mystic caravan mystery 01 - freaky days

by Amanda M. Lee

  “I’m hurt that you would think I’d only come over here because I want something,” Sid said, jutting out his lower lip. I think it was supposed to come across as comical. All I read was derangement.

  “Sid, I don’t have all day,” I said, refusing to play his game. “Either tell me what you want or I’m going.”

  “Where are you going?” Sid feigned disappointment. “You just got here. Don’t you want to hang out with me? I could toot your horn if you’re bored.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “If you try to toot anything of mine I’ll break your hand.”

  “You are such a drama queen.”

  He had no idea. “What do you want?”

  Sid sighed, the sound long, drawn out and dramatic. “Fine. I was wondering if you could tell me about the creature that attacked you yesterday.”

  This was a surprise. Sid didn’t generally pay any attention to the supernatural portion of Mystic Caravan’s operation. He was a changeling himself, although he opted to remain in his human form whenever possible. He claimed he was so handsome he didn’t need to bother looking like someone – or anything – else. I left that assertion unchallenged because … well … he had more in common with Danny Devito than George Clooney in the looks department. To each his own, though.

  “Why do you want to know?” I asked.

  “Everyone was buzzing about it and I missed the whole cutting-it-open-and-playing-with-its-guts thing everyone did last night,” Sid replied. “I only saw the tail end of the body burn and that killed my appetite for s’mores – which was the real reason I went over there in the first place.”

  Sid preferred spending most of his time in his trailer, eschewing community dinners. Technically, he has two trailers because of the props. No one but the other clowns want to go near either of them so they were parked in their own area and he got to play king of his own little fiefdom every week. Of course, his only serfs were the other clowns.

  Now that I think about it, there’s a perfectly acceptable reason no one wants to hang out by Sid’s trailer.

  “All we know is that it was a changeling,” I said. “It didn’t look human. I have to wonder if it ever was.”

  “What does that mean?” Mark asked, squinting.

  “I have no idea. We can’t be sure it was the only one in the area. We don’t know why it attacked. I tried to read its mind but … well … there was nothing there.”

  “There had to be something there,” Mark pressed.

  “Only basic survival functions,” I said. “There were remnants of a shredded soul, although I have to think that was gone a long time ago. There was very little activity in its brain. I tried to talk to it, but there wasn’t even a hint of understanding.”

  “That’s really weird,” Sid said. “I don’t like the idea of soulless zombies running around trying to attack us.”

  “It wasn’t a zombie,” I protested.

  “What do you call a creature with only base brain function that tries to kill?” Sid asked.

  “I … .” Well, crud. He kind of had a point. “For now we’re going about our daily lives,” I said. “Until we know more we can’t worry about possibilities that may never happen.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” Sid said. “You have the new security stud to protect your body. Who is going to protect mine?”

  I didn’t tell him I was pretty sure no one would want it. I was trying to think of a nice way to let him down easy when Mark shifted his stance, causing me to glance up.

  “Speaking of the stud muffin,” Mark said, smirking. “Your boyfriend is on his way over here. Now would be a good time for you to remind him that I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” I argued.

  “I don’t care what you two call each other,” Mark said. “You can call each other ‘Romeo’ and ‘Juliet’ or ‘fart’ and ‘burp’ for all I care.”

  “Oh, that’s cute,” Sid said. “I think those are all great nicknames.”

  I rolled my eyes until they landed on Kade. I tried to rein in my smile – I didn’t think Sid and Mark needed more fuel for their gossip – but I couldn’t quite manage the task.

  “Hey,” Kade said, his smile flirty as it landed on me.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey,” Sid said, mimicking my voice.

  Kade’s smile tipped down as he caught sight of Sid. I’d forgotten his irrational fear of clowns. I was going to work that to my advantage one of these days.

  “What’s going on over here?” Kade asked.

  “We were talking about the changeling,” I said. “They wanted information, but I told them we didn’t have more to give.”

  “That’s not all we were talking about,” Mark said pointedly.

  “It’s not? What else were we talking about?” I knew what he was after, but I wasn’t keen on giving it to him.

  Mark elbowed me in the ribs, causing me to cough and Kade to shoot him a dirty look.

  “You remember what we were talking about,” Mark pressed. “Don’t play coy.”

  “I’m assuming I was a central part of your conversation,” Kade said. “Does anyone want to clue me in?”

  “Poet?” Mark prodded.

  “Mark thinks you’re spying on him,” I supplied. “He thinks you’re following him around so you can report back to Max on what he’s doing.”

  “That’s not what I said,” Mark protested. “I don’t care if he tattles on me to Max.”

  “Why do you care?” I asked.

  “I don’t like Big Brother watching over me when I’m not doing anything wrong,” Mark replied, lowering his voice to barely a whisper. “It makes me feel … dirty.”

  He looked as if the last shower he’d taken was back in Des Moines, so that was an unfortunate choice of words. “I still maintain if you aren’t doing anything you’re not supposed to you shouldn’t care that Kade is watching.”

  “You’re only saying that because you want to see what’s in his pants,” Mark shot back.

  That was insulting. It wasn’t altogether untrue, though. “Kade is in charge of security,” I said. “I’m not his boss. If you have a problem with his patrols you’ll have to take it up with Max.”

  “Maybe I will,” Mark said.

  “Go for it. Don’t be surprised if Max shoots you down, though.” I should know. He’d shot me down when I put up a fight and he liked me a heck of a lot more than he liked Mark. Of course, Mark brought in a lot more money so … no, I’m still better. “I can’t help you. Kade is right here if you want to talk to him, though.”

  Mark tilted his head to the side as he looked Kade up and down. “I don’t want you spying on me,” he said finally.

  “I’m not spying,” Kade said. “I’m patrolling the grounds. There’s a difference.”

  “That’s not how it feels to me,” Mark sniffed. “I feel as if I’m under a microscope. I don’t like it.”

  “You can spy on me,” Sid said. “I don’t do anything in private that I don’t do in public.” As if to prove a point, Sid lodged his pinky in his nose and started digging.

  I took a step away from Sid, not realizing I was doing it until I saw Kade’s smile.

  “Well, I don’t like being spied on,” Mark said. “I feel as if I’m unjustly targeted.”

  “I’m sure you’ll survive,” Kade replied, unruffled. “I’m not changing my patrols. If you don’t like them you can just get over it.”

  Mark’s mouth dropped open. Since he was a money man he was used to getting his own way. “But … .”

  “Get over it,” Sid said, studying the finger that had been lodged in his nose seconds before. I had no idea what he thought he would find there. If the expression on his face was any indication, he was thrilled with his discovery. “All of our business is open for public consumption here. I like it when people watch me.”

  Kade made a face. If he wasn’t anti-clown before, he certainly was now. “While this has been … illuminating … I actually
came over to get Poet for dinner.”

  “You did?” I was surprised – and pleased. Well, crud. I was officially a girly-girl. All my proclamations to the contrary during my formative years were apparently for naught. “That’s nice of you.”

  “Maybe I just don’t want to be left alone with Raven on the prowl,” Kade countered.

  “And you want me to protect you?”

  “Is that wrong?” Kade’s eyes twinkled as he relished my discomfort.

  “That’s very pragmatic of you,” I said, moving in his direction.

  Kade extended his hand, eyeing me closely as he waited for me to take it. “They’re cooking hamburgers. They smell great.”

  I studied his proffered hand for a moment. Holding it would serve as a message to everyone in camp – and I wasn’t sure I wanted that. Oh, who was I kidding?

  I took his hand, my cheeks burning as he smirked.

  “Come on,” Kade said, tugging me toward the trailers. “It’s going to be a fun night. I promise.”

  Twenty-Eight

  Luke was waiting for us when we arrived for dinner and the look on his face told me he planned a whole meal’s worth of dirty comments.

  “He’s going to be a pain, isn’t he?” Kade asked, resigned.

  “He’s always a pain.”

  “And why are you two best friends again?”

  “Because he’s … the most loyal person I know,” I replied, smiling despite myself. “He has a great heart and he always knows how to make me laugh.”

  “Do you wish he was straight?”

  The question caught me off guard. “What? No. Why would you ask that?”

  “Because you got a moony look on your face when you were talking about him just now,” Kade answered. “I can’t help but wonder if he’d be your perfect guy if you two could work out the bedroom differences.”

  Oh, he was cute when feeling insecure. “Luke is my best friend,” I said. “If I tried dating him I’d have to kill him.”

  Kade pursed his lips, his gaze intense. He didn’t look convinced.

  “I love Luke,” I added. “I do. He’s always there when I need him. He’s been there for me for so long that I can’t imagine my life without him. There’s a difference between friendship love and romantic love, though. Don’t fool yourself into believing differently. I love Luke. I could never be in love with him.”

  “That was a really good answer,” Kade said, squeezing my hand once before releasing it. “I can tell by the way he’s watching us that he’s going to be an absolute menace.”

  “Yeah … get used to that.”

  Kade snickered. “I guess I have no choice,” he said. “He’s part of your package … and I can’t seem to stay away from your package.”

  I lifted an eyebrow.

  “That came out dirtier than I expected,” Kade admitted.

  “At least I wasn’t commenting on your package.”

  Kade snorted. “How about we eat some hamburgers, you protect me from Raven, I’ll protect you from Luke’s mouth, and then we go for a walk alone?”

  That sounded like an interesting proposition. “Where do you want to walk?”

  “Not far,” Kade replied. “If another one of those changelings is out there I wouldn’t want to put either of us in danger. We can walk around the circus grounds, for that matter. I just thought a little time alone, when you’re not suffering from a head injury, might do us both some good.”

  “What are your plans?”

  Kade wrinkled his nose. “I can’t tell you now.”

  “Why not?”

  “You’ll have to wait and see,” Kade replied.

  “I don’t like waiting,” I said.

  “You’ll like waiting for this. I promise.”

  “SO, I see you two are officially holding hands now,” Luke said, fixing me with an unreadable look as I settled across the table from him. Kade sat down next to me, sliding a Diet Coke in my direction as he graced Luke with a warm smile.

  “I think you imagined that,” I said. I tried not to focus on how warm Kade’s thigh was as it rested against mine. I am seriously turning into a hormonal teenager or something. I cannot explain it.

  “I didn’t imagine it,” Luke said. “You two have been the talk of the circus all day.”

  “You mean you’ve been gossiping about us,” I corrected.

  “That’s an ugly thing to say about your best friend.”

  “And yet it’s the truth,” I said. “What have you been telling people?”

  “Don’t feed into his game,” Kade warned. “He wants attention from you and he’s just doing this because he knows it will drive you crazy.”

  Kade was right. That was exactly why Luke was doing this. I shouldn’t feed his need. “Seriously, what have you been telling people?”

  Luke smirked. “I know her better than you do, Kade,” he said. “I know exactly how to irritate her.”

  “I’m not sure that’s something to be proud of,” Kade shot back.

  “It is in my world.” Luke grinned at me. “Don’t worry, my little Poet, your virtue is intact. Even though I wanted to lie so you wouldn’t look like such a prude, I did not sully your good name.

  “I told people Kade stayed in your trailer to take care of you because of your head injury,” he continued.

  “That doesn’t sound so bad,” Kade said.

  “He’s not done,” I interjected.

  “She’s right,” Luke said, his eyes bright. “I told them that Poet needed someone to dote on her, so you played nurse and pressed cold compresses to her head all night as you fretted over her mental health.”

  “I’m sure they believed that.” Kade’s tone was dry. He didn’t appear bothered.

  “He’s not done yet,” I said.

  “I also told them that when I found you two this morning you were cuddled up like little kittens,” Luke said, his face splitting with a wide grin. “Everyone wants photos of the next encounter.”

  “I don’t care what you tell them,” Kade said. “I know you’re trying to press my buttons as a test. You want to see what irks me. Telling people I spent the night with Poet isn’t going to upset me.”

  Luke’s face fell. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “He’s not done yet,” I sighed, readying myself.

  “I also told people you dressed up in a frilly nurse’s uniform and tied Poet to the bed with a stethoscope because you’re a freak in the bedroom,” Luke added.

  Kade’s shoulders stiffened. “Excuse me?”

  “They want photos of that, too,” Luke said.

  “Now he’s done,” I said, smiling ruefully at Kade. “You’ll grow to love him.”

  “I have my doubts.”

  The next few minutes were amiable, everyone at the tables chatting about inconsequential matters. No one brought up the changeling, and no one chased Kade and I for answers about our night together. I knew most of Luke’s boastful talk was made up for my benefit, but I also had a feeling the gossip mill was grinding new grist this afternoon.

  That feeling became more pronounced when Raven loudly dropped her plate on the table and sat next to Luke. She scorched me with a hateful glare as she glanced between Kade and me.

  “Well, this is just … lovely,” she said.

  “Good evening, Raven,” Luke deadpanned. “How are you this fine Nebraskan night?”

  “Shut up, Luke.”

  “Someone is in a mood,” Luke said, rolling his eyes. “I wonder what’s bothering her. Poet, do you have an idea?”

  “Luke … .” I wanted to throttle him.

  Luke ignored my warning and turned to Kade. “What about you, Kade? Why do you think Raven is in such a bad mood this evening?”

  “I have no idea,” Kade replied. “I think you’re probably going to make it worse, though.”

  “You have no idea,” I muttered.

  Kade squeezed my knee under the table but never moved his challenging gaze from Luke.

&
nbsp; “Raven, do you want to tell the group what’s bothering you?” Luke sounded like a talk show host trying to get to the root of a serious problem. I could practically picture him standing on a stage with DNA test results and holding them to his forehead as he erased parental questions to the delight of his audience.

  Speaking of an audience, we were starting to draw one. Great.

  “Why would anything be bothering me, Luke?” Raven asked, her voice unnaturally airy. “There’s no reason for anything to bother me, is there?”

  “I can’t think of a reason,” Luke said.

  There was no way he was going to let it go at that.

  “Oh, wait, I can,” Luke said. “I think you’re upset because you set your sights on the new security sex god and thought you would tempt him into your bed. While he was nice and didn’t set your hair on fire when you flirted with him, he was obviously interested in someone else.

  “In an attempt to beat Poet – which you always want to do, even though no one can figure out why – you lied about my sexuality and tried to convince our studly newcomer that Poet was involved with me,” he continued. “That backfired because chemistry cannot be contained, and Kade and Poet are on a crash course to rubbing against each other without their clothes on.

  “Did I miss anything?” Luke asked.

  Nope. That pretty much summed it up.

  “Thank you for the recap, Luke,” Kade said, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “I don’t know how we would’ve made it through the meal without … that.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “He was being sarcastic, you idiot,” Raven snapped.

  “I know he was being sarcastic, you hooker,” Luke replied. “I was opting to ignore it.”

  “Good job,” I said.

  “I hate you, Luke,” Raven seethed.

  “You hate everyone right now,” Luke countered. “I don’t see why you’re so upset. There are plenty of people you could have sex with if you’re that desperate. I even hear Sid is running around in full makeup this evening.”

  Kade involuntarily shuddered, and despite the surreal conversation I couldn’t help but smile. Whenever a big, strong man is afraid of something innocuous – like clowns – it strikes me as funny. I have no idea why.