mystic caravan mystery 02 - freaky lies (32 page)

“That’s only true when it comes to monster hunting,” Luke said. “For everything else that’s just a myth. Poet told me that one night when I was drunk, although I kind of figured it out myself before that. I didn’t have the heart to tell her, though, because she thought it was a really big revelation.”

“Uh-huh.” Kade didn’t look impressed. “I’m limiting your time together from here on out.”

“No, you’re not,” Luke said. “I’ll beat you if you try. You’re already stealing my woman. I won’t let you steal more of my time with her.”

“Your woman?” Kade arched an angry eyebrow. “How is she your woman?”

“Possession is nine-tenths of the law,” Luke sniffed.

“I’m my own woman,” I snapped, shaking my head. Men! I swear, they’re the only gender that can get bogged down by stuff like this in the middle of a crisis. We might be hunting for evil children, for crying out loud!

“Fine,” Luke grumbled. “You’re still kind of my woman, though. I own like … a third of you.”

“Whatever,” I said, shaking my head and turning to Melissa. “Where are they?”

“They’re over by the games,” Melissa replied, her eyes thoughtful as she studied me. “Do you really hunt monsters?”

Now wasn’t the time for this conversation, but I could tell she needed something to propel her forward. “We do,” I confirmed. “That’s our main job. The circus is kind of like a second job.”

“It’s a second job with better benefits, and the outfits are to die for,” Luke said, gesturing toward his baby blue with sequins trapeze leotard. “I make having a second job look good.”

“You do indeed,” I said, smiling despite myself.

“I think the color is all wrong for you,” Melissa said, not missing a beat. “You do better with warm hues because of your coloring. You should stay away from that shade of blue. It washes you out.”

Luke’s mouth dropped open. “What did you just say to me?”

Uh-oh. This would go south fast if I didn’t get a handle on it. “Forget the clothes for now,” I ordered. “You can argue about clothes tomorrow – or later tonight when we have our victory bonfire. We don’t have time to discuss clothes right now.”

“Fine, but he should be taking wardrobe cues from you,” Melissa said. “You look like a dream in that outfit.”

“I dressed her!” Luke was beside himself. “I did her hair and makeup, too.”

“Huh.” Melissa didn’t look convinced. “You should spend more time worrying about yourself and less time worrying about her. She’s perfect.”

“She is perfect,” Kade agreed, grinning as he squeezed my hand. “Now let’s talk about what we’re going to do with Mary and Grace. We can’t kill them.”

How did I know he would go back to that? “Kade, we don’t know anything yet,” I said. “Right now we just need to find them.”

“And then what?”

“Then we watch them to make sure all of the guests are safe,” I replied. “We can’t do anything until this place is cleared out. It’s going to be a long day. Prepare yourself.”

“THEY
look like normal kids,” Kade said, his hand clenched around a glass of fresh lemonade as we sat at a bistro table under one of the food truck awnings and watched Mary and Grace throw darts at balloons. “They can’t be evil.”

“Do you sense anything off of them?” I asked, casting a sidelong look in Melissa’s direction. She was fascinated with the kids. I didn’t blame her. There was something of a void surrounding them, an impenetrable shell that held nothing inside. I didn’t notice it before because I saw no need to scan them. The oversight plagued me now.

“There’s nothing there,” Melissa said. “It’s all … empty.”

I nodded, agreeing. “Very empty.”

“What does that mean?” Kade asked, frustrated. “What are they?”

“I don’t know what they are, but I’m fairly certain they’re not little girls,” I said. “We won’t know what they are until we confront them, and I don’t feel comfortable doing that in front of a crowd.”

“Why don’t we just grab them and take them to one of the tents and interrogate them?” Luke suggested. “I’m already bored watching them. They’re not doing anything remotely interesting. You’d think they could at least shoot laser beams out of their eyes or kick old people or something. Sheesh!”

“We can’t grab them,” I scoffed. “What happens if they scream ‘kidnappers’ or ‘child molesters?’ They’re smarter than normal children. I’m certain of that. Otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to snow me so easily the other day.”

“You can’t blame yourself for that,” Kade said, resting his hand on my knee as he studied the seemingly happy girls. “How could anyone possibly suspect them?”

“Because I’ve seen evil in all shapes and sizes, and I should’ve known better,” I replied. “I thought it was weird they were playing alone in a cornfield, but I pushed it out of my mind because you were fixated on the scarecrow and we’ve had so much other stuff going on.

“Then, when I saw them last night, they knew exactly how to play me,” I continued. “I felt bad for them because they didn’t have any money. They kind of insinuated their parents were around so as not to draw attention to themselves, but I never reconciled the fact that what they were telling me didn’t mesh with the idea of parents allowing such young kids to run around at a circus after dark with no supervision.”

“I don’t understand, though,” Kade said. “If they’re evil and soulless, that means they’re monsters, right? How did they cross the dreamcatcher without it alerting?”

That was a damn good question. “I don’t know.”

“That also doesn’t explain whatever chased you in the field the other night,” Kade added. “That wasn’t a little girl. You said it was the size of a man.”

He had a point. “I don’t know what to tell you,” I said, blowing out a frustrated sigh. “They’re empty shells. Whether that means something is muting them or what, I can’t be sure. Whether that means they’re working with someone or being forced to work for someone against their wills, I honestly don’t know.”

“So what do we do now?” Kade asked.

“Watch them,” I replied. “The only thing I do know is that we can’t let them out of our sight. Either they’ll kill again or the thing working with them will. We need to keep an eye on them until the circus closes.”

“And then kill them?” Kade kept his voice even, but the distaste on his face was evident.

“It depends on what’s going on,” I answered. “Until we have answers we can’t form a plan. We’ll have to handle this on the fly. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Kade said. “I didn’t sign up to kill children.”

None of us had.

“IT’S GETTING
dark.”

Melissa’s enthusiasm for the spying game lasted longer than everyone else’s, but it eventually waned. Hours upon hours of watching two kids play games and eat hot dogs wore everyone down.

“They haven’t done anything evil all day,” Kade argued. “I don’t think they’re what you think they are. Maybe your sight thing is on the fritz.” With each hour that ticked by he became more desperate. I didn’t blame him. He saw them as innocents. I had a feeling he was in for a rude awakening.

“I’m not going to walk up to them and twist their necks without proof, Kade,” I said, my irritation bubbling up. I knew he couldn’t help but worry, but he was driving me insane with the incessant whining. “We’re going to clear this place out and then approach them.”

“They know,” Nellie said, leaning back in his chair and clasping his hands behind his head. He’d opted for a purple evening gown tonight, taking over Luke’s chair when my best friend got called away to perform. “Don’t you see it? They know we’re watching them.”

“What makes you think that?” Kade asked, unconvinced. “They’re acting like normal kids.”

“You’re right,” Nellie agreed. “They’re acting like normal kids who have eaten five pounds of hot dogs and played hours upon hours of the same games. They keep looking over here and smiling at Poet. They’ve waved so many times I’ve lost count.

“We’re a bunch of creepy adults watching their every move,” he continued. “If they had parents, they would’ve warned those girls about people like us. We’ve acted like loons for the better part of the day. Those girls don’t seem surprised by what we’re doing.”

That hadn’t even occurred to me. “He’s right,” I said, pushing myself to my feet. “They’re playing with us. This is a game to them.”

“What are you going to do?” Kade asked, grabbing my wrist. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to talk to them,” I replied simply. “The main show lets out in twenty minutes. I don’t want to lose them in the crowd.”

“See if you can herd them someplace,” Nellie suggested. “They’re playing a game with you. See if you can play a game with them. We need them isolated from the rest of the crowd. If we make a move when people are around they’ll scream bloody murder.”

“And then while everyone is staring at us thinking we’re monsters they’ll take another victim,” I said. “Where do you think I should herd them?”

Nellie shrugged. “It needs to be someplace removed from everything else,” he said. “I’m leaning toward clown row because I hate those guys. They might not appreciate the mess if things get bloody, though.”

He had a point. “I know where,” I said. “I’ll see if I can get them there. When you follow, don’t do it too closely. Keep a little distance between yourselves and them. I don’t want them panicking right away.”

“They don’t look the type to panic,” Nellie said. “They look as if they’re the type to eat your guts when they’re bored and top their ice cream with your eyes an hour later.”

Now that was a sobering thought.

I leaned over and gave Kade a quick kiss. It was meant to soothe him, but he looked anything but relaxed. “I promise we won’t act unless it’s necessary,” I said. “We can’t let them keep this up, though. You know that.”

“I do know that,” Kade confirmed. “I don’t know whether I can watch this, though.”

“Then maybe you should be in charge of getting the guests out of here,” I suggested. “You can handle that while we handle this. You don’t have to be a part of it if you’re uncomfortable. I understand.”

“I won’t leave you.” Kade’s resolve was obvious. “I might not be thrilled with what’s about to come, but there’s no way you’re shaking me off. I will be with you whether you like it or not.”

I rested my hand on his shoulder and offered him a wan smile. “I like it.”

“That’s good,” Kade said. “You need to get used to me.”

That was the biggest problem I had. I was already used to him. If I lost him now it would hurt beyond imagination. How did I let this happen?

30

Thirty

G
race and Mary smiled as I approached. The expression appeared simple and earnest, yet all I could see was something sinister lurking behind their eyes. They weren’t little girls to me any longer. I had no idea what they were, but I wouldn’t let them fool me again.

“Hello,” Grace sang out, smiling as she handed her sister three darts. “We’ve been enjoying your passes all day. Thank you so much.”

“Yes, it’s the best day we’ve ever had,” Mary said while twirling a strand of blond hair around her finger. “We’re ever so thankful.”

“I’m glad,” I said, hoping my voice sounded neutral. They knew I was on to them but continued to play the game. I could do the same. “You two look like you’re having a good time. Look at all the loot you’ve won.” I gestured toward the stack of goodies at Grace’s feet. “I’ve never seen anyone win so many games. You must be magic to do that.”

Mary frowned. “We haven’t done anything wrong,” she said. “We’re following the rules. We’re not cheating or anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’re cheating,” I said, tentatively reaching out and brushing a stray leaf from Mary’s shoulder. She didn’t pull away, but her eyes were leery as they searched my face. “I think that good things happen to good people. You two are good people, so you’re finally getting what you deserve.”

“That’s good, right?” Grace looked relieved.

“It is.” I nodded as my gaze bounced between them. “What did your parents say when you told them about the passes? You were worried they wouldn’t like it, but they obviously got over that and let you come.”

“They said no at first, but we got them to change their minds,” Mary said. “We begged and cried until they said we could come.”

“We did,” Grace said, nodding solemnly. “It took a little work, but we got what we wanted.”

“We always get what we want,” Mary intoned, the corners of her mouth tipping up. She didn’t have fangs or anything, but I was honestly afraid something like that would pop out now that the game was almost over.

“Well, that’s good,” I said, keeping my demeanor bright and cheery as I glanced around. “Did you see the big show?”

“I’m afraid of crowds,” Mary said. “They make me nervous. We decided to stay and play the games instead.”

“Uh-huh. What about the animals, though?” I pressed. “I thought you wanted to see the animals.”

“We do,” Grace replied. “Well, at least I do. Mary said there were too many people in the tent so we couldn’t go in. She doesn’t like it when a lot of people are around.”

“Oh, well, that’s too bad,” I said, straightening a little as I studied the horizon. The sun was dipping low. It would be dark soon. “Are your parents here with you?”

“Of course,” Mary said, linking her fingers in front of her. “Only bad parents would let little kids go to the circus without watching them.”

“Bad parents?” I knit my eyebrows. “Why would you say something like that? This is a safe area, isn’t it?”

“It used to be … before all the dead people,” Mary said.

“Yeah, the dead people.” I licked my lips. “Are you supposed to meet your parents at a certain time?”

“They’re around,” Mary replied. “I’m sure they’ll find us when the time is right. They trust us to do our own thing.”

“We hardly ever get lost,” Grace added.

“Yes, we always know where we’re going,” Mary agreed.

Now that I couldn’t shake my suspicions every word coming out of their mouths made me think it had another meaning. I might’ve been overreacting – it wouldn’t be the first time – but something inside of me screamed out that I needed to isolate these kids from the rest of the crowd.