mystic caravan mystery 02 - freaky lies (7 page)

“Well, that’s just great,” Kade muttered, tugging a restless hand through his hair. “That’s just … awesome.”

I wedged my hand between Percival and myself and forcefully pushed him away, taking a step back and narrowing my eyes as I regarded him. The man was good looking – there was no doubt about that – but he was also annoying. There are some things an accent can’t overcome, and being a royal douche is one of them.

“I’m fine,” I said finally, shifting my gaze to an approaching Raven. No one had discussed how we were going to handle Percival and conversations about magic, but I desperately needed to talk to Raven without Percival’s prying ears making life difficult. “The police aren’t sure what happened. It’s probably a farming accident.”

Kade widened his eyes. “A farming accident?”

“Yes. A farming accident.” I kept my voice firm as I scorched Kade with a look. “There’s no reason for anyone to freak out. In fact, Percival should probably get settled in his trailer. I have circus business to talk about with Raven.”

Kade didn’t look convinced. “I … okay.” He briefly shook his head before turning his attention to Percival. “Come on. I’ll help you carry your bags so you can get settled.”

“That would be great,” Percival enthused, falling into step next to Kade. “I have a bad back, and you look as if you could carry a horse.”

“I’ll try that tomorrow,” Kade replied dryly.

I remained silent until I was sure they were out of earshot before turning to Raven. “We have a problem.”

“I figured,” Raven said, unruffled. “You couldn’t get rid of Percy fast enough.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Percy?”

“That’s what I’m calling him,” Raven explained. “I think he’s adorable. He’s mine, by the way. Don’t even think of moving in on him. I put up with it when Kade came around because I knew you were in the middle of a dry spell, but I won’t put up with it a second time.”

“I thought you didn’t need a man,” Luke interjected, joining the small group of interested onlookers. “Didn’t you just say that an hour ago?”

“No one was talking to you,” Raven snapped. “What’s the deal with the body?”

“Someone mutilated it,” I replied. “I mean … cut the arms and legs off and gouged out the eyes.”

“Hmm,” Raven mused, her expression thoughtful. “Did they replace the eyes with anything?”

“How did you know that?”

“I’m not sure,” Raven answered. “I … something about that sounds familiar. I can’t remember what, though. I’ll have to do some research.”

“It sounds like that scary movie to me,” Nixie said, bobbing her aquamarine head as she shifted from one foot to the other. “There was a monster living in the corn, and there were these demented kids killing adults and worshipping it.”

“Yes,
Children of the Corn
,” I supplied. “I’ve seen that movie, too. Don’t bring it up in front of Kade. He thinks that could really happen.”

“How do we know it didn’t really happen?” Raven challenged. “Kids drew you out there, right? Maybe the kids killed him.”

“The kids were traumatized,” I argued. “They didn’t kill him. Plus … well … Kade thinks the man was killed a few days ago.”

“It sounds ritual,” Raven said. “If he was killed a few days ago, though, that probably doesn’t have anything to do with us. I’ll conduct some research just to be on the safe side.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” I said. “If it was ritual, though, why dump him so close to where we’re camping? People had to know we would be here. You saw the signs when we were driving into town. Our arrival has been well publicized.”

“I don’t know,” Raven said, shaking her head. “We’ll have to figure it out as we go … like we always do. What we need is some information on the dead guy. That might make the research easier.”

“The cops didn’t haven an identity yet,” I said.

“Or so they told you,” Raven countered. “They might be keeping that information to themselves. People in town might know who is missing. Lincoln is a big city for this area, but in the grand scheme of things it’s really not big at all.”

She had a point. I glanced at Luke. “Do you want to make a run into town with me?”

Luke’s handsome face split with a wide grin. “Always!”

“Then let’s do it,” I said. “I don’t like a body being discovered this close to us. I have a bad feeling this is going to bring trouble to our doorstep.”

Luke didn’t appear bothered by the observation. “What else is new?”

What else indeed. Sadly, this was just another normal day with the Mystic Caravan Circus.

6

Six

^“
M
ove over.”

“I have nowhere to go. You move over.”

“You’re sitting on my leg.”

“Did you ever think you wedged your leg under mine on purpose?”

Luke met my challenging gaze from the passenger seat of Kade’s truck and made a face that would’ve been comical under different circumstances. Because it was stifling inside of the truck and Kade refused to turn on the air conditioning (he cited some nonsense about polluting the environment that would’ve been nice if I wasn’t in danger of sweating to death), there was nothing about these circumstances I found funny.

“We’re taking my truck next time,” Luke announced, finally ripping his gaze from me and focusing on Kade as the quiet man navigated the main highway that led into Lincoln. “This sitting here and sweating all over each other thing isn’t remotely tolerable.”

Kade blew out a weary sigh. “Air conditioners are bad for the environment.”

“You’ve told us that twenty times since we left the circus grounds,” Luke said. “We don’t care.”

“I care a little,” I argued.

Kade arched a challenging eyebrow. “A little?”

If he thought his disdain would shame me into saying I cared a lot he was about to be disappointed. “I think the environment is an important concern,” I replied. “I also think I’m going to die if you don’t turn yours on. Do you want me to die?”

“Not particularly,” Kade answered, unruffled. “I don’t think you’re really going to die, though. The windows are down. We’re getting a nice breeze.”

“You’re getting a nice breeze,” I clarified. “I’m stuck in the middle, so I don’t get any breeze. Only the people sitting next to the windows get breezes.”

“Don’t worry,” Luke intoned. “I’m not getting a breeze either. Turn on the air conditioner.”

“It will only take us five minutes to get to town,” Kade said. “You’ll live.”

Luke locked gazes with me, something unsaid passing between us. I was a mind reader, but I didn’t need magic to know what Luke was thinking.

“You need to turn on the air conditioner,” I said finally, licking my lips as I glanced at Kade. “If you don’t do it … well … there’s going to be a mutiny.”

Instead of fearing my declaration Kade appeared tickled by it. “A mutiny? Are you going to use pirate talk and make me walk the plank?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but Luke did it for me.

“No,” Luke said. “She will stop letting you sleep in her bed, though. I know there’s nothing going on but heavy petting, but you’re going to lose that if you don’t stop this nonsense.”

“Excuse me?” Kade’s irritation was evident. When he insisted on driving to town with us so we could get some information – and groceries – I don’t think he realized what he was in for. “Are you threatening me with a lack of … snuggling … if I don’t turn on the air conditioning?”

I wasn’t a fan of the way he phrased it, but … . “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Kade ran his tongue over his teeth as he tilted his head to the side and considered the threat. “Are you firm on this?”

“You have no idea,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest and blowing a burst of air up to my forehead in an attempt to dry my sweaty bangs. “I can’t take one more second of this. I really will die.”

“I can’t let Poet die,” Luke said. “That means I’m going to kill you to protect her.”

“You and what army?” Kade scoffed, biding for time as he decided whether he was going to let me shake him down.

“Did you forget I can turn into a wolf?” Luke challenged.

“I … no,” Kade answered. “I don’t care what you say, though, you’re not going to shift and kill me over air conditioning.”

“It’s hotter than an all-male burlesque show during Fleet Week,” Luke shot back. “Turn on the air conditioning!”

Instead of kowtowing to Luke’s demands Kade directed his attention to me. “Are you really going to kick me out of your bed if I don’t turn on the air conditioning?”

I hate being put on the spot, but if he was going to press the issue I really had no choice but to answer honestly. “No.”

Kade shot Luke a triumphant look as my best friend uttered a low growl that suspiciously sounded like a string of curse words.

“I will, however, demand you pull over so I can get out and use my feminine wiles to get some perverted truck driver to stop,” I added. “I don’t want to kick you out of my bed, but I really will die if you don’t turn on the air conditioning.”

Kade blew out a sigh. “Fine,” he said, rolling up his window before turning the knob on the dash and allowing a gush of cool air to blow from the vents I’d conveniently directed at my face. “I want you to know I’m doing this under duress, though.”

“Duly noted,” I said, closing my eyes and leaning forward so I could enjoy the comforting cool air. “Oh, I’ve never been happier.”

Kade made a disgusted face before turning his attention back to the road. “Where do you want to go once we hit town?”

I pointed toward a huge billboard as we passed. It advertised a farmers market on the outskirts of town. “That will be full of local farmers,” I replied. “We’ll be able to get good food and hopefully some gossip.”

“And what do you think that’s going to get us?” Kade asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I just have a feeling this is going to get worse before it gets better.”

“I would argue with you, but I have a feeling you’re right,” Kade said, hitting his turn signal and following the sign that pointed toward the farmers market. “Let’s see what we can find, shall we?”

“WHAT
is with the heat in this place?” Luke asked twenty minutes later, blotting his brow with a napkin he acquired from the lemonade stand in the middle of the farmers market. “It’s hotter than nickel night at a whorehouse.”

Kade made a face when two elderly women sitting at a picnic table shot dark looks in our direction. “Will you keep your voice down?”

“What?” Luke was annoyed, which meant he couldn’t control his volume. “I didn’t make that one up. I only repeated it. You can’t hold that against me.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing, but when Kade shifted his expressive eyes in my direction it became increasingly hard to swallow my giggle.

“He’s not funny,” Kade chided. “You encourage him when you laugh. Don’t laugh.”

“I won’t laugh.” I had every intention of following through with that promise even though Luke proceeded to make a series of faces engineered to break my resolve.

Kade rolled his eyes. “Go ahead and laugh,” he said. “You look as if you’re about to pass out from the effort you’re exerting to hold it in.”

I did just that, earning a haughty look from the women at the table. They clearly didn’t like me, although they seemed enamored with Kade when he winked in their direction. The scowls they directed toward me shifted to smiles in the blink of an eye.

“What is it with you and women?” I asked before I had a chance to think better of the question. Being jealous of two women old enough to be Kade’s grandmother probably makes me seem petty. Oh, well. That’s never stopped me before. “Women just fall all over you whenever you smile. It’s a bit distracting.”

“He has the gift,” Luke supplied. “He can’t help it. It’s like magic.”

Kade chuckled at the suggestion. “I think I’ll leave the magic to Poet. I’m happy being completely normal.”

The statement caught me off guard. When I heard Max hired someone without paranormal abilities to head Mystic Caravan’s security I was thrown because I didn’t think a common human would be capable of doing the job. Despite his magical limitations, though, Kade had proved worthy (and I don’t believe that simply because he’s hot). As Max’s son, though, he could boast a magical birthright. Could it be possible he had powers that had yet to manifest? It was far more likely he showed signs of power throughout the years and then made excuses when he couldn’t explain them. I would have to test that later … much later, when he knew the truth and had forgiven me. What? I’ve chosen to be an optimist today.

“You’re not normal,” I said, forcing a smile. “You’re better than that.”

“Oh, well, thank you,” Kade said, his cheeks flushing with color. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me all day.”

“Ugh. I may puke.” Luke wrinkled his nose. “You two might not be groaning and moaning yet, but you’re definitely making me sick to my stomach.”

“And on that note … .” I shook my head and focused on the task at hand. “We need information, and this place could be a goldmine if we approach it correctly.”

“I still don’t understand what you hope to uncover here,” Kade said. “Why do you think the dead body has anything to do with us? You saw it. Whoever killed him did it days before we arrived. It might’ve been weeks depending on how much it has rained here recently. The cops aren’t going to share information on that, though, so what do you expect to get?”

“I’m going to wager that these people already know who that body belongs to,” I replied. This time the smile I flashed was genuine. I love when I get to put my intuition on display. “This is a relatively small community. Gossip spreads fast when everyone knows everyone else.”

“We should know,” Luke intoned. “We live in the same kind of community.”

“Oh, poor Luke,” Kade said, grabbing my best friend’s cheek and giving it a good jiggle. “Are you feeling down because everyone knows you’re in the middle of a dry spell?”

Luke jerked his cheek from Kade’s annoying fingers and narrowed his eyes. “I may be in the middle of a dry spell but at least it’s not by choice,” he snapped. “You’re sleeping in the same bed with a beautiful woman – and I’m not just saying that because she’s my best friend, she’s genuinely the prettiest woman in the world – and you refuse to make a move. Which is worse?”