mystic caravan mystery 02 - freaky lies (16 page)

“I can eat cereal,” Kade replied, unruffled. “I’m going to see those photos. I don’t care what you say.”

I glanced at Nixie for help. “Tell him he’s not missing anything by not seeing those photographs.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Nixie said, her eyes glazing over as she pressed her hand to her heart and stared at Percival. “You looked cute in the skirt and I remember the cheer being funny. I only wish I could remember the words. You were so drunk you slurred when you said them, but I still understood what you were getting at. I swear I almost remember them.”

“No, you don’t,” I snapped, irritation bubbling up. No one here respects my authority. It’s annoying. “I’m never cooking for anyone again! You’ve all been warned.” I can be a real baby when I want to be.

“This is the first time I’m hearing about the cheer,” Kade said, his eyes lighting up. “Please tell me she waved pompoms around and jumped up and down when she said it.”

“She did,” Luke said, his head bobbing up and down. “She also did a cartwheel.”

“Oh, yeah!” Nixie finally shifted her eyes from Percival. “She was wearing a thong.”

Son of a … . “I need to check on a few things,” I said stiffly, taking a step away from Kade as his shoulders shook with silent laughter. “You’re on your own for dinner.”

“Oh, you’re not getting away that easily,” Kade shot back. “I’ll be at your place in forty-five minutes. I’ll expect that steak you promised.”

“Me, too,” Luke added.

“I’m not cooking for you ever again,” I said, preparing to flounce away with as much dignity as I could muster.

“You’re cooking for me, too,” Luke said. “If you don’t, I’ll recite the cheer.”

Nixie’s eyes widened. “You remember it?”

Luke was smug. “I memorized it.”

“This story is the gift that keeps on giving,” Kade grinned. “This is so much better than Luke’s bad breakup story.”

Not for me it wasn’t. “I want you all to know that I’ll never forget this moment. This is when you all turned on me, and the betrayal is … bitter.” I have a flair for the dramatic. I can’t help myself.

“You’ll survive,” Kade said. “Can you cook some potatoes with the steaks? I’m really hungry.”

“Sure. Why not? My entire life is ruined. I might as well add potatoes to it.”

“That sounds great,” Kade said, refusing to give in to my potential fit. “I’ll see you in forty-five minutes.”

I WAS
so lost in thought – and in intriguing ways to punish Luke – when I got back to my trailer that I almost forgot the other evening event on my agenda. I let myself inside and gathered my dinner ingredients before returning to the small outdoor cooking area between my trailer and Luke’s. Rewarding my traitorous friends with food seemed the wrong way to go, but I was hungry, too. Hey, the steaks were expensive.

I began peeling potatoes, muttering to myself as I imagined the best ways to embarrass Luke into keeping my secret. Unfortunately for me, Luke doesn’t embarrass easily. It’s annoying, especially when you’re someone who tends to take mortification to new heights whenever possible. Still, there had to be something I could do to force his hand.

“You ruined everything. You know that, right?”

It took me a moment to register the new voice. It was menacing, despite the low volume. I shifted my eyes to the man standing on the other side of the picnic table. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see Dakota, but in my discombobulated state I’d almost forgotten what I saw in his head.

“I’m glad to be of service,” I replied, my hands busy as I continued peeling potatoes. “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer sociopath.”

“You ruined everything,” Dakota repeated, his eyes dangerous dark slits as he scorched me with a hateful glare. “Debbie took off. I can’t find her.”

“That’s probably for the best,” I explained. “This way you won’t spend the rest of your life in prison after murdering three people.”

“That wasn’t going to happen.”

“It was.”

“It wasn’t!” Dakota’s cool veneer finally slipped as he slapped his hand on the table. If he expected to frighten me, he found nothing but disappointment when I didn’t so much as flinch. “How did you know about the cat?”

“I’m a fortune teller,” I replied, setting an unpeeled potato on the table before reaching for another. “I can see the future and the past. It comes with the territory.”

“Do you honestly expect me to believe that?” Dakota was incredulous. “Did you have someone spying on me? Is that how you knew?”

“Yes, I often send people to spy on asshats in various towns before we arrive,” I said. “That’s how I knew you killed a cat six months ago.”

“How can you possibly know that?” Dakota was losing it, his face reddening as his frustration and anger bubbled. “It’s impossible for you to know that.”

“I know about the cat the same way I know about the murders,” I replied, finishing off the last potato and placing it next to the others before getting to my feet. It was almost time. “You’re a sociopath. Do you know what that means?”

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”

He was right about that. I figured he deserved an explanation before … well … it happened. “A sociopath knows right from wrong but simply doesn’t care,” I supplied. “He attaches no meaning or emotion to anything in his life. He’s incapable of love. He mimics love but doesn’t feel it.”

“That’s not true,” Dakota argued. “I love Debbie.”

“No, you decided to marry Debbie to keep up appearances,” I corrected. “You don’t even like Debbie, let alone love her. You like sex. You like power. You want to get ahead at work. You’ve heard the whispers, though. They know there’s something wrong with you, and you’re under the mistaken impression that you’ll get ahead if people see a softer side of you. You’re stuck as long as they continue to think you’re emotionally distant.”

Dakota’s mouth dropped open. I’d clearly hit a homerun with that gleaned tidbit. “How can you possibly know that?”

“The same way I know you’re about to attack me,” I said, exhaling heavily as I leveled my gaze at Dakota. “You might as well get it over with. You’ve already made up your mind. Your future is set.”

Dakota balked. “I have no intention of hurting you. That’s not who I am.”

“That’s exactly who you are,” I countered. “I saw everything. I saw the things you’ve done and those that are yet to come. You’re sick, and there’s no fixing you. It doesn’t matter what you say or do from here on out because you’re already broken.”

This time the look Dakota shot me was pure venom. “Who says I want to be fixed?”

I opened my mouth to answer but didn’t get the chance because that’s when the angry young man launched himself in my direction. I wasn’t expecting it. Not quite yet, at least. I managed to step to the side and raise the only weapon I had at my disposal. I couldn’t get my hand on the shovel under the picnic table in time to protect myself. The peeler would have to do.

I lowered my eyes and plunged the short steel into the right side of Dakota’s chest, purposely missing any vital organs but using enough force to make him scream. I didn’t want to kill him. Death would be a release for a man like him. I wanted to punish him, and the only way I could do that was by ensuring he would be locked up until someone else killed him. One way left me with a guilty conscience. The other left me sleeping like a baby.

“Omigod! You stabbed me!”

Dakota’s wail surprised me and I took an involuntary step back, accidentally leaving the peeler – and a potential weapon – in his chest. I gasped as Dakota reached for the peeler and yanked it out of his chest, brandishing it like a knife as he turned in my direction.

“I’m going to kill you!”

Whoops. Apparently there was one little flaw in my plan. Kade and Luke were going to be ticked.

15

Fifteen

^“
I
should’ve stabbed you in the heart,” I grumbled, shaking my head as Dakota gripped the peeler hard enough that his knuckles whitened. The sun had slipped almost completely beyond the horizon, but the murderous intent was evident on the young man’s face. “I wanted you to suffer, though. I’m such an idiot sometimes.”

Blood seeped from the wound in Dakota’s chest and covered his fingers as he reflexively squeezed the peeler. “Now I’m going to make you suffer,” he hissed.

“You’re not strong enough to do that,” I said. Despite the surreal nature of the situation I didn’t fear for my life. The peeler wasn’t my only weapon. I also had my mind, should I need it. “You’ll never get close to me.”

“Don’t bet on it!”

I wasn’t in a wagering mood but if I had extra money I would certainly throw it down on this. “I’m right.”

“You’re dead.”

Dakota lunged at me again, causing me to lash out with my mind. I used enough force that his body stiffened, going ramrod straight as I took control of his central nervous system. The effect was so jarring I knew he would have whiplash when I released him. I left his mind intact, relishing the fear coursing through him when he realized he couldn’t move.

“What’s going on?” Dakota’s head was immobile but his eyes darted from left to right. “What’s happening?”

“I told you not to do it, but you didn’t listen,” I said, wiping the leftover potato juice on the knit shorts I changed into upon returning to my trailer. Kade loved the skirts, but I didn’t want to risk ruining one. “This really is your fault. You have no one to blame but yourself.”

“What’s happening?” Dakota howled. He fought the mental binds I used to enslave him, but he was weak of spirit and mind. He wasn’t a threat.

“You’re going to jail,” I replied. “You’re also a schmuck. I hope you understand that this isn’t how I wanted things to go. You had a choice in this … and you made the wrong one.”

“I’m going to kill you!” Dakota kept singing the same refrain even though the melody had soured.

“Yes, you’re truly terrifying,” I said, glancing at the potatoes. “Crud. I forgot the rosemary. I guess Luke and Kade are going to have to go without.”

“I will kill you!” Dakota may not have been a threat, but his voice carried. Most of the guests were on their way to the parking lot and couldn’t overhear the sociopath’s fit. That didn’t mean he was going unnoticed.

“What’s going on?” Nellie asked, curiosity getting the better of him as he rounded the corner. I wasn’t surprised to find his emerald evening dressed hiked high enough to show his knees – or an ax in his hand. He always goes for the ax.

“My friend here has some issues,” I replied, reaching for the box of aluminum foil on the picnic table. “I’m glad you’re here, though. Can you go inside and grab the fresh rosemary from my refrigerator? It’s in a baggie. I’m cooking dinner for Luke and Kade, and I want to give the potatoes some extra flair.”

“Maybe in a minute,” Nellie replied, his eyes busy as they roamed Dakota’s frozen body. This wasn’t the first time I’d unveiled this particular trick, so Nellie wasn’t alarmed by the situation – or Dakota’s growing panic.

“Help me,” Dakota pleaded. “She’s crazy. She’s going to kill me.”

“You probably have it coming,” Nellie said. “What is he?”

“Human,” I replied. “His aura is black.”

Nellie does a lot of reading, so he knew exactly what that meant. “Ah, a sociopath,” he said, circling the man as if ready to close in on his prey. “Did he come into your tent tonight?”

“His girlfriend wanted to know whether they were going to live happily ever after,” I explained. “For the record, they weren’t.”

“My fiancée,” Dakota corrected, flustered. “Let me go, bitch!”

“Use your words,” Nellie chided. “It’s not nice to call people names.”

“No one asked you, faggot!” Dakota was so worked up spittle formed at the corners of his mouth.

“I’ll have you know that cross-dressing doesn’t necessarily denote homosexuality,” Nellie said. “I like a pretty dress. I also like a pretty lady. You should be careful who you malign, especially if they carry an ax.” Nellie lifted his weapon for emphasis. “What’s with the blood on his chest?”

“He attacked quicker than I expected,” I answered. “I had to improvise. I couldn’t lock him up with my mind in time, so I had no choice. I made sure to avoid any major arteries or organs.” Did he not hear me when I asked him to get the rosemary? “Where did we land on you getting me the ingredients I need?”

“Why can’t you do it?” Nellie asked, annoyed. “I don’t like cooking.”

“I’m not asking you to cook.”

“I don’t like fetching ingredients for cooking either,” Nellie said.

“Yes, but I can’t leave the area because he’ll unfreeze,” I said. “Do you want that?”

Nellie didn’t look bothered by the prospect. “I’m fine with it,” he said. “I’ll take him off your hands. I always get bored when we’re stuck in these flat states in the middle for long stretches.”

That sounded like a terrible idea. “You can’t kill him,” I said, shaking my head hard enough that one of my buns came loose. Great. Not only were the potatoes going to go without rosemary, now my hair looked ridiculous. This so wasn’t my night. “The cops are already suspicious because of the body in the field. We can’t have someone go missing here. That wouldn’t look good.”

Dakota’s eyes widened. He clearly didn’t like where this conversation was going. I didn’t blame him.

“How are you going to explain this when the cops show up?” Nellie asked. “He’s bleeding.”

“He attacked me.”

“Yeah, but you stabbed him,” Nellie said. “That’s going to look bad, too.”

“I stabbed him with the peeler,” I said, pointing toward the utensil in Dakota’s hand. “That’s clearly self-defense.”

“Oh, nice,” Nellie said, cracking a smile. “That makes it more fun. You should’ve peeled him a little bit for good measure. This guy must be pretty bad for you to risk doing this to him.”

“He was going to kill his baby … and wife … and a teenage girl.” Even saying it was distasteful.

Nellie made a face. “You are a douche, huh? I guess you got what’s coming to you.”

“I’ll tell the police everything,” Dakota screeched. “I won’t be the one in jail. You will.”

“Oh, that’s not going to happen,” I said brightly. “I’m going to fix your memory as soon as I get these potatoes on the grill. I can’t do that until Nellie gets my rosemary, though.”