Slay in Character

by Lynn Cahoon

  “You know I’m probably going to have to bring her in for questioning. She had good reason to kill her friend, and she was on the property when Danielle was murdered.” Uncle Pete’s words were hard, but his voice kind. “I know you like the kid.”

  “It’s not just that. She’s had a really rough week and she just seems to bounce back. I don’t believe there is a snowball’s chance in Arizona that she killed Danielle. I talked to her as soon as she got back to the house that afternoon. She wasn’t stressed or anxious. She just wanted to assure me that she’d handled the problem and there wouldn’t be any more interruptions.”

  Uncle Pete cleared his throat. “That sounds like—”

  Cat didn’t let him continue. “She handled it by talking to her supervisor. She didn’t kill anyone.”

  “Look, I’ve got reports to get filed before I leave. Can we talk about this tomorrow?” He paused. “I am still invited to Sunday dinner, right?”

  “Of course.” Cat saw the group coming out of the lobby. “Look, find out who took her money. I think that’s the key.”

  “The cash or the bank funds?”

  “I told you that Martin took the cash.” She turned her head so as not to be heard by the others.

  “Exactly. Maybe he was helping himself to her bank accounts as well. I’ve got an interview with the kid first thing Monday morning. Get some sleep.”

  “You too.” She stood and tucked the phone in her pocket. “We all ready?”

  Cora came up to her. “Kind of. We have a favor to ask.”

  “Okay, what?” Cat hoped it wasn’t ice cream. She didn’t think she could turn down the soft serve that the local drive-in had in stock.

  Cora looked around at the group as they walked to the SUV. Seth remotely unlocked the car, but no one got inside. “We’d like to go to Outlaw one more time. Jessi has her key and code, so we shouldn’t trip any alarms. We just want to make sure there isn’t anything we missed the first time.”

  “I want to clean out my locker. Dante’s pretty firm on me not going back to work for a while. I’ve already cleared it with my boss. She said I could come anytime they aren’t open to the public.” Jessi stood next to Cora. “Do you mind taking us? That way, we’ll be safe and I won’t have to try to sneak onto campus to get my car. Besides, not all of us will fit in the convertible and there’s strength in numbers.”

  “You have a convertible?” Kelly’s words were still a little garbled from the alcohol. “Youth, they don’t understand the value of delayed gratification.”

  “Take a nap, Kelly. We’ll wake you up when we get to Outlaw.” Connie gently helped her into the back seat.

  “That sounds nice.” Kelly curled up with her head resting on the window.

  “I didn’t say we were going to Outlaw.” Cat glanced around the group, now watching her. “Look, it’s not safe.”

  “We’re not alone. We have you. You can call your uncle and tell him we’re going up to get Jessi’s locker cleaned out. The management knows. What could go wrong?” Connie got into the back seat with Kelly. “One last road trip.”

  Cat glanced at Seth and Shauna. “What do you think?”

  “They make a good argument. Besides, I’ve always wanted to see the town in the dark.” Shauna shivered. “I’ve heard all kinds of ghost stories.”

  “Okay, but we’re only going into the staff building where the lockers are.” Cat looked at the writers staring at her, waiting for permission for an adventure.

  “And walking around the back? I’d love to see how they pull off the show.” Lisa dove into the car. “So glad I charged my phone. These are going to be amazing pictures.”

  Seth hung back as the rest of them climbed into the car. “Are you texting your uncle?”

  “I don’t know. He’s already up to his eyeballs with work. You know he’d say to stay away, especially at night.” Cat bit her bottom lip. “I’ll text him once we’re there and tell him I’ll send a second one when we leave. That way he can’t say no.”

  Seth moved closer. “This feels like that weekend we snuck into Denver for that music festival. You realize we both got grounded for that.”

  She kissed him. “And it was totally worth it. Besides, who’s going to ground us now? We’re adults.”

  “Then why does it feel like we’re teenagers again?” Seth leaned closer and whispered, “Maybe we could find a dark corner for a few minutes when we get there.”

  She laughed and gently pushed him away. “Maybe we can carve out some time tomorrow before you leave for your trip. Otherwise, we’re still on the clock until the guests leave. And that means no sneaking off.”

  “You’re such a stickler for rules.” His eyes twinkled in the dark. “But sadly, I’m leaving as soon as I get back from the airport run. I only have to do one, so the guys will be waiting for me at my apartment.”

  “Delayed gratification.” Cat rubbed her hands on his chest. “It makes the time so much sweeter.”

  “Hey, you two. Are we going or not?” Lisa called out the open door. “We have adventures to complete.”

  Cat met Seth’s gaze. “I’m going to regret this, I know I am.”

  “Yeah, probably, but at least we’re all together. No one left behind. It’s kind of like my army days, if the guys were all historical romance authors.” Seth opened the front passenger door for her. “Besides, I’m in a great mood now that Snow is all tucked into her new home.”

  “That was the best gift you could have given her.” She kissed him lightly and climbed into the car. Turning toward the back, she smiled at the group. “Let’s go see if we can spot some ghosts.”

  CHAPTER 22

  The ride to Outlaw was like the summer Cat had gone to camp in eighth grade. Everyone was chatting and laughing and telling stories. Then the singing started. Fun rounds to keep the passengers awake—well, except for Kelly, whose snores sometimes added to the harmony.

  Cat pointed to the turnoff for Outlaw. “There it is.”

  “Thank God. I don’t think I could deal with another round of ‘Ninety-nine Bottles.’ I haven’t heard most of these songs since I left school.” Seth turned the car up the dirt road to the ghost town.

  “Don’t tell me they didn’t have sing-alongs in the army. What about boot camp?” Cat reached for his hand in the dark. Seth hadn’t talked much about what had happened while he was away. His conversations when he got back were all about their future and where he’d be stationed. Cat realized he’d been focusing on them, when all she wanted to talk about was what college would hire her and the writing projects she was planning. They’d been on two different paths that could have run the same way, but she hadn’t seen it that way back then.

  She felt his look before he spoke. “No, Cat, it wasn’t like summer camp.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?” She hadn’t ever asked him about his time in the service. Now she felt like a heel of a girlfriend.

  He pulled the vehicle into the main parking lot, then made his way to the employees-only driveway that curved around the back of the town. She’d almost assumed he hadn’t heard her when he answered. “Not here. Not now. But maybe someday soon.”

  And with that, he parked and shut off the car. “Okay, Cat, text your uncle. We have twenty minutes, folks. Make sure you get what you need done and are back here by that time, or we’ll leave you for the ghosts.”

  Everyone giggled as they piled out of the car. Well, everyone except Kelly, who was still asleep, and Cat, who was still reacting to Seth’s comment. “Jessi? Do you want to open up the staff building?”

  “For sure.” Jessi waved her friends toward the modern shed-type building. “Over here, guys. I can give you the grand tour of the employee holding pen.”

  Seth held up three flashlights he’d grabbed from the glove box. “If you want to look around town, take one of these. And don’t go alone.”

  “Silly, no one is up here but us.” Shauna grabbed one of the flashlights. “Come on, Cat, let’s go wa
lk down Main Street. I want to see the village.”

  “Seth? You coming?” Cat looked back at him as he leaned against the car.

  He shook his head. “No, I’ll stay here. That way I can watch both of the groups. Just don’t run into a bear or something.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Shauna froze.

  Cat pulled her forward. “Yeah, he’s kidding. Kind of. There are bears in the woods here, but they won’t come into the town. There’s nothing here for them to eat.”

  “Besides you,” Seth called after them. “Just be careful.”

  “Sometimes his sense of humor escapes me.” Shauna stepped around the first building and they stepped back into time. Outlaw looked like it had in 1880 when the town was founded. Whatever type of man Joseph John was, there was no doubt he was a history buff. The hitching posts for the horses were worn and some even chewed down from a bored horse left too long on the street.

  Shauna shined the flashlight on the buildings and then back down the long expanse of street. “I could have lived back here. I would have had an eatery for men who came off the trails and had nowhere to dine except at the saloon. My food would have been better. Or maybe a rooming house.”

  “Kind of like we do now, except we have writers, not dusty cowhands.” Cat grinned. “Maybe that’s who you were in another life?”

  “You know I don’t believe in reincarnation. We’ve had this talk.” Shauna smiled as she stepped up onto the wood sidewalk that ran the length of the four buildings on the left. “Although, right now, I might just let myself be convinced.”

  They wandered down the sidewalk, glancing into the windows and talking. When they reached the end, Shauna grabbed Cat’s arm. “Stop.”

  “What? I wasn’t going to walk off, I knew the step was there.” She started to move forward, but Shauna’s grip tightened.

  “No, it’s not that. Don’t you see it?” Shauna pointed toward the blacksmith’s shop at the end of town.

  “A bear?” Cat’s breath stopped as she scanned the darkened area.

  Shauna stepped backward and pulled Cat with her, out of the light from the overhead lamppost hidden in the back of the building. “No. Not a bear. A car. Someone else is here, Cat. We need to get out of here.”

  Cat barely saw the dark sedan parked next to the blacksmith’s shop. “Who could that belong to? Maybe it’s just a car one of the employees left behind this afternoon.”

  Shauna pulled her out of the light and back into the shadows. “I’m not willing to take that chance. One girl already died here. I don’t want us to add to the body count. And I thought a bear would be the worst thing we’d run into.”

  “Don’t get all worked up yet. We’ll just go back, get everyone in the car, and head out of here. Uncle Pete said they’d had trouble with break-ins. Maybe some couple is just parking and getting busy.” Cat hurried to keep up with her friend.

  “You’ve been hanging around with Seth too much. Sometimes bad things happen. Even in perfect little towns like Aspen Hills.”

  That stung. Cat almost stopped in her tracks but then she wondered, what if Shauna was right? Better be safe than sorry. They found themselves back by the vehicle.

  Seth was looking at his phone. He put it in his pocket when he saw them walk up. “That was fast.”

  “Tell him what you saw. I’ll go get the others.” Cat moved toward the staff building, but then the door opened and Jessi came out with a box in her hands. The other women followed her.

  “Hey, do we have room for this? I didn’t realize how much crap I had in my locker.” Jessi grinned, then looking up, dropped the box. “Son of a . . .”

  Cat watched as she ran to the saloon’s back door. She looked up at the building and saw what Jessi had seen, a figure in the window of the room where Danielle had been killed. “Call Uncle Pete. Get him here and get the rest of these people out of here.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.” Seth tossed the keys to the vehicle to Shauna. “You’re not going in there without me.”

  “Guys.” Shauna paused, then sighed. “Be careful. We won’t go far.” She turned to Cora, grabbing Jessi’s box and shoving it on the floorboard. “Get everyone in the car. And call 911.”

  Cat didn’t hear Cora’s response because she was already inside and making her way through the dark hallway. “I should have grabbed Shauna’s flashlight.”

  Light streamed from behind her. “I grabbed one.”

  “Thanks.” They made their way to the stairway, and Cat caught a glimpse of Jessi at the top of the stairs, then she disappeared. “Crap, let’s go.”

  They ran up the stairs, with Seth taking the lead. When they paused on the landing, he handed her the flashlight. “Stay here.”

  “Not on your life.” She took the flashlight and gripped it like her life depended on it. Then they made their way to the room where she knew Jessi had disappeared.

  When they got there, Jessi stood in the doorway, blocking their view.

  “Move over, let me deal with this.” Seth put a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

  Jessi moved and Cat gasped. The man sitting on the bed sobbing was Darryl, Jessi’s money manager. “What are you doing here?”

  “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Darryl sobbed. “I tried to make everything right, but then I just got in deeper. I’m sorry I took the money. I thought I could win it back and no one would notice.”

  “The police are on their way.” Seth glanced over at Cat. “Do you know this guy?”

  “He’s Jessi’s money guy, and apparently the one who has been siphoning off money from her account. I thought he was nice.” Cat shook her head. “I called that one wrong.”

  Jessi spoke, her voice quiet. “You stole from me? And worse, you made my mom think I was the loser.”

  “It wasn’t like that.” Darryl didn’t look at any of them. “I got in over my head. I borrowed a little here and there, then your father died and your mom asked for an accounting. Your father never asked for an accounting. We were friends, he trusted me. Your mother, on the other hand, she didn’t. So I stalled.”

  “By telling her I was doing drugs.” Jessi’s tone was flat, emotionless. Now that the truth was out, she’d put together all the pieces. “Then you used my friend to gather information on me, but when I wasn’t being the bad girl you’d hoped, I had to go.”

  “No. It wasn’t like that. Danielle started pressuring me for more money. I could barely keep my head above water with the casino bosses, and this nobody threatens me? I lost my temper. I never meant to kill her. Why would I? She was keeping my secret.”

  “She was keeping everyone’s secrets.” Cat put a hand on Jessi’s back. “At least it’s over now. Uncle Pete will come and arrest this guy, and you can go back to your life.”

  Darryl started sobbing harder. “I just can’t go on this way anymore. I came up here to end it. But I can’t even do that. I’m so sorry, Jessi.” He reached for the gun on the side table.

  “Get away from him.” Seth’s voice was cold and he dove toward Darryl, knocking the gun out of his hands. He pinned him to the bed. “Grab that for me, would you?”

  Cat picked up the weapon with two fingers, then moved out of reach. She felt a hand on her shoulder, then the gun was taken from her.

  Uncle Pete let out a breath. “I swear, Cat, you’re going to be the death of me. Brenden, get that idiot restrained.”

  Cat leaned into her uncle and watched as Darryl was put into cuffs and led out of the room. As he passed by her, he paused. “I really am sorry.”

  As they were walking down the stairs, Cat paused. “Wait, how did you get here so fast? Cora just called you.”

  “Seriously?” He shook his head. “Trouble follows you like a puppy dog. So when you texted me, Brenden and I took off after you. What were you thinking coming up here at night?”

  Jessi paused as she moved in between them on the stairs. “I needed to clean out my locker. But now I think I can talk Dante into letting me
keep the job. Isn’t that great?”

  They watched as she joined the other writers, who did a group hug around her.

  Uncle Pete turned toward Cat. “Thank goodness you only do these retreats once a month. The death toll around Aspen Hills is getting a little high for my reputation.”

  “Ha, ha.” Cat gave her uncle a hug. “You know it has nothing to do with my retreat.”

  “I’m not so sure of that.” He squeezed her and then let her go. “I need to get this mess cleaned up. Go take your crew home. I have their information if I need to interview them sometime down the road.”

  Seth went over to the group. “Load up. We’re heading back. And don’t think you get to sleep in. We have to leave for Denver no later than eight to catch your flight. So if you want breakfast, you need to be packed and downstairs by seven.”

  Groans came from the women as they climbed into the car and got settled. Cora spoke first. “You know it’s almost midnight. Maybe we should take a later flight?”

  “My guys’ trip starts as soon as I get back from dropping you all off. If you want a ride, I leave Aspen Hills at eight. No exceptions.”

  “Cat, your boyfriend is kind of snippy. How do you put up with that?” Lisa called out from the back.

  “He’s had a busy week. He deserves a vacation.” Cat turned in her seat and took in the group. “You all have been the most interesting retreat guests we’ve ever had.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a compliment.” Cora smiled. “Okay, ladies, you heard the man. Set your alarms for six. I want you all to be showered, dressed, and packed before breakfast.”

  A sleepy voice answered her from the back. Kelly had finally woken up. “When are we going to be at Outlaw? I want to get some pictures at night. Maybe I’d catch a ghost.”

  “Too late. We didn’t catch any ghosts, but we caught a killer.” Lisa waved the others around. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll catch Sleeping Beauty up on what went down.”