Death Indoors: Target Practice Mysteries 4 (9 page)

"Argh!"

Dazed, I opened my right eye while I clutched my left. "What happened?"

"Moo. Dang it. He hit me when..." Liam grunted and pushed the heel of his hand into the area between his eyebrows. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry. Here, let me see. Are you bleeding? Do we need to go to the hospital?"

He lifted my hand off my face. "No blood--that's good. But you're crying. I'm so sorry."

"No, no, I'm fine. Just surprised."

"Is everything okay out there?" Mary called from her room.

"Moo bonked our heads together," I called back. "Here, let me see your forehead."

Liam lowered his hand to reveal a goose egg between his eyebrows. "I'm not bleeding, am I?"

"No, but, um... that's one heck of a lump." I cringed.

Mary came racing into the room in her flannel pajamas with little bows and arrows on them, and thick, fluffy socks. She looked at each of us and shook her head. "I was only out of the room for a few minutes. You two are a mess."

She stomped over to our tiny fridge and pulled out two ice packs then wrapped each in a thin tea towel from the stack on the counter. We had been icing our shoulders after heavy practices and kept all the supplies on hand. She marched over and handed one to each of us. "Put these on your bumps. Fifteen minutes max, then leave them off for at least fifteen minutes."

Liam stood up, holding his icepack in one hand. "I think I've overstayed my welcome. I'll see you guys tomorrow." When he got to the doorway, he slapped his thigh, and Moo joined him. "Bye."

After the door clicked shut, Mary sat down next to me. "What happened?"

I pressed the icepack to the outside of my eye socket and winced. "I think he was going to kiss me, then Moo smacked the back of Liam's head, and we crashed together. What if he never tries to kiss me again?" I started sniffling.

Mary grabbed my arm and helped me up then dragged me to my room. "Shhh, it'll be okay. He's crazy about you. Come on, you've had a big day. Tomorrow you have to compete, and afterwards we'll solve the mystery." She grabbed my Great Dane pajamas and handed them to me.

"Afterwards? We can't wait that long. Everyone will be leaving." I went into my bathroom to change and take care of my nighttime rituals after passing her the ice pack.

She shouted into the bathroom door. "Well, I have to focus in the morning. This is one of the two events that the collegiate division uses to determine the national champion and the team that will compete internationally this summer. And you can't investigate and compete at the same time. Archery's too important to half-heart it."

My head was aching. The adrenaline of the injury was wearing off. I had used up a month's supply of adrenaline by noon, and now there was nothing left. "You're right. What if I gather up some information while you shoot, and we can chat at lunch?" I opened up the bathroom door and started brushing my teeth.

Mary tapped her finger on her chin. "Sure, as long as you're not alone. What if there's a crazed madman out there zapping people left and right?"

I rinsed my teeth and took back the ice pack. "I'll see if Liam will help me. Unless you want me to sit with you when you shoot?"

She shook her head. "Orion already offered, but I don't think Liam's going to want to help you investigate even if he's sweet on you. Here, I'll tuck you in."

I crawled into bed. "I'm not even sure how to approach people." I stifled a yawn. Normally I read a little before bed, but I could already feel the shroud of sleep sneaking up on me. "Could you turn off the light? I think I'll try to fall asleep right now." I plugged in my phone by my bed and snuggled deep into my nest of blankets.

"Sure thing, Princess." She flipped off the light and closed the door.

I yawned again in the dark. If only there was a way to get everyone to tell me everything without me having to ask questions. A thought occurred to me, and maybe it was just one of those ideas that seemed brilliant when you were half asleep, but if I was correct, this would be the perfect way to get everyone to talk, and Liam was the key.

***

Waking up in the morning, I scrubbed my face then flinched when I hit my left eye. The bump had gone down a bit, but the skin was still tender. My neck was sweaty where the ice pack, now a lukewarm pack, was stuck to my skin. It parted from my skin with a low sucking sound. It felt like the world's biggest Band-Aid. I got up and looked for Moo before I remembered that he wasn't here. I shuffled to the fridge to pour myself a cup of iced coffee. It helped kick-start my body. I wanted to at least be up and awake when Mary left as a sign of moral support.

I staggered through my morning routine without really seeing myself. I'd done it so many times before that I could do it with my eyes closed. I slipped on a clean jersey and grabbed my shooting shoes and bag.

The second I padded out of my room in my fluffy socks, a male voice startled me.

"Morning. Do you want me to wait in the hall?" Orion leaped off our couch and was halfway to the door by the time I got my bearings.

"No, no, sit down. I assume Mary asked you to be here?" He nodded while he edged toward the door. "Today is an important day for her, and if she wants you here, then you better sit back down. Don't mind me. I'm just grabbing some coffee."

He edged back to the couch but gave me a funny look. His eyebrows were raised, and he sucked air in through his teeth. "Liam said that Moo caused an accident, but I had no idea how bad it was."

My hand flew to my face, tenderly pressing on the skin. "Can you see the bump?"

"Uh..." He pursed his lips.

Mary's door burst open. "Is Di up? I heard--Leaping lizards, you've got a black eye!"

"Oh, no." I raced back into my bathroom to look in the mirror. My left eye was slightly swollen on the outside, and underneath was a growing purple ring. It was going to get significantly worse before it got better.

I went back to get the coffee that I had neglected to grab earlier. I went straight to the fridge, poured a mug of iced coffee and added a glorious slug of heavy whipping cream. We ate all our meals in the cafeteria but kept some snacks in our room for emergencies. I grabbed an emergency mini chocolate bar and tore into it.

Mary and Orion were chatting quietly on the couch. I took a long sip of coffee then licked my lips. I adored the creaminess of the heavy whipping cream with the roasted flavor of the coffee. I wasn't necessarily a fan of coffee so much as the ritual of cupping the mug in my hand and silently sipping as my mind woke up.

I took another sip. "You guys are heading over soon?"

"Let me grab my stuff and I'm ready to go." Mary ducked back into her room.

I put my mug in the sink and brushed my teeth then followed Mary and Orion out the door.

The morning air had a bite to it and cut into my thin athletic pants. I moved as quickly as possible while keeping my balance.

I entered through the glass doors then through the second set of doors that helped keep the cold outside the building and warmth inside. The range had some tournament staff milling about, putting clipboards with bright scorecards along the shooting line.

"I'll catch up," I said to Mary and Orion as I stopped at my office door.

I dropped my bag in my office, hung my jacket up and put on my shooting shoes. Digging into my desk, I pulled out a notebook and a few pens. If Mary was going to be busy shooting, then I was going to need to organize the suspect list on my own this time. I hummed my best impression of a song I'd heard on the radio, though I'm sure that no one else could figure out the tune. Even in my own ears, I could hear how my humming was flat.

I shut my office door, slid the keys into my pocket, and carried my pens and notebook down the hall. I smiled and nodded at everyone who passed, though most just stared in reply. My humming turned to whistling as I got to the entrance to the dining room. I'd drop off the notebook first then grab food, but first, I leaned up against the wall to observe Mary and Orion sitting across from Liam. I recognized him and Moo from behind.

I sent up a quick prayer of thanks to God for giving me a life that I didn't even know I wanted; a new job, home, and friends. A year ago, I had been crying my eyes out wondering if I could ever be happy again, and now I was.

With a skip, I bounded up to the table and dropped the notebook and pens in the empty seat next to Liam. I was ready to say good morning when he turned to me, and I caught a glimpse of his eyes.

"Oh, no! Are you okay?"

Moo got up, his tail wagging, and came over to say good morning to me.

In the space underneath Liam's eyes, near his nose, were dark-purple smears. "I'm fine, but you're getting a black eye."

Jess approached the table then stopped. "What happened?"

"Liam was putting my necklace on me, and Moo smacked him in the back of the head. We crashed into each other."

"Let me see the necklace." She dropped her things across the table from me and raced around to pick up the necklace. "It came out perfectly. Want me to grab you a plate of eggs?"

I leaned over the table so Mary could see the necklace and called over my shoulder to Jess as she left. "Yes, please, and some fruit and yogurt." We ate together most days and often grabbed food for each other.

We would discuss what work we had for the day and plan out when was best to meet. Tiger and Minx's main priority was training, while I had a full-time job to juggle around. Part of Jess's job was to coach, but she had other obligations as well. Throw into the mix the fact that Mary worked part time at the center and was taking a full load at the college in order to be eligible to compete as a collegiate athlete, and we had a daily struggle to figure out who was training when and with whom.

I pulled out the chair and sat down. Mary and Orion stared at me, waiting.

"What's going on? Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

Mary smiled. "I'm just waiting to hear you tell Liam your idea."

Liam looked at me with eyebrows raised. "Oh? What idea?"

I scrunched up my lips to glare at Mary, though I doubt I looked very menacing considering her giggles. Taking a deep breath, I turned to Liam to plead my case in hushed tones that wouldn't carry in the dining room.

"It's about Coach Ron. You know how Mary and I usually investigate?"

He nodded and stabbed at his waffles swimming in butter and syrup.

My stomach grumbled at the maple and fresh-waffle scents hitting my nose. Why couldn't athletes be powered by sugar and carbs? "Well, Mary and I obviously can't do that this time because she has to shoot, so... I don't want to do my Miss Marple act alone."

He nodded along for a few seconds then looked around, perhaps realizing that I had left my request in there. "Me? You want me to help? How?"

"See, I have this perfect plan. We need an excuse to talk to everyone and ask them about Coach Ron, the YAP programs in the area, and the tournament without them realizing what's going on. Then I had the best idea. You could offer to give them free feedback on their sponsorship pitch."

Liam started coughing while Orion laughed loudly. Moo stood up and licked at Liam's face while he tried to catch his breath.

Orion snorted. "That's your investigation technique? Good luck. I bet Liam hates everything about that idea."

Liam caught his breath, mopped the dog spit off his face, then grabbed his water to chug.

I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "I know that Liam hates talking to... well, everyone, so I thought that I could conduct the interview and he could just point afterward to some areas to improve. And we will make it clear up front that there are no sponsorships available from Westmound or any of the companies it owns and that Liam won't ever be doing interviews, but still it would be a great chance for the kids to get feedback and for me to nose around."

Orion tapped a finger on his mouth. "Good point. Very clever. Just glad it's not me." He put his napkin down on his plate as Mary got up to go.

I grabbed and squeezed Mary's arm as she passed by. "Good luck, Mary. I'll stop by to check on you."

She gathered up a few things and grabbed her empty tray. "No worries, just get all the clues."

Liam avoided my eyes. "Di, I want to help, but I'm not sure if this is--"

Jess bustled around the table, precariously balancing too much on her tray. "Here." She placed a big glass of water and a small tumbler of orange juice in front of me then handed me a plate of eggs with some fruit and yogurt on the side. Normally, I would avoid having my yogurt touch my eggs, but since she saved me the trouble of getting the food myself, I wouldn't complain. "Why didn't you tell me that you both hit your heads? I would have come over and checked you out."

I took a drink of the cool water. "'Cause it wasn't that bad, and I just wanted to go to bed. Besides, you had a lot on your plate last night. How late were the police here?"

She groaned and dropped her still-clean fork onto the plate without taking a bite. "Forever. I don't know why I bother to plan nice events. I should just start advertising everything with 'and there'll be a murder' at the end. Come to a coaching course, stay for the murder. Come to a brand summit, enjoy being a murder suspect. Come shoot a tournament, hope you don't die."