Freaky Hearts Read online

  Kade poked my side. “You’re in a good mood despite everything that happened this afternoon,” he noted. “I would’ve expected you to be a nervous wreck given the fact that the cops are looking at us even more closely.”

  “Believe it or not, this isn’t the first time we’ve been suspects,” I explained. “Most people believe circus folk are weird, so they often want to believe we’re the culprits when something bad happens. It makes it easier than looking at their neighbors.”

  “I get that. It doesn’t seem fair, though.”

  “No, it doesn’t, but life often isn’t fair.” I grabbed the local history book Melissa loaned me and began flipping through it. “As for being a nervous wreck, I guess there’s something about you that calms me.”

  My cheeks burned when I felt his weighted gaze on me.

  “Don’t let that go to your head,” I added hurriedly. “I think it has more to do with me than you.”

  Kade chuckled and planted a kiss on my cheek. “You calm me, too.”

  I met his mouth for a hot kiss and then jerked my head away before we could sink into it. “We need to focus on the important stuff here,” I reminded him. “We don’t have a lot of time to find a monster.”

  “And we have plenty of time to calm each other,” Kade teased, tapping on his keyboard. “Let’s do it.”

  “How about we be absolutely quiet for thirty minutes and then share what we’ve found?”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “THIS BROTHER Brehem guy had quite the reputation.” Kade spoke first when the talking moratorium ended. “He’s got like six online communities dedicated to him. He was a real creep.”

  “What did you find?”

  “It seems that Brother Brehem wasn’t just into collecting wives,” Kade replied. “He was also rumored to be a con artist and pedophile.”

  I stilled, my stomach twisting. “How do you know that? The woman I met in the parking lot didn’t seem to think there was anything concrete about any of these Brother Brehem legends.”

  “Perhaps she didn’t know.” Kade ran his thumb over his bottom lip as he studied his screen. “According to this, he married women who already had children, which isn’t unheard of but apparently not necessarily the norm in Mormon culture.”

  “I guess that if a guy wants ten wives he also wants to prove his virility and father sixty children,” I offered. “I guess that also means he wants biological children.”

  “I think that’s why Brother Brehem’s antics stood out so much,” Kade said. “He married women with children and didn’t seem to produce more than a few of his own. A couple of the wives told stories out of turn about his sexual proclivities.”

  “And then he eventually went missing,” I finished. “I wonder if the wives killed him and hid the body. Did you happen to find who owns the cabin?”

  “I did. Her name is Lorelei Forrester.”

  I stilled. “That’s the picketer I talked to.”

  Kade’s eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”

  “She acted as if the Brother Brehem legend was something she barely remembered,” I said, rolling my neck. “Why does she own the property?”

  “She’s a descendent of Brehem and his first wife,” Kade answered. “She was his only legal wife of record. That line dwindled rather than flourished over the years. I think Forrester and her son are the last remaining members of that bloodline.”

  “And how did the first wife react after he disappeared?”

  “She remained in the family homestead with her other sister wives. She apparently didn’t like the women – that’s one of the few things everyone on these forums can agree on. I find that interesting.”

  “How do you know she didn’t like the other women?”

  “It seemed to be common knowledge. It’s all over these Brother Brehem message boards. Gossip was alive and well in this area, even back then.”

  “And why does he have message boards again?”

  “Because his spirit is supposed to haunt the woods around his hunting cabin,” Kade replied. “Supposedly young hunters in the area have gone missing over the years.”

  “How young?”

  “Under twelve.”

  “I didn’t think you were allowed to hunt before a certain age.”

  “I think it depends on what your parents believe,” Kade supplied, his eyes serious as they roamed the screen. “The hunting cabin just so happens to be on that Lorelei woman’s property.”

  “When was the most recent abduction?”

  “They don’t refer to them as abductions. They’re missing persons cases. The cops purport that the kids wandered off in the woods and somehow died because they were never found. The tinfoil hat-wearing crowd believes the ghost took the kids to eat … or something worse.”

  “That seems a bit hard to swallow.”

  “It does, doesn’t it? As for the most recent abduction, other than the ones we’re dealing with, it looks to have been twenty years ago. The kid’s name was Raymond Graham. He was seven years old. His father and grandfather were with him. They said he wasn’t hunting but merely going along for the adventure. They simply turned around at some point and he was gone.”

  “That’s awful.”

  “They got bloodhounds and searched the area,” Kade continued. “They had hundreds of volunteers. No one ever found anything.”

  “So he’s obviously believed to be dead.”

  “That’s my guess … unless he’s living with the wolves in the mountains or something.”

  “Did they have a suspect?”

  “They did question a guy named Melvin Jackson,” Kade replied. “They had him in custody for a good week and named him as a suspect before that. I guess six different officers tried to break him in interrogation and failed. The online notes indicate that investigators believe it was him.”

  “What do you think?”

  Kade shrugged. “I think it wouldn’t hurt to see if we can track this guy down tomorrow,” he answered after a beat.

  “What good will that do?”

  “You can read minds,” he reminded me. “If he’s guilty, you’ll be able to figure it out. I mean … the guy was in his forties twenty years ago. I would think that being sixty-three – or whatever he is now – would make it difficult to control a child. It’s certainly not impossible”

  “That’s not a bad idea,” I mused. “Even if we can’t offer the police a suspect we can certainly make sure this Melvin Jackson isn’t a threat.”

  “Do you mean kill him?”

  The question was pointed. Kade knew I’d ended more than one predator in my time. I’d admitted as much. He didn’t appear to be judging me with his probing eyes, which was a relief.

  “If it’s necessary we’ll make the decision then,” I said finally. “I can’t answer that until we know what we’re dealing with.”

  “That’s fair.” Kade arranged my hair so it wasn’t standing up in a bevy of different directions. “It’s okay.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”

  “You found a lot of information in such a limited amount of time.” I couldn’t help but be impressed. “One might think you were trying to get the work out of the way so we could play.”

  “One might think,” Kade teased. “What about you? Did you find anything in the book? I’m not sure the Brother Brehem legend explains what you saw in the woods.”

  “No, and that’s troublesome,” I agreed. “Believe it or not, there are a lot of myths regarding the Great Salt Lake.”

  “Why are you focusing on the lake?”

  “Because that’s where I felt the presence the first time.”

  “Oh, well, that makes sense. What kind of monsters are we talking about?”

  “Well, I’ve ruled out the giant Swamp Thing monster and the one that’s supposedly a kissing cousin to the Loch Ness Monster. I’m pretty sure I didn’t see anything resembling a dinosaur today.”

  “Okay. What does that leave
you with?”

  “The North Shore Monster.”

  “Which is?”

  I read from the book. “A huge creature with the head of a horse and the body of a crocodile that makes a bellowing noise and charges people.”

  “Did your creature look like a horse and crocodile got horizontal?”

  “No, but other people have said the creature resembled a walking dolphin.”

  “Was it a walking dolphin?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “So … why are you fixating on the North Shore Monster?”

  “I don’t know.” I wasn’t sure how to answer. “It’s just a feeling I have. I can’t explain it.”

  “Well, I’ve learned that your feelings are almost always spot-on. It could be that early settlers didn’t know how to describe what they saw. You couldn’t describe what you saw by the river.”

  “That’s true.”

  “I think we should focus on the man before the monster,” Kade said. “I think that’s our best shot.”

  I couldn’t find fault with his argument. “Sounds like a plan.” I leaned forward and sank my teeth into his bottom lip. “Do you want to hear about my feelings so we can be spot-on together?”

  Kade snorted as he wrapped his arm around my waist. “I love the way you multi-task.”

  “It’s a gift.”

  “You’re telling me.”

  26

  Twenty-Six

  Kade and I ate breakfast with the normal crowd the next morning. The teasing was minimal compared to the day before. That didn’t mean it was nonexistent, but it was almost tolerable. In another week we would be old news.

  “Oh, and there’s our happy couple,” Luke sang out as he exited his own trailer and headed in our direction, scalding me with a harsh look. “I was starting to wonder if you were still alive because I haven’t seen you since yesterday afternoon.”

  “We were conducting research.” Luke took his regular spot across from me and I shot him a defiant glare. “If you needed something, all you had to do was knock.”

  “Yes, well, I wasn’t keen on the nudity.”

  “How do you know we were naked?”

  “Oh, puh-leez.” Luke made an exaggerated face. “Everyone in the free world knew what you were doing. I believe there was talk of Raven breaking every reflective surface in the House of Mirrors after the snakes sprouted from her head when we couldn’t stop talking about what you were doing.”

  “Well that’s just … lovely.”

  Kade snickered as he spooned scrambled eggs on both of our plates. “You don’t know what you’re missing with the nudity, Luke. I find it inspirational.”

  “I’ve seen Poet naked – probably more times than you,” Luke shot back. “It doesn’t bother me. Despite the fact that I’m not interested in her parts, I’m often intrigued enough to stare. I was worried about seeing your parts.”

  Kade knit his eyebrows, confused. “I’d think you’d want to see my parts.”

  Now it was Luke’s turn to make a face. “That’s rather insulting. Just because I happen to prefer the male form to the female one, that doesn’t mean I have any interest in you.”

  Kade almost looked insulted. “Why not?”

  “Because you’re dating my best friend.”

  “Why else?”

  Luke made a disgusted face. “Poet, can you please explain this to him? I’m tired of talking and want to focus on my breakfast.”

  “I don’t understand why you don’t want to see him,” I argued. “It’s quite impressive. I think he should sell tickets. He can be our newest attraction.”

  “Oh, well, thank you.” Kade beamed as he graced me with a soft kiss. “That was ridiculously sweet.”

  “Oh, someone pass the vomit bucket,” Luke intoned. “I think my heartburn from the bonfire drinking is going to turn into a case of the plague if these two don’t cut down on the public displays of affection.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I can’t quite remember how we got on this subject, but I’m more than willing to let it go,” I said. “Did anything happen once we took our leave to conduct our very important research?”

  “It was quiet,” Melissa answered, her eyes thoughtful as they roamed Kade’s face. “Just for the record, I’m totally up for seeing you naked.”

  Kade shifted on his seat. “You’ve made that abundantly clear.”

  “I still expect to be paid for my services yesterday.”

  “Then you can see Poet naked,” Kade fired back, shaking his head.

  “I think we should all see Poet naked,” Nellie announced. “It only seems fair.”

  “Eat your breakfast,” I ordered, annoyed.

  “Let’s focus on something important,” Naida suggested. “What did you find in your research?”

  I recounted the previous day’s educational activities, and when I was done, the table seemed interested – extremely interested – and chatty.

  “Do you think it was the North Lake Monster?” Naida asked, intrigued. “I don’t really think that thing looked like a horse.”

  “I don’t know what to think,” I answered. “We’re going to check out the suspect in the twenty-year-old case after breakfast. The circus is open from noon to six today, so we should be back in plenty of time to handle things.”

  “If he’s guilty, what are you going to do?” Luke asked. “The Great Salt Lake is far too clear to dump a body and get away with it.”

  I pressed my lips together as I kicked him under the table. “I have no intention of dumping a body in the lake. We did that once, with a sexual predator who gave me no choice.”

  “We’ve done that twice,” Luke countered. “You’re forgetting the guy about five years ago who was trying to snatch girls from the parking lot. You read his mind and saw what he planned to do and made his head explode. We didn’t have a lot of time, and there was that murky lake a mile away, so … you know.”

  Huh. I’d forgotten about him. Sexual predators put me in a foul mood. “Fine. We’ve done it twice. I have no intention of doing it in this instance.”

  “Do you honestly think he’s guilty?” Nixie asked. “That wasn’t a human we saw in the woods yesterday.”

  “What do you have in mind?” Nellie asked, curious. “By the way, I totally want a shot at the monster. I haven’t beheaded anything in two weeks. I think I’m going through withdrawal. I think we should put together a hunting party after dark.”

  “What makes you think we’ll be able to find the creature in the woods?”

  “You found it the first time.”

  “I found Sarah the first time,” I corrected. “I was searching for her. The creature just happened to show up at the same time.”

  “Just for curiosity’s sake, how would that work?” Kade asked. “The whole human working with paranormal creature thing, I mean. Do they often work in tandem?”

  “It depends what kind of creature we’re dealing with,” I replied. “It’s not uncommon. For all we know, this guy is some sort of magical mage – not the same kind of mage as Max, mind you, but an evil one – and the thing we saw in the woods could be a golem.”

  “Like the thing from the movie that kept hunting after the ring?”

  “No, that was Gollum,” I answered. “A golem is a clay figure brought to life by magic. That would explain the weird texture of that creature’s skin. I thought it looked gray and misshapen. That could be the reason for it.”

  “Are you saying this Melvin Jackson chiseled a monster out of clay and brought it to life?” Kade was dumbfounded. I kept forgetting that he wasn’t in tune with the magical world. While he’d been on a steep learning curve, that didn’t mean he was up to date on the endless possibilities. “You’re basically saying he’s a crappy artist.”

  “I’m saying it’s possible,” I cautioned. “I don’t want to focus on this guy if we have no reason to do it. He could’ve been innocent and the cops merely focused on him because they didn’t know who else to blame. That’s h
appened to us numerous times, so I don’t want to jump to conclusions.”

  “We won’t jump to conclusions,” Kade promised. “We’ll go talk to this guy and go from there. If he’s not responsible, we can rule him out.”

  “And then we can go hunting in the woods,” Nellie added.

  I silently nodded as I played with my hash browns. “What happens if we can’t figure this out in the next twenty-four hours?”

  “Don’t get yourself in a tizzy,” Kade advised. “We’re not there yet. There’s no reason to panic until we have no other options.”

  “You’re right.” I said the words, but my stomach remained unsettled. We were running out of time. “We’ll talk to Melvin Jackson and figure out where to go from there.”

  MELVIN JACKSON’S home was a nondescript ranch on an unremarkable street on the outskirts of Brigham City. The neighborhood was quiet as Kade parked. We exchanged a quick look before getting out of the truck.

  “How are we going to do this?” Kade asked, grabbing my hand as we walked up the front porch. “Are you going to come right out and ask him if he’s a child-stealing, golem-building freak?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “That was a joke.”

  “I don’t think any of us will be in the mood for laughing,” I pointed out. “We don’t have a lot of time to mess around. I’m a big proponent of honesty … especially now.”

  Kade cast me a rueful glance. “I’m not sure the two situations are equal.”

  “Probably not, but we need answers. Playing games isn’t going to get them for us.”

  “Let’s do it.”

  Kade knocked on the door, and we waited for a good thirty seconds before it opened. The man on the other side had brown hair shot through with gray, and a set of suspicious eyes that elicited chills when they landed on me.

  “I’m not interested in what you’re selling,” he barked, moving to shut the door.

  I shoved my foot between the jamb and door to make sure he didn’t shut us out, ignoring his scowl as I focused on the severe angles of his features. I’m not one for judging a book by its cover, but his cover screamed “horror” rather than “romance.”