“How are you feeling?” Cooper asked, his expression turning serious.
“I feel fine.”
Cooper continued petting Jinx and waited.
“I feel almost fine,” Hannah corrected. “I’m a little shaky, but I’m sure that will even out as the day goes forward.”
“That’s good.” He cocked his head to the side and regarded her. “You know we’re supposed to open today, right?”
“I remember you mentioning that the night of the tour.”
“That means people will start arriving in a few hours.”
Hannah held back an exasperated sigh, but just barely. “I think I can handle some tourists.”
“You’ve never seen how things go during performance days. I don’t think it’s going to be what you expect. It’s a lot more ... fluid ... than you’re probably imagining.”
Hannah knit her eyebrows. “Fluid? I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
“And I’m not sure how to explain it. The thing is, it’s going to happen really fast. Your natural impulse is going to be to keep up with everyone else. Nobody expects that. This is new to you. Plus, well, you were hurt yesterday. You should take it easy. In fact, if you want to do nothing but sit back and watch, that would be okay, too.”
Hannah balked. “That doesn’t sound fair to everybody else,” she argued. “I’m supposed to contribute.”
“You can contribute ... once you learn how everything operates.”
“Or I can contribute today.”
“You were hurt yesterday, practically killed,” Cooper pointed out, changing tactics. “You should take it easy.”
“I feel okay.” Mostly, Hannah meant it. “Once I get some breakfast into me I’m sure I’ll feel even better. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Cooper was amused despite himself. “I can’t help it. I’m the one who pulled you out of the water. I feel responsible for you.”
“Well, it’s not necessary.” Hannah was firm. “I can take care of myself. I’ve spent years allowing others to live my life for me but that doesn’t mean I’m not capable. I can handle this.”
Cooper wanted to question her on that statement, delve deeper into her psyche. He found her interesting, if also annoying, on a regular basis. He didn’t have time for that, though. He had responsibilities of his own to worry about.
“Fine.” He held up his hands in defeat. “You’re going to do what you want to do.”
“I am,” Hannah agreed. “I’m going to help somehow. I’m not sure what I’m going to do, but it will be helpful.”
“Great. Just try not to get in anybody’s way.”
Hannah made a face. “I’ve got it. There’s no need to be snotty.”
“I wasn’t being snotty. I was being helpful.” Cooper slowly climbed to his feet, his eyes enigmatic as he scanned her face. “You still seem a little pale.” Instinctively he reached out and brushed his fingers against her cheek. He didn’t immediately comprehend how intimate the gesture was until he felt her cheek burn under his touch and he hastily jerked away from her. “Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”
Hannah nodded, solemn. “I had a few weird dreams but that’s it.”
“What sort of dreams?”
“Actually, it was weird.” Hannah rubbed her forehead as she considered what happened inside her busy brain the night before. “I probably shouldn’t eat steak right before I go to sleep. I don’t want to have a dream like that again. It gave me the heebie-jeebies.”
Cooper smirked. “Heebie-jeebies, huh? Now I definitely want to know what you dreamed about.”
“Abigail.” Hannah’s answer was simple. “I dreamed she was a ghost watching over me. It was really weird.”
Cooper stilled. “Really?”
Hannah bobbed her blond head. “Yeah. I fell asleep right after you left. I guess I was more tired than I realized. I honestly thought I woke up in the middle of the night and had a conversation with my dead grandmother. The dream felt real at the time.
“I woke up this morning and kind of laughed at myself, though,” she continued, rueful. “I felt like an idiot because I believed what was happening in the dream was real.”
Cooper chose his words carefully. “You don’t believe in ghosts?”
“Not really.”
“Not even a little?”
His insistence gave her pause. “I’ve never really thought about it. I mean ... I like horror movies as much as the next person. I watched The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix a few months ago and was chilled to the bone. I loved it. That doesn’t mean I believe it’s legitimately possible.”
“I see.”
Hannah pressed her lips together as she regarded him. “Do you believe it’s possible?”
“I believe anything is possible,” Cooper replied. “There have been times in my life where I’ve been scared out of my wits for no reason and I was certain there was a ghost nearby. A lot of people in this area believe in ghosts ... and other stuff. You should get used to that.”
Hannah frowned. “Are you saying everyone here believes in the paranormal?”
“I’m saying that this area tends to lean toward certain ... beliefs.” Cooper hoped he was phrasing things in a way that didn’t make things worse. “Just be careful what you say to others, okay?”
“Okay.”
“And don’t close yourself off to possibilities.”
She smirked. “Okay. I’ll allow myself to believe my dead grandmother was here last night telling me to find a book.” She laughed hollowly. “That seems like a healthy way to spend my day after hitting my head.”
Cooper realized she’d convinced herself nothing happened because of the head injury. It made sense. He didn’t want to push her when she was still fragile. Of course, she would have to find out the truth eventually. If things continued the way they were, it would have to happen sooner rather than later.
“Just take it easy today,” Cooper instructed after a beat. “You’ve had a busy few days. Nobody is going to hold it against you if you need to take it slow. You don’t have to be a superstar on your first day.”
Hannah thought back to what Archibald said to her in the office on the day she negotiated her severance package. “I’ve never been a superstar at work,” she said finally. “Maybe it’s time I give it a shot.”
Cooper was exasperated. “That’s all well and good, but you need to keep up your strength. I want you to be careful while I’m gone. I also want you to avoid the creek today.”
Hannah tilted her head. “You don’t have to worry about me going back to the creek. I think it’s a bit too soon for that.”
“That’s good.”
“Where are you going, though?”
“I’m heading out with Boone.” Cooper turned grim. “He wants my help tracking down Jordan’s roommate.”
Hannah couldn’t hide her surprise. “Do you often help him on cases?”
In truth, Cooper was often knee-deep in Boone’s investigations. They worked together even though only one of them had the qualifications to legally question people. He couldn’t exactly explain why to Hannah, though, because she wouldn’t understand. At least not yet.
“I’m helping him with this particular case because it’s necessary,” he replied. “Boone didn’t know Jordan well. I did. It will be easier if we work together.”
“That makes sense.” Hannah flashed a pretty smile. “Is it wrong that I’m kind of excited about starting work today? I mean ... this is a whole new world for me. It’s cool, right?”
Cooper couldn’t hold out in the face of her delight. “It’s very cool. I still think you should take it easy. This place is going to be here for a long time. It would be nice if you were, too. Don’t work yourself to the bone. You have time to catch up to everybody else.”
“I’ll be fine.” Hannah was certain about that. “Trust me.”
“Good luck.”
“You, too.”
COOPER MET BOONE AT A DINER clos
e to the apartment building. The area surrounding the apartment complex wasn’t exactly a town. Over the years, though, several small conveniences had popped up ... including a diner, laundromat, gas station, and small general store. The owner of the diner, Leslie, was a regular fixture and both men were familiar with her sarcastic wit and delightful cooking skills.
“Hello, boys,” she intoned as she arrived to take their orders. “How is life in the old west?”
Cooper snorted. Leslie always made fun of what was happening at Casper Creek. She couldn’t help herself. “Things are mostly fine,” he replied. “It’s been a little wilder than I would like, but you know how that goes.”
“I do.” Leslie, who was in her fifties and had dark hair that was shot through with gray, nodded. “I hear the new owner arrived on the scene and she’s out of her element. Are you worried that she’ll run Casper Creek into the ground? That seems to be the gossip on everybody else’s lips. They think she’s clueless.”
For some reason, Cooper found he was agitated by the statement. “She’s not so bad. She’s just getting used to the place. She came from Detroit, for crying out loud. You can’t expect her to just fit in out of the blue.”
Leslie cocked an eyebrow. “Huh.”
That was a loaded “huh.” Cooper didn’t like that “huh.” In fact, he hated it. “What is that supposed to mean?”
Leslie held up her hands in mock surrender. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You meant something.”
“I did,” she agreed, smirking. “I’m curious. Word on the street is this girl is extremely pretty. Long legs that go on for miles and a pile of blond hair that came from genetics and not a bottle.”
“That’s pretty much true,” Boone agreed, grinning at Cooper as the other man shifted uncomfortably on his stool. “She’s definitely a looker.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Cooper challenged.
“I just find it interesting that you’re sticking up for her today when three days ago you were complaining nonstop that she was going to ruin everything.”
“I hadn’t met her then.”
“And now you’ve met her — and more importantly, seen her — and you can’t stop smiling when you’re talking about her,” Boone teased. “Like I said, it’s very interesting.”
Cooper scowled. “Let’s talk about something else,” he suggested. “Oh, I know. Let’s talk about Jordan. He is the dead guy, after all. I would think he’d be more important than gossiping about Abigail’s granddaughter.”
Instead of being offended, or taking the churlish insult to heart, Leslie merely guffawed. “Oh, I think someone has a crush on the new girl. It’s kind of cute.”
Boone winked at Leslie to encourage her and nodded his head. “I think it’s cute, too. I’m looking forward to seeing how things play out.”
“I hate both of you,” Cooper complained, stretching his fingers and staring at the counter. “Can we order? Boone and I have to head over to Jordan’s place to interview his roommate and then I would like to get back to Casper Creek as soon as possible.”
“Because you don’t want to leave Hannah alone without your manly chest to cry on?” Leslie queried.
“Ugh.” Cooper slapped his hand to his forehead. “This is going to be a long day.”
COOPER MANAGED TO PUT SOME of his annoyance behind him by the time he finished breakfast. There was nothing greasy eggs and hash browns couldn’t fix — he was convinced of that — although he was still on edge when Boone met him in front of the third archway at the front of the building.
“This is the spot, right?” Cooper queried.
Boone nodded. “This is the spot. The roommate’s name is Kip Bunting. He’s expecting us.”
“Kip?” Cooper didn’t bother hiding his amusement. “What kind of name is Kip?”
“What kind of name is Cooper?”
“I don’t know. What kind of name is Boone?”
The men snickered in unison. They had a congenial relationship that often devolved into taunting.
“Let’s get this over with,” Cooper suggested. “I wasn’t kidding about not wanting to be away from Casper Creek all day.”
“Because you don’t want to be away from Hannah?”
“Actually, yes.” Cooper saw no reason to lie. “This is the first time the park has been open since Abigail died. Hannah has no idea what to expect. Besides that, she hit her head hard yesterday. Virgil said she was lucky she didn’t have a concussion ... or worse. The dog kept her afloat. She could’ve drowned.”
Boone sobered. “Do you think someone tried to hurt her?”
“She saw three figures on the bluff. One of them had white hair. You know what that means.”
Boone bobbed his head. He knew exactly what that meant. “We’ll make this quick. If Kip gives us a lead, you can decide after if you want to go with me or head back.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
KIP TURNED OUT TO BE A late sleeper. He’d obviously just gotten out of bed because he was wearing boxer shorts and a T-shirt when he answered the door. He also had a doughnut in his hand and his brown hair was standing on end.
“You’re the cops, right?”
Boone exchanged an amused look with Cooper before nodding. “I’m the sheriff,” he corrected. “Cooper here is head of security at Casper Creek. We have a few questions about Jordan.”
“So you said on the phone.” Kip gestured for them to join him in the small apartment. It was messy — like single-guy messy — and Cooper had trouble hiding his disgust when he saw the overflowing sink in the kitchen. If he had to guess, nobody had done dishes in days. “What can I do for you?”
“We need information about Jordan,” Boone replied. “I’ve managed to get his mother on the phone. She lives in Ohio and is on the way. She didn’t have a lot of information to share with us, though.”
“I’m not sure I do either.” Kip shoved the rest of the doughnut into his mouth and chewed as he continued talking with his mouth full. “I mean ... Jordan was a nice enough guy, but we didn’t really spend a lot of time together. We weren’t friends or anything.”
Cooper managed to hide his disgust at the young man’s manners and forced a bland smile onto his face. “You were roommates but not friends? How does that work?”
“I answered an ad in the newspaper,” Kip replied after swallowing. “I work at the gas station. It belongs to my uncle. When I first moved to the area, I lived with him and my aunt. That got to be uncomfortable because I wanted to go out at night. When I saw Jordan’s ad, it seemed like a good idea.”
“How long did you guys live together?” Boone queried.
“About six months.”
“And you weren’t friendly at all?”
“We weren’t unfriendly,” he clarified. “We didn’t hate each other or anything, if that’s what you’re asking. We just didn’t spend a lot of time together. I worked nights and he worked days. He hung around those Casper Creek people all the time and I find it weird that grown-ups want to dress like gunfighters. We played video games and stuff sometimes, but we weren’t best friends.”
“Okay. I guess that’s fair.” Boone rubbed his chin. “What about Jordan’s friends? Who did he hang around with?”
“Mostly the people at Casper Creek.”
“Anybody else? What about a girlfriend?”
“He didn’t have a girlfriend for the bulk of the time we were living together,” Kip replied. “He did start talking about this one chick who was really weird nonstop a few weeks ago.”
“What chick?” Cooper asked.
“I can’t remember a name. It was a weird name. It started with an A ... at least I think. I didn’t like hanging around them when he was trying to get her attention – and only did it once before I bowed out – because she said some creepy stuff.”
“What sort of stuff?” Boone questioned, excited they might be finally getting somewhere. “What was wrong with her?”
“Well, for starters, she had long white hair. It was like ... totally white. Like snow.”
Boone shifted his eyes to Cooper and frowned as Kip continued, obviously missing their shared expression.
“She wore long skirts all the time,” Kip offered. “They were those weird ones you see at flea markets.”
“I believe I’m familiar with the skirts you’re talking about,” Boone said dryly.
“She said weird stuff, talked about spells and called herself a witch. She made me uncomfortable and I didn’t like spending time with her.”
Cooper swallowed hard. “Was her name Astra by any chance?”
Kip brightened considerably. “Yeah. How did you know that?”
“I’m familiar with her work.” Cooper flattened his lips. “I guess it was no coincidence she showed up at the creek yesterday. I should’ve seen this coming.”
Boone’s expression was grave. “We both should have. I guess that means we’re going to have to track her down.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“Don’t I know it.”
8
Eight
Hannah wanted to help. That meant staying out of the way of others. Ultimately, she ended up in the saloon with Rick Solomon. He was in his thirties, handsome, and something of a chatterbox. He split his time between the saloon and the restaurants, and he was open to taking Hannah on as an apprentice of sorts. Since Hannah was out of her element, she took him up on the offer.
“Shouldn’t I be wearing a costume?” she asked, glancing down at her simple jeans and T-shirt. Everyone else was dressed in vintage clothing — or at least an approximation of it — and she stuck out like a sore thumb.
Rick cast her a sidelong look as he rubbed down the bar. The first batch of tourists was due to arrive any minute. “I believe that more costumes are on the way. I don’t think we have anything in the barmaid section that would fit you. Everything is too big.”
“Oh, well ... .” Hannah pursed her lips. “I just feel like an idiot. I want to help, don’t get me wrong, but I would feel better if I fit in.”
“We’ll just tell anyone who asks that you’re in training and it will be fine,” Rick offered. “You shouldn’t worry about it. You’re the owner. You can do whatever you want.”
The Dirty Coven Page 7
