21 Dares: A Florida Suspense Mystery (11 page)

The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the
parking lot. Kids skateboarded between the cars, and a college girl jogged
around them. Legs stuck out from under a gray Buick where some guy was changing
the oil. But no one fit the description. Finally Abbie saw a middle aged man in
a bright red jump suit walking a bulldog. They could’ve been twins. Susan and
McKenzie encouraged Abbie to approach him.

“Lor' luv a
duck!”
Abbie pushed Susan back and brushed past McKenzie.
“Get off me back. I’ll do it.
Okaaaaaay?”

Susan looked surprised and turned her head toward
McKenzie. Abbie adjusted the tiara on her head and headed toward the bald man
walking the bulldog.

“Hi.” She absentmindedly fiddled with her necklace.
He stopped and nodded. The bulldog approached her.
Sniffed
her ankle.
Abbie bent down and held out a hand, palm up, for the dog to
sniff. Kneeling, she looked up at the bald man. “How’s it going?”

“With a British accent,” Susan demanded, coming up
behind her.

Abbie shrugged and stood.
“Lawd
above!
How are yew dewing?”

The bald man reared back. So did the bulldog. Susan
laughed. “She’s not insane. It’s her twenty first birthday and we’re making her
perform twenty one dares.”

He looked at Susan, then over at Abbie. “Well,
have fun
,” he said, pulling on the dog leash. “Now, if
you’ll excuse me.”

He took a step forward and Susan placed a hand on
his chest, holding him back. “Hold your horses, Captain Picard,” she said. “In
addition to us making her talk with this incredibly stupid, horrendous British
accent, she has to rub a bald man’s head and kiss it for good luck. It’s a
birthday dare.”

The man laughed nervously. “Okay. What do you want
me to do?”

“I 'ave ter kiss yaaahr bald 'ead,” Abbie said. “An'
rub i' fer good luck.”

The man laughed good-naturedly,
then
leaned down, allowing Abbie access to his smooth scalp. She kissed it, quickly,
then rubbed it a couple of times. She turned to McKenzie and swiped the back of
her hand across her mouth.

“I can’t believe I just did that.” She tried to hold
back a giggle as the man headed off with his bulldog.

Abbie typed “mission accepted and completed” into
her phone and hit send. She waited a moment before her phone chirped.
McKenzie’s beeped, then Rocky’s. The twins looked down at their phones as Mr.
Sherman swiped his phone out of his back pocket. Juanita tapped hers, reading
the message. Susan shrieked, holding her phone with both hands and acted like
she was going to throw it to the ground.

“It’s not working again. It’s dead. It was fine a
minute ago!” Susan raised an arm, spun around and then took a deep breath.
Scratching her nose, she held up the phone and shut it off.

“Okay, okay,” McKenzie said. “We’ve got the next
dare.”

Abbie looked at her phone.

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”Abbie handed her phone
toward Susan. Susan took it and scanned the message as it chirped in her hands.
The other phones beeped with a new incoming text message.

“Wait, there’s more,” Susan said, and read the new
message.

McKenzie and Rocky both threw their heads back and
roared with laughter. Abbie clenched her mouth tighter. “And I have to ask them
for money using a British accent?”

McKenzie wagged a finger. The ends
of
 
the
pink ribbon in
her hair rippled in the wind. “If you want to get to your surprise guest, you
do.”

Abbie sighed and pushed the plastic tiara further
back on top her head. A small shiny diamond fell off and bounced on the grass.
She stared at it a moment, remembering why she was doing all this. “It’s Clinton
Reed, isn’t it? He drove up here from Pembroke Pines.”

“Uh, uh, uh!
I’m not going to tell you.” McKenzie bent down as best she could in her
tight Qipa. She picked up the diamond and tried to fit it back on Abbie’s tiara.
As soon as she let go, it dropped off and hit the ground again. McKenzie ignored
it and left it where it lay. “You’ll just have to wait to find out.”

With that, Abbie, McKenzie and Rocky, Susan and the
twins, Juanita Evita Florendes Aye Reano O’Brien and Mr. Sherman
headed toward the library.
Abbie looked at the setting sun. The parked cars in front of them darkened in
the fading light. To the east, the sky had already turned gray. Out the corner
of her eye, Abbie caught two herons glide into the air.
Somewhere way off in the distance, an
ambulance siren wailed, growing louder then gradually faded.

The
library waited.

Chapter 14

L
eaving the apartment complex, the group walked in silence across the
street to the campus. The sun was just a red sliver over the top of the
university buildings, casting long shadows across the stadium parking lot.
They passed a group of girls dressed in the University colors, and
holding signs and megaphones. Several boys wearing letterman jackets and
jerseys crossed the parking lot. As they walked past, McKenzie stopped Abbie
and the others.

“What’s going on here?” She pointed toward
the boys entering the stadium.
 
“You’re
supposed to be asking strangers for money.”

McKenzie grabbed Abbie’s arm and pulled her across
the parking lot, toward the stadium entrance. A winding line stretched from the
sidewalk to the ticket booth. McKenzie tugged Abbie’s arm, pointing toward will
call. She waved and called out to the students standing in line.

“This is my friend Abbie Reed,” McKenzie
yelled and
pointed
 
toward
Abbie standing next to her.
Several men
and women, a few of them students, some parents, turned to see what all the
commotion was about.
McKenzie waved. “She needs to ask you something. Do
you mind helping her out?”

Abbie adjusted the fake tiara on her head and
looked away, embarrassed. Four boys left the line and walked up to the two
girls. She tried to disguise her annoyance in front of them.

“
Does anyone
have a dollar or two?
” Abbie bit her lower lip as she spoke.

“In British,” McKenzie said. Abbie took a
breath,
then
asked it again.

“
Can yew spare
a dollar awer two
?” She used her best British accent.

McKenzie adjusted the tiara on Abbie’s head.
“This is Abbie Reed, my dearest friend in the world, and it’s her twenty-first
birthday. We’re making her do birthday dares.” The boys nodded and
congratulated Abbie, as McKenzie continued. “She has to perform twenty-one
dares tonight and for this one, she has to collect twenty-one singles from
twenty-one hot guys. Do you guys think you could help her?”

The tallest boy stepped forward. “We’ll make
you a deal,” he said, looking back at his friends. “You give us that tiara and
we’ll each give you a dollar.”

“Deal.”
Abbie swiped the tiara from her head. She handed it to the tall boy. The
others took out their wallets and handed Abbie a dollar each.

“No! No! No!” McKenzie shook her hands at
Abbie. “That’s against the rules. The birthday girl has to wear the tiara all
night long!”

She looked over at the group in the parking
lot and Susan came running. She grabbed the tiara out of the surprised tall
boy’s hands.

“I got this for you.” Susan placed the cheap
tiara back on Abbie’s head. She gazed at the boys as McKenzie counted the money.

“Thank you for the green but we can’t trade
the tiara.” McKenzie shrugged and gestured to them. “Just know that it’s going
to a good cause.”

“It’s funding our bar tab,” Susan added. “And
you boys are welcome to join us later tonight. We’ll buy you some drinks.”

She then grabbed Abbie’s arm and yanked her
backwards toward the parking lot. McKenzie wiggled her fingers at the boys and
thanked them again for the money as they walked back into the will call line.

“Theese i’ humeeeleee-ating.”
Abbie swatted at the tiara as it drooped on her forehead. She turned
back to Susan and McKenzie. Rocky and the others came up beside her in front of
the crowded stadium entrance.

Susan laughed. “I don’t know if that’s a
British accent or a speech impediment.”

“You’ve already collected five singles,” McKenzie
said, motioning toward all the people surrounding them. “Just fourteen more to
go and there’s like a billion people here.”

Abbie looked puzzled. “I think there’s
something wrong with your math,” she said, watching the crowd move around them.
Couples holding hands.
Boys laughing
and horse playing.
Girls taking pictures with their
phones.
Other girls posing for photos with their
friends.
It was almost all too much.

She looked back at the busy parking lot. Among
the crowds of students, the parked cars and the street lamps, she saw a
familiar sweater vest.
Sleeveless.
Olive
green.
She hesitated,
then
thought,
what the hell
.

“Professor Cunningham! Professor Cunningham! Can yew
spare a dollar awer two? It's me birthday,” she called out, running toward him
with one hand firmly planted on her tiara. The Professor stopped and turned
toward her.

“Miss Reed, I’m pressed for time.” He glared at her.
“Why on everything holy are you wearing that ridiculous
princess crown.
And why are you talking like that?”

“It’s my twenty-first birthday.” She stopped in
front of him, almost out of breath. The tiara slipped forward on her forehead.
She pushed it back. “And my roommate and landlord and some other people over
there are giving me twenty-one dares to do.”

She pointed across the street where McKenzie and Rocky,
Susan and the twins, her cleaning lady and her landlord all stood. The
Professor gazed at them,
then
looked puzzled.

“Why?”

“To celebrate my birthday, I guess.”

“Interesting.”
The Professor shook his head. “I suppose I can spare a dollar.” He took
out his wallet and handed her a crisp one dollar bill.
She thanked him, taking the money.

“Wait,” she said. She felt her crown sliding.
“Do you still talk to him? To Clinton Reed, I mean.”

“Excuse me?” He looked surprised by the
question.

“I mean... do you know if he’s here, in
Tampa?”

“Is he here?” he repeated. “Why would he be
here?”

Abbie shrugged.
“For my
birthday.
I was thinking he might surprise me.”

Professor Cunningham looked away for a
second. “I haven’t spoken to your father in a very long time.
Many years, in fact.
I would have no way of knowing whether
he was here or anywhere for that matter.”

“Okay,” Abbie said. “Sorry to bother you.
Thank you again for the dollar.”

“Wait, Miss Reed,” he said quickly. “Do you
honestly believe he would return here, to Tampa, after everything that
happened?”

“No,” Abbie whispered. “No, you’re probably
right.”

With that he wished her good evening. Abbie
watched him walk to his car.

McKenzie, still standing at the stadium
entrance, called Abbie’s name. Abbie changed directions, angling through the
busy parking lot back toward the group. When she caught up to them, they headed
for the library.

By the time they crossed the parking lot and
walked toward the science building, Abbie had made substantial progress toward
completing the dare. She’d asked over twenty five men for a dollar, tried to
give away the tiara two more times, and actually collected a staggering fifteen
single dollar bills. When the library was in sight, she paused at the steps
that led up to the entrance doors.

“I’m short six dollars,” she said.

“She’s six dollars short, people,” Susan yelled
and turned to the group. “She’s six dollars short! Find a guy—any guy—and hit
‘em up for a dollar. We need six of them.”

As the group scattered, McKenzie stomped her
foot. “No, no, no,” she exclaimed. “Abbie has to do the dare. We can’t help
her.”

On the library lawn, Rocky approached a girl
on a bike and asked for a dollar. McKenzie called out to her fiancée, telling
him to stop. Then Susan and the twins joined in. Within a few minutes, everyone
was asking students, parents,
teachers
—anyone passing
by—for a dollar. McKenzie darted between the group, scolding. “Abbie has to do
this dare on her own. You can’t help her. Give that money back!”

Abbie paused when she saw a blue and white golf
cart approach. It pulled up to the curb and a campus security guard stepped
out. He approached the group as everyone paused and turned toward him.

 
“Crap!
It’s the fuzz.” Juanita Evita threw up her arms, letting several dollar bills fly
into the air. “I’m outta here!”

Abbie watched her run down the street as the
security guard raised his hands, palms up. His eyes shifted from one person to
the other.
“I’m sorry folks, but you can’t be harassing
students and teachers, and asking them for money.”

Abbie smiled when she realized who he was. “Josh.”

“Abbie Reed?” His face brightened. “I’m surprised at
you, ma’am. I didn’t have you pegged as a disturber of the peace.”

“I’m not, usually.” Abbie walked over to him. “My roommate
and some other people I know planned a surprise party for me, and they’re
daring me to do all this stuff tonight.”

Susan came up beside her.
“British,
young lady.
You’re breaking the second dare.”

“Bollocks.” Abbie rolled her eyes. She motioned
toward Susan, then McKenzie and the rest of the group. “This is my party posse.
Posse, this is Josh.”

“Josh Parker, campus security.”
 
He touched his forehead slightly in a mock
salute,
then
turned back to Abbie. “You can’t
panhandle on campus property.”

“I know. I know.
University
rules.”
Abbie removed the tiara from her head and held it in her hands. “Since
it’s my birthday, I was kinda thinking…”

“What?” He moved closer to her.

“I was kinda thinking…” She wasn’t entirely sure
what she wanted to say. Her mind raced. “I was thinking about that joke you
told me. Hose A and Hose B. It cracked me up.”

Josh cocked his head, easing into a smile. “Oh. Then
I got another one for you. Why didn’t the toilet paper cross the road?”

Abbie shook her head, biting her lower lip. “I don’t
know. Why didn’t the toilet paper cross the road?”

“It got stuck in a crack.” Josh grinned, and seemed
to be waiting. Abbie gave him a shy smile.

“That’s awful,” McKenzie said, standing beside them.
She shook her head. Josh laughed.

“I got a million of them.” A mischievous grin
crossed his face,
then
his eyes melted into Abbie’s
and prolonged the moment. Finally, he broke the silence. “How much are you
short?”

Abbie looked surprised by the change in
conversation. For a second, she wasn’t sure what he was referring to. Then she
remembered the collection of one dollar bills. “Six dollars.”

Josh pulled out his wallet and opened it.

“Look at that,” he said. “I have exactly seven
dollars. There’s one to grow on.” He handed her a five dollar bill and two
ones.

“Thank you,” she said, as McKenzie tugged on her
arm.

“It’s against the rules, but I’ll allow it.” McKenzie
pulled harder.
“Now, c’mon.
We have to go inside for
the next dare.”

“I take it you know what it is?” Abbie looked over
at McKenzie then back at Josh to find him still watching her.

“Maybe,” McKenzie said. “We’ll have to run inside to
find out.”

McKenzie hiked up her Qipa and made her way up the
steps. Susan and the twins followed, passing through the library’s massive
columns. Abbie walked toward the steps,
then
hesitated. She turned and waved to Josh, who still stood at the curb beside his
golf cart. He shot her a conspiratorial wink.

McKenzie and Rocky led Abbie, Susan, the twins and Mr. Sherman through
the library entrance and past the reference desk librarian.
 
Abbie just knew the old woman behind the desk
was staring at her stupid fake tiara. She could feel the woman’s eyes melting
the cheap plastic as she caught up with Rocky and McKenzie. Walking arm in arm,
McKenzie whispered something in Rocky’s ear. It must’ve been funny. He laughed
and the librarian glared at him. Pausing beside an old fashioned card catalog,
Susan took out her phone and turned it back-on. The New Horizon Cellular jingle
blared loudly as the phone rebooted. The librarian shushed her.

Susan followed Abbie into the library’s center
great-room, a large area with a soaring ceiling above eight long mahogany
tables. Green shaded banker’s lamps sat atop each end and in the center of each
table. There were students reading, others typing on laptops. Many were just
focused on their phones, in the huge quiet room.

Aisles of packed bookshelves surrounded them.
Thousands of books lined the downstairs walls. Students walked between the rows,
some browsing,
some
reading. The aisles continued
upstairs, were there were more shelves and hundreds of more books.