OMG, A CUL8R Time Travel Mystery (32 page)

Kelly lowered her voice.  “Do you think we’ll actually hear any more voices or do you think Wendy was the only one?”

Scott looked around again to assure himself that no one was listening.  “I don’t really know,” he admitted.  “There were a lot of people talking in the background, but I’m not sure if anyone will come forward like she did, or if that was just a one-time thing.  Maybe it was because we were local and she went to our high school back in the Sixties.”

They were both silent as they thought back on the adventure they had just returned from last night.  In the bright light of day, it seemed impossible.  Kelly looked down at the fresh bruise on her wrist that she had gotten when a crazed killer had grabbed her and tied her up before Austin blew up his truck and Scott helped her and Zoey escape out of the window.  It would almost be possible to believe she had imagined it all if it wasn’t for the aches and pains, the sand that was still shaking out of her clothes . . . and the memories.  She rested her head on her hands and watched a flock of seagulls swooping down to grab potato chips someone had spilled on the beach.

She must have fallen asleep because the sun was much lower over the Gulf when she looked up again.  She felt Austin roll over next to her, and she sat up and stretched.  They hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep on their trip, and it must have caught up with them.

“So what universe is my stomach in right now?  It’s like nearly 5 o’clock and those dogs are distant memories.” Austin grimaced.  “I’m going to grab something on the way home.  I’ve got to work tonight . . . if I can stay awake.”  He had to hold his ribs as he stood up.

“You really should get an x-ray” Kelly pulled on her shirt and started to stand.  He held out his hand and, in spite of his injuries, easily pulled her up.

“Nah, I’ve cracked my ribs before, and all they do is tape them up.”  He picked up his own shirt and gingerly put it on.  “Which is exactly what I’m going to do after I take a shower.”

Zoey sprang to her feet and grabbed Austin’s arm, practically yanking him away from Kelly.  “I’ll help you walk to your truck.”

Austin smoothly extricated himself from her grasp and stepped into his flip-flops.  “Thanks, but there’s nothing wrong with my legs.”

Scott also stood and put his sunscreen in his backpack.

“You guys don’t have to go,” Austin said to the others.

“I’ve had plenty of sun for one day,” Scott said, bending down to help Kelly with the rug.

“Yeah, I thought I’d cook dinner for Aunt Jane,” Kelly agreed.  “I feel sort of guilty for skipping out like I did . . . even though she didn’t realize I was missing.”  She picked up her corners of the rug, and together, she and Scott shook the sand off.  All the other beach-goers around them had already gone, so they didn’t have to worry about their sand blowing into someone else’s eyes.

“It’s all in the settings,” Scott told her.  “I’m working on ways to refine it even more.”

“I thought you nailed it.”  Kelly yawed. 

“No one even knew we were gone,” Austin agreed.  “I could use that app for taking my SATs.  You know, just zap out and back with all the answers.”

Scott opened his mouth, ready to reinforce one of the rules they had all agreed to about not travelling for personal gain, but Austin’s laughter cut him off.

“Save your breath,” Austin said.  “I just said that to get you going.  I know it’s against the rules.”

Kelly and Scott finished folding the rug.  She pulled her shorts on over her swimsuit and carefully pulled the shell necklace out of the neck of her shirt so it lay on top, then smoothed down her bangs that had gotten ruffled by the wind.  “I wouldn’t mind missing the next couple of days.  Tomorrow and Friday I’ve got to get everything set up for the garage sale on Saturday when I have to try to get rid of it all.”

Austin flipped his truck keys back and forth on his finger.  “I’ve got to mow the grass or my dad will have a cow.”

“A cow would get rid of the grass for you.”  Kelly smiled and Austin nodded his agreement.

“Yeah, but then I’d have to clean up the output which would be way worse,” he pointed out.

“Hey, I’ll help out tomorrow morning,” Scott offered. 

“Cool.”

“Well since you all
asked
, I’ve got a spa session with my mom tomorrow and she wants to do lunch at the
club
,” Zoey announced.

Austin closed the umbrella and pulled it out of the sand.  Scott picked up his backpack while Zoey slipped a sheer cover-up on over her bikini and picked up her floppy-brim hat while Kelly juggled her beach bag, the rug and the bags of trash.  Austin noticed and took the bulky rug from her.  She gave him a grateful smile, then headed toward the trash containers where she carefully separated the trash from the recycles. 

They walked Zoey to her Mini-Cooper, then continued on to Austin’s big black pick-up truck that he affectionately called his Black Stallion.  As usual, Scott took the front passenger seat and Kelly climbed into the back seat. 

“Dude, I’m beat,” she said.  “I hope I can stay awake long enough for Aunt Jane to get home from work.  I never know how late she’ll be.”

Austin looked at her in his rearview mirror.  “You’ll have to ask her if she knows anything about Coach Decker’s case.  I know she wasn’t working for the District Attorney’s office back then . . .”

“She wasn’t even born,” Scott interjected.

Austin nodded and continued, “But I’m sure she’s familiar with all the major crimes in this area, no matter how far back they go.”

“Good idea.  She does more homework than anyone I know.”

Austin parked in front of Kelly’s aunt’s house, and Kelly jumped out.  “Thanks for the ride.  Have fun at work tonight.”

Scott, too, had gotten out of the truck.  Since he lived right next door to Kelly, there was no need for Austin to drive forward the extra fifty feet.  “If you’re up to it, maybe we can play some
OOT
tonight,” he said, referring to the on-line game they frequently played simultaneously.

“Maybe.  We’ll see how rough it is at work tonight.  I just hope we don’t get any major shipments.  It hurts to breathe, not to mention stretch and bend.” 

Kelly and Scott waved at Austin as they split at the sidewalk and headed toward their own front doors.

CHAPTER THREE

THURSDAY

The wind whipped through her hair as she gripped the sleek sides of the horse as they galloped across the field.  Beneath her bare legs, she could feel every powerful muscle as they flexed and moved with the horse’s smooth strides.  Her hands tangled in the long, brown mane, she leaned forward until the coarse hair slashed against her face.  The familiar fragrances of wildflowers, sunshine and horse filled her nostrils, and she breathed in deeply, capturing the smell in her memory scrapbook of this perfect summer day.  Kelly turned her head slightly as they passed the small red barn.  She could see her mother in the chicken yard, tossing feed to the eager, hungry hens that flapped their useless wings, trying to get their share.  A cocky rooster strutted nearby, keeping a close watch on his brood.  Her mother looked up and lifted her hand in a wave as she called Kelly’s name and . . .

A crash shattered her dream and brought her upright in bed before she was even awake.  Kelly’s bare feet hit the floor as her eyes darted around the room, trying to locate the source of the noise. 

“Kelly, are you okay?” a voice called up the stairs.

The sleep fog in her brain was starting to clear, and Kelly realized that the crash had come from outside the house.  She ran to the window and looked down.  A profusion of purplish-blue blossoms hung from the sprawling branches of a jacaranda tree, almost blocking her view of the covered patio area below and a swimming pool in the center of the yard.  “Oh no!” she exclaimed as she saw the shattered pieces of a colorful clay pot lying at the edge of the patio and out onto the grass.  

Kelly pulled a short robe on over her sleep shorts set and ran down the stairs.  Her aunt was standing at the bottom, looking up.  She was dressed in her usual neatly fitted suit with a royal blue blouse.  She had a piece of dry toast in one hand as if she had stopped in mid-bite to run to see if Kelly was okay. 

“I’m fine,” she said to reassure her worried aunt.  “I think you were right about the pot hanger I found in the garage.” 

Together, they went out onto the patio and surveyed the damage.  Pottery shards and bird seed were splashed out in a circle from where the pot had fallen straight down and exploded when it hit the concrete.  Frayed threads of sisal rope hung from a brass hook that had been screwed into the ceiling at the edge of the patio cover.  “It must have had dry rot,” Kelly said as she examined the ends of the macramé hanger that had been an elaborate connection of knots and wooden beads.  “I used it to make a feeder for Nico.”

“Nico?”  Her aunt frowned.  “You mean that nasty parrot that poops all over the patio furniture?”

“He’s a scarlet macaw,” Kelly clarified, as if that would make him more desirable.  “I thought if I could get him to eat at the end of the patio, he would stay away from the furniture.  I was hoping to build him some sort of roost.”  She looked around, trying to spot the beautiful bird.  “The crash must have scared him away.”

A loud screech sounded from the top of a tall palm tree out by the pool, followed by the rainbow splash of red, yellow and blue feathers as the big bird spread his wings and flew away.

“Nico!” yelled Kelly.  As usual, he didn’t answer.  Several mornings he had been squawking right outside her bedroom window, so she had tried talking to him.  But so far, he hadn’t picked up on any of the usual words people used when communicating with birds.  But he had started echoing her when she whistled.

“Does he talk to you?” her aunt asked as she nibbled on her now stone-cold toast.

“No, but I haven’t given up.  I’ll bet he was someone’s pet, and I’m sure they taught him something.”

“Maybe he doesn’t speak English.”

Kelly’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.  “I’ll bet that’s it.  A lot of people speak Spanish in Florida.  I’ll have to figure out which Spanish words he recognizes, if any.  Hopefully, he’s not Chinese.  That would make it a lot harder.”

Her aunt started to say that that would be quite a long-shot, but instead she smiled.  “As a new
parent
of a teenager, I was worried about sex, drugs and alcohol.  I guess talking to a macaw is pretty mild.”

“I’ll save the sex, drugs and alcohol for later,” Kelly teased.

“Great.  Something to look forward to.”  Aunt Jane’s tone was sarcastic, but she wasn’t really worried.  Her sister and brother-in-law had done a good job of raising Kelly, and she didn’t seem likely to get caught up in anything crazy.

If only her aunt knew what went on in Scott’s workshop next door, she’d never worry about the normal teenage shenanigans
, Kelly thought to herself. 

“Well, I’ve got to get to work.  Is Scott coming over today to help you with the garage?”

“He said he was.  I’ve got to get things priced.  There’s still a lot to do, but it’ll be ready for Saturday.”  Kelly looked back at the mess on the patio.  “And don’t worry; I’ll get this all cleaned up.”

“Call if you need me.  Good luck with Nico.”  Jane nodded and smiled as she went back into the house.  In a second, the door opened and Jane looked out again.  “I think there’s a flatter pot that might work better out behind the pool house.  You’re welcome to use it.”

“Thanks.  That should work.”

Kelly scanned the trees, trying to catch a glimpse of the big bird.  “Nico . . . Nico,” she called. 
He probably thought I tried to kill him
she groaned as she turned to head back to her room.  Just as she opened the door, in tune with the sound of the door’s rollers scraping across the track and debris in the channel came Nico’s unmistakable squawk.  Kelly turned and called again, “Nico . . . Nico.”

Nico fluttered in and landed on the glass-topped table between the pool and the kitchen door.  He let out another loud squawk.

“I’ll fix this, and then you’ll have your own snack bar,” Kelly promised, pleased that the bird didn’t hold a grudge.

The electric-colored macaw cocked his head and studied her with his round black eyes.  Clearly, and in almost the same tone as her own voice, he echoed, “Nico.”

“You know your name!”  Kelly was so excited.  “Do you have anything else to say?” 

The pretty bird fluffed out his feathers and shook his head, as if in answer to her question. 

“That was it, huh?”  Kelly’s disappointment was tempered by the delight that he had spoken at least one word.  She reached down on the floor and picked up a handful of seed, careful not to include any slivers of pottery and placed it on the table top.  “There you go.  Don’t tell Aunt Jane.  She’s apparently not a bird lover.” 

She turned and went in the house and closed the drape except for a small opening which she used to spy on the macaw to see if he would come get his seed.  After standing there for a couple of minutes she was rewarded as he cautiously looked around, then took a few steps forward and picked up the seeds, adeptly cracking them and spitting out the shells in one smooth motion, one at a time.  Kelly smiled and skipped up the stairs to her room.