mystic caravan mystery 01 - freaky days

by Amanda M. Lee

  I gripped Luke’s hand tightly and he was ready to pounce as he scented the air. His face was serious as he turned to me. “Evil approaches.”

  “What do you mean? Is it another evil human?”

  “It’s … too terrible to describe,” Luke said, his voice rising. “It has the face of an angel … and the mouth of a terrible beast.”

  “Luke? Poet?”

  I recognized Naida’s voice and punched Luke in the stomach. He would have recognized her scent anywhere. “It’s us.”

  Naida hopped into view, a towel draped over her arm and her shorts riding low on her narrow hips. She wore a bikini top that barely covered the parts it was supposed to. Pixies aren’t shy about their bodies. Naida and Nixie wear clothing only because we make them – and by “we,” I mean the female circus denizens, not the males.

  “You scared me,” Naida said. “I thought someone horrible was out here. Where have you two been, by the way? You missed dinner.”

  “We ran into a little trouble,” Luke said.

  Naida arched a green eyebrow. Her hair, the same color, usually swam down her back in long waves. Tonight it was tied up in a tight bun so her narrow face was on display. “What kind of trouble?”

  “The kind we had to get rid of,” I replied.

  “Paranormal?”

  “Human rapist and murderer,” Luke answered.

  Naida wrinkled her nose. “Sometimes I think humans are worse than monsters.”

  “Sometimes I agree,” I said. “Are you going to the lake?”

  Naida nodded happily. “It’s been two weeks since I could swim. The hot tub is nice, but a lake is better. I’ll be able to let my fins out.”

  Naida and Nixie are mixed blood, half siren and half elf. As such, Naida’s heart belonged in the water like her siren mother, while Nixie’s gifts leaned more toward her elvish heritage. In a battle, they were both hard to beat.

  “You can’t go to the lake,” I said, wishing we’d thought of a better place to get rid of George’s body. It was too late now, though.

  “What? Why?” Naida’s tone was petulant.

  “That’s where we dumped the body,” Luke said. “I’m sorry. We didn’t think. We didn’t have a lot of options and the lake was the easiest one for us to deal with.”

  “What about me?” Naida’s hands landed on her hips. “I need to swim.”

  “You can’t do it until the body is found,” I said. “I’m sorry. We didn’t … think … about you when it was happening. The cops have been looking for this guy. He killed five women. We didn’t want them to keep looking when we could hand them a body and put an end to their investigation.”

  “This sucks!”

  Luke pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. “At least the victims’ families will have closure. You can put off a night of swimming for that, can’t you?”

  “Oh, don’t guilt me, Luke Bishop! What happens if the body isn’t discovered tomorrow?”

  Uh-oh. I hadn’t thought about that. “Then you’ll have to wait.”

  “I hate waiting!”

  Naida was so worked up I barely heard the rumble of thunder under her pouty whining. “Did you do that?”

  Naida stilled. Weather wasn’t her friend. She could control it when she tried, and other times – like when she lost her temper – bad things happened. She once brought a tornado down on a Kansas town because they wouldn’t let her sit in the dunk tank at a county fair.

  “I’m sorry,” Naida said, sucking in a calming breath. “I didn’t mean to get so … out of control.”

  “I’m sorry about this,” I offered. “I wasn’t planning on attracting a rapist at the store this afternoon.”

  Naida furrowed her brow. “He followed you?”

  “Yes,” Luke said. “He wanted to … do things to her.”

  Naida scowled. “I’m glad he’s dead then. I guess I can relax in the hot tub tonight.”

  “I really am sorry.”

  Naida fell into step with us. “At least tell me it was painful.”

  “Parts of it were.”

  BY THE time we got back to camp, I was exhausted. Luke’s stomach was growling, though, and he left me so he could hunt down the remnants of dinner. I didn’t have much of an appetite. I was climbing the steps to my trailer when movement down the line of trailers caught my attention.

  I turned, squinting, and after a moment two figures swam into view about seven trailers down. It was Raven’s trailer, so her appearance in front of it wasn’t a surprise. The man standing next to her was, though: Kade.

  As if sensing my presence – or the horrible mind daggers I tossed in Raven’s direction – Kade snapped his head to the left. Our eyes met and it took every ounce of energy I had not to zing him right there. Oh, don’t get me wrong; I would never kill someone for hitting on another woman. I would make him think he had crabs, though. What? I don’t like him. I’m not upset because I like him. I just really hate Raven and I don’t want her to be happy. Sue me.

  I pulled my keys from my pocket and searched for the right one as Kade bounded away from Raven’s trailer. I could hear him approaching, and when I risked a glance at Raven the look she sent me scorched. I couldn’t help but enjoy a little thrill at her disappointment. Yes, I’m a horrible person. I know that.

  “Hey.” Kade stopped in front of my trailer, his eyes wide. I realized he’d headed in my direction without thinking about a conversational topic beforehand. That warmed me for some reason. It also made me sick to my stomach for being such a … girl.

  “Hi,” I said, hoping my voice sounded neutral and not breathy. “How are you and your … friend … tonight?”

  Kade glanced back at Raven, who stood at the top of the steps that led to her trailer watching us. “We were just talking about the House of Mirrors. She’s going to give me a tour before everything gets going tomorrow. I haven’t been inside yet.”

  “I’ll bet she’s going to give you a tour,” I muttered, still searching for the right key. As the business manager of Mystic Caravan, I have keys to everything. I probably shouldn’t keep my personal keys on the same ring as my business keys.

  “You sound jealous.”

  What did he just say? That seemed like a radical leap in logic. Just because I commented on his choice of women – the loosest one at Mystic Caravan, mind you – did not mean I was jealous. “I’m sure you’re used to that.”

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  “I … nothing.” I turned so we could face each other. “I’m sorry I was mean. You should be used to it by now. Apparently I’m always mean. If you believe Luke, he has to put up with cruel and unusual punishment every single day.”

  “Yeah, but you’re usually mean for a reason,” Kade countered. “You seem … off.”

  “I’m tired. After a good night’s sleep, I’ll be mean for a reason again and all will be right with the circus world.”

  “Where were you?” Kade asked, his face sober.

  “I was … out with Luke.” I should have thought of a better lie before returning to camp. I wasn’t counting on running into Kade. Anyone else would have understood the truth. Kade was the lone exception.

  “You weren’t at dinner,” Kade pointed out. “I was looking for you.”

  “Luke and I saw a restaurant in town that we wanted to try when we were shopping earlier,” I said. “After tonight we won’t have time, so we took the opportunity while we could.” That sounded convincing. Wait, did it?

  “Really?”

  I guess not. “Really.” Did he think I was a liar? Well, yes, I was technically lying. He didn’t have to treat me as if I was lying, though. “We are adults. We’re allowed to eat where we want.”

  “Hey, Poet, all the food is gone,” Luke said, appearing out of the gloom. “Now you made me miss dinner. You’re going to have to cook me something.”

  Kade tilted his head to the side as he shifted his eyes back to me. “You were saying?”

  “I …
.” Crap on toast!

  “Hey, Kade,” Luke greeted the security chief, clearly oblivious to the growing tension. “How goes life at the circus?”

  “I was just asking Poet where you two were tonight,” Kade replied.

  “We went for a walk.” Luke didn’t so much as blink as the lie rolled off his tongue.

  “That’s funny,” Kade said. “Poet said you went out to dinner together.”

  Luke scrunched up his nose. “Oh … we did.”

  “Why are you looking for food if you already ate?”

  “I’m a growing boy and I need the calories so I can work them off when I flex for the ladies tomorrow.” Luke’s ego comes in handy.

  “I think you’re lying,” Kade said. “I want to know why.”

  “What we do on our own private time is none of your concern,” I said. “If you have a problem with us coming and going freely, you might want to take it up with Max.”

  “And what is Max going to say?”

  “He’s going to tell you to mind your own business,” I said. “Now, if you’ll excuse us, Luke needs his evening snack before bed.”

  “I’m not done here.”

  “Well, I am.” I found the right key on the ring and wanted to crow. Only it was five minutes too late to avoid this ugly scene. “I think your … friend … is waiting for you.”

  Kade glanced back at Raven again, her eyes still latched onto his strong frame. “I … .”

  “Goodnight,” I said firmly.

  “Goodnight, Kade,” Luke sang as I pushed him into my trailer.

  “Goodnight,” Kade muttered.

  Even as I shut the door I could feel him watching us. If he wasn’t suspicious before, he clearly was now.

  This was not good.

  Eight

  “He’s watching us.”

  “He’s not watching us.”

  “He’s watching us. He thinks we’re up to something.”

  “It’s all in your head. Eat your breakfast.”

  “He’s watching us,” Luke hissed, slamming his hand on the small bistro table as we shared breakfast the next morning. “You told a stupid lie and now he thinks we’re doing something … horrible.”

  “Maybe he thinks we’re making the beast with two backs,” I suggested, sipping my coffee and trying to pretend that Kade’s stare from across the way wasn’t getting to me. “How does my hair look?”

  Luke scowled. “You are unbelievable, Poet.”

  “Keep your voice down.”

  “You’re unbelievable, Poet,” Luke repeated, this time lowering his voice to Cookie Monster levels.

  I couldn’t help but giggle. “It’s going to be okay, Luke,” I said. “He can’t prove anything. If it’s any consolation, I don’t think he suspects us of murder. I think he suspects us of … .” How did I want to phrase this?

  “Hiding the hobbit in the hole?” Luke suggested.

  “Where do you come up with these?”

  “It’s a gift.” Luke shrugged, his eyes darting back in Kade’s direction. “Why would he care if we’re doing the four-legged frolic?”

  I shot him a look. “Do you have a book or something?”

  Luke grinned. “I mean, other than the obvious, why would he care?”

  “What’s the obvious?”

  “Oh, you’re making this too easy,” Luke groaned. “He wants to do the mattress mambo with you, so if you’re playing at tops and bottoms with me he’s not going to like it.”

  He was right. I was making it too easy. “That’s not why he cares,” I scoffed.

  “Why else would he possibly care, Poet? He either knows we were doing something nasty last night or he thinks we were doing the nasty. Those are our two choices.”

  I looked around to make sure no one was listening and lowered my voice. “I don’t think he believes we were dumping a body last night,” I said. “Why would that even be a consideration for him?”

  “That leaves the other thing,” Luke said. “If he’s not suspicious about what we were really doing then he’s letting his imagination get away from him. He thinks I was out storming the trenches with you last night, and he doesn’t like it.”

  “You’re an idiot.”

  “You love me anyway,” Luke said, tapping my nose. “I think he’s staring at us for a reason. While I think part of it is … confusion … over our relationship, I think the other part is outright suspicion.

  “You told me he was already asking questions about the animals,” he continued. “You thought he was suspicious then. We have shifters, pixies, witches and warlocks running around – and that’s on top of the creepy clowns. He’s bound to get suspicious.”

  “What is it with people and clowns?”

  “Dude, they’re freaky,” Luke said. “I love a chap who likes the makeup as much as anybody, but clowns are … unnatural.” He involuntarily shuddered.

  “You have no problem with the fact that you can turn into a wolf, but a man who puts on a red nose and big shoes is somehow unnatural. I would love to be in your mind one day.”

  “No, you wouldn’t,” Luke countered. “There’s a lot of zooming and booming in my head.”

  “I can’t even look at you.”

  LUKE’S words – not all the sex euphemisms, mind you, but his actual words – bothered me the rest of the morning. Our first Des Moines show was scheduled for 7 p.m., and the doors would open an hour before that. We had a lot to accomplish before then, so I couldn’t afford to focus on Kade’s suspicions.

  Luke was right. The man was baffled by our setup. The problem was, I had no idea what piqued his interest. If he really was caught up wondering about my relationship with Luke, I could handle that. If he was starting to suspect the dangerous underbelly of the circus looked a little odder than he originally thought, we were in trouble.

  I pushed the serious thoughts from my mind – as much as I could – and went about my daily business. I stopped on the midway first, hoping there wouldn’t be any problems. Unfortunately, I ran into one of the circus’ biggest problems.

  “Did you come to read me a sonnet?” Mark Lane, his beer gut hanging over his plaid pants and poking between his suspenders, hooked his thumbs through his belt loops and leaned back as he regarded me with predatory eyes. “I love a good … poet.”

  I had no idea why anyone thought clowns were creepy when this guy was running around. “Mark,” I said, forcing my voice to remain neutral. “Is everything set for tonight?”

  “Don’t worry your pretty little head – or any of your other pretty parts – about the midway,” Mark said, smarminess wafting out of his every pore. “I’m a professional.”

  A professional tool, that was for sure. “Don’t forget that we have a dry circus this week,” I said. “If you see anyone with alcohol you have to confiscate it or call security.”

  “I would rather not call security.”

  “Are you having problems with Mr. Denton?” If he was, this was the first I heard about it. Of course, I’d been unavailable for much of the previous day.

  “I don’t have problems with anyone, sweet cheeks,” Mark said. “I don’t want him hanging around and ruining the atmosphere here. If anyone is breaking the rules, I’ll take care of it.”

  I had a feeling that he didn’t want anyone as handsome as Kade swooping in when he was trying to get a gander down some unsuspecting woman’s top. “Don’t mess this up, Mark,” I said. “We don’t want to get banned, and if the city sends in undercovers and they catch anyone with alcohol here, we’ll be banned.”

  “I said I’ve got it!”

  Mark hates being called on his work ethic. While I loathe the man – and I truly do – I can’t fault him for how he runs the midway. “I just want to make sure you’re on your toes tonight.”

  “I’ll be on my toes,” Mark replied. “How about you get on your toes and bend over in front of me?”

  I made a face.

  “Is that appropriate?”

  I jumped when
I heard Kade’s voice, fighting the urge to frown as he moved in closer to Mark and me.

  “Mr. Denton,” Mark said, a tight smile pasted on his face. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “I was making my rounds,” Kade said, his gaze bouncing between us. “I heard what you said to Ms. Parker. That’s not allowed.”

  “What did I say?”

  “You can’t sexually harass women,” Kade replied. “I don’t care who it is.”

  Hey, what was that supposed to mean?

  “I didn’t mean anything by it,” Mark scoffed, shooting me a pleading look. “Tell him I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “He’s a letch,” I replied, nonplussed. “He’s harmless, though. He would never touch me.”

  “See,” Mark said.

  “I don’t care,” Kade said, crossing his arms over his chest. “She’s your boss and she deserves some respect.”

  Mark’s face flooded with color. “I … .”

  Kade plowed on without giving Mark a chance to continue babbling. “On top of that, she’s a woman. You shouldn’t talk to any woman like that. Period.”

  “I … .”

  I was impressed. Mark didn’t usually curl into the fetal position for just anyone.

  “Don’t bother coming up with lame excuses,” Kade warned. “I don’t want to hear anything like this ever again. Do you understand me?”

  Mark swallowed. “Yes.”

  “Good,” Kade said. “Now, Ms. Parker, I have need of your services.”

  Mark opened his mouth, a joke about what services I would be providing on the tip of his tongue. How did I know? I’d heard them all before – and he has absolutely no filters. He projects every thought, no matter how vile.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Kade warned, wagging a finger in Mark’s face and causing the man to snap his trap shut. “You don’t talk to customers like that, do you?”

  “Of course not!” Mark was scandalized. “I’m a total professional.”

  “I guess I’ll get a chance to see firsthand tonight,” Kade said. “I’ll be down here … a lot.”

  “I can’t wait,” Mark sneered.

  “Me either,” Kade said, turning his attention to me. “I need to speak with you.”