Freaky Reapers (A Mystic Caravan Mystery Book 8) Read online

  Kade and Redmond watched me for signs of movement when I exited Groove’s mind jail and rejoined the world of the conscious.

  “He’s not involved,” I offered, getting to my feet. “He doesn’t know anything.”

  “Then why was he attacking you?” Kade was gentle when he lifted my arm and glared at the mangled bandage. “Are you in pain?”

  “I’m fine.” I brushed off his concern. “He’s looking for his sister. She went missing on the street two days ago.”

  “That’s not long,” Redmond noted. “She could still be out there.”

  “She could,” I agreed as Groove took a shaky breath and began to stir. I watched him for signs of violence as he regained his senses, but the look he shot me was full of marvel rather than mayhem. “You’re fine,” I told him. “You can go.”

  “Did that just really happen?” he asked, breathless.

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve never seen anything like that.”

  “You probably won’t again. Just because I didn’t trap you there this time doesn’t mean I won’t do it in the future. Remember that.”

  “I just ... that was sick.” He stood on shaky legs. “That was really sick. I can’t believe you would do that to me.”

  “I didn’t do that to you,” I reminded him. “You created that cell. A psychologist could have a field day with what’s going on in your mind. Thankfully for you, I’m not a psychologist.”

  “What are you?”

  “Many different things.” I pointed toward the tent opening. “You need to get out of here. I don’t want you getting in the way, Groove. I meant what I said to you in there. I will do my very best to find Valentine. I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to save her. I just don’t know enough to make a promise like that.”

  “Then I gotta do what I gotta do. I won’t leave no stone unturned until I find her.”

  “You’ll regret it if you do that.” I’d seen a glimpse of his future while I was in his head. It wasn’t pretty ... and there was no Valentine in sight, so I had no idea if we would manage to save her. “Just stay out of it. That’s your best bet.”

  “I can’t.”

  And, because I understood what he was saying, I merely nodded. If it was my loved one — Kade, Luke or Max — I wouldn’t be able to keep out of it either. There was nothing worse than feeling helpless. “Just do your best. We’ll do the same.”

  I remained rooted to my spot as he slowly slipped toward the tent opening. He was almost out before he turned back and stared at me. “Did I really create the cell?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you think ... do you think I’ll end up there forever?”

  “I know a bit about philosophy, and if there was ever the potential for a self-fulfilling prophecy it’s probably inside your head. Your future isn’t set in stone, though. You can still change what’s going to happen.”

  “I only know one way to be.”

  “Then you’ll die that way.”

  “Maybe that’s for the best.”

  I never pictured him as a martyr, but I could see it now. “Good luck, Groove.”

  “Right back at you.”

  Once Groove left, Kade took the opportunity to pet me. He knew better than to do it in front of a potential enemy who disrespected women. Apparently he had no qualms of going full-on romance hero in front of Redmond, though.

  “Tell me the truth, how much pain are you in?” He was gentle as he hugged me tight.

  “I really am fine. It doesn’t hurt all that much any longer.” That was a bit of an exaggeration, but I had more important things on my mind. I flicked my eyes to Redmond. “Are you the only one from your family here?”

  “Braden and Izzy are here. They’re walking around so Izzy can read people. We didn’t know what else to do.”

  “I’m not sure I do either, but I think we have to tear that cemetery apart after dark. That’s the only thing I can think to do. There’s a nest in there, even though I can’t see how any of those mausoleums are big enough to house a bunch of banshees.”

  “The mausoleums probably aren’t big enough,” he acknowledged. “But not all them are what they appear to be. Some of them — including the Olivet one, which has been rebuilt a third time after we destroyed it twice — have basements.”

  “You’re kidding.” That seemed like an odd thing for a mausoleum, but my interest was officially piqued. “Why would someone build a basement in the middle of a cemetery?”

  Redmond let loose a charming wink. “To do evil things, of course. Why else would you build a basement among thousands of dead people?”

  I couldn’t argue with his logic. “Good point. We’re going to need your family. I have a plan. We can’t do anything until after dark, though.”

  “You want to invade the cemetery again? We didn’t find anything the other night.”

  “Wrong. We found a banshee.”

  “And you want to find another banshee? Do you think it will be Valentine?”

  “No. I don’t think whoever is doing this has had her long enough to turn her into a banshee. There’s still time to save her.”

  “So ... how do we find her?”

  “We cast a spell.” I was grim. “We have a lot of magic between us. The dreamcatcher failed with the banshees — and we still don’t know why, although I’m starting to develop a theory — but I think we can build a bigger and better spell with your help.”

  “My help?” He grinned. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Act as a banshee lure.”

  His smile faded. “That doesn’t sound fun.”

  “It won’t be, but you’ll have plenty of backup. Besides, we’re going to add Izzy’s magic into the mix. She’s powerful. Between her, Raven, Nixie, Naida and me, there should be no stopping us.”

  “Okay. I’m willing to give it a try if you are. Do you really want to wait until after dark?”

  “I don’t see that we have much choice. If we start a war when there are people around, more of them could die … and that’s on top of the potential exposure, which is a real fear for all of us. We can’t risk that.”

  “Okay. Dusk it is. I’ll have my family here.”

  “Good. We’ll need them. I’ll have my family here, too.”

  His smile was back. “Can you make the little hairy dude wear a dress? He cracks me up.”

  “No one makes Nellie do anything ... but he’ll definitely wear a dress. My guess is he’ll crack out the evening wear.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  He would think that.

  I SENT NOTICE OF MY PLAN TO MY co-workers via text message. They were aware I was deathly serious about what needed to be done, understood what I expected of them, and no one offered up a single word of dissent. We were running out of time. It was this or nothing, and nothing wasn’t an option.

  That meant there was essentially nothing to do but work and watch for the rest of the afternoon. I was too keyed up to focus on the problems of others, so I put Melissa in charge of my tent and spent the afternoon mingling with the crowd. I didn’t expect to get a reading off any of them. Since the dreamcatcher wasn’t working, though, it seemed my best option.

  Kade decided to stick close, even though he thought I didn’t notice, I kept catching him watching me from various spots between tents. Whenever I looked in his direction, he pretended he was talking to someone else or looking over some security issue only he could see. Instead of calling him on it, I decided to let him be. He was only doing it because he cared so very much. There were worse things in the world ... and we were about to take one of them on.

  “Can I have cotton candy?”

  I swiveled at the voice, amused at the obvious wheedle. It was a little girl, golden pigtails perched on either side of her head, and she looked imploringly at the man who held her hand as they navigated the crowd.

  “I don’t know,” the man replied, laughter in his voice. “I’ve seen you all sugared up before. It’s never a good thi
ng.”

  “I won’t get sugared up.”

  “What do you think cotton candy is made of?”

  “Angel hair. Angels are made of sugar.”

  “Well, you have a point.”

  There was something familiar about the man’s voice, but his face didn’t stir any memories. Still, I couldn’t look away. The girl clearly knew her father was an easy mark, and she had every intention of getting that cotton candy. I had severe doubts her father could hold out much longer.

  “I’ll have to think about it,” he said after a beat. “Your mother won’t be happy if she knows I let you eat a bunch of junk.”

  “We could not tell her,” the little girl suggested. “It could be our secret, like the time you got me a new doll after the lawnmower killed the first one.”

  The man snorted. “Yes, well ... I only did that to stop you from crying.”

  “It worked.”

  “It did.”

  “Cotton candy would keep me from crying.”

  “Good to know. I ... .” Slowly the man’s eyes slid to me, as if he sensed me watching him. Even though I didn’t recognize him, the same couldn’t be said for him. His mouth dropped open when he saw me and awe crawled over his features. “Poet?”

  “Who are you talking to?” The girl looked around until she found me. “Do you know her?”

  The man kept a firm hold on her hand and waited until there was an opening in the crowd to cross.

  “Is it you?” he asked when he was directly in front of me.

  I was confused. “Do I know you?”

  “You did a million years ago.”

  “A million, eh? I’ll have you know I’m not a day over a thousand years old.” I winked at the little girl to let her know I was joking, but she didn’t seem impressed.

  “We’re going to get cotton candy,” she announced, tugging on her father’s hand. “We’re going right now.”

  “Stop, Lacey,” the man admonished, although his eyes never moved from my face. “I thought you were dead.”

  I remained confused. “I don’t know you. At least I can’t place you.”

  “No?” A slow smile spread across his face. “What if I tell you I had a dream last night and in it you were riding a purple unicorn?”

  That’s when the truth hit me straight across the face. “Hazy?” It wasn’t possible. I’d heard he cleaned up his act and made it out. This guy didn’t look anything like the man I remembered. Still, it fit.

  He chuckled. “I haven’t gone by that name in a long time. I’m Gary Morgan. I own Morgan Automotive. It’s about three blocks from here.” He extended his hand as if we were meeting for the first time.

  “Hello, Gary.” My heart warmed at the sight of him. He looked as if he was doing really well, which was a relief. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

  “And I can’t believe it’s you. I thought you tore out of here twelve years ago.”

  “I did.”

  “You joined the circus.” He smiled as he glanced around, pure joy emanating from his features. “You really did join the circus. Everyone thought I was making that up when I told them, but I was certain that’s what you’d said.”

  “I did join the circus,” I confirmed.

  “You made it out.”

  “So did you.”

  “Only because I had nowhere to go but up.” His smile was rueful. “I hit rock bottom when Junk died. I was right next to him. We went to sleep on top of the world, high as ... well ... kites. Oh, don’t worry. My family knows about my past. I still go to meetings. You don’t have to watch what you say in front of Lacey.”

  I smiled for the small girl’s benefit ... and then something occurred to me. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

  “I guess. But I did promise someone cotton candy.”

  “I can handle the cotton candy.” I saluted Lacey. “I even have the perfect person to keep her entertained.”

  “Then let’s talk.”

  I STATIONED KADE AND LACEY at a picnic table – a huge bag of cotton candy in front of them – and then motioned for Gary to sit with me across the way. He could keep an eye on his daughter without risking her overhearing our conversation.

  “You seem serious.”

  “I am.” I launched into my tale, leaving out some of the more fantastical bits. He didn’t need to know about the magic. I wanted him to know about the missing girls, and I wanted any insight he might have. He was former street, after all. He would understand how things went down without stretching his imagination.

  “So you think there’s a predator on the loose,” he mused, rubbing his cheek and sipping from the malt Kade had purchased for him. “I can’t say I’m surprised. I haven’t really heard anything about it.”

  “You don’t read the newspaper?”

  “Not really. It’s full of depressing news and I don’t want to live in a depressed world.”

  “No. I’m sure you don’t.” I mustered a smile. “You’ve built a life for yourself ... and it’s a great life. I’m so happy for you.”

  “It’s nothing compared to the life you built for yourself.”

  “Yeah, but you had more to overcome. As for Junk, I’m sorry. I know you were close.”

  “We were,” he agreed. “I wouldn’t have made it out if he hadn’t died. That was the catalyst I needed to become a better man.”

  “He would be happy to know what you’ve accomplished.”

  We beamed at each other for a long time, and then he sobered. “I don’t know what to tell you about the missing girls. I’m sorry. I’m even sorry for Groove. I just don’t keep my ear to the ground anymore. It seemed like a dangerous thing to do because I would be more likely to cross the line and go back if I kept a foot in that world.”

  That made sense. “It’s okay. It was a long shot anyway.”

  “I’m still glad I got to see you. I often wondered what happened to you ... and there were times I was afraid. I even found the letters you gave me for Creek and Shadow a few years ago. They were in an old bag I carried at the time. I still have them — it seemed rude to throw them away — if you want them.”

  I was going to wave off the offer and then thought better of it. “I would like them back. I know it sounds weird, but I would like to deliver them.”

  “It doesn’t sound weird. We all say our goodbyes in different ways. I can bring the letters by tomorrow.”

  “I really appreciate it.”

  He let loose a sigh. “If that’s all, I promised Lacey some games.”

  “Just one thing.” I had one more question to ask. “Do you remember Tawny?”

  He scowled. “I remember her. She corrupted your friend Creek. I see Creek from time to time. I’ve helped her with her car more than once. She’s doing okay. As for Tawny, she was bad news.”

  That was the most intense reaction I’d had to the Tawny question yet. “Do you know what happened to her?”

  “Only what I heard. I mean, once you were gone, we never saw her. She went her own way and we went ours.”

  “What did you hear?”

  “I heard she went west.”

  “That seems to be the general consensus.” I was a bit disappointed. I’d hoped he would have more information.

  “I think that was just a story she told to seem like a big shot,” he added.

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I saw her after she supposedly left, and she didn’t have a tan or anything.”

  I stilled. “You saw her? Where?”

  “I was still on the street then, but not really. I was in treatment and trying to get a job. I had really cleaned up my act. She didn’t even notice me because I’d cut my hair by then.”

  “Was she alone?”

  “No.”

  “Who was she with?”

  “I definitely remember because it seemed so weird to see her with him.”

  “Who? Was it Beacon?”

  “No. It was your cop buddy. You probably don’t know he’s
a cop. That Shadow guy we helped take care of? He turned out to be undercover.”

  It was as if the breath had been ripped from my lungs. “You saw Shadow with Tawny?”

  “Yeah. They had their heads bent together and looked to be arguing. It wasn’t pretty. She smacked him across the face and swore at him, said he betrayed her. It was all very General Hospital.”

  Well, well, well. “I need you to tell me everything you saw.” I was grim. “It could be important.”

  “Sure. It won’t take long because I don’t know much of anything.”

  He knew more than he realized.

  28

  Twenty-Eight

  Could it be?

  I kept the conversation going with Gary until he finished his shake — mostly so I wouldn’t look deranged when I tore off across the parking lot — but then I sent him on his way with free game passes for his daughter and a promise to clear time for him when he returned the letters. Lacey remained suspicious of me until I told her she could play as many games as she wanted for free. Then I was her hero.

  The kid cracked me up.

  I hugged Gary goodbye and promised to see him soon. He reiterated he would bring the letters the following day, promising he wouldn’t forget. As much as I wanted to see them again, I had other things on my mind. Logan mainly.

  “What are you going to do?” Kade asked when it was just the two of us. We stood between Nixie and Naida’s tents so we could be out of the sun and enjoy a bit of privacy.

  “Talk to him.”

  “Do you think that’s wise? He’s an FBI agent.”

  “So?”

  “So ... he could arrest you.”

  The laugh that escaped was low and bitter. “Not if I don’t let him ... and I have no intention of letting him.”

  “But ... what are you going to do?” Kade looked pained, as if he wanted to shackle me to his side so I couldn’t run off half-cocked. I had news for him, I wasn’t going to be shuttered away from the action, not when things were finally starting to heat up.

  “I’m going to get him here,” I replied without hesitation. “Then I’m going to ask him a few questions.”

  “And how do you plan to do that? He’s not just going to fall victim to your mind control. I mean … he knows you can do something. If he’s truly paranormal – or in cahoots with someone paranormal – he’ll have ways to block you. If he is involved in this — and it’s obvious you think that — then he’s dangerous. We need to come up with a plan to take him out.”