Read Carol Shenold - Tali Cates 02 - Bloody Murder Online

Authors: Carol Shenold

Tags: #Mystery: Paranormal - Ghost - Texas

Carol Shenold - Tali Cates 02 - Bloody Murder (17 page)

BOOK: Carol Shenold - Tali Cates 02 - Bloody Murder
10.74Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

The questions didn’t stop the rapid-fire ricochet in my brain. I continued working next to my now silent mother, who had clammed up tighter than… well, a clam. I concentrated on blocking out the confusion and focused on the physical work. As had become a pattern lately, life had become more confusing and complicated than ever. We both worked as if getting the yard cleaned up was the most important goal in our lives.

I knew I had to find answers to some of my questions, but it wasn’t going to happen right this moment. I would get on the computer later and see what I could find out about the Rayburn family and rumors of magic. The afternoon had turned hot and muggy after the rain and soon an iced something became a goal.

I went in, brewed some espresso for iced coffee and made iced tea for Mumsie before I called her in to make her take a break. She came in and went to wash up. Cass came into the kitchen, her eyes puffy. She’d been crying again, about Chase I was sure.

“Mom, you know what I just found out? Chase was dating two other people at the same time he dated me. Isn’t that great? He gave me all that crap about dating him exclusively, not flirting with his buds—or else, not looking at any guy passing by—and he was dating two other women.”

“Geez, honey, I’m sorry. That’s the pits. Was it someone you know?”

She wiped her eyes. “Oh, yeah. We both did.”

I stared at her, shock turning my face stiff.

“He was dating both Marcia and Karin.”

“Oh, my God. Why would he have dated someone Marcia’s age? I wonder if JT knows.”

Shock washed over Cass’s face. “Mom, you can’t tell him. He’ll think Chase had a reason to be involved in the killings. He’ll be arrested or something. He couldn’t stand that. He said he only dated them to make me jealous.”

“Cass, we can’t keep this from the sheriff’s department. Right now they have Marcia’s husband in custody. What if he didn’t do it? We can’t be responsible.”

“Why do you have to be involved? You always want to run people’s lives, stick your nose in where it’s not wanted.”

I stared at her. “Where’s this coming from? I thought you never wanted to see the guy again.”

“I don’t want to lock him up just because he’s a jerk. I don’t want to see him accused of something. What if he didn’t do it?”

“We don’t get to decide that and we don’t get to withhold evidence either.”

“I don’t have any evidence. For all I know, someone was trying to make me jealous and it isn’t true.”

Mumsie came back. “She’s right, Tali. Whatever Cass was told is only hearsay, third party information. No hard evidence. We have no place meddling any more than we’ve been forced to by being on the scene.”

I frowned at Mumsie. “Are you a lawyer now? How did you hear our conversation from the back room anyway?”

Cass laughed. “She’s a witch. Didn’t you know?”

Mumsie glared at Cass but ignored the witch crack. “No, I’m not a lawyer. I do watch enough crime stuff to know the basics. If there’s something to find out, JT will ferret it out. He’s like a hound after a scent. He won’t leave it alone if it’s there.”

“Oh he’d love that analogy. Okay, I’ll try to stay out of it but I’m not sure it’s smart.”

Mumsie finished off her tea. “There’s a couple more hours’ work out there. If all three of us get to work, we can knock it off in half that time.

It was Cass’s turn to glare. “I thought Sean was supposed to be helping.”

“Come on, kid, fresh air will do you good, help you work out some of that anger.”

* * * *

By the time we finished the yard, every muscle in my body screamed. The physical activity was good for me but I felt as if a car had backed over me several times. I couldn’t believe raking and picking up pecans could cripple me up this much. I couldn’t believe how out of shape I’d gotten. I used to at least make an effort to run if nothing else. Now all I wanted was a bath and some sleep. A hot bath might be a lifesaver. As I got into the tub, I vowed to begin an exercise program soon.

I dozed in the hot water until it cooled off too much. Some of the soreness had been leeched away by the hot water. At least the afternoon’s activity hadn’t affected the ankle adversely—in fact, it wasn’t even bruised.

I climbed out to see what I could do for dinner. Homemade pizza would taste good and everyone could build their own. I pulled on warm sweats. The house had turned cold and I was ready to light a fire in the den for the comfort of it. Not an efficient way to heat this house but so pretty to watch. I put the electric wall heater on low and went out on the deck to bring in some wood.

The three-quarter moon hung low in the sky, close enough to the horizon for distortion to make it look twice as large as possible. It was a night for werewolves, vampires, creatures of the night. I shivered, stood up, my arms full of wood, and glanced next door. I hadn’t seen any activity since I’d left Aiden in the middle of the road. I couldn’t decide whether to be relieved or worried.

“Aiden,” I shrieked. I’d been alone, holding wood, now there he was beside me, taking the wood before I could drop it. “Hell fire and damnation. If you don’t stop doing that to me, I’m going to be forced to knock your head off.”

“Doing what?”

“You know damn well what. Sneaking up on me like some… some… vampire or something. You’re going to give me a heart attack. What are you doing here?”

“Helping you with the wood.” He looked down at me with a wicked grin. “Hoping to help you with other things. Remember our visit to the gazebo at the lake?”

Remembering that night and the attraction I felt made my knees turn to water. But the man was a menace and I couldn’t let myself get involved with any more dangerous men. I gazed up into his eyes, falling into the darkness as sure as I stood there, my mouth hanging open like some adolescent in the throes of her first crush.

Mumsie came into the kitchen and saw us on the deck.

“Hey, you two, come in or out. It’s chilly out there. Tali, did you invite your young man to dinner again?”

“He’s not my young man,” I said, sounding like a sulky kid. “I mean no, I didn’t invite him, but he’s welcome.”

“Are Sean and Rusty going to be here?” Aiden asked. “Maybe we can have another interesting dinner.”

I turned red, remembering the kid’s behavior the night before. “Only Sean, and he’ll be on his best behavior, I promise. Do stay. We’re having build-your-own-pizza.”

I really didn’t want him to leave.

“I’m sorry. I ate a really late lunch and have some work to do so I’ll have to take a rain check.” He put the wood in the fireplace and straightened up.

Sean’s voice preceded him as he shot into the den. “Mom, guess what? JT gave me a ride home, and I invited him to stay. Aren’t you happy? We have company for supper. What are we having anyway?”

JT followed behind, hat in hand. He took in Aiden’s presence as well as mine. He didn’t look happy.

Aiden smiled again. “You know, Tali, I think I’ll take you up on your kind offer and stay after all. Promises to be fun.”

Well, shit. The two men looked like tomcats squaring off over a piece of territory, or small prey. Why did I feel as if I was the prey and they were ready to gobble me whole? And they were both such hunks. JT, sandy-haired cowboy with muscles; Aiden, tall, dark and mysterious. How do I deal with them both? What if I didn’t choose?

“Okay now. Y’all want some beer? Then I’m putting everyone to work while I lay out some crust. Then you can each get your own pizza ready for the oven. Mumsie, would you make a salad?” I handed the guys each a bottle of dark beer, opened one for myself and a root beer for Sean.

I tossed JT an onion. “Chop this up for me please. Here’s a knife and a bowl. Aiden, would you dice some tomatoes? I’m going to fry up bacon and sauté mushrooms.”

Sean curled his lip when he heard the list of ingredients. “Don’t you have anything good to go on the pizza?”

“Yes, dear, I have plenty of cheese. I know that’s as far as your taste buds are willing to go. I have a jar of black olives too.”

“Ugh. How disgusting.”

“You know, Sean, some people will actually try something new.”

“I’d rather stick with something I know I like.”

Aiden looked up. “You know, Sean, I think that’s how your mom feels too.”

Sean appeared confused but I knew just what Aiden was talking about. I had a feeling JT did also.

“Well, JT, how is the investigation going?”

He winced. “We had to release Marcia’s husband. With the lack of real evidence and the fact that the second murder took place after he was in jail, we didn’t have much to hold him on. We’re back to looking for the rumored boyfriend.”

Seeing my chance and ignoring Mumsie’s warning glance, I forged ahead. “Speaking of rumors, I heard that Chase Bridges from Shamrock dated both Marcia and Karin.”

“Well, well. That made him a busy boy. Say, wasn’t he at the carnival with you, Cass? Damn, Tali, that puts her right in the line of fire to be a suspect—jealousy and all that, if she was dating him and knew about his two-timing her with the other women. I also remember Chase having a hothead reputation, the possessive type too, when it comes to women. Who told you about this and can you trust their information? I may need to talk to them.”

My heart plummeted, knowing I had to admit to Cass’s involvement. “Cass told me.” Now Cass was really in trouble, just from dating a kid she didn’t know that well and because I’d opened my mouth.

JT looked at her. “Cass, you’re not a disinterested party. Are you sure it’s true and not a figment of someone’s overactive jealous imagination?”

Cass straightened up in her chair where she’d been slouching. “Chase told me himself and I don’t think he made it up.”

I had enough rounds of dough for everyone to make their own choices. Before long, mouthwatering smells wafted from the oven. Aiden’s pizza was as plain as Sean’s but JT piled on everything. Cass wanted mushrooms on hers.

We gathered at the dining room table, Aiden and JT opposite each other as if they feared turning their backs on one another.

“This was a good idea,” JT said around a bite. “I was hungry for pizza.”

“You are always hungry for pizza.”

“Mom, you said we couldn’t talk with our mouths full.”

Aiden bit into his. “Have you known each other long?” He looked between me and JT.

“You might say that.” JT grimaced. “We dated in high school, if you could call it that, with all the fighting and breaking up and getting back together. Tali never could make up her mind.”

“I beg your pardon. I remember you doing the breaking-up thing every time I objected to your drinking.”

Now Aiden was confused. “I thought you were the sheriff?”

“Not in high school. We dated twenty years ago. Hey, Tali, that makes you…”

“Don’t go there, buddy. Remember, you are older.”

“Yeah, but for guys it doesn’t really matter, not like it does for you women.”

Aiden reached for the salt. “I’m older than you both.” He proceeded to liberally salt his cheese pizza.

I had to control the urge to jerk the salt away. “Aiden, why are you putting salt on something that full of sodium? Gross. Between the salt and fat content, your heart will stop.”

He laughed as if there was a joke, and he was the only one who got the punch line. “If you think this dish is so bad for you, why do you fix it?”

I shrugged. “Because it’s easy and we like it.”

“And you don’t worry about your heart stopping.”

JT piped in. “Tali doesn’t worry about herself, only about everyone else around her. If she thinks she’s protecting her pride, she’s like a mama lion. Don’t expect her to use common sense when it comes to her own safety.”

We all sat back, full and content. Sean and Cass went to watch their own shows on TV. I poured wine for the grownups.

JT took a sip and leaned forward toward Aiden. I could see a third degree coming.

“Where did you go to school?” JT fixed his gaze on the darker man.

“SMU, graduated with a degree in history and psychology. I write textbooks. Since I work at home, having a quiet town like this to live in is perfect.”

“How did you end up choosing Love? Most people have never heard of it and have a hard time finding it. Where were you raised?”

Aiden tilted his head. “You have a lot of questions, Sheriff. Should I be worried?”

I jumped in, recognizing Aiden’s irritation, trying to divert JT. “Hey. Have you heard anything about witchcraft or demon worship going on around here?”

I told him about what we saw in the house—the diagram and circle on the floor, the candle. “It would be dangerous to have random people lighting candles in that old house, maybe going off and forgetting a lit one. The house would go up like tinder.”

“I’ll have a patrol car go by and check. I’d seen a couple of reports of strange lights at odd times over there but nothing serious.” He peered at me, frowning. “Don’t you go investigating on your own. If some nutcase
is
trying to make magic of some kind, you don’t want to be in the line of fire. A lot of those people are on the thin edge anyway.”

Mumsie raised an eyebrow. “Those people?”

JT held out his hands. “Now don’t get all fired up, Miss Lucinda. I don’t mean you and yours, and you know it. I mean some of the idiots out there trying to pretend they know something no one else does. They think they have power and will try to use it, mostly for mischief.”

He looked at his watch. “Ladies, I hate to eat and run but I have things to do, even on a nice Sunday evening. Coming, Courtland?”

JT acted like a jealous suitor, afraid he’d miss something if he left Aiden behind.

Aiden smiled. “I don’t have far to go so I really don’t need a police escort, but thanks.”

“Okay. Tali, I’ll call you if I hear about anything out of the ordinary at that old house or about Cass’s boyfriend.”

A crash reverberated through the house. It sounded as if the roof had fallen in or something had driven through a wall. A shriek cut through the air. The sound of glass falling chilled me.

“The green room.”

Aiden was gone, the rest of us ran toward the sounds.

BOOK: Carol Shenold - Tali Cates 02 - Bloody Murder
10.74Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Oz - A Short Story by Ann Warner
Havana Noir by Achy Obejas
Her Evil Twin by Mimi McCoy
A World I Never Made by James Lepore
The Fourth Crow by Pat McIntosh