In Place of Never (25 page)

Pru rose from her crouch in slow motion. “Mercy.”

Cross’s hand landed on my shoulder. “Come on. Let’s walk. I’ll talk.”

Pru touched my elbow. “She looks like you.”

A rush of heat burned my face while ice chilled my limbs.
Death followed me
. My ears rang, drowning river sounds and hooting owls. The night blurred around me.

Mouse emerged from the trees. Her soft voice shattered the bubble of panic rising through my system. “Death follows you.”

“Holy hell!” Pru grabbed onto Cross, who tucked her behind him.

The forest had made no sounds announcing her presence. She’d broken sticks the day we met. She’d wanted to warn us of her presence then. Here, in the dark, with an attacker on the loose, she arrived like an apparition.

I rolled my shoulders back, unwilling to give her the satisfaction of knowing she’d scared me half to death. “Mouse. Lurk much?”

She joined us at our lookout. Her lips twitched. My snide comment seemed to entertain her. She pressed a palm to the tree’s bark and faced the ambulance. “That should’ve been you.”

Pru’s jaw dropped.

Cross extended his arm, whether to protect Pru from Mouse or Mouse from Pru, I wasn’t sure. “Go home, Mouse.”

The ambulance doors snapped shut. Brake lights cast an eerie glow over the trees. Headlights flashed on us as the ambulance pulled away, revealing a crowd of onlookers. My dad spoke with a huddling couple on the outskirts. The trio walked to his car and climbed inside.

I looked past Mouse to Cross. “I bet Dad’s taking them to the hospital. He’ll stay with them until they get more information and details from the scene. Sheriff Dobbs and Dad are close. He’ll have a connection to the investigation and the church will provide anything they need.”

Anton strode across the grass and into the tree line. “I thought that was you guys.”

Pru tensed visibly. “You saw us?”

“Yeah, in the ambulance headlights. Well, I saw three figures. I recognized Cross. Figured you were the little ones with him.”

She popped a hip. “Little?”

I shuffled my feet, drawing his eye. “There are four of us.”

Mouse tipped her head over one shoulder, ignoring Anton, and staring at my neck. “Where’s Nadya’s talisman?” Alarm clipped her normally subdued tone. “Nadya gave that to you for protection.”

“It’s at home.”

Her face darkened in the dim light. She shook her head. “Dumb. Stupid. Ignorant. Unbelieving. Unseeing. Faithless…”

“Hey!” I lifted a palm for her to stop. Name calling was one thing. Assuming I was faithless crossed a line. “Save it. We’re leaving.”

Anton stepped into my line of sight, shielding Mouse from my death glare. “Let’s go.” She followed him in the opposite direction.

Pru and I stepped out of the trees a few minutes later. We moved slowly along the sidewalk toward our neighborhood. The path was marked in circles of lamplight. Cross walked between us.

He broke the silence with a low, repentant voice. “I’m sorry I grabbed you.”

Pru snorted. “Whatever. I was being a bitch.”

He turned to Pru. “No. You were honest and firm with me. I had no right to touch you without asking. No one does. Ever.”

He extended a hand to her, a peace offering. “Anyone disagrees with that and you give them my number. Deal?”

An awkward smile spread over her face. “Yeah. Okay. Deal.” She slipped her hand into his and they shook on the promise.

A couple weeks wasn’t long enough to keep him in my life, or in hers. More dreaded change.

“Do you know what happened?” I pushed thoughts of loss from my selfish mind.

Cross climbed the steps to our back door and leaned on the porch railing. “The girl and her family are camping. I saw her with the acrobats earlier. Someone knocked her out. I’ll see what Gem and the girls know and text you the details.”

I nodded, rubbing goose bumps off my arms. “She was with the acrobats tonight? Do you think someone meant to attack one of the Lovells?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Who can understand crazy? She’s a teenage girl. Who would hurt someone like that?” He shook his head; fury tightened his words. “Anyone who’d attack a woman is disturbed in ways I can’t imagine. He needs to be locked up with some bigger men for a few decades. Maybe it’d help the sicko see what it’s like being overpowered and afraid.”

Pru whistled. “Wow. That’s some serious eye-for-an-eye therapy.”

Cross dipped his chin in stiff confirmation. “Yes.”

How badly was Cross bullied in his life? Demons distorted his features. Someone had hurt him more deeply than I could wrap my head around. No one had ever hurt me. Not like that. Maybe Pru shouldn’t call Cross if anyone touched her without permission. His murderous expression said the culprit might need a cast for their offending hand after Cross had a talk with him. Then again, if someone attacked Pru like the poor girl at the river, I might want the help Cross offered. Justice was a dangerous venture. Sometimes justice was a clever disguise for vengeance.

I rose onto my toes and kissed his cheek. Too many random thoughts. “We better go inside.” I needed time to process.

Cross waited on the porch while we locked the door and snapped the porch light on.

Pru kicked her shoes onto the mat. “Your boyfriend’s intense.”

I looked out the window. “He’s been through a lot.”

“What about Mouse? She’s criminally insane. Maybe she attacked that girl just to freak you out or fulfill Nadya’s prophecy. If you ask me, she’s the scariest one of them, and that says a lot.”

I opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water.

Pru grabbed a soda and string cheese. “Two crimes at the campgrounds in two weeks since the Lovells came. Coincidence?”

Doubtful.

Headlights danced across the back window. Dad was home.

I unlocked the door and opened it for him.

Surprise lifted his brows. “I should’ve expected you girls to be up.” He locked the door and leaned against it. “I know you don’t go to the campgrounds for anything, but I want you to make a point of staying as far away from there as possible.” He rubbed swollen eyes with one hand. “That could’ve been you. Either of you. Both of you.” He dropped his hand and blinked through emotions. His voice cracked. “I can’t…”

Pru grabbed him and pressed her cheek to his chest. “We’re right here, Daddy.”

A lump edged in my throat. I lunged at them, wrapping myself into the bundle. “We’re here. We’re safe, and that’s not going to change.”

Pru stretched an arm around my back. “We promise.”

A sob heaved his chest. “I love you girls so much. I’ve done everything wrong. Forgive me.”

I pulled my head away, seeking his face. “We never blamed you.”

Tears rolled over his cheeks.

I grabbed on tighter and cried in the kitchen, secure in the arms of my family.

* * * *

Morning light streamed through the space between my curtains. I rubbed sleep from my face and searched for my phone. I patted the blankets and rolled into a body. What the—

Pru waved a hand at me without opening her eyes. “Lay down, it’s early.”

I smiled as she thrashed in the sheets, failing to get more comfortable.

“Nope. You sleep. I have an idea.”

She dragged upright, squinting against the light. “What idea?”

I booted up my laptop. “You said Mouse was insane enough to attack that girl.”

“Yeah.” She scooted closer and watched me.

I typed “Trina Lovell Traveling Sideshow.” Blogs and random review sites popped up. “Anton thinks everyone leaves him, but Cross says Nadya won’t allow her kids to mix with settled people. What if the ones Anton cared about left after someone insisted?”

“Nadya?”

“Or Mouse. Last night you wondered if Mouse would do Nadya’s bidding. I’ve seen her with Nadya, and I think she might. If I can contact some of the female performers who left the sideshow, maybe they can tell me if Mouse threatened them. If she has a history of violence, that’s information Sheriff Dobbs can use to stop her.”

Pru didn’t speak.

I typed variations of my search words for an hour, swapping Trina’s name out when new ones came available.

“Okay, I’ve found a dozen female names in show reviews over the past five years. None of these people are with the show now. Out of the twelve, only five are in Anton’s age bracket.”

Pru lifted her head from my shoulder and yawned. “Age bracket?”

“Under thirty. I cast a wide net.”

She wiggled against the pillows. “’Kay.”

“I sent messages to each of them on social media. I’m not sure if they use the accounts, or if they’ll respond to a girl from West Virginia, but I tried.”

The laptop beeped. A message popped up.

Pru straightened. “Gotta love the Internet. Who’s that?”

“I don’t remember. They all use weird stage names.”

Lexi and Anton hooked up. Josie and I left when Lexi did. We’re a team. Email [email protected]. She’ll fill you in. That’s her story to tell. — BlueButterfly

Pru scoffed. “Sexy Lexi. She sounds like a nice lady.”

I composed an e-mail and sent it to the address BlueButterfly had given me. “BlueButterfly must be Claire St. James.” I opened a tab with an article about New Jersey contortionists. “Claire, Lexi, and Josie Silver perform together on the Newark circuit. That means we can cross Claire and Josie off the list of possible victims.”

Pru slapped the pillow. “Sexy Lexi the contortionist. How can I compete with that? I’m young, but cute. That beats Mouse’s age-appropriate crazy any day of the week, but a sexy contortionist? Life’s so unfair.”

I gaped. “He’s twenty-one. You’re fifteen. There’s no competition happening here.”

She pulled a pillow over her face. “This one smells like cologne.”

I smiled. “I know.”

By lunchtime, Pru and I had caught up on our favorite celebrity gossip and spread a picnic of strawberries, coffee, and cheese in my room. The last video ended and I checked my e-mail for the hundredth time. “I got a new message. The Amazing Mazey.”

“Open it.”

Yes, I knew Anton Lovell. I traveled with his family for four months after I turned eighteen. He was my first love. I hope he’s well. You’re right about Nadya. She didn’t approve, but she never said so until one night in San Francisco. She offered me a train ticket to anywhere and a thousand dollars if I left a good-bye note and didn’t come back. Nadya made it clear I had no chance at a future with him. She wouldn’t allow it. What could I do? I wrote the note and got a job at a club in the city. I think of him sometimes. I hope he’s found love. He deserves it more than any man I’ve met since. Give him all my best. — Mazey

Pru hugged a pillow to her chest. “I guess my relationship with him is doomed too.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yep.”

I slid out of bed and dressed. Washing my face cleared my cluttered thoughts. I stuffed a toothbrush between my lips and scrubbed off remnants of cheese and strawberry seeds.

Nadya was open to bribery. Did her persuasion end at throwing money on her problems? Was she dangerous?

Pru yelped. “Message!”

I rinsed, spit, and dove onto the bed. Sexy Lexi had returned my message.

Dear Mercy,

I received your e-mail. If you’re falling in love with Anton Lovell, I seriously recommend you run the other way. Get off at the next stop and don’t look back. That family is dark. Everyone except for Anton. He’s trapped in a weird world of rules and nineteenth-century customs. You can’t marry him, so what’s the point? If you get pregnant, Nadya will probably sacrifice the baby or something. She’s a class-A bitch. She tried bribing me to leave him a note and take off. When I told her she was ridiculous, she said she’d never allow me to be with him, and then she threatened to curse me with boils and pox so no other man would ever want me. I left before she smothered me in my sleep or made good on that curse. Take my advice. Stay away from the Lovells. They’re bad news. — Lexi

I shoved the laptop aside. “Nadya bribed Mazey and threatened Lexi. I haven’t found a contact for Trina Wedgewood yet. Cross said they broke up the year the Lovells came here. She might’ve changed her name or quit show business. Three years is a long time. Anton said she left without a good-bye. The poor guy. He thinks something’s wrong with him. Everyone he loves disappears and leaves him a lame note or nothing at all.”

Pru pulled the computer onto her legs. “What’s her name?”

I pointed. “Open the third tab up top. That’s the best article I found on her.”

Pru clicked and scrolled. “Let’s start with the city where she left the show and see if anyone in town performs independently or if there are any clubs where she might’ve gotten a job.”

I went to my vanity and lifted a brush to my hair. “She could be married with kids by now. Maybe she went to college or joined the army.”

“Right.” Pru’s fingers danced across the keys. “I’ll check.”

I slid the scissors from my side drawer and clipped the black ends of my hair, taking a little more than the day before. “You know what? Screw this.” I combed the ends flat and whacked them off.

Pru jumped off the bed. “What are you doing?”

I handed her the scissors. “Can you cut a straight line?”

“No.”

“Can you cut an almost straight line?”

She grabbed the spray bottle off my vanity and wetted my hair. “Turn around. How much do you want off?”

The me in the mirror looked confident. Assured. All the things I’d lost. “Chop it.”

“Chop it? That’s not a measurement. Tell me in inches.”

Memories of Faith’s face swam before me. “How many inches are required for Locks of Love?”

Pru moved to the laptop while I braided my hair. “The website says at least ten inches.”

I wrapped a band around the ends of my finished braid. “I know why Faith cut her hair. She wasn’t suicidal. She wanted a new start.”

Pru appeared behind me in the mirror. “Are you ready for your new start?”

“Chop it.”

Pru’s smile brightened the room. “As you wish.”

I smiled back. “We should watch
Princess Bride
tonight.”