed.”
“Really. The whole thing?”
“It was happening to me and I couldn’t leave the pantry because the witch was on the other side of the door.”
“Twilight Zone time. I knew the pantry was a pantry before we leaped into it for protection.”
Mumsie shifted her position and began to rake again. “I don’t know, Tali. Something’s out of control here. Too many things happening that no one can explain.”
“What can we do
about it? How do we figure it out? Could the magic be somehow connected to the deaths? Could Aiden be involved?”
“There may not be anything we can do about any of this. It could be darker than we’re ready or capable of handling.”
I followed after her, forgetting to rake while I talked. “Meaning what? We’re helpless to find out what’s really happening? I won’t accept that. Could one of the family have moved back?”
Mumsie stopped raking and turned around to face me, her face a mask. “I don’t want to talk about this any more or get any more involved than we are already. If you want to keep the kids safe, forget what you saw or thought you saw and leave it alone. Leave me alone. I have work to do and if you can’t help, go away.”
She turned around and I stared at her back for a few minutes before I continued raking and picking up pecans. Could my life get any more complicated? Oops. I looked around. Did I say that out loud? Did anyone hear me? If no one hears, does it count?
Chapter Seventeen
The questions didn’t stop the rapid-fire ricochet in my brain. I continued working next to my now silent mother, who had clammed up tighter than… well, a clam. I concentrated on blocking out the confusion and focused on the physical work. As had become a pattern lately, life had become more confusing and complicated than ever. We both worked as if getting the yard cleaned up was the most important goal in our lives.
I knew I had to find answers to some of my questions, but it wasn’t going to happen right this moment. I would get on the computer later and see what I could find out about the Rayburn family and rumors of magic. The afternoon had turned hot and muggy after the rain and soon an iced something became a goal.
I went in, brewed some espresso for iced coffee and made iced tea for Mumsie before I called her in to make her take a break. She came in and went to wash up. Cass came into the kitchen, her eyes puffy. She’d been crying again, about Chase I was sure.
“Mom, you know what I just found out? Chase was dating two other people at the same time he dated me. Isn’t that great? He gave me all that crap about dating him exclusively, not flirting with his buds—or else, not looking at any guy passing by—and he was dating two other women.”
“Geez, honey, I’m sorry. That’s the pits. Was it someone you know?”
She wiped her eyes. “Oh, yeah. We both did.”
I stared at her, shock turning my face stiff.
“He was dating both Marcia and Karin.”
“Oh, my God. Why would he have dated someone Marcia’s age? I wonder if JT knows.”
Shock washed over Cass’s face. “Mom, you can’t tell him. He’ll think Chase had a reason to be involved in the killings. He’ll be arrested or something. He couldn’t stand that. He said he only dated them to make me jealous.”
“Cass, we can’t keep this from the sheriff’s department. Right now they have Marcia’s husband in custody. What if he didn’t do it? We can’t be responsible.”
“Why do you have to be involved? You always want to run people’s lives, stick your nose in where it’s not wanted.”
I stared at her. “Where’s this coming from? I thought you never wanted to see the guy again.”
“I don’t want to lock him up just because he’s a jerk. I don’t want to see him accused of something. What if he didn’t do it?”
“We don’t get to decide that and we don’t get to withhold evidence either.”
“I don’t have any evidence. For all I know, someone was trying to make me jealous and it isn’t true.”
Mumsie came back. “She’s right, Tali. Whatever Cass was told is only hearsay, third party information. No hard evidence. We have no place meddling any more than we’ve been forced to by being on the scene.”
I frowned at Mumsie. “Are you a lawyer now? How did you hear our conversation from the back room anyway?”
Cass laughed. “She’s a witch. Didn’t you know?”
Mumsie glared at Cass but ignored the witch crack. “No, I’m not a lawyer. I do watch enough crime stuff to know the basics. If there’s something to find out, JT will ferret it out. He’s like a hound after a scent. He won’t leave it alone if it’s there.”
“Oh he’d love that analogy. Okay, I’ll try to stay out of it but I’m not sure it’s smart.”
Mumsie finished off her tea. “There’s a couple more hours’ work out there. If all three of us get to work, we can knock it off in half that time.
It was Cass’s turn to glare. “I thought Sean was supposed to be helping.”
“Come on, kid, fresh air will do you good, help you work out some of that anger.”
* * * *
By the time we finished the yard, every muscle in my body screamed. The physical activity was good for me but I felt as if a car had backed over me several times. I couldn’t believe raking and picking up pecans could cripple me up this much. I couldn’t believe how out of shape I’d gotten. I used to at least make an effort to run if nothing else. Now all I wanted was a bath and some sleep. A hot bath might be a lifesaver. As I got into the tub, I vowed to begin an exercise program soon.
I dozed in the hot water until it cooled off too much. Some of the soreness had been leeched away by the hot water. At least the afternoon’s activity hadn’t affected the ankle adversely—in fact, it wasn’t even bruised.
I climbed out to see what I could do for dinner. Homemade pizza would taste good and everyone could build their own. I pulled on warm sweats. The house had turned cold and I was ready to light a fire in the den for the comfort of it. Not an efficient way to heat this house but so pretty to watch. I put the electric wall heater on low and went out on the deck to bring in some wood.
The three-quarter moon hung low in the sky, close enough to the horizon for distortion to make it look twice as large as possible. It was a night for werewolves, vampires, creatures of the night. I shivered, stood up, my arms full of wood, and glanced next door. I hadn’t seen any activity since I’d left Aiden in the middle of the road. I couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or worried.
“Aiden,” I shrieked. I’d been alone, holding wood, now there he was beside me, taking the wood before I could drop it. “Hell fire and damnation. If you don’t stop doing that to me, I’m going to be forced to knock your head off.”
“Doing what?”
“You know damn well what. Sneaking up on me like some… some… vampire or something. You’re going to give me a heart attack. What are you doing here?”
“Helping you with the wood.” He looked down at me with a wicked grin. “Hoping to help you with other things. Remember our visit to the gazebo at the lake?”
Remembering that night and the attraction I felt made my knees turn to water. But the man was a menace and I couldn’t let myself get involved with any more dangerous men. I gazed up into his eyes, falling into the darkness as sure as I stood there, my mouth hanging open like some adolescent in the throes of her first crush.
Mumsie came into the kitchen and saw us on the deck.
“Hey, you two, come in or out. It’s chilly out there. Tali, did you invite your young man to dinner again?”
“He’s not my young man,” I said, sounding like a sulky kid. “I mean no, I didn’t invite him, but he’s welcome.”
“Are Sean and Rusty going to be here?” Aiden asked. “Maybe we can have another interesting dinner.”
I turned red, remembering the kid’s behavior the night before. “Only Sean, and he’ll be on his best behavior, I promise. Do stay. We’re having build-your-own-pizza.”
I really didn’t want him to leave.
“I’m sorry. I ate a really late lunch and have some work to do so I’ll have to take a rain check.” He put the wood in the fireplace and straightened up.
Sean’s voice preceded him as he shot into the den. “Mom, guess what? JT gave me a ride home, and I invited him to stay. Aren’t you happy? We have company for supper. What are we having anyway?”
JT followed behind, hat in hand. He took
in Aiden’s presence as well as mine. He didn’t look happy.
Aiden smiled again. “You know, Tali, I think I’ll take you up on your kind offer and stay after all. Promises to be fun.”
Well, shit. The two men looked like tomcats squaring off over a piece of territory, or small prey. Why did I feel as if I was the prey and they were ready to gobble me whole? And they were both such hunks. JT, sandy-haired cowboy with muscles; Aiden, tall, dark and mysterious. How do I deal with them both? What if I didn’t choose?
“Okay now. Y’all want some beer? Then I’m putting everyone to work while I lay out some crust. Then you can each get your own pizza ready for the oven. Mumsie, would you make a salad?” I handed the guys each a bottle of dark beer, opened one for myself and a root beer for Sean.
I tossed JT an onion. “Chop this up for me please. Here’s a knife and a bowl. Aiden, would you dice some tomatoes? I’m going to fry up bacon and sauté mushrooms.”
Sean curled his lip when he heard the list of ingredients. “Don’t you have anything good to go on the pizza?”
“Yes, dear, I have plenty of cheese. I know that’s as far as your taste buds are willing to go. I have a jar of black olives too.”
“Ugh. How disgusting.”
“You know, Sean, some people will actually try something new.”
“I’d rather stick with something I know I like.”
Aiden looked up. “You know, Sean, I think that’s how your mom feels too.”
Sean appeared confused but I knew just what Aiden was talking about. I had a feeling JT did also.
“Well, JT, how is the investigation going?”
He winced. “We had to release Marcia’s husband. With the lack of real evidence and the fact that the second murder took place after he was in jail, we didn’t have much to hold him on. We’re back to looking for the rumored boyfriend.”
Seeing my chance and ignoring Mumsie’s warning glance, I forged ahead. “Speaking of rumors, I heard that Chase Bridges from Shamrock dated both Marcia and Karin.”
Carol Shenold - Tali Cates 02 - Bloody Murder Page 13
