In the Midnight Howl (Peculiar Mysteries Book 5)

by Renee George

  “Don’t mind Sunny,” I said. The aroma of tangy sweet barbecue sauce on the jackfruit mixed with the scent of Brady’s fresh baked cinnamon gooey-goodness made my mouth water.

  Brady scratched at a nick in the red table top with his thumbnail. “I rarely do.” He looked up at me. “Mind Sunny, that is.”

  “You were telling me what you like?”

  He leaned forward. His voice lowered. “Was I? I think Sunny covered the highlights.”

  “Mr. Corman, are you flirting with me?”

  “Maybe.”

  “So, you are attracted to me,” I accused a little too loudly.

  Brady leaned sideways. He stared at Jo Jo, who was in the middle of taking an order. When Jo Jo didn’t look back, Brady shrugged. “I have two eyes. Both work. Of course, I find you attractive.”

  “Do tell.”

  “Another time, perhaps. I have to get to a job out in Stony Park Villa.”

  “What kind of job?”

  “I have to finish a screened-in porch I just built. All that’s left is the screen and some trim.” He slid out of the booth and stood up. He placed a five-dollar bill on the table near his unfinished cinnamon roll.

  “Is it a rush job?” Or was he rushing to get away from me?

  Brady slipped his wallet back into his jeans. “The customer is...difficult.” Evelyn Meyers blew into Sunny’s like a bitter wind. “Speak of the devil,” Brady muttered.

  “I’d probably strangle that woman if I had to work for her,” I said.

  “The thought’s crossed my mind once or ten times.”

  Another woman with curly brown hair came in right behind the witch. I recognized her as one of the Hamlet cast. Right now, she looked like she was about to cry. “Ms. Meyers, please,” she said. “Give me one more week.”

  “I’m trying to order coffeecake, Sabrina.”

  “I have a son,” the woman pleaded.

  “If I make an exception for you, I’d have to make an exception for all my renters.” Evelyn turned back to Sunny who watched them both from behind the counter. “You got that cake ready yet?”

  Sunny handed Evelyn a box with a twine bow on top. “Here you go, Ms. Meyers. That’ll be twelve dollars and fifty cents.”

  Evelyn scoffed as she slid a twenty across to Sunny. “I can get the same cake from Walmart for under five dollars.”

  Sunny gave her a tight smile and handed Evelyn back her change. “That’s great news. I hope you have a nice trip to Lake Ozarks.”

  The crotchety raccoon shifter grabbed her change and the boxed cake with a loud harrumph before leaving. The air in the cafe was immediately lighter. I got the impression Evelyn spent her waking hours darkening the lives of other people.

  “Can I do something for you, Sabrina?” Sunny asked.

  The young woman’s voice was filled with defeat. “Can you figure out a way for me to come up with a thousand dollars in the next ten minutes?”

  Sunny placed her hand over Sabrina’s. She closed her eyes for a second and said, “You should ask for help.”

  “I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” Sabrina said. “But thank you for caring.”

  I looked at Brady. “Sunny sure has a way with people.”

  “Yes, she does.” Brady nodded his head to me. “It’s nice to see you again, Willy.”

  “Yeah?” I stood up, the top of my head barely at his chin. I tilted my head back, enjoying the feel of his body heat so close to me.

  He inhaled, his eyes half-closed. “Yes.”

  “You heading out, Dad?” Jo Jo asked, breaking the building tension between Brady and me.

  “Yep.” Brady took a step around me. “You’ll be home for supper tonight?”

  “Can’t,” Jo Jo said. “Rehearsal tonight.”

  “All right.” Brady smiled at his son. “You tell Michele I said hello.”

  Jo Jo’s face pinched. “We're not seeing each other anymore.”

  “Uh huh.”

  Sunny came back to the booth. “Hey, girl. I am getting slammed. How about we have dinner at the Blonde Bear after my play rehearsal tonight?”

  “Sure. It’s a date.”

  Brady left as I made plans with Sunny. It seemed I was destined to watch that man leave.

  “Don’t worry, Willy. Things have a way of working themselves out.” Sunny squeezed my shoulder. “I better get back to work.”

  Since I’d lost all of my lunch companions, I finished my burger and headed out. I loved walking around Peculiar. The sounds of town folk chatting and the occasional roar of a dual exhaust pickup truck were the only real noises at combat with birds singing, chirping crickets, and all the other pleasant noises associated with rural living.

  A few blocks past the courthouse, I found myself standing outside the police station. I didn’t like being in Peculiar on official Tri-State Council business and not notifying the sheriff or the mayor but considering Sunny was married to one and friends with the other, it was counterproductive to let them know I’d been sent to investigate her. Down the street, I watch Evelyn Meyers leave Dolly’s Beauty Shop. Her hair didn’t look much different, so she probably had some other beautification done.

  A black muscle car with tinted windows roared past Evelyn, swerving left, its wheels clipping the curb next to the woman. She shrieked and stumbled back, falling to her rear end, but managing to save her newly purchased coffeecake, as the car righted itself and sped off.

  I ran across the street. “Are you all right?” I held my hand out, and Evelyn took it. I pulled her to her feet.

  She shook with adrenaline and fear. “Did you see that?”

  “Do you know who it was? Did you see the driver?”

  “No.” She breathed noisily as her adrenaline waned.

  “I caught part of the license plate. We should go file a police report.”

  Evelyn yanked her hand away from me. “No. I don’t want to do that. I’m fine. I’m probably just overreacting.”

  “That car jumped the curb at you.”

  “It was probably some teenager on their cell phone.”

  “Still...”

  “Drop it, Ms. Boden.” Evelyn dusted her buttocks. “It’s over now.”

  “I’d feel better filing a report.”

  She snarled, “Have a nice day.” Leave it to Evelyn to make “Have a nice day,” sound like, “Go to hell.”

  “Yeah, you too.”

  Chapter Three

  Before dinner, Ruth had to deal with a crisis of teenage proportions. Michele had left her phone at the community center, and she couldn’t possibly babysit Linus without it. What if she missed an important call? Blah, blah, drama, drama.

  “Where did you leave your phone?” Ruth asked Michele.

  “Backstage in the dressing area at the community center.”

  “Michele Margaret Thompson!”

  “I didn’t mean to leave it,” the girl said defensively. “I went back just a few minutes after everyone left and the building was locked.”

  “You can live without your phone for one night, can’t you?” Ruth asked. “It’s not like we don’t have a house phone.”

  Michele, who had the same Tinkerbell-like features that marked her mother’s beauty, balled her fists and shook them in the air. “It’s not the same, Mom.”

  “Use the computer if you want to check your social media. The phone can wait.”

  “Roger’s supposed to call me!” Michele slapped her hands over her mouth.

  “Roger Parks?” Ruth’s brown eyes narrowed on her daughter. “That boy is a thug.”

  “He’s not, Mom,” Michele protested. “He’s really nice. At least, he’s nice to me. I told him he could call me to tonight. Please.”

  I didn’t know Roger Parks from Adam, but I’m sure I’d get an earful later.

  “And what do you want me to do?”

  “Maybe you can ask Sunny to let you in tonight, and you can drop it off before you head to dinner?”

  “You’re almos
t twenty-years-old, Michele Margaret. Your phone is your responsibility.”

  “I know.” She rolled her eyes. “When you were my age you were married, working full time, and taking care of three kids.”

  Ruth sighed again. “Fine. I’ll ask Sunny.”

  Michele squealed and kissed Ruth on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.”

  “Yay, for super mom,” I said when Michele jogged up the stairs to her room.

  Ruth plopped her chin into her palm, her elbow resting on the table. “I guess I better call Sunny. Maybe she can meet us at the center before dinner.”

  “You are a saint, Ruth. Saint Ruth. I don’t know how you manage running your own business and taking care of nine kids.”

  “Taylor and Tyler both take care of themselves now,” she disagreed. “Dakota’s pretty self-sufficient as well.”

  “It’s still a lot.”

  Ruth smiled, her eyes growing wistful. “I love being a wife and mom, Willy. I wouldn’t change a single solitary thing about my life. Or my kids.”

  “Fair enough.” I rarely felt jealousy when it came to other women, but in Ruth’s case, my chest twinged with envy. “You’re a lucky woman.”

  “I am.” She stood up. “Guess I better let Ed know I’m leaving early.”

  *****

  Sunny met us outside the community center. “Is this what I have to look forward to with Jude and Dawn?”

  “Yes.” Ruth laughed. “The job doesn’t end when they hit eighteen.”

  “It did for my father,” I said. Soon as I graduated, he gave me a thousand dollars and wished me a happy life. My father was a stern man, but he’d never been unfair. I’d appreciated the money, and used it to put a first and last month’s rent on an apartment. I’d been working as a store clerk since I’d turned sixteen, so it wasn’t a hard transition to forty-hour week job. He did the same with Hans. He believed in the sink or swim method to adulthood, and Hans and I learned to swim quickly.

  Sunny put the key in and jiggled the door handle. “It’s not locked. Dang it, I know I locked the door after rehearsal. Bob Winston is going to kill me if someone breaks in on my watch.”

  “Bob is the president of the community center,” Ruth explained.

  Sunny got the door opened. “Let’s get the phone and get going. I don’t like the feel of this place tonight.”

  We went inside. Shadows stretched out from the corners of the stage area giving the charming community center a seriously eerie feeling

  Ruth looked at Sunny. “Are you getting a... feeling?”

  Sunny shrugged and chewed her lower lip. “Nothing concrete.”

  “I have a feeling my stomach is going to eat itself if we don’t get some dinner soon.” I rubbed my arms. “Let’s get Michele’s phone and get the fuck out of here. Besides, this place is giving my goose bumps goose bumps.”

  Ruth giggled. “The phone is backstage. You all wait here, I’ll be right back.”

  “This place is creepy at night,” I said.

  “No lie,” Sunny agreed.

  A rumpled red velvet curtain on the left side of the stage had a metal sword sticking out about three feet up. I recalled the part in Hamlet where the vengeful Danish prince pokes his sword through the closet curtain, thinking his stepfather is listening in on a conversation with his mother, but he accidentally kills Polonius, his friend Horatio’s dad. It seemed a little weird that it was just staying up without any support unless somebody stuck it into a wall.

  “What’s that?” I pointed to the sword.

  “It looks like Hamlet’s foil. What’s it doing sticking in the curtain?”

  “Found it,” Ruth shouted out.

  “Awesome.” I nibbled my fingernail. As a bobcat shifter, my nose wasn’t nearly as honed as a wolf or a coyote. However, I was still a predator, and the closer I got to the curtain the more potent the scent of fresh blood. “Uhm, I think we might have a problem out here.”

  Ruth came springing out from the back. She held a purple sparkly smartphone in her hand. “The lengths we go through for our children,” she said then looked at me. “What?”

  Sunny put her hand out in front of me. “We should call the police.”

  “I investigate this kind of thing for a living,” I told her. “Besides, we can’t call the police until we know why we’re calling.”

  Sunny and Ruth exchanged looks, but neither of them said more.

  I carefully made my way to the weapon. I was actually poking out between the two curtains, not through. My impulse was to yank the blade from the wall, but after four years as an investigator slash security officer for the Tri-State Council, I knew better than to tamper with potential evidence. I eased back the curtain, the scent of a kill overwhelming my senses. Two sightless eyes stared at me, her mouth wide open, her swollen tongue protruding, her skin cherry red with anger. She looked completely surprised by her death—but honestly, who wouldn’t be?

  “Don’t come closer,” I told Ruth and Sunny. “Evelyn Meyers is back here, and she is one scary, dead bitch.”

  Ruth coughed. “Oh, mercy.”

  “Who would want her dead?” I asked.

  Sunny frowned. “The line for who didn’t want her dead would be shorter.”

  “Sunny!” Ruth said.

  “Tell me it’s not true. I tolerated the woman about as well as anyone, but she was not likable. At all. And the way she acted at rehearsal tonight, I swear she was on drugs? The good shit.”

  Ruth interrupted the conversation. “We should call the sheriff.”

  “Yes, of course. You give him a call. I’m going to look around a bit.” I drew out my phone from my purse. I wanted to document the scene before the locals started stomping all over it. I could hear Ruth in the background as I made a quick video of the entire stage. Later, I could go over every inch of footage to see if I could find any clues to the killer. It’s not that I thought Sheriff Taylor and his men weren’t competent. I did. But Sid Taylor was the victim’s brother-in-law, and in my experience, family muddied the water.

  A couple minutes later, the screech of sirens broke the quiet. Ruth, who had been nervously fidgeting with her phone and checking it every two seconds, said unnecessarily, “They’re here.”

  I put away my phone. I didn’t want to chance they’d confiscate and erase my memory card. It’s what I would have done if someone filmed my crime scene. Sunny raised her brow at me then shrugged. I was betting she wouldn’t rat me out. With the way Evelyn had been positioned behind the curtain, pinned like a bug on a board, I couldn’t get a better view. I assumed the weapon killed her, but I couldn’t be sure without a closer look at her entire body.

  “Where is she,” Sheriff Taylor said when he came inside. Deputy Tyler Thompson, Ruth’s other twin son, followed closely on his heels. The sheriff’s grim face shook me. I remembered what it was like when I found out my ex had been a murder victim. I might have not loved him, but it was still hard to know someone close to me had died.

  “She’s behind the curtain.” I held up my hand when he got close. “You might want to wait until the coroner gets here before you handle her. The way she’s pinned up may not hold together if you start moving things around.”

  “Pinned up?”

  I indicated the metal foil sticking out. “Like a bug.” I instantly regretted letting my inner words make an outward appearance. “I’m sorry, Sid. I know she’s your sister-in-law. Too many years investigating shit like this, I guess.”

  “I understand, Ms. Boden.” The sheriff turned to his deputy. “We need to get lights set up in here. Call in Farraday to catalog the crime scene. I’ll get Doc Smith down here.”

  “On it,” Tyler said. He put his hands on Ruth’s shoulders. “You okay, Mom?”

  “I’m fine,” she said. She briefly touched his cheek.

  After going into detective mode, I hadn’t given much thought to Ruth or Sunny. Ruth was pale and miserable, Sunny hands shook, and I was a total asshole. “I’m so sorry, y
ou guys. Let’s get you out of here.” I gave Tyler a nod. “We’ll be outside when you’re ready to question us. Some air will do all of us some good.”

  Outside, Sunny slumped against the wall. “I guess we won’t be getting dinner. Damn it. This was mommy’s night out.”

  “I don’t think Evelyn got killed just to ruin your night,” Ruth said.

  Sunny scoffed. “I wouldn’t put it past her.”

  Ruth squeezed Sunny’s forearm. “After all this is over, we can still catch dinner.”

  “I just want to go home and cuddle my husband and babies.” She sighed. “I guess I’ll have to cancel rehearsal this week. I’d hate for everyone to show up at a crime scene.” She looked at me. “You should stop by the house tomorrow. You can see the kids, and we can catch up. You know, one on one.” The way she said it made me suspect Sunny knew more about why I was here than she should.

  “One o’clock?”

  “Sure,” Sunny said. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Tyler Thompson came out the door. “I’ll get your statements then you’ll be free to go.”

  Chapter Four

  About ten o’clock, I’d told Ruth I was going for a drive to clear my head, and maybe, that had been the original plan. But parked down at the end of Brady Corman’s driveway for two hours, headphones blasting soul-tugging music, I was certain a clutter-free head wasn’t happening anytime soon. Why couldn’t I get this stupid coyote out of my head? He had more baggage than an airport on Christmas Eve. My brain told me to run, get as far away from Brady as inhumanly possible, but my heart, my gut, and all my lady parts wanted to launch myself on top of him, and seduce him into submission.

  I’d never been in his home, but the night of the Halloween party, I’d given him a ride home. We’d both run headfirst into a burning barn. Brady, because his son Jo Jo was trapped inside, and me because I had the opposite reaction to danger than I should. My father used to say I had “no self-preservation instinct.” I like to think of myself as more thrill seeker than suicidal. Anyhow, the rescue had got my adrenaline pumping, so when Jo Jo asked for his dad’s car to take his date home, I’d offered Brady a ride.