Twenty-One
The circus bustled with activity when I returned. I disappeared to my trailer without greeting anyone so I could take a few moments to decompress. That turned into an hour, and by the time I exited I was dressed to impress in one of my favorite ankle-length skirts. I’d pulled my hair back in a turban and wore an over-sized peasant blouse to sell the rest of the ensemble.
Kade glanced up from the picnic table, where he sat reading a newspaper, and let loose a low wolf whistle when he saw me. He was the only one around.
“Where is everybody else?” I asked, glancing around to make sure we weren’t about to be descended on by circus locusts.
He smiled. “They’re off doing their thing. You don’t have anything to worry about. We’re a well-oiled machine.”
Uh-huh. That didn’t sound like our group at all. “Where are they really?”
“I asked them to give you some time,” he replied, sheepishly patting the bench next to him. “I saw you when you came back. You looked a little shell-shocked.”
“And you didn’t kick in the trailer door to get to me?”
“You didn’t look like you wanted company.”
I searched his face for hints that he was upset about that and then, finding nothing, sighed. “It’s harder to be here than I thought it would be.”
“See, I think it’s exactly as hard as you thought it was going to be. You put on a good show for the rest of us, but I should’ve caught on sooner that you were keyed up for this visit. I can’t help feeling a little guilty.”
That was ridiculous. He had nothing to feel guilty about. “Don’t feel guilty. You’ve gone above and beyond the last few days. I know you’ve had to stuff your feelings down deep a few times, and I’m sorry about that. You’re the best man I know. If you feel guilty, I’m going to be angry.”
“That’s kind of how I feel about you. Not that you’re the best man I know, but you are the best woman. I don’t like you feeling guilty. If I can’t feel guilty, neither can you.”
Yup. I’d walked right into that trap. “I’m doing my best to get over the guilt.” That was mostly true. There were times I found myself mired in it no matter how hard I tried. “It’s harder than I thought. When we’re on the road it’s easy not to think about it. I’m happy. I have you ... and Luke ... and even Raven. I love my life.”
“Coming back reminds you of how things could’ve been,” he surmised. “One missed turn, one errant step, and you think you wouldn’t have made it here.”
“That’s the truth.”
“See, I don’t believe that. I think you were always meant to end up here.”
“Destiny?”
“You don’t believe in destiny? Come on, after all you’ve seen, how could you believe in anything else?”
It was a good question. “I don’t know. I just don’t see how I would’ve found you if it weren’t for Max helping me instead of ignoring me that day.”
He lowered his forehead to mine. “I would’ve found you. There’s no way I could live my life without you. This was always meant to happen.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck for a moment, fought back tears, and collected myself. When I pulled back, there was a genuine smile on my face. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
“I’m still ahead on saying it.”
He pressed a solid kiss against my mouth. “In your dreams.”
THE CIRCUS OPENED AT NOON and people began lining up outside my tent shortly after. Oddly enough, I found I was happy to return to my normal routine, if only for a few hours. It helped clear my head.
Unfortunately, not all the visitors to my tent were of the relaxing variety.
“I want to know if my husband is cheating on me,” Cathy Hogan announced. She was a pleasant-looking woman in her forties, cute freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose, but the anger in her eyes was enough to have me checking any jokes I might feel like unleashing.
“Okay. May I ask why you think your husband is cheating?”
“Aren’t you psychic? You should already know the answer to that.” Her tone was frigid. That led me to believe something had happened recently to make her suspicious.
“Fine.” I shuffled the tarot cards and held them out to her. “Cut.”
She did as instructed and watched as I doled out the cards. “Thinks he can lie to me about why he needs two phones,” she muttered under her breath.
I studied the cards for a few minutes, debating how I wanted to handle the woman. Larry had been insistent when he said only happy fortunes would do. That wasn’t reality, though. If I lied to this woman and delivered a happy fortune, it could do real harm.
“He’s cheating,” I announced with little preamble.
“I knew it,” she hissed. “I just knew it.”
I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. It wasn’t a funny situation, but she was so animated she was like a cartoon character.
“What’s her name?”
Should I answer? It was easy enough to snatch the name from the ether. It might not be a good idea, though. Oh, well, I was mildly curious about what would happen. “Desiree.”
“Desiree?” Cathy’s eyebrows flew up her forehead. “How can you possibly know that?”
I merely tapped the side of my head as a response.
“But ... Desiree ... it can’t be her. That’s ... I mean ... no way. That’s gross.”
“I take it you know her.” I pressed my fingertips over the Tower card and frowned. The card was often misread, but there was every chance it really could point to catastrophe in this particular lineup.
“Of course I know her. She’s my mother.”
Oh, well, I hadn’t seen that part. My mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me?”
“No. Are you kidding me?”
“Unfortunately not.” I licked my lips. “Why would your mother steal your husband?” It seemed the obvious question, so I asked it.
“Because he was her husband first. Dang it!” Cathy slapped her hand on the table. “I can’t believe she did this to me.”
I was still behind. “I’m sorry, wouldn’t her husband have been your father?” I was on the verge of freaking out.
“No. My father was her first husband. Jack was her third husband. They were married just two months because Jack and I fell in love. It wasn’t our fault. We’re soul mates.”
“So ... Jack divorced your mother and married you?”
“Yes.” She bobbed her head as if it was the most normal story in the world.
“Do you have children?”
“Two.”
“And how did your mother feel about all of this?”
“She was fine with it. I mean ... well ... she was angry at first. She didn’t talk to me for a full year. Then she got over herself and we were fine again. She was even starting to date someone and thought it would be fun if we went on double dates. Things were getting back to normal.”
Something niggled in the back of my brain. “I see. Did it ever occur to you that your mother didn’t forgive you, and instead only pretended to make up so she could steal back her husband?”
Cathy turned huffy. “Um, no. He’s my husband.”
“He was her husband first.”
“Then he became my husband. Possession is nine-tenths of the law.”
She had me there. “Yes, but ... now that the roles are reversed, can you ever see yourself forgiving your mother for sleeping with your husband?”
“Of course not. She’s a dirty skank.”
“What were you when you slept with her husband?”
“Overwhelmed by love. Those are two entirely different things.”
Of course she would think that. “Well, I guess you’ve got a busy night in front of you.” I pressed my hands to the table and stood. “You should probably think long and hard about what you’re going to do.”
“Oh, I know exactly what I’m going to do.”
I figured. �
�A gun is a terrible idea,” I offered.
She narrowed her eyes to slits. “I didn’t say anything about a gun.”
“No, but ... just stay away from the gun idea.” Her head was so full of twisted ideas I couldn’t separate them. “In fact, I think you would be much better off if you forgot all about this and kicked your husband out. You can do better.”
“I’m not kicking him out.” Cathy was aghast at the suggestion. “I’m kicking my mother out.”
“Wait a second.” I reached out and snagged her arm before she could escape. “Your mother lives with you?”
“Yes. She lost her house and needed a place to stay. I think that’s why she finally forgave me.”
Oh, I had news for Cathy. Her mother didn’t lose her home. She sold it ... and cleared out everything Cathy’s father left in trust for his daughter after the mother’s passing. She’d moved all the money to a hidden bank account, and she and Jack were planning to clean out Cathy’s bank account as an added bonus before fleeing in a few days.
But I couldn’t tell her that. She would melt down and one of those horrible possibilities I saw in her head would turn into reality.
“I think you should check into a hotel and take a twenty-four-hour mental health break,” I suggested. “Decompression is a good thing when you’ve been handed a life blow such as this.”
“I’m not staying in a hotel.”
“It doesn’t have to be an expensive hotel. Just something with a spa so you can sweat out your aggressions.”
“Oh, stuff it.” She jerked away from me. “I know exactly what I’m going to do. I have everything under control. She is not going to get away with this.”
Cathy was out of the tent before I could stop her. Thankfully, Kade poked his head inside to check on me in the wake of her fit.
“Everything okay?” he asked with a grin. “That didn’t look like a happy fortune.”
“Definitely not,” I agreed, hurrying through the opening and pulling him with me. “I need you to follow that woman. Make sure you don’t lose her, and call the police. She’s going to murder her mother and husband.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re sleeping together.”
His eyebrows migrated north. “Seriously? That’s kind of gross.”
“There’s even more to the story, but I don’t have time to tell you. Make sure she doesn’t get away. I don’t know how you’re going to pull it off, but ... .”
“Don’t worry.” He squeezed my wrist and grinned. “I have an idea. I’ll take care of it.”
I hoped that was true. Otherwise, I would have two murders on my conscience. Sure, they were horrible people, but the kids had done nothing to deserve being orphans, and that’s exactly what they would become if their mother pulled the trigger.
TWO HOURS LATER, I DECIDED to take a break. I’d kept to Larry’s “happy fortune” edict for the rest of the afternoon, and I wasn’t sorry. I was, however, a little bored.
I decided to grab a snack and check on the girls. They’d been excited when they heard they would be allowed to work throughout the weekend. I refused to hide them away as Larry suggested. Instead, Raven dolled them up in bright costumes and allowed them to help her at the Hall of Mirrors. That’s where I headed now.
“Looking for someone specific?” Raven asked after creeping up on me in the mirror house foyer. I had an elephant ear and was happily munching while looking for the girls. “If so, I have Kade tied up in my back office and I’ve been doing naughty things to him.”
I slid her a sidelong look and frowned. “You’re not funny.”
“I think I’m hilarious.”
“And I think you need to look that word up in the dictionary.” I did a double take at her outfit. She’d gone all out and dressed in an ornate black dress. “Why are you so gussied up?”
She shrugged and slid onto a nearby bench. “Do you want the truth?”
“No, I want you to lie to me.”
“Okay. I wore this dress because it belonged to my grandmother and she would’ve wanted me to wear it. I believe in honoring my elders.”
“You’re centuries old. Your grandmother, if she’s even still alive, would be centuries older than that. There’s no way that dress is five-hundred years old.”
Raven smirked. “You said you wanted me to lie to you.”
I continued eating and stared at her.
“Fine.” She blew out a sigh. “When Cotton and Michelob were looking through the clothes they found this dress. I haven’t worn it in a long time. They wanted to see me in it.”
My lips curved, unbidden. “So, basically you’re saying those two girls have turned you into a big softie.”
“Watch it.” She extended a warning finger. “I might be soft for them, but I’ll still beat the stuffing out of you.”
I knew she was strong enough to give it a good try, so I decided to let it pass. “I think it’s nice you’ve been spending so much time with them. I hoped I would be able to give them more time, but ... it just hasn’t turned out that way.”
“You’ve got your hands full with the ghosts of your past. It’s okay. No one begrudges you the time you’re spending working on this. Besides, the girls have charmed almost everyone. Even Mark likes them.”
Mark Lane, the slimy midway chief, was pretty much my least favorite person working for Mystic Caravan. I’d brought up my distaste for his attitude numerous times to Max, who had the final say on all hiring decisions. Unfortunately for me, Max refused to fire Mark because the man made too much money. He may have been a horrible individual, but he was a smart horrible individual, and Max liked that.
“He hasn’t been hitting on those girls, has he?” The idea made me sick to my stomach. “I’ll tie his you-know-what into a knot if he tries.”
Raven shook her head. “I already warned him what would happen if I even caught a whiff of impropriety. He knows I’m not kidding. I’ll do worse than tie knots. The problem is, Cotton continuously falls back to her go-to move to make money, which is offering people blow jobs.”
My stomach gave an uneasy heave. “I told her not to do that.”
“She can’t help herself. Yelling at her won’t fix it. She’s a product of her environment. The only way she can really be fixed is to get her off the streets.”
I sensed where this conversation was going. “We can’t take them.”
“Why not?” Raven’s silver eyes flashed with annoyance. “We took that little urchin you found in Nebraska and brought her with us.”
“Melissa was an adult,” I reminded her. “She wasn’t a runaway. We weren’t breaking federal laws by transporting a child over state lines. Cotton and Michelob are underage.”
“They won’t be forever. We only have to hide them for a little while.”
I’d never seen this side of Raven before. I didn’t want to discourage her, but I couldn’t give her hope. “We can’t take them. We can, however, call the state to see if we can get them taken into custody.”
Raven immediately started shaking her head. “There’s a reason you fled custody when you were a child.”
“There is,” I agreed. “I saw what would happen if I didn’t. Not all homes are like that. The bulk of the people who volunteer to take at-risk children like this are wonderful individuals. Besides, we now have a weapon at our disposal that we didn’t have then.”
“And what’s that?”
I tapped the side of my head. “We can read these people’s minds. Even if we have to fly back to double-check placement, we can manage it. We’ll make sure they end up in a good place.”
As if on cue, Michelob and Cotton strolled into the room, laughing and having a good time. They looked healthier than they had days before, had a bit of glow to their skin. Michelob’s voice was no longer raspy and she wasn’t in constant pain. There was happiness in their eyes, and I remembered that same feeling from way back, when I thought I’d struck it rich on the street a few times.
The
y would be crushed when we left, but we weren’t the right fit for them … at least not right now. That didn’t mean we couldn’t find someone to fit.
Raven lowered her voice as the two started cavorting in front of the mirrors. They were having a good time seeing their reflections distorted and barely paid any attention to us. “I know what you’re saying is true. It’s just ... they’re vulnerable. I don’t like sending them into the system when they’re so vulnerable.”
“It’s only until they’re adults. That might not be all that far into the future. We can talk to them, explain things. Once they’re legal, then we can make arrangements for them to join us. They’ll be your responsibility when that happens.”
Her eyes went wide. “Mine? Why?”
“Because you’re Mommy Raven as far as they’re concerned. They’ve bonded with you most. That means you’ll be the one looking out for them. That’s the only way this will work.”
She looked pained. “You know exactly how to annoy me.”
That was true. “Are you willing to give it a shot?”
She chewed her lip, uncertain. Finally, she nodded. “I want to make sure we find them a good home. Together. They can’t be separated.”
I agreed wholeheartedly. “I’ll put Logan on it this afternoon.”
“What makes you think he’ll help?”
“He doesn’t want to see them suffer.” I was certain of that. “They’ll be okay.” I turned to stare at the girls, amused at their antics.
While laughing with Raven, something odd caught my attention. The reflection in Michelob’s mirror changed, and the image staring back wasn’t the happy girl in front of me. Instead, it was a pale girl, with sunken eyes, wearing a long white dress ... and she was screaming.
I looked over my shoulder to make sure someone hadn’t snuck behind me to plant a fake image in my head, but no one was there. When I turned back to the mirror, the reflection remained. I glanced at Raven, but she obviously didn’t see it. That meant only I could.
It wasn’t really there. It was a prophetic vision. It wasn’t happening now, but it would someday.
Michelob was marked to become a banshee ... and there was no way I would allow that to happen. I had to stop it.
Freaky Reapers (A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book 8) Page 21
