In Place of Never (9 page)

His lips curved down at the sides. Worry lines creased his brow. He thought I was fragile. He thought I would break like Faith and Mom.

“You think Faith killed herself.”

His mouth opened and shut. His cheeks flushed pink then red. “Her death was an accident.”

I scooted to the edge of the bed. “How do you know?”

Dad cleared his throat, drawing attention to the bright red skin of his neck. “Because all teenage deaths are accidents. They could all be prevented.” He pressed his lips together. “I know you think we’re wrong to chase people away from here, but St. Mary’s is a respectable town. We have no crime. A near hundred percent graduation rate and no tolerance for Gypsies. I won’t lose another daughter, Mercy. There are plenty of people in this town who see the Lovells for what they are. Dangerous. Gypsies prey on those who are hurting and they’ll eat you alive.”

Pru sauntered through the doorway. “Good grief.”

Dad’s head snapped around to face her. Defeat crossed his brow. “You’re not leaving here the rest of the summer. I’ve been absent from your life for far too long, and the Lord’s brought that readily to my attention. It’s no accident the Lovells returned on the day you lost your mind, bringing that boy to your room. I see I’m needed at home, and that’s where I’ll be.”

The smile melted off Pru’s face. “What?”

“I want to spend more time with Mercy before she leaves, and I think you could use some discipleship. If you didn’t have the sense to see through that boy’s motives, then I’ve failed you. It won’t happen again.” He straightened his spine. “I’m working from home until the Lovells have gone.” An awkward smile changed his features. “Look alive, ladies. There’s change afoot. The Porters are finding redemption.”

Pru looked from me to Dad. “I’m already redeemed.” It sounded more like a question.

Dad’s small smile was a mix of pride and humor. “Perhaps.”

I squeezed the pillow in my lap. “You blame the Lovells because Faith snuck out to be with them, not because you think they hurt her, right?”

“The Lovells were here ten days and then vanished the night my baby drowned.” Pain glossed his eyes. “The sheriff was right. Innocent people don’t flee a crime scene. That troubles me.”

I jumped before he retreated. Dad never said this much about Faith’s death. I had to act fast. “Sheriff Dobbs blames them. Is it because they left or was there something else? If you know more than you’re telling, please tell me.” My voice cracked.

The muscle in his jaw ticked. He ran his fingers through the hair above his ears. “I don’t know what happened that night, and I can’t change the past, but I surely can stop it from repeating. If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen preparing Sunday night’s sermon.”

Pru was silent until Dad’s footsteps faded into the kitchen. “He thinks they killed her.”

My mouth dried. I’d never be able to say those words with such recklessness.

She paced the floor. “The way the Lovells left makes them look guilty. What are we going to do now?”

“I want to research more about Roma.”

“To see if they’re psychic? I did that too. The whole Internet contradicts itself.” Pru climbed onto my bed and adjusted the pillows for a backrest. “You need this for research.” She handed me my hidden laptop and punched the pillows into submission. “Much better.”

I opened the lid. “I don’t believe in magic or psychics. I just wondered….”

“I know.” She motioned me to go on with my search.

Having a little sister under my feet was a lot different from following an older sister around. I was on display for her viewing pleasure. Her wide blue eyes blinked. Waiting.

“Fine.” Site after site depicted the unfair treatment of Roma. The term Gypsy was thrown carelessly around the Web, used derogatorily to describe many of the traveling groups. Wiccan sites proclaimed Roma yielded uncanny abilities, but few expounded on the meaning. I closed the windows a few minutes later.

“Find anything?”

“Not really. I used to get lost for days in that search. Talismans, incantations, fortunetelling… Dad taught us it’s all lies bred from evil. I don’t think the Lovells are evil.”

Pru rolled onto her side and smiled. “You mean you don’t think Cross is evil.”

“I don’t think any of them are evil.”

“Good. So, we can go watch him sing tomorrow night?”

She was so much like Faith. “Didn’t you hear Dad? You’re not allowed to leave for the rest of the summer and he plans to be home. Forever.”

She blew out a breath, vibrating her lips together. “He can’t stay here forever. He’s got pitchforks to polish.”

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. A text from Cross.

“Want to see a man eat fire?”

“No.”

“A woman swallow swords?”

Pru crowded over my shoulder. “What’s he want?”

“Who?”

“Oh, I don’t know. The only person I’ve seen text you?”

I moved the phone between us.

“Pass.”

“Come on.” Pru bounced beside me. “He wants to see you. Maybe you can talk to Nadya.”

I could talk to Nadya. What would I say?
Anton told me you made them leave town the night my sister died.
I couldn’t tell her the town thought they’d hurt Faith. If I approached her as an accuser, she’d never let me come back and they weren’t in town for long. “You should’ve seen the way she looked at me when we met.”

“You met her?” Pru slapped my arm. “When?”

“How about tiny dogs in tutus?”

Pru nudged me, nodding wildly.

“Fine.”

“Knew it. I had you at tutu.”

“Shut up. Watch for me.”

I climbed off the bed and grabbed a brush. Pru bounded toward the door.

“Where are you going?”

She stopped, stunned. “I’m going with.”

“No way. You’re the decoy. If Dad’s babysitting you, he can’t be stalking me. I can’t talk to Nadya with him following me.”

Pru leaned her back against the doorjamb, shoulders slumped. “I used to pray he’d come back to us. I didn’t think he’d be such a pain in the ass if he did.”

I snorted. “Go. Tell him I’m visiting Faith and Mom.”

She rolled her eyes and disappeared down the steps.

My brush halted in my tangled black tips. I’d just asked my little sister to cover for me while I visited the Lovells. Just like Faith.

* * * *

Cross was leaning against the St. Mary’s Campground sign. He twirled flowers in his fingertips. The material of his black shirt clung to his shoulders and the angles of his chest. His waist looked narrower in dark jeans and daylight.

He pushed away from the sign when I got close enough to hear him speak. “This is for you.”

I accepted the gift. “You made me a flower wreath?”

Cross wrinkled his nose. “No. Rose made you a flower halo when I told her you were coming. She thinks they’re good luck or something. She wears them when we perform.”

“Or practice?”

“Yeah, but during performances, she wears the flowers on her clothes or around her wrists.”

Rose had beautiful floral tattoos on her neck and throat. “For luck. Got it.”

I situated the little wreath on my head and wiggled it. Thank goodness I didn’t have a mirror.

“Try not to look like that when you see Rose.”

“Oh. Sorry.” I adjusted my sour expression. “Better?”

A voice bellowed in the distance. “Cross!”

One of Anton’s brothers waved his arms overhead.

Cross looked me over. “Ready?”

Not at all. “Yep.” I followed him across the field to the largest trailer. Tinny music lifted on the breeze, carried from behind the giant motorhome on our right. Cross slipped between the vehicles with me on his heels.

Anton and his brother stopped talking when we arrived.

Cross rubbed his palms together. “You guys remember my friend Mercy.”

Rose waved from the bottom of a human pyramid. The young girls I’d met at the campfire balanced on one another, contorting their bodies in impossible ways. Rose hovered at the base, arms wide. “Beautiful!” She clapped and the girls sprang free of one another. They wore matching black corsets and fishnet stockings. A satin ruffle formed a short tail over their mostly exposed bottoms. Rose’s fitted black dress clung to her curves and dipped low over her cleavage. Gold satin lined her enormous ruffled cuffs and the exaggerated collar standing at attention behind her brightly painted neck.

Sheaths of black and gold satin stretched from poles and trailer tops, blocking the sun and adding to the strange atmosphere. I was underdressed.

Anton carried flaming batons to a man in black dress pants and no shirt.

A woman wearing a floor-length ball gown twirled swords over her head. Her silver dress reflected rainbows of sunlight. A split on one side climbed the length of her long legs to her hip, revealing red panties as she moved. Most of her raven hair piled high in an updo. A handful of select pieces curled down to her elbows. Ruby-red lips and thick black eyeliner gave her look a dangerous edge. That and the swords.

Cross touched my hip with his fingers. He pointed to the acrobats. “You remember Rose. The girls are Camille, Violet, and Gem. The man with the fire is Collin. Daisy is the one with the swords.”

The music’s pace increased. Daisy spun with the swords, dancing and bending with the rhythm. The Lovells formed a silent semicircle. My heartbeat matched pace with the unusual song. Daisy’s skirt swung wide as she lunged and dipped. The swords never slowed.

Cross watched me.

I quieted my voice. “She’s amazing.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s a ninja.”

A smirk crossed my face. Daisy adjusted her stance abruptly, poising a sword over her head. Her free hand moved seductively over the curves of her body from chest to hip before joining the other overhead.

“What’s she doing?”

Cross lowered his lips to my ear. “She’s going to swallow the sword.”

My eyes stretched wide. I couldn’t look away. “You said there were tutus.”

Cross chuckled. “You don’t have to watch.”

The sword lowered between Daisy’s shiny red lips. My heart skittered to a stop as the shiny metal blade grew smaller and smaller, disappearing inch by inch into Daisy’s mouth.

Hair on my neck and arms stood at attention. Across the makeshift circle, Nadya and Nicolae stood behind Rose and the acrobats. My skin burned under Nadya’s gaze. She rubbed her thumb over a large blue stone hanging from a chain around her neck. Silver bangles lined both her forearms, jingling like wind chimes against the backdrop of music on unseen speakers.

Clapping broke out. Daisy bowed low, lifting the sword at her side. Her eyes moved to mine.

A wide, warm arm snaked around my back and pulled me away from my place in the crowd. “Let’s walk.” Cross swept us through a line of black satin curtains and away from his family. He dropped his arm the moment we passed through the barrier.

My mouth was dry and pasty. My tongue was too big for speech.

“Sorry about the dogs. Daisy was working with them when I texted you.”

Air moved painfully through my chest as Cross led me to the river. I made a sharp turn before we arrived at the riverbank. “What was that about?”

Cross followed me to a picnic table under the shade of a giant oak tree. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what that was about.”

I sat on the table and planted my feet on the bench. “So, you saw it too? Nadya and Daisy watched me like I was the villain in their story.”

Snapping twigs turned me from Cross’s apologetic expression. A few feet away, a girl bent sticks in half. She moved closer, barely making eye contact. “I break things so people notice me.” She dropped the broken sticks and dusted her palms together. “I didn’t want to sneak up on you.”

Cross sat on the table beside me. “What’s going on, Mouse?”

“I saw you two walking and thought I’d say hello. What were you talking about?”

I looked at Cross for advice. Mouse was a little intense for such a quiet thing.

He shrugged. “Nadya’s not herself today.”

Mouse’s mouth twisted. “It’s her.” She locked her gaze on me. “You know Nadya doesn’t like settled people.”

I frowned. “Settled people?”

She moved closer. Her hair fell away from her cheek as she turned. The skin between her throat and cheekbone was twisted, puckered, and gnarled. Her cheek was unnaturally colored and undeniably burned. “Sometimes Anton falls in love with girls on the road or ones who join our family for a while. Nadya never approves.”

I narrowed my eyes. “She doesn’t like me because I’m Cross’s friend? He can’t make friends outside the show?”

Cross nudged me. I glanced at him in warning.

Mouse climbed onto the table beside me. “You like him and he likes you and she knows. Nadya knows all kinds of things.”

A strangled sound dropped from my lips.

“Knock it off, Mouse.” Cross sat taller at my side. “Now you’re being rude. You’re making Mercy uncomfortable.”

She inched closer to me on the table. “Settled people and travelers don’t mix.”

I bristled. “I’m not trying to mix.”

“And I’m not a traveler.” Cross’s voice was deeper than usual.

Mouse sighed, tipping her face skyward. “Don’t let her hear you say that.”

That sounded like a threat. “Do you remember my sister?” I leveled my stare, waiting for Mouse to look my way.

“Sure. She liked Anton.” Her dark eyes turned to mine. “She wasn’t like you. She was sad.”

I laughed. “You didn’t know my sister and you don’t know me.” I was the sad one.

Cross stood and reached for my hand.

Mouse looked expectantly at him.

I placed my hand in his and moved to stand in the grass with him. “Did Nadya hurt my sister because she liked Anton?”

Mouse smiled. The scars on her face gathered and bunched with the motion.

Something was deeply wrong with this creature. Cross’s hand moved protectively to my hip.

“Well?” My voice jumped in volume, startling me.

“Nope.” Mouse let the “p” pop on her lips. “Nadya never laid a hand on her.”

“Who did? Do you know? What do you know about Faith?” A tremor in my hand climbed my arm to my chest. “Did someone hurt my sister?”