Who Glares Wins (Lexi Graves Mysteries)

by Camilla Chafer

  "Shit. We lost Sylvia," I said to Lily, swinging the head to where the two women had just been standing.

  "What is going on out there?" she screeched back. “I can’t see anything. I don’t like this? OhmyGod! What was that?”

  A small crowd had gathered at the commotion, winding into a ring around us, waiting to see what would happen next.

  "We have a situation," I said as the other pony stepped closer, its head swinging from side-to-side menacingly as its patent leather hooves pawed the floor. Smoke blew out its nose. How did it do that?

  Before it could charge us, the lights suddenly went out, plunging the exhibition center into darkness and I froze. Someone screamed.

  "What just happened?" asked Lily.

  "The lights all went out. I can't see anything."

  She paused. "Are they back on yet?"

  "Nope. Let's wait a moment." Except at that moment, there was a blood-curdling scream, and then another.

  "What's that?" a man shouted.

  Then, another voice screamed. "I've been stabbed!" and pandemonium broke out.

  "We've got to get out of here," I said hurriedly. "Someone's been stabbed. I see the exit. The sign is all lit up but the rest of the lights are still out."

  “Gee-up!” I got a bump from behind and took the hint. It was pitch black, the room half-full, and someone had just been stabbed. We had to get out of here. We raced to escape, jostling this way and that as we competed with average-sized humans for the double-doored exit. Lily grabbed onto my waist and hung on.

  Someone yelled, "Follow the pony!"

  "Uh, you think that means us?" Lily shrieked, bumping me from behind again as the crowd crashed into us.

  "Run!" I shrieked in reply. “Hold on!”

  We pushed our way through the exit, skidding to a halt as a blinding flash went off in my eyes. I blinked, re-oriented myself, and dashed towards the employee door, leading from the lobby, with Lily's hands now digging into my waist. In all the chaos, no one seemed to notice a plush pony staggering out of the way; or if they did, no one said anything as they flooded past us to the exits. I had never heard grown men scream before and the cacophony was something else. I struggled to pull my pass from my pocket and stuck my arm out from under the costume, making a couple of attempts before the light turned green. Then the door slammed shut behind us, cutting us off from the panic.

  "Let's get out of this." I dragged off my half of the costume, stepping out of it and letting it crumple to the floor, while helping Lily out of hers. We wrenched our headsets off. "We can hide it in here," I said, opening the door to... the men's washroom. Maybe not. I tried the next door and hit the jackpot. Cleaning supplies. We loaded the costume in our arms and tossed it into the corner, slamming the door shut.

  "What do we do now?" asked Lily. She was red in the face, and I figured I probably was as well. I hated to think what my hair looked like as she reached forward to smooth it.

  "Let's go to my office," I suggested. Lily followed me as I picked my way there and we went inside. I skidded to a halt.

  "What the..."

  "OhmyGod, Lexi!"

  Someone had spray-painted BACK OFF BITCH in huge red letters across one wall of the office. The paint was still dripping. We stood there, staring at it awhile longer, then Lily started, grabbing my arm.

  "Let's go," she said. "And we have to get Ruby. She might be hurt. I won't forgive myself if anything happens to her."

  I took one last look at the ominous message as I passed Lily's bag to her and grabbed Ruby's. Then, we dashed down the back exit, walking around the building to the front. By the time we got there, one police car had already arrived and we could hear the distant wail of an ambulance. People walked directionless, panic etched in all their faces.

  I grabbed the nearest event assistant. "What happened?"

  "The power went off and someone started screaming. Then this guy staggered out with a knife in his chest and collapsed in the lobby."

  "Is he dead?" gasped Lily.

  The guy shook his head. "I don't think so, but there was a lot of blood. The first-aider is looking after him until the paramedics get here."

  We backed off and Lily rooted through her bag. She found her jacket and threw it on over her skimpy shorts and tee. "Did we cause a stampede?" she whispered.

  "No, everyone panicked. It wasn't because of us." Everyone was still in a state of alarm. More employees flooded out front, leading the scared guests away in groups.

  "I never want to do that again," Lily said.

  "Me neither."

  "Another pony humped me," she said, her voice cracking slightly. "I got dry-humped by a Super Pony! It was bad, Lexi, really bad. I feel dirty, and I never feel dirty. Not even in high school when Jack McCool and I…"

  "Don’t tell me! Anyway, it wasn't a Super Pony. It was a randy dude in a pony suit, who got carried away." I thought it best not to mention the video camera I'd seen aimed at us at that moment. With luck, it would only be used for home entertainment, and never make it to YouTube. On the plus side though, if it did, the costume was so good, no one would ever know we were inside.

  "I need a drink."

  "Me too."

  "Not from a trough. A proper drink. One with ice cubes and an umbrella. Maybe a cherry."

  "Hotel bar?" I spotted Ruby, frantically waving to us and waved back. Two feet in front of her, a man took one look at her jiggling, tripped, and did a faceplant. Ruby calmly stepped over him and carried on. "I see Ruby. She looks okay."

  "Lead the way."

  I elbowed my way through the crowd, aiming for her. I had to stop suddenly as a camera flash exploded in my face and a small silver Dictaphone was thrust under my chin. I blinked as a smiling blonde popped into view.

  "Shayne Winter, Montgomery Gazette," she said. Ah, the familiar face from earlier. I'd seen her smiling, byline photo on the front page countless times. She seemed to cover every story in town. "Can you tell me what happened in there?"

  "Uh," I looked around wildly, but there was no one to save me, or foist the perky reporter onto. "There was a power outage and everyone panicked."

  "Is it true that the violence has been escalating at this conference?" The voice recorder was thrust under my chin and I recoiled.

  "No! It's a Super Pony convention! Everyone's really happy."

  "Except for right now," Shayne pointed out, tossing her hair. "Did you witness the stabbing?"

  "No."

  "What about the pony fight? Did you witness that?"

  "No!"

  "I heard one Super Pony dropkicked the other. Can you verify that?"

  "I didn’t see anything. Look, I’ve gotta go. I'm needed." I wasn't needed. I needed that drink. Badly.

  "Can you tell us what The Montgomery Hotel plans to do about this disaster?" Shayne continued as I edged around her.

  "Um." I paused, thinking wildly. I was so not the best person to comment on what would happen. "The show must go on?" I squeaked, pushing past Shayne. I grabbed Ruby by the hand, and with Lily behind us, propelled us through the crowd. We took the bar's own entrance, as the lobby was sealed off, police tape already fluttering across the doors. I was glad not to be within earshot when Edward Killjoy was notified.

  Screw being on duty, I ordered three very alcoholic drinks, and found a table in the corner where we could watch as the EMTs loaded up a blanket-covered body. There was an oxygen mask over the man’s face, and they took him away in the ambulance. We watched a police officer exit the building, a plastic baggy with something heavy and bloody inside. Two squad cars lingered out front, and the uniforms sprang to attention as a black SUV swung into the lot, parking at an angle to the curb.

  I sipped my drink and watched as the tall, dark-haired man climbed out and looked around him, no doubt surveying the scene. My heart flipped. Maddox was yummy. My heart pounded a little faster and I had a fleeting moment of absolute relief seeing he was here.

  "Is that who I think it is?" said Lily, lo
oking up from her drink to see what was drawing my interest.

  I watched as Maddox walked indoors with one of the uniforms, their heads bent together. "Yep."

  "You are so busted."

  "Yep."

  "Today has been awesome," said Ruby. "I've never had so much fun. We are doing more stuff next week, right? I only have part-time shifts at the bar."

  "Let’s take a break," I told her. “Maybe do some light reading. Watch a movie.”

  An hour later, Maddox caught up with us in the hotel bar. After he took in Lily and Ruby's outfits as well as my slightly disheveled suit and hair, he raised an eyebrow.

  "What are you doing here?" he asked.

  I pointed out the obvious. "I work here. Temping. Pay attention."

  Maddox laughed, his mouth breaking into a broad, white smile that made the creases around his eyes dance with amusement. "You know what I mean."

  "We're taking a break," I said. "I got roped in to help at the convention, and Lily and Ruby came by to help me out. Oh, God, I made another horse-y pun, didn't I?"

  "It's easy to do," said Lily. "We've been saddled with that crap all afternoon."

  “I loved it,” said Ruby, gazing at Maddox. “I know you.”

  He frowned at her. “Do you?”

  “What’s going on?” I jumped in before Maddox realized who she was. Not that it was important, but I didn’t want to answer any questions that would lead to the question he didn’t know yet that he wanted to ask. I took another drink. I sensed I was getting a headache.

  "So you've been at the exhibition center?" He directed the question at Lily, but his eyes were fixed on me. I tried not to shrink. Did he know? Did he suspect?

  "Yep," said Lily, bouncing in her seat, the alcohol having had its appropriate effect. "Ruby and I are pony girls today."

  "What are you doing here?" I asked Maddox, like I couldn't guess. “There wasn’t any murder.”

  "There was a stampede in the conference center. Early reports indicated two of the plush ponies got into a fight and widespread panic broke out. Someone got stabbed, so we’re treating it as an attempted murder. We haven't found the pony perps yet." He looked at our drinks, then back to our faces in turn. "Do you know anything about that?"

  "Me? No."

  Lily added, "We only make hay while the sun shines."

  Maddox just shook his head. "I was in the area when the stabbing report came in. It looks like he's going to make it. The knife missed all the vital organs, but it was still messy. You might want to get an industrial cleaner. Or a throw rug. Listen, I'm going to finish up here; then I have stuff to do at the office. You want to come over later?"

  "Sure. Are you cooking?"

  "I can get food. I have some pony nuts you can snack on…" Maddox smirked. "And I want to talk to you later, so stick around," he finished ominously before walking away.

  "I think that was a double entendre," said Lily as we watched him walk away.

  "I hope so."

  "I still think you're busted."

  "Yep." Then I ponied up for another round of drinks.

  ~

  Maddox caught up with me in my office, a half hour after Lily and Ruby went home, cash in hand, still slightly shell-shocked from the day’s events. I was three drinks to the wind and just starting in on a sobering cup of coffee.

  He stepped inside, took one long look at the dried graffiti on my wall, and sighed, shutting the door behind him.

  "You're not just temping, are you?" he said.

  "I'm the boss' personal assistant." I barely suppressed the giggle and gave him a lopsided smile.

  "Cut the crap. Are you working a job for Solomon?" He gazed at me, his mind working furiously as I shrank in my chair. "You are, aren't you? Are you undercover? Lexi!"

  "Keep your voice down, Adam!"

  "Jeez, you are! I don't believe this!"

  "It's my job!"

  Maddox looked at me, his eyes furious. "I thought you were over that private detective shit?"

  "Why would I be?" I stood, all the better to face him down. My face, however, was not nearly so impassive, as I caught a head rush. "It's the first job I've ever been really good at!"

  "You're good at plenty of stuff! Stuff that doesn't get you hit over the head. Stuff that doesn't get you shot. Stuff that doesn't put you in danger!" He waved a hand at the dried BACK OFF BITCH currently taunting me from the wall.

  "Yeah, filing and typing. Big yawn. Not exactly what I want to spend my life doing." And that's exactly where my life was heading until a couple of months ago. An endless wave of menial office work, before getting married and giving it all up to pop out babies, trading in a measly paycheck for reliance on a man. Yeah, that got me giddy alright. And if I didn't solve this case, that's the way my life might still end up. Not that it would be horrible being married to a man like Maddox, who would undoubtedly, be a great husband and a wonderful father, but I could do this. I could really do this.

  Maddox's eyebrows rose as high as they could get while I had my mini crisis. "And this is what you want to spend your life doing? Chasing criminals? Putting yourself in harm's way? Don't you hear enough of the bad shit at home with your family?"

  “No. There aren’t any criminals at home.”

  Maddox’s shoulders relaxed. “That’s not what I meant.”

  "I know; and sure, I hear it all the time. That's why I'm not under any illusions that this stuff is glamorous, if that's what you're implying." It was true. The investigating stuff was about as far from glam as I could get. In some ways, it was worse than administrative work. Not only did I have to do that for my cover, but I had to regard everyone with suspicion, make sure I didn't get caught snooping, and spend my evenings writing up my notes. But I was good at it. Pretty much. I knew I was getting closer. The graffiti told me that. "And maybe, just maybe, sometimes, I want to be the one to tell the stories!"

  "So, what is it... is it about respect from your family? From me?"

  "No. It's about having a job that I like and one that I'm good at. I'm sorry that you don't agree with me. Hold up... you don't respect me?" I asked incredulously, my jaw locking. If I were a dragon, steam would be blowing from my nostrils round about now.

  "Wait up! I didn't say that! And I didn't say I didn't agree with you. You are good at the investigating stuff, but there are safer ways to earn a living."

  "Says the man working homicide."

  "The guys I work with are all dead!"

  "But their murderers aren't!" I sighed, my palms still resting on the desk. I really didn't want to have a showdown with Maddox. "There are plenty of female cops. Do you ever tell them to get off the street and do the filing?"

  Maddox ran a hand through his hair and looked like he wanted to kick something. Hard. "No," he said, doing his best to keep his voice calm. "This is different."

  "How is this different?" I searched his face for a clue. "Oh. I get it. Because I'm your girlfriend. That gives you the right to tell me to jack in my job?"

  "Yes! No. I mean, it gives me the right to be concerned is all and,” he pointed out, “it should earn me the right to know what you're doing. All week I've been thinking, now I don't have to worry what Solomon's getting her into. I don't have to worry that he's got her mixed up in something dangerous. You should have told me the truth. We're in a relationship, dammit! Respect goes both ways, sweetheart."

  This was a fair point. "I didn't say I stopped working for Solomon. I just said I was taking a break to work at the hotel. It wasn't strictly a lie."

  "Strictly," repeated Maddox, latching onto the operative word. Strictly speaking, I might have implied I wasn't working for Solomon, at the same time as working for the hotel. Strictly speaking, I could have let Maddox know that I was working a case, and not just caught in the crossfire. But strictly speaking, Solomon told me not to discuss the case, and he was my boss. Though, come to think of it, I had told Lily. And Ruby. But not Maddox. Probably because this was the reaction I expected to get from
Maddox.

  "You don't tell me everything about your cases, do you?" I asked. "You have confidentiality. Well, so do I. Solomon told me not to discuss the case. The hotel group wanted confidentiality." Also, Solomon's name was getting far too much mention at this point. His ears were probably burning as we spoke. I expected him to rappel through the window at the next moment. I glanced at it. He probably wouldn’t fit.

  Maddox moved around the desk and took my arm, his voice low, his grip gentle, as he said, "This is different."

  "No, it isn't. You're just pissed because you want to know everything. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, okay? But I'm not sorry that I'm doing my job well."

  We stood there for a long moment, both of us wondering where this conversation was headed. We could talk in a circular pattern about his job versus mine; how his had the law at its base, while mine was purely private business. We could even talk about how uncomfortable my working for Solomon clearly made him, but I had a feeling it wouldn't do much good. Maddox was angry: boyfriend-angry and cop-angry. His eyes held a mixture of disappointment, worry and something else I couldn't decipher. Concern? Frustration? Love? I wasn't sure.

  "I have to take your statement," Maddox said, switching tracks, his nostrils flaring slightly as he pulled out his notebook. He released my arm, moved back around the table and took the spare chair. His body language was now all business as the furniture separated us. "Were you in the exhibition when whatever the hell it was happened?"

  "Yes." I sat still, trying not to let my lip wobble.

  "Tell me."

  "Everything looked normal, then the lights went out. Someone screamed, then someone shouted they'd been stabbed, and that's when everyone panicked. I could see the exit light, so Lily and I made for it, and so did everyone else."