[Mystic Caravan Mystery 04.0] Freaky Games Read online

  “So … um … what is he addicted to?”

  “Whatever catches his fancy on any given day,” I answered. “I love him dearly. I always will. Haven’t you noticed the way he becomes obsessed with certain things for several days and then moves on to something else to be obsessed about?”

  “I … no.” Kade’s eyes were cloudy. “He’s been obsessed with me for far more than five days.”

  “He’s not obsessed with you,” I countered. “He merely enjoys irritating people.”

  “He feels obsessive sometimes.”

  “Just wait to we get to an ocean venue and he decides he wants a Speedo and starts counting the number of people he sees wearing them,” I said, causing Kade to snicker. “It’s not that I think he’s an addict. It’s just … he always has the potential to take things too far.”

  “So we’ll watch him.” Kade pressed a soft kiss to the corner of my mouth. “You’re not alone. I’ll help you.”

  I shot him a rueful smile. “I know. Speaking of not being alone, do you want to conserve water and shower with me? Not that I don’t like spending time with you in the morning, but we’re both filthy, and I’m starving.”

  “Plus we have a lot of work to do,” Kade added.

  “Exactly.”

  “I guess I can be convinced.” Kade’s smile was sly. “You might have to scrub my back, though. You know … just as an incentive.”

  I considered pinching him as an incentive but that didn’t seem fair given the fact that he listened to me whine for ten straight minutes. “Consider it done.”

  “And that right there is what I’m going to obsess about for the next five days.”

  “Better that than a Speedo.”

  I SPENT TWO hours setting up my tent, eventually leaving my assistant Melissa to finish up. She was new to the Mystic Caravan and had yet to find tedium in any of our operations. She would get there eventually, but she was young and still found delight in the mundane. That worked for me, especially today.

  Because I had some time to burn before Kade, Luke and I left for town to do our shopping, I headed to the area behind my trailer to do some scouting. The odds of me finding anything to prove the existence of the being I thought I saw before the sandstorm hit were slim, but my curiosity wouldn’t let me ignore the possibility.

  I wore comfortable sandals as I trudged through the sand, digging the soles in as I searched for … something. There was a bit of foliage, but it was sparse and added very little color to the landscape. The view at night was breathtaking thanks to the lights from the city. The view during the day was nothing short of boring.

  “What are you doing out here?” Raven appeared at my side, causing me to clutch at my chest and grimace.

  “How do you do that?” I muttered, annoyed.

  “Do what?”

  “Sneak up on me without making a sound … or casting a shadow, for that matter.”

  “My shadow is behind me,” Raven replied dryly. “As for making a sound, I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you. I was merely curious about what you were doing out here.”

  “I’m not sure,” I admitted. “I think I saw something last night.”

  “You think?”

  “Well … .” I wasn’t sure how to explain what happened. “I woke out of a dead sleep and I was certain something was about to happen.”

  “Was that before or after the sandstorm hit?”

  “Before.”

  “Maybe you sensed the sandstorm.”

  “Maybe,” I hedged. “The thing is, we’ve been here before. We’ve dealt with sandstorms and I’ve never internally alerted to them. They’re fairly normal out here – at least normal enough that people don’t panic – and I don’t think that’s what woke me.”

  “Maybe it was Kade’s snoring.”

  I risked a glance at Raven to see if she was being snide, but her face was even and she appeared sincere. “He doesn’t snore that loud … and most nights I snore louder than he does.”

  “There’s something to be proud of.”

  “If you’re going to be snarky, you can head back and do some work,” I snapped, my agitation getting the better of me.

  Raven held her hands up in a placating manner. “I was joking. There’s no reason to freak out.”

  I knew she had a point and still … . “I came out here,” I supplied, opting to return to the story. Raven might notice something I missed. She was good that way, and not simply because she liked making me look like an idiot. “I didn’t sense a being or anything like that. I walked out to right about here and I thought I saw – or maybe felt, it’s confusing – something close. Then I saw a flash of red. I believe it was eyes. My fingers brushed against something … at least I think they did. I might’ve imagined that. I honestly don’t know.”

  Raven was intrigued. “Did you see an outline? I know it was dark, but you must’ve seen something.”

  “It was pitch black in this direction. I only saw the eyes.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “The storm hit at that exact moment,” I replied. “I closed my eyes to keep out the grit, and when I opened them again there was nothing there. It was gone.”

  “Hmm.” Raven rubbed her chin as she scoured the area. “You might’ve imagined the eyes because something inside of you realized the storm was about to hit.”

  “I considered that.”

  “And?”

  “And I can’t shake the feeling that something was out here.”

  “Then something was probably out here,” Raven said, matter-of-fact. “It’s too bad you didn’t see what it was. I’d feel much better about this entire thing if we knew what we were dealing with.”

  I didn’t bother to hide my surprise. “You believe me? I’m not even sure I believe it myself.”

  “Your feelings are rarely wrong,” Raven said. “Don’t let that swell your head or anything. I still think you’re a pain. And you stole my man.”

  “Raven … .”

  Raven held up her hand to quiet me. “I wasn’t lying when I said I was going to let that go,” she offered. “I’m not interested in Kade.”

  She didn’t feel that way two weeks ago, but … great. Dealing with a love triangle in which one of the corners was bitter and vengeful wasn’t on my to-do list this week. “Okay.”

  “I wouldn’t want him now anyway,” Raven added. “He chose you over me. That clearly proves he’s defective.”

  I didn’t want to laugh – she insulted me, after all – but I couldn’t help myself. “That’s probably a wise move.”

  “Besides, I’m having lunch with Percival today,” Raven sniffed. “I have my own man. Sure, he dresses like a clown, but he has that great accent. So all is forgiven.”

  “Fake accent.” I wasn’t sure why I said it. Percival Prentiss joined our group not long before Melissa, taking over clown duties and performing in full makeup. When he auditioned he had the sexiest accent known to man. At one point he let it slip during a tense situation, and we all realized he was faking his London background. He seemed normal otherwise, though, so we let him stay. Apparently Raven didn’t care about the fake accent.

  “It’s still a cool accent,” Raven noted, apparently unbothered by my dig. “As for what you saw last night … I don’t know what to tell you.” She knelt as she stared at the ground. “If something was out here the wind blew over the footprints. There’s no way for us to know unless it comes back.”

  “Yeah, I kind of figured that out myself.” I planted my hands on my hips and stared at the sun. “We need to be on the lookout.”

  “I always am.”

  She wasn’t the only one.

  6

  Six

  “Now this is my favorite kind of shopping trip.”

  Luke’s enthusiasm was evident when we walked into the large market shortly after lunch. His eyes widened as he took in the huge liquor section at the front of the store, and he barely spared a glance for anything else, including the huge c
hocolate assortment only a few feet away. For the record, that’s what first caught my attention.

  “I think we need food rather than whiskey,” Kade said, although he appeared interested in what he saw. “Although … a couple of bottles couldn’t hurt.”

  I made a face as I grabbed Luke’s ear and tugged him toward the far aisle. “We can look at the liquor after we finish getting everything else … and only if you’re good.”

  “You’re such a spoilsport,” Luke muttered, jerking his ear away. The smile remained affixed to his handsome face when he saw the myriad fruit offerings. “Of course, a little passion fruit never hurt anyone. You could definitely use some passion fruit, Poet.”

  “I give her plenty of passion fruit,” Kade argued, his annoyance evident as he trailed behind Luke and me. “Tell him, Poet.”

  “I love Kade’s fruit,” I deadpanned, earning a growl for my lame joke. “You haven’t told me about your visit to the casino yet. I thought you were dying to share your story.” I wasn’t sure why I was so interested in Luke’s casino visit. Perhaps it was that he had such a good time without me and I was jealous. That answer didn’t feel right, yet I wasn’t ruling it out.

  “Oh, it was great,” Luke enthused, his smile widening. “I got so caught up with work today I forgot that I hadn’t recounted my adventure.”

  “It’s an adventure now, is it?” Kade looked amused as he sorted through the tomatoes. “I’m thinking we should plan on sandwiches for lunch most days this week. It’ll be too hot in the middle of the day to worry about anything else. We can stock up on lunchmeat, egg salad and whatever else people like, and they can slap it together themselves when they’re hungry.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard you like slapping things together,” Luke drawled, skirting Kade’s elbow and cackling as he moved closer to me. “So, I was a little worried when we went to the casino. It’s not every day that you walk through the doors of a refined establishment like the Golden Nugget accompanied by a woman with green hair and a dwarf in a sundress.”

  He had a point. “It’s Vegas,” I pointed out. “They probably didn’t garner any attention at all.”

  “You’re right on that front,” Luke said. “I was almost disappointed that no one seemed to notice us. Well, I should say that no one noticed them. I was very popular with the ladies.”

  “Do you mean the prostitutes?” Kade asked dryly.

  “Hey, everyone needs to make a living,” Luke retorted. “It just so happens that these women make a living by having the best taste ever.”

  “Uh-huh.” Kade didn’t look convinced. “What else did you do?”

  “Well, at first we just sort of looked around,” Luke replied. “I was the only one interested in gambling at first. I’ve seen it on television – Poet and I binge watched Las Vegas last year and I knew I would be good at it – but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to play. Everything looked so enticing.

  “It turns out that I wasn’t the first one to throw money down,” he continued. “Nellie picked a number on roulette and won two hundred dollars right off the bat. That seemed to inspire everyone.”

  I had no idea what that meant. “How did it inspire everyone?”

  “Well, Naida and Nixie fell in love with the slot machines,” Luke replied. “They liked the variety. Naida found one that had a waterfall, and I swear it seemed to sense that she was a water nymph because she started winning on her third and fourth spins.”

  I stilled, something about his story setting my teeth on edge. “Wait … you all started winning?”

  Luke nodded, happy. “It’s nowhere near as hard as people make it out to be.”

  “I don’t think gambling is supposed to be hard,” Kade said, absentmindedly rubbing my lower back with his free hand as he continued to choose fresh tomatoes with the other. “It’s when your luck turns that things become harder.”

  “Yes, well, no one had bad luck last night,” Luke said, clearly missing the warning tone in Kade’s voice. “I think maybe we’re gifted with luck because we’re … special.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice on the last word, as if he’d somehow jinx himself if anyone overheard him uttering the sentiment.

  “You think because you can turn into a wolf that you’re somehow lucky at cards?” Kade challenged.

  Luke scowled and jerked his head around. Thankfully we remained alone in the produce aisle. “Say that a little louder. I don’t think the cops in the parking lot heard you.”

  Kade opened his mouth, and for a moment I worried he would bellow the question simply to annoy Luke, but I cut him off before that could happen. “Speaking of cops, did you see anything while you were out on the road between the fairgrounds and the city?”

  Luke blinked several times, as if digesting the question, and then shook his head. “I think all of that nonsense the deputy spouted when he stopped by was made up.”

  “To what end?”

  “He clearly wanted to see what we were doing,” Luke replied. “Even in Vegas the circus folk are something of a rarity.”

  As if on cue, a boy with dark hair and eyes popped up on the other side of the vegetable bin and fixed us with a keen stare. “Did you say circus?”

  Even though I was annoyed with Luke’s attitude – especially his take on gambling – I couldn’t help but smile at the boy. Luke was right. People of all ages were fascinated with the circus, and it wasn’t simply because we traveled with clowns and what they thought were animals. We’re part of a magical circus, but every circus is magical to those who enjoy dreaming of the unusual.

  “I did,” Luke said, beaming at the boy. “We’re with the Mystic Caravan Circus.”

  “Is that the one that’s on the outside of town?” Another boy – this one older but sporting the same dark hair and eyes – joined the first. “Our mother says we’re going on Saturday.”

  “That’s us.” I grinned at the boys. They were the perfect age to discover some circus magic. “I’m glad you guys will be coming.”

  “Yeah, so are we.” The older boy said the words, but he looked conflicted. “You’re out by the Old Miner’s Road, right?”

  The question caught me off guard. “I’m not sure.”

  “We are,” Kade confirmed, bobbing his head. “I checked a map before we hit town.”

  “That place is haunted.” The boy issued the statement in a matter-of-fact manner, but I didn’t miss the way his younger brother’s expression darkened at the notion. “People say that the ghosts of the people who died in the mine a long time ago haunt that area.”

  Hmm. That was an interesting legend. It also wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. “What’s your name?”

  “I’m David and this is Trent.” The older boy haphazardly gestured toward his brother. “We know all about the ghost stories because our father is a history professor at the college.”

  “Oh, well, that’s good.” It was. If the boys had information to share I was more than willing to listen, even if it turned out to be urban legend rather than truth. We had to start somewhere on our information search. “What can you tell me about the ghosts?”

  “They’re mean and they eat people,” Trent volunteered, grinning wide enough to show he was missing two teeth.

  “That’s not true.” David cuffed his brother, although he didn’t put much effort into it. “Stop telling those stories. Just because you heard them at your stupid Cub Scout meeting doesn’t mean they’re true.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. David was so serious it bordered on freaky, but Trent reminded me of Luke with his endless enthusiasm and refusal to disbelieve stories, even when they obviously lacked truth.

  “So what’s the truth?” I asked, leaning against the cart. Kade continuously bagged produce, allowing me to ask whatever questions I fancied, but he appeared interested in David’s answer despite his attempt to pretend otherwise.

  “The truth is that twenty years ago a bunch of workers were left in the mine on purpose and they died
,” Trent supplied. “Now they haunt that area because they’re mad.”

  “That’s not the truth,” David countered. “Plus, it was way longer ago than twenty years.”

  “Nothing is longer than twenty years,” Trent argued. “Mom and Dad aren’t even that old.”

  I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing. Anyone over the age of sixteen was ancient to a kid. “So there was supposedly a mine in the area a long time ago and people died in it?” I prodded, trying to get David back on track.

  “I don’t remember if it happened fifty years ago or in the 1950s … or maybe it was even longer ago than that,” David replied. “My dad said that the owner of the mine could’ve saved the workers, but he decided not to because it would cost too much money. Instead he told everyone the workers were already dead and left them there to die in a slow and bad way.”

  That was definitely interesting. “If the owner lied to everyone about the workers already being dead, how did the story get out about him leaving the workers down there to die?”

  David blinked several times as he absorbed the question. “I don’t know. I never asked.”

  “It’s okay.” I dug into my purse and grabbed a few day passes, handing them to David and Trent. “This will allow you to attend any of the events over the weekend.”

  “For free?” David’s eyes widened.

  I nodded. “You told us the great ghost story. I figure you deserve those.”

  “Oh, wow!” David didn’t hide his delight. “I can’t wait to tell Mom and Dad.”

  “I hope to see you there,” I called out as David and Trent hurried toward the front of the store. “Ask your father to stop by the fortune teller tent. I’d love to hear the full ghost story.”

  “Sure,” David said, although his mind was clearly elsewhere. “He loves talking about that stuff. He’ll definitely stop by.”