27
Twenty-Seven
I was in a hurry when I left my tent, taking just enough time to put a “be back in fifteen minutes” sign on the flap before leaving to avoid people complaining that I was gone.
I scoured the row in hope of discovering Kade, but wherever he was on his rounds it wasn’t in my general vicinity. I headed for the midway, figuring Kade would spend most of his time there because that’s where most of the fights break out when people don’t win prizes after plunking down piles of money for a five-dollar stuffed animal.
I had no idea what to make of Burt’s information about Mary and Grace, but something told me that I had the final key to solving the puzzle. Now I just needed help putting it together.
I pulled up short when I rounded the ticket booth and careened into Melissa. She seemed to be expecting me, so her hands were raised, and she grabbed my shoulders so I wouldn’t bounce off her and lose my balance.
“You!” I narrowed my eyes. Of course she would pick now to reappear. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s a circus,” Melissa replied evasively. “I’m enjoying my day.” She looked me up and down. “I really like your outfit and makeup today. You look … fancy.”
Was that code for something? If so, I wasn’t in the mood to crack it. “Why are you really here? Did you have another vision of me dying or something?”
Melissa cautiously glanced around to see whether anyone overheard what I said, and when she shifted back to me she looked irritated. “Why would you say something like that? I’m just a local enjoying the circus.”
“You’re also a bad liar,” I snapped, jerking my arm away from her. “I don’t have time for games. If you don’t want to tell me what you’re doing here … .”
“I already told you what I’m doing here,” Melissa shot back, her short ponytail bobbing as she tilted her head back and forth as a sign of frustration. “Why don’t you believe me?”
“Because you warned me of danger last night and then we found a body in the parking lot,” I replied. “In some weird twist, the dead woman looked a lot like me. Now everyone here is on edge because they think I’m going to die.”
“But … why would they think that?” Melissa asked.
“Because a seer can’t prognosticate her own death,” I answered. “I think deep down you must know that. That’s why you came to me in the first place. Either that or you think I’m a fraud and need protection. I can’t quite decide which it is.”
“I … don’t know anything about that,” Melissa admitted, licking her lips. “I’m not even sure what it is.”
I sucked in a calming breath. She was a young woman, I reminded myself. She was barely an adult. If she didn’t know what she was – as I didn’t when I was barely younger than she looked to be – then she was trying to do the best she could without tipping her hand. She needed help … and guidance. Unfortunately I was short on time.
“I’m willing to help you, but you’ve got to stop playing games,” I said, keeping my voice low. “I don’t have time right this second to mess around and give you a tutorial on the sight.”
Melissa’s face, so open and hopeful only a second before, closed down. “I don’t need help.”
She reminded me so much of my younger self it almost hurt to look at her. “I think you do, but I also think I’m in a jam. I promise you that we can talk and I can help you figure this out, but we have bigger worries right now.”
Melissa’s eyes widened. “Did you see it, too?”
Well, this was new. “Did I see what?”
Melissa was hesitant as she licked her lips and twisted her fingers together. “I had a dream last night,” she said. “There was a warning attached.”
That was the closest she’d come to admitting she had the sight. That was a big step for her. “I had a dream, too,” I said. “I don’t believe it was a prophetic dream, though. It was a warning. It involved a scarecrow with a big mouth.”
“And scary red eyes?”
I stilled. “How could you know that?” I asked, surprised. “Can you dream walk?” That was another gift I’d read that some possessed. Raven claimed she could do it, but I’d yet to see her prove it. She also claimed she could see the future, change the past and time travel if she got the right potion ingredients. I didn’t believe those claims either.
“What’s dream walking?” Melissa asked, intrigued.
I definitely didn’t have time for this. “It’s a special gift some Romani possess,” I replied, looking her over. Some of her coloring and facial features seemed to suggest she might share at least a dollop of my ancestral blood, not that I knew a lot about the culture. “Were you in my dream or did you have one of your own that just happened to involve a scarecrow?”
“I was in my own dream,” Melissa replied. “I was walking in a cornfield – although I had no idea what I was doing there – and then the scarecrow popped up and told me there would be death at the circus tonight.”
“Did he say who was going to die?”
“No. He only said that there would be death.”
Well, that was encouraging. If she wasn’t getting visions of my immediate death I could breathe a little easier. An idea occurred to me. “Do you know most of the people who live in this area pretty well?”
Melissa shrugged. “I’ve lived here my whole life,” she said. “I live with my aunt, and she’s a real pill and doesn’t want me to leave the house alone because I’m not married, but I know quite a few people.”
“What is it with the people around here wanting everyone to get married?”
“It’s the societal norm,” Melissa replied. “It’s not what I want. I want to travel … like you.”
Oh, well, great. Now she was identifying with me in an entirely different way. I didn’t have time for that either. “Do you know two little girls named Mary and Grace?”
“I think Amy Bishop has a daughter named Mary,” Melissa answered, tapping her chin as she thought. “She’s about twelve.”
I immediately shook my head. “This girl would be younger, like nine-ish. She’s blond and wears homemade clothing. She also has a sister almost the same age and just as blond.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen any girls who fit that description.”
I knew Mary and Grace existed. I talked to them … twice. Heck, I felt sorry for them and gave them passes. They were supposed to be hanging around at the circus right now. “I need you to do something for me,” I said, craning my neck as I scanned the midway. Nothing jumped out at me and I didn’t see either girl. “I need you to look around for two girls together who fit that description. If you discover them, I need you to find me. Do you understand?”
Melissa bobbed her head. “Sure, but … why?”
“Because I think they’re somehow involved,” I replied. “I don’t know whether it’s voluntary or if they even realize what they’re doing, but I think they’re important to figuring out what’s going on here, and I need to talk to them.”
“Okay,” Melissa said, unbothered by the task. “I’ll find them and bring them to you.”
I instinctively grabbed her hand, sucking in a sharp breath when I felt a small jolt of magic. She was definitely powerful. I had a feeling she didn’t know how much magic she possessed. “Don’t talk to them,” I cautioned. “They might be dangerous.”
“You just said they were children.”
“No, I said they looked like children,” I clarified. “They might be something else.”
“Like what?”
I honestly had no idea, but I didn’t admit that to Melissa. “It doesn’t matter right this second,” I said. “Just see if you can find them, and then track me down. I won’t be far. I need to find my friends Kade and Luke. They need all of the information before it’s too late.”
IT TOOK me another ten minutes to convince Melissa that I wasn’t off my rocker and that doing what I said – exactly as I explained – was in her best interests. Once I w
as finished, I returned to my Kade search, keeping one eye open for Mary and Grace while focusing on finding my errant boyfriend.
“So much for watching my every move,” I muttered to myself, frustrated. An hour earlier I couldn’t get rid of him, and now he was nowhere to be found. Then I remembered the computer search. Kade was trying to dig up dirt on Percival – a task I was convinced was fruitless but which he refused to abandon – and he’d left his computer running in his trailer. I changed directions and headed toward trailer row, giving my tent a wide berth in case someone saw me and asked why I wasn’t giving readings.
Kade was standing in front of his trailer when I arrived. Relief washed over me at having found him, until I realized he wasn’t alone. Luke stood next to him and they seemed to be having an intense conversation. In my head I knew eavesdropping was wrong. In my heart I figured I could spare five minutes to hear what they talked about when they thought I couldn’t overhear them.
“I can’t believe you let her talk you into leaving her alone,” Luke chided. “She could be in danger.”
“I didn’t want to leave her, but I didn’t have a choice,” Kade said. “If I stayed, she would’ve gotten progressively more irritated and picked a fight so she could kick me out of her tent. You know it as well as I do.”
“I do know that,” Luke confirmed. “I’m surprised you figured it out so fast, though. She doesn’t like feeling weighed down. That’s why I was fine letting you babysit her. I thought she’d put up with it for two hours and then freak out and come looking for me. I could be the big hero who kept her safe while listening to her bitch. That was my plan anyway. How did you figure it out?”
“She’s not as hard to read as she likes to pretend,” Kade said. “She’s kind of an open book if you take the time to study all of the illustrations.”
“Don’t ever tell her you prefer picture books to those with actual words,” Luke said, making a face. “That will drive her crazy.”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Luke asked. “Is your search on Percival done?”
“No, and I’m starting to get frustrated,” Kade said. “I haven’t seen the internet this slow since I got here. It’s as if someone is purposely slowing it down.”
“Maybe it’s Percival,” Luke suggested.
“You’re joking, but I have considered that,” Kade said. “He doesn’t seem up on technology, though, and delaying my search is only a stopgap, so I don’t know why he would do that.”
“Do you really think it’s him?” Luke looked as dubious as I felt. “I mean, I don’t like the guy and think he’s a big pain in the rear, but I can’t see how joining the circus to hide the fact that he’s killing people and then pointing the bodies in the direction of the circus is going to help his master plan if he’s really the guilty party.”
“I don’t know whether it’s him,” Kade said. “The timing of his arrival is suspect … and that accent is just annoying.”
“I think you’re jealous of the women falling at his feet,” Luke said. “They were falling at your feet until he showed up.”
“I don’t care about that,” Kade scoffed, causing Luke to arch a dubious eyebrow. “Fine. I only care about Poet falling at his feet. The rest of them can do whatever they want. You don’t think she thinks he’s better looking than I am, do you?”
For some reason, the simple fact that Kade was mildly insecure and a little bit jealous made me happy. What? I’m petty. Sue me.
“I don’t think Poet has eyes for anyone but you, and that’s kind of a miracle if you ask me,” Luke said. “She might think the accent is nice, but she’s only interested in you.”
“Really?” Kade looked hopeful.
“Did you doubt that?” Luke asked, tickled. “She spends every waking minute she can with you. Personally, I find it annoying. She hardly spends any time with me these days, and I don’t like it.”
“I know she likes me … or, at least I think I know,” Kade said. “She seems distant sometimes, though. I can’t put my finger on it, but I think she’s hiding something from me.”
The pressure in my chest built to the point where I finally had to take a breath. I shouldn’t have been surprised by the admission, but I was. I thought I was keeping a tight lid on my emotions. Kade obviously saw it differently.
“I think she’s hiding something, too,” Luke said. “It makes me nervous because she never keeps anything from me. That means it’s big.”
“What do you think she’s hiding?”
“I don’t know,” Luke answered. “Whatever it is, though, it’s eating her up. She’s going to explode soon.”
“I wish she would just tell me,” Kade said. “The longer she drags it out the more painful it is. We can’t move forward as long as she’s holding back.”
“Is that why you haven’t pinned the tail on the donkey yet?”
Wait … was I the donkey in that scenario? I was going to beat the crap out of my supposed best friend when I got him alone later.
“I don’t want to rush things,” Kade said. “I wasn’t lying when I said that. It might seem … odd … but I really like her and I don’t want to do something just to get it over with. I like spending time with her and want to get to know her.
“This place is a community and family, but because of the way we live everything is on a weekly timetable, and that makes things hard to work around,” he continued. “I’m not going to rush her. I’m interested in more than sex.”
“You are interested in having sex with her, though, right?” Luke asked. “If you don’t swing that way, she has a right to know.”
“Of course I’m interested,” Kade snapped, lightly cuffing the back of Luke’s head. “But I don’t see the need to hurry things. It sucks that we can’t move at the pace we want without everyone watching us, but that’s the world we live in.”
“Well, I think the men are watching you with suspicion because you haven’t closed the deal yet,” Luke said. “Poet is beautiful, and every guy here has tried to make headway with her … and failed. She didn’t show any interest in anyone until you arrived.
“As for the women, well, they’re still hopeful that they can steal you away somehow,” he continued. “Raven knows the second you finally cross that final line she’ll be out in the cold for good. She’s not ready to give you up, and that’s only partly because she’s legitimately interested in you.”
“She wants to beat Poet, doesn’t she?” Kade asked. “That’s the sense I get from her.”
“She can’t seem to help herself,” Luke said. “As long as you go slow, Raven will think she has a chance.”
“She doesn’t have a chance.”
“Well, then make a move,” Luke said. “Whatever is bothering Poet won’t disappear until she talks about it. She’s not going to talk about it until she’s ready. You can’t force her on things like this. If that’s what’s holding you back … .”
“The only thing holding me back is keeping her alive,” Kade said. “We need to get through tonight and out of this place. I don’t think I’ll be able to relax and … do that … until I know she won’t be ripped away from me.”
Luke studied Kade for a moment, his expression thoughtful. “You’re a good guy. I didn’t think anyone would ever deserve her, but you might prove me wrong.”
“I will prove you wrong,” Kade said. “We just have to keep her safe. I have this feeling of … dread … I can’t explain. Something bad is going to happen tonight.”
“I feel it, too,” Luke acknowledged. “If we feel it, that means Poet feels it even more. We have to stick close to her no matter what she says.”
“Agreed.”
It looked as if their serious discussion was over so I decided to make my presence known. I smoothed the front of my blouse, sucked in a breath and then hurried around the corner, pulling up short when their eyes landed on me.
“There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. You’r
e not great bodyguards. You know that, right?”
What? A little guilt never hurt anyone. A lot of guilt, on the other hand … well … that was a soul killer.
28
Twenty-Eight
“What are you doing running around?” Kade asked, frustrated. He took a step in my direction, his face murderous as I closed the distance. “You promised to stay close to your tent.”
“That was before I ran into Burt and June,” I replied. “I got information from them that I needed to share with you, but you weren’t around. Don’t blame this on me.”
Kade faltered. “Who is June?”
“That’s Mama’s real name,” I replied. “She’s a piece of work. You should have a chat with her if you get the chance. She’s not a big fan of unmarried women, although she doesn’t think I’m a Satanist, so I’ve got that going for me.”
“I’m sorry I missed her,” Luke lamented. “Where are they? Did Burt mention the tractor? He’d better not change his mind on that. I’ll be crushed.”
“We have bigger worries,” I said, flicking his shoulder and shaking my head in warning. “I think we might have a larger problem than we initially envisioned.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Kade intoned. “That’s exactly why I wanted you to stick close to your tent. You broke your promise.”
“Hey! I didn’t promise to do anything,” I countered, wagging an irritated finger in his face. “I said I would try to stick close to my tent but I had information to share. That’s on you.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” Kade asked. “That finger doesn’t look broken to me.”
Crud. I hadn’t even thought of that. My phone was in the inside pocket of my skirt. I could’ve easily called or texted and he would’ve come running. “I … um … .”
“Oh, look, she’s speechless,” Luke cooed. “That almost never happens.”
“Shut up,” I grumbled, the earlier “pin the tail on the donkey” comment pushing to the forefront of my brain. I couldn’t bring that up now or they’d know I was eavesdropping. “Doesn’t anyone want to know what I found out?”
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