DEATH IN PERSPECTIVE (16 page)

He leaned forward, fitting his forehead against mine. “You’ve grown a little. You
want me to show you where?”

I glared up at him. “You’re not helping.”

His grin popped a dimple, but his eyes remained sad. “I’m trying, sugar. I really
am.”

“It’s not just you. I’m just as guilty.” I grabbed his hands and squeezed. “I can’t
do this to Tara.”

“Tara? Tara is crazy. She created a whole relationship that never existed in her head.”
Luke dropped my hands to grasp my shoulders. “Baby, what about us?”

“I don’t want to be with you just for our relationship to blow up in our faces again.
You’re gasoline and I’m the match.”

His hands slid up and down my arms. “We just need to figure out how to keep that match
from sparking. We can do it. I can’t get you out of my system, Cherry. Believe me,
I have tried.”

“We have to work at this friendship and get to a place of stability first. Where our
friends and family accept us, too,” I said, wondering when I started channeling Red’s
TV psychology speak.

“Hell
.
” Luke stomped away from me to kick a tire. “Why does everything have to be so complicated?
I just want to be with you.”

I slumped against his truck. “We just need some time. I don’t know about our families,
but Tara will eventually get over you. And then the town will forget about it, too.”

“And when do you see that happening?”

“Well, considering Halo’s a small town with a long memory...”

“Screw that.” Luke pivoted, took two steps, and captured my face between his hands.
His palms cupped my cheeks and one thumb stroked my bottom lip. “I’m not letting a
small minded town and a psychotic woman get between us.”

“I don’t think Tara’s so much psychotic as very determined. She took her cheer team
to All State finals four years in a row. Even when she had a broken ankle her junior
year.”

“Listen, Cherry. I am going to explode here in a second. You make me nuts, but I’m
crazy for you. Just shut that brain off for a minute and let me kiss you until we’re
all better.”

“Okay,” said the drunk-in-love idiot girl. I tipped my face toward his, but a flash
of movement caught my attention.

Damn my excellent peripheral vision.

Before Luke could lower his head, I had turned mine. Hopping on my toes, I leaned
against his arm to see around his broad shoulders.

“Baby?” I said. “Why’d you think there’s someone running away from the school like
their tail’s on fire?”

N
ineteen

Luke jerked his head from mine, spun around, and trained his eyes in the direction
of my point. In the distance, a teen sprinted toward a far corner of the parking lot,
where a forested area grew as part of the “naturalizing” of the Peerless landscape.

“Looks like he came from behind the school.”

“I’ll get him and meet you back there,” Luke called over his shoulder, charging after
the student.

I galloped onto the sidewalk. A moment later I heard the distant sound of an engine
firing, but didn’t bother slowing to check. Rounding the corner of the auditorium,
I passed the back theater door and continued down the sidewalk, cursing Peerless’s
architect for choosing to spread out the structure instead of building something more
compact.

I skirted another corner and saw the fenced in dumpsters that marked the cafeteria
area. The land behind Peerless sloped here toward a set of greenhouses. Behind the
greenhouses lay the stadium and field house.

Acting on instinct, I cut left and followed the sidewalk toward the greenhouse and
stadium. I had spent some time behind the bleachers at Halo High and knew if kids
were sneaking around the school, they’d likely hide back there.

I aimed for the stadium, but behind the greenhouse, voices rose from a small garden
bordered in privet shrubs and gated with an arbor covered in a vine with yellowing
leaves. I halted, eased close to the bushes, and covered my mouth with my hand to
disguise my heavy panting. Inside, garbled voices giggled and whispered.

“Did you hear that? I heard footsteps,” called a female voice. “Is it Ellis?”

“That’s messed up, man,” said a boy’s voice, reminding me of Shaggy from
Scooby
-
Do
. “Ghosts can’t make footsteps. They don’t have feet.”

“What do you mean they don’t have feet?”

Daphne, I thought. She sounded like a red head.

“Like they float, man,” said Shaggy.

“Shut up,” said a third kid, his voice already deepened. Obviously Fred. “It’s the
shrooms, not Ellis that’s making you hear things.”

“I don’t think the shrooms are working,” said another girl. Probably poor Velma who
went along with this lark to impress Fred. “I want to see Ellis.”

“Preston said it takes time,” said Fred. “Anyway, if we see Ellis, it’ll be a hallucination.”

“No way, man,” said Shaggy. “The shrooms’ll just help us connect with the spiritual
world. It’s a full moon and we’re close to the anniversary of her death. If we call
on Ellis, she’ll have to show.”

“Well, she better hurry it up because I have early equestrian practice,” said Daphne.

“For idiot’s sake,” I thought, rising from my crouch beside the bushes. Somehow, these
kids had gotten magic mushrooms and were using them for a seance. Poor Ellis. Not
even allowed to rest in peace. I couldn’t see over the hedge, but the voices sounded
low to the ground. I imagined the four kids sitting cross-legged in a circle, probably
holding hands or some such foolery.

I smirked. This might be fun. And hopefully educational for both me and these dumb
kids. Served them right to get stoned on a school night.

“Who are you seeking?” I whispered through the hedge and added a moan.

The giggling and rustling cut off.

After a few long seconds, Daphne’s shaky voice called out, “Ellis Madsen.”

“Why?” I whispered.

“She was our friend.” Fred’s deep voice rose at the end.

“Liars. Her friends would have saved her life.”

Daphne shrieked and Velma began crying. Sounds of scrambling made it evident the kids
readied to bolt.

“Stay where you are.” I narrowed my eyes, wishing I could see through the hedge. “Ellis
wants to know who’s bullying Peerless now.”

“I don’t know,” sobbed Daphne.

“Is someone trying to blame the teachers for her death?”

“Maybe,” Velma wailed.

Behind me, I heard the heavy slap of boots running on concrete.

I sped up my questioning. “Which teachers besides Miss Pringle and Mr. Tinsley have
gotten texts?”

“What do you mean?” called Fred. “Shouldn’t a ghost know these things?”

“Ellis wants to know,” I hedged, not quite knowing how the spirit realm worked. “She
hasn’t gotten full access to earth events yet.”

“Who is this?” Fred’s voice steadied.

“A real friend of Ellis,” I said. “Or an illusion caused by the intake of psychedelic
drugs.”

“Dude, we’re having a mass hallucination,” said Shaggy. “I told you this would be
trippy.”

“I don’t feel anything,” said Fred. “Someone’s messing with us.”

“Like, a ghost dude,” said Shaggy.

“Shut up, Shaggy,” I said in my best scary ghost voice. “Or I’ll haunt you every time
you take a hit. Ellis wants to know who’s texting the teachers at Peerless.”

“We don’t know,” gasped Velma. “We didn’t do it.”

“Who did? Who did this to Ellis?” I stood on my toes and tried to peer over the hedge.

“Some senior theater students, but they’re gone now. We were all afraid of them.”

“Which seniors?”

A hand landed on my shoulder. I screamed and fell into the privet. Through the hedge,
four more voices joined mine in screaming and shrieking. Our voices wrapped together
in one long howl and four bodies shot through the arbor, cutting left, away from the
sidewalk and up the grassy slope toward the cafeteria.

Luke hauled me out of the hedge, brushing off bits of leaf and twig. “What in the
hell were you doing?”

“Tricking those idiots into giving me some information.” I rubbed my scratched face.
“Can you not sneak up on me like that?”

Luke ducked around the side of the hedge and under the arbor. I followed, noting a
small sign naming the garden in memory of Ellis.

The small garden had a stone bench at one end and a raised flower bed of dying roses
along the hedge walls. A statue of a girl reading sat amongst the roses.

“This is nice,” I said, “but all this school needs is one more place where students
can hide.”

In the center, Luke knelt on the grass next to four abandoned backpacks. He poked
at a bag of Doritos and unscrewed a water bottle for a sniff. “What were they doing?”

“Taking hallucinogenic mushrooms and trying to contact Ellis Madsen’s spirit. Something
about the full moon.” I opened a backpack and glanced at the folders and papers inside.

Luke grabbed a stick from beneath the hedge, lifted the backpack, and used the stick
to drag a baggy from beneath the pack. “I’d say this is in plain view. What about
you?”

The baggie had several pieces of dried mushrooms inside. “You calling it in?”

“Yep. I couldn’t catch that kid. Took off on an ATV through the woods. Maybe he was
the one sneaking around the school.”

“Or it’s a student named Preston who sold them the shrooms. I heard them say his name.”

“We’ll tell Line Creek PD. What exactly were you doing?”

“Pretending I was a ghost,” I said. “Hopefully, I scared them straight.”

I gave my statement to Detective Herrera while Officer Wells searched the backpacks
for the owners’ names. They didn’t find my
Scooby
-
Do
monikers helpful. Nor my ghostly interrogation method. Tired of their eyeball rolling
and with nothing left to do, I called Todd for a ride. Luke planned to stay to offer
Herrera his unwanted assistance. I left them in the garden with one last longing glance
toward Luke.

Then told myself the drug bust interruption of what could have become a bust for lewd
behavior was for my own good. My guardian angel had girded my loins with Scooby snacks
without me knowing.

Todd’s red Civic squealed into the parking lot with a quick donut spin flourish. From
the sidewalk, I waited out his inner high school boy who couldn’t resist a mostly
empty school lot, then hopped into the passenger seat with a thank you.

“What’s going on, baby?” he asked. “I thought you were coming to Red’s tonight.”

“It’s been an exciting night
.
” I grinned. “First, I experienced a cop bar and witnessed a fight. Then, I got to
skulk a dark school for a mysterious intruder. And witness another fight. Last, I
pranked some kids who thought they were high on shrooms. The officers said the mushrooms
in question looked like plain ol’ shitake.”

“Cool,” said Todd. “I wish you’d taken me. I’d love to prank some kids.”

“What have you been doing?”

“Hanging out at Red’s with Tara Mayfield.”

“Oh, Lord,” I said. “That may have been my fault. Sorry.”

“No problem. Tara said she wanted to help me with my lyrics. But I don’t know her
well enough for something so personal as lyric writing, so I figured I should get
to know her first.”

If only Todd would put that kind of consideration into everyday living.

“What’s going on with all these fights?” he asked.

“One was between Tinsley and the art teacher, Camille Vail. She tore into him like
a free catfish dinner at the VFW. Tinsley doesn’t think she’s a threat, but I’m not
so sure. And she may think Tinsley’s the texter.”

“Who do you think is doing all this texting?”

“It’s hard to tell. Luke thinks the Phantom may be throwing punches in the dark, just
to stir up trouble. It almost seems like the messages are meant to relate to the teen
suicide last year. Maybe the Phantom is driving someone to confess their sins. Like
Maranda Pringle who had an affair with the girl’s father.”

I grasped the arm rest as Todd used the open student lot for one last donut. He cut
the wheel hard to the right and gunned his car toward the exit.

“You’ve been with Luke Harper tonight?” Todd glanced at me as we skidded down Peerless’s
long drive. “Your sister’s likely to scalp you.”

My cheeks heated. “Purely investigative work. He got me into the Locked and Loaded
so I could talk to a Line Creek officer. Then I got a call from Tinsley to
go
to the school, so he brought me here.”

“Just investigative help. That’s a relief
.
” Todd kept his eyes on the dark lane. “Your family would have a fit. And remember
what Red said about you choosing self-destructive relationships?”

“First of all, Luke’s just a step-Branson,” I said. “And second of all, the self-destructive
relationships would include you.”

“Not the way I see it
.
” Todd grinned. “You called off our marriage because it wouldn’t self-destruct. Red
said it was your way of sabotaging your own happiness. Because you’re emotionally
stunted from your past family trauma.”

“Dammit, Todd. I keep telling you Red can’t apply every episode of Dr. Phil to my
life. And I annulled our marriage because you were more fixated on the Vegas poker
tables than our honeymoon. That’s a red flag if there ever was one.”

We had reached the Peerless gates. Todd downshifted and careened onto the county highway.
“Who was in the other fight?”

I studied the dark landscape from my passenger window and far from Todd’s accusing
eyes. “Luke and Anthony Pettit, a Line Creek officer at the Locked and Loaded. Pettit
made a
n
ungentlemanly remark about me and Luke socked him. They have some history from high
school.”

Todd stomped on the clutch and pounded through the gears.

“Go on and say it.” I turned from the window to look at Todd. “But you know I’m trying
to stay friends with Luke.”

“Funny thing, baby,” said Todd. “Tara and I talked a lot tonight.”

“And?”

Was Todd sweet on Tara? I felt a thrill of excitement mixed with a pang of jealousy.

I reminded myself I couldn’t keep everyone corralled in Cherryland and firmed myself
on Todd’s happiness. Even if it meant never ridding myself of Tara. Lord help me.

“Isn’t Anthony Pettit Tara’s ex-fiance?” Todd continued.

“What?” I rubbed my temples. “Are you sure? Maybe Tara’s just into cops.”

“She said Pettit introduced her to Luke.”

“Oh shit,” I mumbled. “Luke went out with Tara knowing it would piss off Pettit?”

“Tara said she was engaged to Pettit. They started going out in high school. He played
football for Line Creek. She was a cheerleader. Pettit had cheated on her and she
had forgiven him, but when she met Luke, she broke it off officially with Pettit.
You know what I mean?”

I leaned my head back on the seat and stared at the dark ceiling. “Yep, I know what
you mean.”

Looked like the
Scooby
-
Do
kids had unwittingly saved my virtue. And for all his explanations about Tara, Luke
hadn’t mentioned settling a score. How very high school of him. He was well and truly
a Branson.

And damn my lack of fortitude when it came to that man. Men. I rubbed an aching spot
on my chest and glanced at my roommate, wondering if Red was right about me sabotaging
happiness. Everyone said I looked for trouble. Whereas I had always thought the Tucker
name had been attached to a trouble homing device.

Which led to another, “oh, crap” thought. “Todd, did you ever see Cody again tonight?”

“Earlier at Red’s, but not later.” He glanced at me. “You haven’t talked to him yet?”

“I tried at Red’s, but he blew me off. He was picked up in front of JB Branson’s house
Monday night, passed out in his car.”

“You want to drive by the Branson’s?”

“Thank you, hon’. I’d hate to think what kind of excrement might start flying if Luke
catches Cody stalking his momma’s house.”