If Mashed Potatoes Could Dance (7 page)

“Betts,” Cliff said as he came out of the dormitory. “What’re you doing?”

“I don’t know, Cliff. Looking around, trying to think. What do
you
think happened to those people?”

“I’m not sure yet, but you shouldn’t be roaming around out here alone.”

Cliff and I had recently gone out on what I called both our first and our millionth date. When he moved back to Broken Rope, he’d come back a divorced man, but I hadn’t realized
that until he finally told me; he’d kept his wedding band on a few weeks after the divorce was final. I still didn’t know much about his ex–wife or the reasons behind their breakup; I was pretty sure I didn’t want a lot of details, but I knew he’d been the one to ask for the divorce. The band was gone now, and so was that look in his eyes that reminded me of someone who’s misplaced something important.

Our high school love affair was probably one for the ages, or at least that’s the way I remembered it. We’d been
the
couple; the couple who was supposed to live that silly happily-ever-after story. I would be a hugely successful attorney, and Cliff would be a sought-after architect. We would live somewhere sexy, like New York or Chicago or San Francisco. We’d have beautiful, perfect children and a house that was both comfortable and technologically advanced.

Cliff
had
become an architect, but my decree that we needed to cool off our romance while we both studied at different schools to become the amazing people we were destined to become hadn’t worked in my favor. Cliff fell in love with someone else and married her. They did live in San Francisco, but only until Cliff decided that his life wasn’t what he wanted, so he divorced and moved back to the small southern Missouri town that was truly his home.

My adventure wasn’t as exciting. I’d simply dropped out of law school because the realities of being an attorney hadn’t been what I thought they would be.

My move back to Broken Rope hadn’t been a personal choice but rather a financial necessity. I didn’t have enough money to move anywhere else. Fortunately, Gram started the cooking school and saved me from my horrible decisions. Now, I had a job and a life I enjoyed for the most part, and I didn’t have to do attorney things. Though my decisions still
made me feel like a failure sometimes, I was slowly getting over myself.

Cliff and I had gone out on our first real date since high school only a week earlier. It had been fun. Actually, it had been amazing, great, fantastic, and kind of like a dream. But my story to the world was that it had been
good
and
fine
. No need to act all gooey at my age.

“You’re worried about me?” I said with a smile that didn’t fit with the serious nature of the evening, but I was glad for the reprieve from the concern I’d been feeling.

“I’d be worried about anyone right now, Betts,” he said. He looked around the backyard. I shone the flashlight at his face, causing an extra deep shadow to fall in the well of the dimple on his right cheek. He put a hand up to shield the light. “Maybe I’m a little more concerned about you, though. Call it an investment. I spent a bunch of money on dinner the other night. I’d hate for that to have been a waste.”

“You grilled hot dogs. I brought dessert,” I said.

Cliff shrugged. “Gotta watch my budget.”

“I’m fine. Worried, but fine.”

“I understand, and we’re worried, too. Want to tell me what happened at the school earlier?”

“Are you being the police now?”

“Yes.”

“Sure.” I told Cliff about the day, beginning with Jake’s call for help and his crazy idea of an all-night sleepover and cooking party. I said we’d been willing to go along with the idea but had been glad when the dormitory option became available. I recounted Robert Hart’s wandering out of the school, and how I went onto the empty bus and what I saw on the seat. I told him about Leroy saying he needed a smoke break and that he said he’d been in the cemetery but that I
hadn’t noticed him there. I told Cliff every detail I could remember. I held up my phone’s flashlight so he could take notes in his small notebook.

“Do you know anything about Suzi Warton?” he asked.

“Just met her. She’s from Minnesota, I think. Teddy has been working on construction here, though. You should talk to him. Why?”

Cliff shrugged again. “Just curious.”

“What do
you
know about her?” I asked.

“Nothing more than you do at this point, but she’s not from around here. I’d like to know more. We’ll check her out.”

It was difficult to picture Suzi Warton being responsible for something bad, if indeed something bad had happened. I had to remember that just because three people were missing, that didn’t mean they’d met with some tragic end. They might be fine. I hoped.

The door pushed open again, and I swung the flashlight to Teddy’s face.

“Uh, who’s that?” he asked, my light blinding him.

“Me and Cliff,” I said.

“Oh. If you two were making out or something, speak up and I’ll go back inside. I’d rather not, though. They’re pretty upset in there. Makes me uncomfortable.”

“We’re not making out.” I looked at Cliff. The flashlight wasn’t aimed at him any longer, but I thought that maybe the look on his face mirrored my thought of
Not a bad idea, though
.

Cliff cleared his throat. “Teddy, what do you know about Suzi Warton?”

“I’d appreciate the light off my face before I answer.” I moved it. “Thank you. Suzi’s great as far as I can tell. She pays me weekly. None of her checks have bounced. She fills
the fridge with sodas, and there are always apples and potato chips and stuff around.”

Those would be the important things to Teddy.

“Do you know much about her family or her past?” Cliff asked.

Teddy thought a moment. “Don’t think I do. No, nothing.”

“Have you and she…dated?” I asked. Teddy
dated
most women he met. It might be important for Cliff to know just exactly where Suzi and Teddy were in their relationship cycle.

“No,” he answered quickly. “Strictly professional.”

Teddy had been seeing someone, but that someone was my nemesis, Ophelia Buford, or Opie, and I’d threatened to hurt him if he told me any details about their relationship—a relationship I hoped wouldn’t last long. He’d done as I asked and hadn’t mentioned her once. The fact that Teddy was in a relationship didn’t always mean much, and I hoped this one either had or would quickly run its course.

“Have you been working with anyone else?” Cliff asked.

“Others come in. I’m not a plumber or an electrician. I just do the construction. Mostly guys I know, but no one else has been here as much as I have,” Teddy said.

“Can you give me the names of the other workers?” Cliff asked.

“Sure.”

As Teddy was rattling off the names of the other workers, a noise sounded from the corner of the building. We all turned, and I aimed the light. Leroy stopped his hurried steps and put one hand up to shade his eyes. He dropped a cigarette with the other hand and stomped it out with the toe of his shoe.

“Hey, who’s there?” he asked.

“I’m with the police,” Cliff said as he stepped forward and
I repositioned the light so it wasn’t blinding Leroy. “You’re the bus driver, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, Leroy Norton.”

“We asked everyone to stay put, Mr. Norton. Please go back inside. When did you leave?”

“Sure, sure. I needed a smoke. I went out the back door in the building, the one by the bathrooms, a few minutes ago. It locked behind me, though, so I had to come around. This is all…wrong, you know?” Leroy stepped forward again and then stopped at the door. “You find my people?” he asked Cliff.

“Not yet. We’re working on it.”

“Where’re you looking?” Leroy asked accusingly.

“Everywhere.”

“Good.” Leroy nodded at the three of us before disappearing back inside the dormitory, through the front door.

“Betts, Teddy, I need for the two of you to either go home or come back in there with me,” Cliff said, all thoughts turned back to the investigation.

“What have I missed?” Sally appeared next to me, proving that what I had learned about the ghosts was true for at least her and Jerome. In the dark and with the light of my phone not directly on her, Sally glowed but also looked more real, more three-dimensional. I could see the smoothness of her once-alive skin. Her eyes were bright and much more oval than I’d originally thought. And though she was curious and enthusiastic, I could see something else now, a deep pain hidden behind her eyes. Her lavender smell was subtle and almost comforting. I wasn’t much for perfume, but I thought that if I could find something like her light scent, I might actually wear some.

The ax, however, was also much more real and therefore
quite menacing. Could she wield it effectively in this form? I hoped not. I thought that she probably couldn’t. No matter what they looked like in the dark, the ghosts still weren’t alive. Jerome had made sure I knew as much. However, he
had
been able to do harm to someone despite his ghostly form. I swallowed and decided not to share with Sally what I’d discovered about Jerome’s abilities.

I shook my head her direction.

She sighed. “Right. I get it. You’ll talk to me when no one else can hear. I’ve done this for years with Miz. She’s often told me I need to be patient. I’m not very good at patient. Everyone is in such an uproar. I’m dying to know…” She laughed. “Bad choice of words. I’d kill to know what’s going on. There, that’s better.” She laughed again.

I sighed, too, as I tried not to eye the ax.

“Let’s go in,” I said. In full light, Sally would transform back to her harmless dead, less-dimensional self.

Jim Morrison, the police chief, had things only somewhat under control inside the dormitory. Georgina Carlisle and Cece Montgomery were the most upset. Gram was trying to calm Cece, and Jim was trying to calm Georgina. Leroy was sitting with Robert Hart, who seemed to be in shock. As Leroy talked to him, he looked at the ground.

Suzi observed the group from the far end of one of the tables. She stood in the same pose that Teddy had a few minutes ago, with her hands on her hips as she bit at her bottom lip. Her eyes gave away the panic and concern she was feeling, but I could tell she was trying hard to keep it together.

“Betts, why are they so upset?” Sally said in my ear. There was a tinge of real concern in her voice.

I stepped back away from Cliff and Teddy and used my
best ventriloquism skills to quietly say, “Three of the group have gone missing.”

“Missing? Kidnapped, or did they just go out for some fun?” Sally said.

“No one knows.”

“I’m sure they’re…well, maybe I could look around. Maybe I can find them.”

“That would be great and very helpful,” I said sincerely.

“See you later,” Sally said before she disappeared.

Just as I stepped forward to see what I could do to help, Jim’s cell phone rang loudly, its ring tone matching the bells from old-time rotaries. At the exact same time, my cell phone buzzed in my pocket.

I kept my voice quiet as I said, “Jake?”

“Oh, Betts, oh, Betts. It’s horrible. Is Jim with you? Cliff?”

“Yes, what’s up?”

“Someone’s been killed. They’re…they’re here. It’s horrible. Send Jim back to my office.” Jake hung up.

I was confused as I put the phone back into my pocket and stepped toward Jim.

He said into his phone, “Are you sure? Yes, stay away from the…keep everyone away from the scene. I’ll need someone to come out to the Anderson farm, but I’ll be right there.” Jim closed his phone and turned to the group. “No one from the tour group is to leave.” He looked around and continued. “Cliff, stay here. That was Jenny. She’ll wake up…someone and get them out here. Betts and Miz, you both need to go. Teddy, you’ll stay here and wait for whoever Jenny sends out. Once they’re here, you need to bring Cliff back downtown. Everyone got it?”

“What’s going on, Jim?” Gram asked.

He looked around again. “I’m not sure yet, but I’m going to find out as quickly as possible.”

I was certain that the call he’d received from Jenny, the woman who sometimes served as the police dispatcher and was someone I’d never met, had relayed the same information Jake had just called me about. Someone had been killed. It didn’t take superior skills of deduction to know it was probably one of the three missing tourists.

But which one, and where were the other two?

Jake was a mess, in Jake fashion, but a mess nonetheless.
We sat side by side, across from Jim’s desk in the jail, which was where Jim and the other real police had their office. It was located across the street and boardwalk from Jake’s fake sheriff’s office. Jake’s glazed eyes darted here and there, and he rubbed the knuckles of his right hand with the palm of his left.

“It was horrible, Betts, just horrible,” he said again. “I’ve never seen anything like it. How did you function after you found Everett?”

A couple months earlier, Gram and I had found Everett Morningside’s body in the school’s cleaning supply room.

“I don’t know. It was surreal, and I think I just went into some sort of denial autopilot. Gram was with me. I knew I needed to keep her calm. Maybe having someone else to worry about helped. You were alone. That had to be horrifying.”