Sweet Dreams Boxed Set (87 page)

“Well, I didn’t go prying into the whole house! I looked around the parlor and the downstairs; shouted around to see if anyone was in the house, locked it up and left.”

“She told you that something had been after her—and you didn’t search the whole house?”

Sandy stiffened. “I told you—I went in. I looked around. I didn’t search his closets!”

He had to be careful, Quinn realized. Sandy was ready to be his friend. “I’m sorry,” he said softly.

“We’re a damned fine police department,” Sandy said.

“I believe you!” Quinn told her. “Honestly. I’m sorry.”

“Is there a zombie nun?” Kathy asked him.

He nodded. “Battery ripped out it, all boxed up—per Colby’s instructions,” Quinn said.

“Ah.”

“But I’d like to know where the rest of them are—they were sold at auction.”

Sandy smiled suddenly. “All right; I’ll look into that first thing in the morning. And in return….”

“Yes?”

“You’ll keep me up on what you learn.”

“It’s a promise,” Quinn told her.

“Maybe, if I hang with you—I’ll get to make it to detective,” she said.

“I promise,” he repeated. He would keep her up—he just wasn’t going to tell her that there just might be blood on the fingers of the thing he’d chopped up and put in boxes. He didn’t intend more people to die in Key West while he was ridiculously being held by Detective Mason.

“Okay, then, well—where are you going now? I’m supposed to be watching you until you head back to Colby’s and are in for the night.”

He grinned. “I’m meeting Danni at a bar off Duval. Then,” he assured her, “I’m going to Colby’s to get some sleep.”

“Okay.”

“You coming to the bar?”

“No—I’m going to get some sleep. I’ll see you in the morning, Quinn. And I’ll have your information for you.”

He watched her head north on Duval and then he grinned and fell into step beside her. She glanced at him questioningly.

“The bar is that way, toward Front Street,” he told her.

She shrugged and smiled. “You’re not a bad companion, Quinn.”

Apparently, he wasn’t. When they reached her corner, she asked him to come down the block with her to her house.

“You know I’m a cop. I’m a pretty brave girl, really. But, I wouldn’t mind you seeing that I get in and lock my door,” she told him.

“There’s always safety in numbers,” he said.

“It’s not because I’m a woman.”

“Hell, no!” he assured her. And he smiled. “There’s plenty of times when a woman has my back. You’ll meet her tomorrow.”

Sandy smiled and nodded. “Cool,” she told him.

He watched her until she had opened her door and stepped in and turned back to wave.

He waved back and hurried on.

Now, it was growing late.

***

“
Zombie Nuns of the Apocalypse
was considered low budget,” Andrew explained to Danni. “But that was low budget by Hollywood standards. Less than a million. I managed to raise a couple hundred thousand, though, to be honest, I won my first film festival short with a little ten-minute number I called
The Babysitter is a Vampire.
I shot that on my allowance,” he explained. “I was still in high school.”

“And it’s still good—you can see it on Youtube,” Vanessa said.

“I’ll definitely look it up,” Danni promised.

The cast and crew of
Lucinda
really needed to get to their lodging for the night—if they did indeed intend to work the next day. So far, they’d used her as an excuse for another two rounds.

She’d seen Sasha practice her maniacal store mannequin and she’d tried very hard to be suitably impressed and frightened.

Vanessa had done accents for her.

Joe Tybalt had shown her a few Ninja moves.

Thankfully, she saw Quinn at just that moment. She jumped out of her chair, nearly knocking over the beer she had made a point to do nothing but sip at all night.

“Quinn!” she said, hurrying over to him.

Joe and Andrew looked a little awkward as they rose to meet him. They might be tall and good-looking, but Quinn still seemed to tower over them. He had no pretensions to anything; his hair was short and easy to care for, he was natural in all aspects—and yet she thought proudly that, in any crowd, he stood out as the one to watch.

She introduced everyone; handshakes and hellos went around.

Andrew said they were about to call it quits but offered to buy Quinn a drink. Quinn thanked him and told him he was fine. Andrew went to pay their bar tab and Quinn managed to be casual and easy while talking with the cast and crew members—and explaining that he and Danni had to go, too.

“Yes, that’s right, you’re Colby’s friend—and you’ll be heading up to see Kathy!” Vanessa said. “Give her our love, will you? How did that girl manage to get hit by a car?”

“I still don’t really know what happened,” Quinn said. He glanced at Danni.

Well, that was the truth! They didn’t understand at all what had really happened yet.

“So, you’re working here?” Andrew asked.

Quinn shrugged casually. “I’m a P.I. in Louisiana. Have some friends here—I’m doing a little research on my own.”

“Oh, my God!” Vanessa exclaimed. “So, do you know? Do you know anything?”

“I know that the police don’t believe in a zombie nun attack,” Quinn said simply.

“Did you see the bodies? Were they awful? I mean, other than the sharks, there are no animals around here that—that kill people,” Sasha said.

“And shark attacks are rare,” Joe reminded them. “More people are killed by bee stings!”

“We all hear that there was a witness—and he saw a zombie nun killing the frat boys,” Joe said.

Quinn waved a hand in the air. “You know how rumors start. Though, of course, with rumors like that flying around, I’d certainly run if saw a zombie nun on the loose.”

“Right, absolutely!” Andrew said. “And tomorrow, you’ll be running from an evil mannequin. So, kiddies, let’s move it on out!”

They bid one another goodnight. Quinn slipped an arm around Danni’s shoulder and walked with her, but he didn’t talk until they had turned off Duval to reach Elizabeth Street.

“Did you learn anything?” Quinn asked Danni.

“One interesting piece,” Danni said. “Vanessa was in
Zombie Nuns of the Apocalypse.”

“Oh? Was she good in it?”

“Quinn, I’ve never seen
Zombie Nuns of the Apocalypse.
I’m assuming she was just fine. She played corpse #3. I certainly hope you learned more than I did,” Danni said.

“I learned that the boys were killed by someone facing them—and reaching out and ripping their throats in a single strike with a razor-sharp instrument. Davy Gray—the ‘drunk’ witness—seems to have told me a true story. He saw the zombie nun walking. The police don’t want that out—the detective in charge who heard the zombie nun thing is incredulous. The woman working with him, Officer Sandy, is far more open. She’s going to find out what happened to the other dolls for me in the morning.”

“There have to be more of them,” Danni murmured. “Quinn, if not, what we’ve done is illegal. We’ve tampered with what may be a murder weapon.”

“It wouldn’t help for us to be in jail, Danni,” he told her.

“I agree. But….”

Her voice trailed. For a moment, she felt the balmy air of the night and noticed the way the moonlight fell over the street. There were beautiful plants and flowers everywhere. They passed shotgun houses and more Victorian mansions and all manner of architecture. Key West was distinctive; some of the houses were bed and breakfast inns, quiet now, all residents in for the night. Some were private homes. Bicycles rested on old Southern porches; a doctor’s office was advertised in what looked like someone’s home. Here and there a sign advertised a restaurant or a coffee shop.

All quiet now.

As they neared Colby’s house, they were in a strictly residential area. It seemed friendly, homey—nice. A real bit of life in a tropical paradise. Not rich, and yet very rich in charm.

“But?” Quinn asked.

“What if that doll did kill the boys in the cemetery?” she asked, a chill seeping into her despite the balmy night.

“This has to do with the dolls—but it has to do with someone out there, too,” he said. “Danni, I’m convinced. The zombie nun we took apart was incredibly creepy. But, someone is manipulating all of this. In one way or another, we know that to be true. We have to find out how.”

They’d reached Colby’s house on Elizabeth.
It’s nice
, Danni thought.
A family home
. Colby had purchased it with his own hard-earned money. He’d married and brought his wife there.

She and Quinn had left it blazing with light.

Quinn set the key in the lock and they went in. “Don’t worry,” he told her. “I’m going to go out back and make sure that the zombie nun we took apart is still apart—and in separate boxes.”

Danni stood in the entry. She heard Waldorf meow and saw him come to her. He didn’t squeal, he didn’t let out any kind of a howl. He just purred and wove around her legs.

“The house is okay,” she said.

Quinn had been heading toward the back.

“What?” he asked her.

“The zombie nun is still apart—and the house is okay.”

“How do you know?”

“Waldorf,” she told him. “Okay, he’s no Wolf, but Waldorf knows what’s up. He’s a cat; he has instincts.”

“So you don’t want me to check on the boxes?”

“Oh, no! I still want you to check on the boxes. I don’t trust his instinct that much!” Danni said.

Quinn went on out. Danni gave the cat treats and some attention. Quinn came back in.

“The zombie-nun we took apart and put in boxes is still in pieces and in boxes—just as we left them,” he told her.

“Good,” she said.

She noted that Quinn was frowning as he locked the back door.

“What is it?”

“Colby needs to get some extra locks on this place. Each door has one lock; he should have a second bolt that he can slide when he comes in.”

“Great. Thank you. I’m feeling really secure now,” Danni told him.

He turned to her grinning and walked to her, taking her into his arms. “You have me, you know,” he reminded her.

“But, are you a match for an animated zombie nun?” she asked him.

“I’m not sure about that, but I have friends who are,” he assured her.

“Oh?”

“Smith and Wesson,” he said, and she grinned.

“Well, if Smith and Wesson are on duty, I’m heading into the shower.”

“Okay,” He still held her. “I’m going to have you come with me to the precinct tomorrow. I’m going to get them to let you speak with Davy, too. I want you to listen to him and draw what he says—exactly what he says.”

Danni had majored in art and still kept a studio and still worked on her own pieces. She’d intended to fully pursue art—painting, mainly—until her father had died.

“But, I’ve seen the nun,” she reminded him.

“You’ve seen the nun that’s here,” Quinn reminded her. “There were five zombie nuns made. I have a feeling there is more than one nun in Key West.”

“I’ll draw what he tells me—if the police let us in.”

“I’ll make them.”

“Ooh, tough guy. I like it,” she teased.

She left him in the kitchen and headed up the stairs. She knew Quinn.

He was going to walk around the house and make sure that every window was closed and locked.

It was late and Danni was tired—and still, with the hum of the air-conditioner cooling the house, the warmth of the shower felt delicious.

As she had expected, she was in under the heat and steam for about five or ten minutes when she heard him enter the bathroom. She smiled, anticipating his presence behind her. It had been a long day; waking in New Orleans, starting to work at the store, and receiving the phone call from Colby. They’d had to rush to the airport, hop on a flight, transfer planes down to the tiny Marathon airport, rent a car, drive to Key West…and then try to fathom what was going on.

Didn’t matter. There were those times, of course, when she was ready to throttle Quinn. He could be stubborn, over-protective, pig-headed….

And then he’d smile or shrug or do something ridiculous like get down on his knees to apologize dramatically and she’d laugh or smile and know that whatever, he was now the center of her life—which often centered around bad things—and she was grateful to fall into his arms and have wild passionate sex or tender sex or just lie together, naked bodies touching.

Quinn didn’t step in behind her.

“Quinn?”

She peeked out the curtain.

There was no one in the bathroom.

She frowned. Had she imagined the sound of the door opening? It was possible, the way the water had been thudding against the porcelain of the old tub.

She stepped out and dried quickly, slipping on T-shirt nightgown. Hurrying out, she glanced quickly into the upstairs rooms—no sign of Quinn. They were using the guest room downstairs, of course—Tracy Kennedy had asked that they not use the master and told them that Kathy’s belongings were in the upstairs guest room.

Danni hurried down the stairs. Quinn was at his computer at the dining room table.

He looked up at her, his eyes intense.

“I found out something we needed to know—ridiculously easily,” he told her. “
Zombie Nuns of the Apocalypse
was actually shot up the keys on a private island and you’ll never guess where the zombie nuns were stored before the auction!”

“Key West?” Danni suggested.

“No, but close—a facility in Tavernier, just south of Key Largo. And guess what?”

“What?”

“There was a fire at the warehouse, right after the auction. One of the animatronics was already on its way to Colby Kennedy—I’m assuming that’s the one he has. Two were destroyed completely and the money had to be returned to the buyers. Two were damaged—and lost when they were on their way to Miami to be repaired.”

“Lost?” Danni asked. “How the hell were they lost?”

“Somewhere in shipping. A major shipping company, too—their insurance made good on the loss, the buyers were refunded, and that’s where it ended.”