Carol Shenold - Tali Cates 02 - Bloody Murder (11 page)

“See, I told you to leave us alone,” SueAnn insisted. “You’re a bully.”

At that Karin took a swing at the younger girl, missed, and landed a good punch to my right eye. I went down, landing on top of SueAnn, who grunted. Karin had the grace to look shocked before she ran off.

Lyn showed up. “Tali, why are you lying on top of my kid? Oh my God, look at your eye. Here, give me your hand.” She hauled me up off the ground and helped her daughter up. “Honey, are you okay?”

“Yeah, Mom. It wasn’t Mrs. Cates fault. It was Kimmie Baker. She was giving us a hard time and accusing us of all kinds of things. She’s real mean.”

“Don’t you worry about her. You just look pretty for the judges tonight when they award your trophy. Tali, I have to take care of something. The judges are still deciding and the talent is finished. It shouldn’t be long before we can blow this popsicle stand for a couple of hours.”

I raised an eyebrow, and it hurt. Gee, she was confident SueAnn was going to place in the contest. I felt my eye tighten. Swell. I was sure it would be all kinds of colors just in time for the contest tonight. I had to find an emcee. I had to find ice.

The soundman had the waiting-music going as the audience discussed who was going to win, should win, shouldn’t win. I went over to the judges, who grew wide-eyed at the sight of me, maybe because of the dirt on my white slacks—or the eye.

“Alice is tallying the results right now.” Cherilyn shoved a plastic glass of ice in my hand. “Here, if you put this cup of ice against your eye, maybe it will help.”

I accepted the ice, grinned, and gingerly touched it to the eye. “Ow, ow, ow.”

“Big baby.” Cherilyn laughed. “Close encounter with an over enthusiastic mom?”

“No, a Queen contestant.”

“Only you, Tali. Only you. Call me later and fill me in.”

“Count on it.”

She gave me the results and I went out into the middle of the stage.

I called the girls out for the last round of applause before announcing the winners, starting with the Talent winner, ending with the Duchess winner. As I announced the winner a red flash glared behind and around the hay bales. The audience was clapping and yelling for the winner and the “special effects.”

Shit,
fire!
I practically threw the flowers and trophy at the new Duchess and ran around the end of the bales as the audience swarmed the stage. I didn’t see smoke, flame, or signs of fire. I did see a shoe. I stomped over to it, prepared to ream out kids who picked the middle of contest to neck behind the stage.

It wasn’t kids. It was Karin, or at least her clothes, and she wouldn’t be in the contest. Kneeling next to her were Aiden and Lyn, who both straightened abruptly. I couldn’t see Karin’s face but Aiden’s expression told me everything. The redwood scent that began to suggest evil to me was so strong, it overwhelmed me. Karin’s face, the face of a mummy, an old mummy, not the vibrant girl I’d seen a little while ago. My stomach churned. My chest grew tight. Death had become a contestant and wanted to win.

Chapter Eleven

Death again. JT again, looking at me as if everything was my fault. Yellow police tape. Panic in the audience. Scared contestants. Laurel showed up to insist the Queen Contest go on but be held in the auditorium for greater security and would I please assure her no other untoward incidents would mar the contest.

Between the blooming eye and blossoming headache, I was so ready to go home, grab a bite—if I could eat—and find some sanity. Camera flashes from reporters who were after the winners of the contest and, more doggedly, after pictures of the latest murder, did nothing to help the way I felt. Hopefully Aiden would show up as scheduled. If not, the boys would gobble up everything in sight anyway.

After I was allowed to leave, I walked back to the library to get my car. I shivered as I looked up at the building, wondering if I’d ever be comfortable in there again. I already dreaded the upcoming contest. The event had been spoiled, soiled by the loss of young women who should have had long lives ahead of them. They shouldn’t die so young, under such outlandish circumstances. Reality had become a page out of a murder mystery.

I coasted down the street. I liked being in between. In the car I didn’t have to try to answer questions I didn’t want to deal with. Why had Karin hung around the Duchess Contest? Did she have any enemies?
Too many.
Had she been fighting with anyone?
In front of witnesses.
Damn and double damn, I was so sick of it. Couldn’t one thing in my life go well, without death, spirits, ghosts, or any other conspiracy theory with paranormal overtones? If murder had to intrude in my life, couldn’t it be a simple Miss Marple-Agatha Christie crime, the maid in the library with a dagger? Then you’d have three obvious killers so you would know the one you least suspected was, of course, the killer.

But no, nothing simple ever happened in my life. Invisible entities pushed me out of the library or away from dressing rooms. Bodies cropped up wherever I went. I needed the woman on
Medium
to have a dream and tell me who was causing all this. To make it go away.

Boy, did I sound whiny. I needed a little cheese with that. Better yet, some wine, period. I wondered what kind would go with the chicken tarts I planned to serve. I bet whatever wine I had on hand would work.

Laurel had at least found volunteers to set up dressing rooms in the auditorium, get the sound system in place and the set design, such as it was. I planned to coerce my mother into being emcee. That was the last job I wanted at this point.

I pulled into the driveway at home and opened the front door. Chaos streaked out. I jumped back and came close to falling over Aiden, who had sneaked up behind me to give me a heart attack. He succeeded.

He grinned at me as I tried to catch my breath and slow down my heart. “Dinner still on?”

“Aiden, you have to stop that.”

“Stop what? I didn’t do anything.”

“You sneaked up and scared me.”

“I don’t sneak, I walk.”

“Well, whatever you’re doing, stop it.”

“Okay. I’ll go away. Say hi to the boys for me.”

About then, the boys showed up. “Hi, Mom. Now don’t invite him in because that means he can come in anytime.”

“Sean, what are you thinking? Of course I’ll invite him in, he’s our friend and we invited him for dinner.”

“It’s your funeral. I didn’t invite him for dinner.”

I hunched my shoulders, pressed my lips together and grabbed Sean by his ear. “I’ll be right back,” I said to Aiden. “Have a seat on the couch and make yourself comfortable.”

I dragged Sean up the stairs and into the dining room. Rusty waited for us—I guess he wanted to see what would happen.

I let go of Sean. “Sit down. You too, Rusty.” I sat opposite the boys. “I don’t know what you two have been up to but Aiden is a guest in our house and you will treat him with respect. I will not tolerate such rudeness.” I locked eyes with my son. “Do you understand me, Sean? I’ve had a crappy day, this evening doesn’t look much better so I will enjoy a quiet supper without any trouble from you. In the morning we will discuss your punishment for tonight’s behavior.”

“Yes, ma’am.” They both answered at once.

“Aiden, come join me in the kitchen.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Aiden answered from the green room.

I turned to go to the kitchen and Aiden was beside me, again with those speedy moves. The boys still sat at the big table, eyes wide as they looked at each other.

“Sean, come here and get the plates to set the table. Rusty, you can carry the glasses in.” Mumsie, good as her word, had fixed the chicken tarts and left them in the oven on warm. I found a romaine salad in the refrigerator waiting to be tossed with dressing and few grape tomatoes. As I put the rest of the food on the table, I set Aiden to work slicing French bread. I spread garlic butter on the slices and popped them under the broiler. The scent of baking and garlic triggered my appetite big time.

“Hey, Aiden, do you like garlic?” Sean said. “Mom puts a lot of garlic on her bread, you know.”

“I love garlic. How did you know?”

Sean looked disappointed and made a beeline back to the dining room to whisper to Rusty while they set the table.

Mumsie joined us in the kitchen and helped carry the rest of the food. Her harmonic convergence had been cancelled. Maybe there was no harmony to converge in Love. “By the way, Tali, you were a little rude on the phone earlier, telling Chung Po to go into the light, indeed. You have to be careful of his feelings.”

I opened my mouth to tell her to cool it with the spirits while Aiden was here but she went right on.

“Aiden, it’s good to meet you officially. I’d heard you moved in next door and I really like to know my neighbors. You never know when a good neighbor is going to save the day. Besides, it’s always good to have a man close by since it’s just a couple of women and kids over here.” She started passing around food as we all sat down.

I had to step in. “Don’t make it sound as if we’re all helpless over here. We don’t need to be rescued.”

“That’s not how you felt after the vandalism,” Mumsie insisted.

“Yeah, but remember, Mom, you have me and I know karate,” Sean boasted. “We don’t need any help.”

I rolled my eyes.

Sean got up, went to the kitchen, and brought in a glass of water to set next to Aiden’s plate.

“Sean, I have water on the table.” I gestured to glasses with ice and a pitcher of water in the center of the dining room table.”

“I just thought Mr. Courtland would like some fresh water.”

Mumsie shook her head. “Sean, sit down and behave. You’re getting carried away.” She looked at Aiden, a quizzical look on her face.

Oh, no. She was going to give him the third degree.

“Now, Mr. Courtland, what is it you do for a living? I see lights on at your place at all hours of the night.”

“Mumsie, it’s none of your—”

Aiden interrupted. “It’s all right, Tali. Your mother isn’t the first person to remark on my odd hours. I’m a historian. The bulk of my job is online searches, which are done more easily at night when internet traffic is a little lighter. Also, I require very little sleep so it’s the perfect job for a vampire like me.” Then he took a few swallows of water from the glass Sean had brought him. He immediately began coughing.

I leaped up to help him and noticed the boys were grinning at each other triumphantly.

Aiden stopped coughing as suddenly as he’d begun. “You’re right, Sean. Fresh is better, and my mom always told me not to drink so fast. I’m likely to choke to death some day if I’m not careful.” He grinned at the kids who looked as if they had both just lost their best friend.

We finished eating amid a discussion between Aiden and the boys about the advantages of Guitar Hero III over Guitar Hero I, and I figured he’d won them over with that. The boys went into the living room to talk. Mumsie offered to take care of the dishes. I convinced her to come and emcee for me—a hard sell but she finally agreed—then Aiden and I went outside to sit.

“Would you like a drink? I’m going to wait until the contest is over before I get plowed.”

“I’m fine. A little peace and quiet will work for me. Those are a couple of lively kids.”

“That would be a polite term. Nothing Rusty does surprises me but Sean’s behavior is becoming bizarre lately. He was trying to convince me that vampires live around Love, Texas. I think that’s why he looked so startled when you called yourself a vampire. I don’t get anywhere with him when I try to ground him in reality. I need to check into what his father is letting him watch when Sean visits.”

Aiden looked over with one eyebrow raised. He was so sexy. Lord, it was hard to concentrate when the man was around. “You mean you don’t believe in ghoulies and ghosties and things that go bump in the night?”

“Oh, I’ve dealt with ghosts. It’s the entire bloodsucking creature-of-the-night thing I have trouble with. Sean is impressionable. He’s had nightmares about ghosts ever since we had the close encounters last spring.”

“What happened?” He leaned forward, his eyes intense, like a kid waiting for a story. I told him about everything and actually felt better when I was done.

“I’m more concerned about real-life monsters like that ex-con trying to destroy my family than I am some mythical creature entering my life. I want to see Sean stick to reality. Life is scary enough without bringing in anything darker.”

Besides, the last rumor I need circulating about this family is that we are setting up a supernatural community.

No breeze stirred the trees. Not a sound broke the silence. It felt as if something was going to happen. What else could happen? We’d already had two murders connected with the contest. But what was this feeling, anticipation—or dread?

I looked over at Aiden, who relaxed comfortably in the Adirondack chair, legs stretched out, cool as a cucumber in his long-sleeved black shirt and slacks. He had his eyes closed.

“Would you like to go back in? It’s warmer out than I expected. You’d think it was August, not October.

He opened one eye, lifting that sexy left eyebrow. “I’m okay. Your poor eye is really blooming with color.”

I took a deep breath, enjoying the lingering scent of honeysuckle. “The audience won’t be happy inside tonight since we’ll be in the impossible-to-cool auditorium.”

“But everyone will be in the shade, not like in the amphitheatre.”

“Humid, very stuffy.”

“Tali—it’s humid and still outside. I don’t see the problem.”

“You don’t know how unhappy this group of people will be since the size of the audience will be limited and boyfriends can’t wander by to accidentally watch Suzie do her baton routine or hip-hop jazz dance. The auditorium also limits how much parading up and down aisles the kids can do. Saving seats for the entire family will be—”

“Wait. Stop. Enough. I don’t know how you put up with it all. Doesn’t anyone handle this mess but you?”

“Laurel promised to field some of those.”

“Good.” Aiden sat up and leaned over toward me. “Let’s concentrate on being together right now, on relaxing.”