[Mystic Caravan Mystery 04.0] Freaky Games Read online

  “Thank you. As for the figment, I think most of them dissipate when they have nothing to focus on. Without a purpose, they float on the wind and eventually shake loose whatever holds them to this plane.”

  “In the case of that mine accident, the people responsible for letting those workers suffer and die have been gone a very long time,” Kade noted. “Who is the figment getting revenge on?”

  “That’s a good question. I don’t have an answer,” I replied. “Perhaps the figment has convinced itself that anyone hanging around this area is to blame. Plus, well, we don’t know that the figment is killing people. No bodies have ever been found.”

  “It’s the desert, honey. Bodies are rarely found in the desert. The bones get picked clean and are buried under blowing sand pretty quickly. This thing appears only during dust storms, so I can’t help but think they’re related.

  “Maybe the creature takes advantage of the camouflage to appear, but I think they’re tied together in a different way,” he continued. “Maybe this creature isn’t a figment at all. You guys seem happy to glom on to that theory, but it could be something else.”

  “It definitely could,” I agreed. “Dana said she had visions when she went to the property that included some sort of storm or dust mishap. How that could happen underground is a question I cannot answer.”

  “So … what do we do next?”

  I shrugged. “Right now we make a salad,” I replied. “While we’re doing that, you tell us more about your man date with Max. We’re interested in hearing all of the little tidbits you’ve left out. Oh, and we need to get ready for another potential dust storm tonight in case you’re right and the creature is purposely bringing them to us. For now, I think that’s all we have time to focus on.”

  Kade cocked his head. “It wasn’t a man date.”

  “It was close enough.”

  “Whatever. Sometimes I think women were only put on this planet to torture men. You know that, right?”

  Raven giggled. “I think that’s why we’re so good at it. We were bred to make those with penises suffer.”

  SHORTLY BEFORE we sat down to enjoy the meal, Detective Dorsey turned up. He was alone this time, his expression strained, and I couldn’t help but worry about his sudden appearance.

  “Detective.” I pasted a sugary smile on my face. “Nice of you to stop by. Would you like to join us for lunch?”

  I expected Dorsey to decline, but instead he took in the sandwiches and salad and immediately nodded his head. “That sounds nice. I haven’t had anything other than fried food in three days. This looks crisp and fresh.”

  “Take a seat.”

  Dorsey settled in the spot next to Kade, smiling as he glanced around the table. It wasn’t a full crew – something I was thankful for – but there were enough faces around that I didn’t have to worry about all of Dorsey’s attention being fixed on me.

  “So, did you get the woman back to her family?” I already knew the answer, but didn’t want Dorsey to think we checked up on him.

  “We did.” Dorsey nodded while taking a sandwich. “She was confused, but things cleared a bit once she reunited with her husband. It seems she went to an art fair and flea market down the way and got confused when coming back. The car was a rental. We arranged to have it returned. She’s already on her way back to Ohio.”

  “That’s good.” I sincerely meant it. “Things could’ve gone a whole lot worse.”

  “They could have,” Dorsey agreed. “We ran a drug panel on her at the hospital – just to be on the safe side, you know how that goes. She wasn’t stoned and she had no alcohol in her system.”

  “Why is that important?” Nellie asked, biting into a monstrous sandwich and methodically chewing as he stared at Dorsey. He was dressed in another flowing summer frock rather than an evening gown today. I wasn’t sure Dorsey realized how lucky he was to witness the rare occurrence.

  “Because if she was psychologically altered that might explain why she acted the way she did,” Kade explained. “The fact that she didn’t – and I’m assuming that she doesn’t have a history of mental problems – means that it’s far more likely she really did see something out in the desert.”

  “That’s what I think,” Dorsey confirmed, his gaze appreciative as it roamed Kade’s strong frame. “We’ve had far too many reports coming out of this area to ignore them. The problem is that none seem to match up. I don’t know what to think.”

  “The odds of someone being able to live out here, off the grid, seem pretty slim,” Nellie said, using his fingernail to dig bread from between his teeth. His table manners leave a lot to be desired. “Maybe it’s some sort of animal and people only think they’re seeing something wicked because the storm confuses and frightens them.”

  “What kind of animal?” Dorsey challenged. “I haven’t heard about any large animals in the desert that could terrorize a grown adult. The biggest things we have out here are coyotes and a few wolves.”

  “What about a camel?”

  Dorsey gave me a small nod as I dished some salad on his plate, his expression so twisted that I had to swallow the urge to laugh. “You think there’s a camel wandering around the desert terrifying people in dust storms?”

  Nellie shrugged, unbothered by Dorsey’s tone. “I’ve heard stranger things. We have grown men who enjoy dressing as clowns running around this place. I’d much rather see a camel.”

  Dorsey choked out a laugh. “I guess that’s fair. I doubt very much it’s a camel.”

  I didn’t add what I was thinking: that I was fairly certain that camels didn’t have webbed feet. “What do you think it is, detective?” I sat between Kade and Nellie, and focused on my own plate. “If it’s not a camel, what is it?”

  “If I knew that I wouldn’t be out here warning you folks,” Dorsey replied. “I know you’re opening for business tomorrow. I’d appreciate it if you increased your security.”

  “I’m head of security, so that falls to me,” Kade said. “I take my job seriously, but I’m open to any suggestions you might have.”

  “I don’t know what to tell you, but increased patrols around the perimeter couldn’t hurt,” Dorsey replied.

  He obviously didn’t know about the dreamcatcher and the way we operate, so I let Kade handle security discussions as I shifted my attention to Nellie. “This is the first time I’ve seen you since you left for the casino last night. How’d things go?”

  Nellie shrugged, averting his eyes. “They went … great.”

  I flicked my eyes up and down the table. “Where are Naida and Nixie?”

  “They’re probably hiding in their trailers,” Nellie replied. “They’re not in very good moods.”

  My stomach flipped at Nellie’s tone. I recognized it for what it was. “I was right, wasn’t I?”

  “Nobody likes a know-it-all, Poet,” Nellie chided.

  “I don’t care about that. But I was right. You guys lost all the money you won, didn’t you?”

  “Some of us lost more than we won,” Nellie conceded. “I quit when I lost my winnings and focused on the free food. You know me. I’m as happy with crab legs as cash.”

  Oddly enough, I did know him. That made sense. “How much did Nixie and Naida lose?” I asked, resigned.

  “They didn’t lose a heckuva lot,” Nellie replied, scratching the back of his neck. “About a hundred bucks each. They bitched and moaned the entire ride back that they should’ve listened to you. That means they’ll probably avoid you so they don’t have to hear you say, ‘I told you so.’”

  “I wouldn’t say that.”

  “But you’re thinking it.”

  He was right. “What about Luke?” I dreaded asking, but I had to know. I hadn’t seen Luke in more than seventeen hours, some sort of record for us. He didn’t hop into bed and wake me this morning, demanding breakfast or crowing about his night. He didn’t pout his way through a meal … or come to me for consoling. He was simply absent.

  “H
e was quiet from the time we left the casino,” Nellie answered. “He was in a really rotten mood. I didn’t push him too much.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” I pressed. “How much did he lose?”

  “I’m not his babysitter. I wasn’t keeping track.”

  I scowled. “That doesn’t mean you don’t know.”

  “He lost at least five hundred dollars, and that’s only what I saw,” Nellie offered. “He’s in a really bad mood – not that I blame him. The last thing he needs to hear is that you knew this would happen. I’m warning you now.”

  I gripped my hands together and stared at my plate, worry and anger warring for top billing in my busy head. “Where is he?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Kade wrapped his hand around my wrist to still me before I could storm off. “Maybe you should take a walk to calm yourself first.”

  “This is between Luke and me,” I warned.

  “I understand that. I have no intention of getting involved, but I’m worried you’ll make things worse if you start yelling at him when he’s already feeling low,” Kade offered. “Just … give it a few minutes.”

  That was sound advice. I relaxed my fingers and forced a smile that felt more like a grimace. “Sure.”

  “Great.” Kade released my hand and turned back to a curious-looking Dorsey. “I’m sorry about that. It’s a … domestic issue. Where were we?”

  “I’ll be right back.” I hopped to my feet and skirted Kade’s outstretched hand when he tried to grab me. “I’m going to take that walk you suggested.”

  “No, you’re not,” Kade argued. I could feel his eyes on me as I strode away from the table. “You’re going to make things worse.”

  Well, he wasn’t wrong.

  13

  Thirteen

  “Poet!”

  Kade called out one more time, but I pretended he wasn’t speaking, wasn’t trying to stop me from a course of action I couldn’t turn away from. I heard Dorsey ask what was wrong as I retreated, but didn’t hang around long enough to hear Kade’s response.

  I stomped up the steps to Luke’s trailer and raised my hand to knock, briefly considering throwing open the door and walking in without an invitation. That was something Luke would do, and I didn’t want to reinforce his bad behavior. I rapped my knuckles against the metal door three times in rapid succession.

  Then I waited.

  I heard feet shuffling on the other side of the threshold and knew Luke was close. I couldn’t see a shadow in the gap of the door and could almost picture him looking through the peephole. He didn’t open the door.

  “I hear you.”

  Silence met my announcement.

  “Luke, I’m not joking around,” I snapped. “Open this door right now or I’ll kick it in.”

  The threat was enough to garner a chuckle. “Oh, really? You’re going to kick the door in? You weigh a hundred and forty pounds soaking wet.”

  “Hey! I weigh a hundred and thirty pounds … and three months ago when I got the flu I was in the hundred and twenties.”

  “Whatever.” Luke didn’t open the door, further infuriating me.

  “Luke, I will use other means to kick in this door if you’re not careful,” I snapped. “They’ll be big, violent and explosive.”

  Luke snorted, sounding genuinely amused. “You’re not going to do that with the cop at the table. Yeah, I saw him walk up. What does he want?”

  “He wanted to talk about the woman we found in the storm last night.”

  This time I got the distinct impression that Luke’s silence was due to surprise. I racked my brain and realized we hadn’t talked since before the storm hit, which meant he wasn’t up on all of the gossip. That was likely to kill him – which made me happy – so I offered up a snarly grin. “You missed out on a lot of stuff.”

  “Oh, fine.” Luke blew out a sigh and opened the door. I took an involuntary step back when I caught sight of his disheveled hair and morning stubble that should’ve been removed hours before. Luke always showers and shaves, proving himself something of a dandy even when he has a fever and body-wracking coughs that could put down a giant. He never looks anything less than perfect.

  Heck, I didn’t know he could look this bad.

  “What happened to you?”

  Luke’s eyes flashed with irritation as he walked away from the door, leaving me to close it and follow him into the messy living room. Now, I don’t like to cast aspersions on my best friend – he’s the one person who has always been there for me – but he’s something of a fussbudget who borders on neat freak. The fact that his trailer looked as if a dust storm had kicked up a fuss inside was dumbfounding.

  “I don’t want to listen to you tell me ‘I told you so,’” Luke grumbled. “If that’s why you’re here … .”

  “I’m here because I love you.” The moment the words left my mouth I realized I honestly meant them, and the anger that had been coursing through me only moments before receded. “I haven’t seen you in a full day. I missed you.”

  Luke’s expression softened as he threw himself on the couch in the middle of the room. “I missed you, too.”

  “Then why have you been hiding all day? I could’ve used your help.”

  “Isn’t that what you have Kade for? He’s the one you spend all of your time with.”

  I narrowed my eyes to dangerous blue slits. “Don’t even think of trying to turn this around on me,” I warned. “You’re the one who has been avoiding me. Trying to rearrange the guilt won’t end well for you.”

  Luke ran his tongue over his teeth, and I could practically see the internal debate.

  “I’m serious,” I warned.

  “Fine.” Luke let loose with a dramatic sigh. “You do spend more time with him than me, though.”

  “That’s because we’re in a relationship. That’s how things are supposed to work,” I shot back. “If I thought for a second that you felt neglected I would carve out some special time just for you.”

  Luke beamed. “That sounds great.”

  I didn’t bother matching his expression. “You’ve been running off to the casino every chance you get,” I reminded him. “That’s on you.”

  “Yes, well, I only did that because I was feeling ignored.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “If you want to push this to that level, I promise you that you won’t be happy with the outcome.”

  “Geez, you’re such a stick in the mud,” Luke complained. “Tell me about the woman you found in the storm. I guess I missed out on some action last night.”

  I thought about arguing and pressing him on his disastrous evening instead, but I figured lulling him into a false sense of security was a better way to go. So I told him. I retold the story for what felt like the fiftieth time, and when I was done, he seemed amused.

  “You went to see a witch with Raven and you still have all of your hair? How did that even happen?”

  Of course he would pick that part of the conversation to focus on. “We’re trying to grow as people,” I replied. “She’s not so bad when she’s not after my man.”

  Luke slapped his knee as he guffawed. “Your man? Oh, I can’t wait to tell Kade that you’re referring to him in that manner.”

  “Yes, we’re all looking forward to that,” I deadpanned. “Anyway, odds are we’re dealing with a figment. It could be something else, but that’s what we’re leaning toward right now.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” Luke rubbed his chin. “I don’t think I’ve ever run across a figment. I’ve heard about them, but I’ve never seen one.”

  “I haven’t either, but I’ve heard plenty of stories about them,” I said. “Max has run into one or two. He told me. By the way, he and Kade went golfing today.”

  “I see you weren’t the only one on a weird bonding excursion today,” Luke mused. “It sounds like I missed a lot.”

  “You did. That’s what happens when you hide because you’re ashamed.”


  “Ashamed?” Luke barked. “What makes you think I’m ashamed?”

  “I know you lost the money you made the other night,” I said, lowering my voice. “I know you lost more. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about. It could’ve happened to anyone.”

  Luke lowered his gaze. “Who told you that?”

  “Casinos take a lot of good people for money,” I said, ignoring the question. “It’s not your fault. You’re a good guy who made a mistake. It’s hardly the end of the world.”

  Luke knit his eyebrows. “Was it Nixie? I bet it was Nixie.”

  “It’s a hard lesson, but it’s one you’ll remember for a long time,” I said, refusing to narc on Nellie. “It’ll be okay. I’m here for you.” I opened my arms to offer Luke a hug, but he was too busy wallowing to pay me much attention.

  “Oh, it was Nellie, wasn’t it?” Luke’s eyes gleamed with fury. “I’m going to dye all of his gowns orange so he looks like a pumpkin when he hits the big tent from now on.”

  “Luke, are you even listening to me?”

  No answer.

  “Luke!”

  “I’m going to make Nellie pay likes he’s never paid before,” Luke growled. “He’ll be sorry he ever met me. He’s definitely off the list of people I’m driving back to the casino tonight. Let’s see how he likes that.”

  My heart dropped into my stomach, causing me to feel ill as I gripped the arm of the couch where Luke sat. “You’re going back?”

  Luke snorted. “Of course I’m going back. I need to win back my money.”

  Any sympathy I felt for him evaporated. “You’re not going to win your money back. The house always wins. That’s an actual saying for a reason. It’s kind of like when we say ‘the show must go on.’ It has to go on … so it does. The house always freaking wins, Luke.”

  “It didn’t win the first night,” Luke argued, temper flitting through his eyes.

  “Yeah, but I’m starting to think that’s because they arranged it that way,” I argued. “They wanted you to win the first night so you’d become euphoric. They want you to keep coming back and losing more money. That’s how they win.”