Obsessed (15 page)

“But it won’t do any good!” Carla spoke up. “We’re al ready in jeopardy, Mr. Calloway. Closing Covers won’t help at all.”

Linda nodded. “It’s true, Mr. Calloway. Nothing you can do will make us any safer. We’re all targets already.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling him.” Detective Davis spoke up again. “If Covers stays open, we can screen the audience. There’s a chance the killer may show up here, and then we’ve got him.”

Vera looked very pale, and Judy noticed that she was blinking back tears. “I don’t understand how you’re going to spot him. He’s not going to be dumb enough to sit in the front row with his bag of arrows.”

“Quiver.” Michael slipped an arm around her shoulders, as he gently corrected her, but Vera couldn’t hold back her tears any longer. She began to cry.

“Don’t cry, Vera.” Judy reached out to pat her shoulder. “We’ll take turns sticking close to you. You’ll be fine as long as you’re never alone.”

But Vera only cried harder. “My parents want me to quit working here. They say it’s too dangerous. They told me I have to quit tonight.”

“Hey, Vera, I understand.” Mr. Calloway patted her shoul der. “To tell the truth, I’m surprised you’re the only one quitting.”

Detective Davis nodded. “I understand your parents’ con cern, young lady. Would it help if I called them?”

“I don’t think so.” Vera frowned through her tears. “They said they’d made up their minds.”

“All right, then. As far as the rest of you are concerned, I want you to assure your parents that we’ve got the situ ation under control. At least two of my men will be here every night to protect you. Just remember two things: never go anywhere alone, and call me if you see anything suspi cious. Anything at all.”

Everyone nodded, and Mr. Calloway walked Detective Davis to the door. When he came back, Vera looked up at him miserably.

“Are you mad at me?”

“Of course I’m not mad.” Mr. Calloway patted her shoul der. “But I don’t think you should quit. I think you should take a vacation.”

“A vacation?”

“Right. I want you to take some time off at half pay. I’ll keep your job open, and you can come back the minute Detective Davis catches the killer.”

“But, Mr. Calloway . . . how will you get along without a bartender?”

Mr. Calloway turned to Nita. “Do you think you could take over the bar while Vera’s gone?”

“Sure.” Nita nodded. “I help Vera now when it’s really busy, and I’m sure I could do it. I even know a guy you could hire to take over my job waiting on tables.”

“It’s all settled then. You’re on vacation after tonight.”

“But you’ll lose money!” Vera looked worried. “I can’t just stay home and collect half pay. That isn’t fair.”

“Sure it is. Especially if you do some work for me at home. Carla’s been after me to hire somebody to mail out the flyers she designed. You can do that.”

“Is that true?” Vera turned to Carla. “Do you really need somebody to stuff envelopes?”

Carla nodded. “It’s true. I can’t keep up with everything. Mr. Calloway promised I could have some help, but he hasn’t gotten around to hiring anyone yet.”

“But stuffing envelopes won’t take me that long.” Vera still looked concerned. “Is there anything else I could do?”

Judy nodded. “How about the cassettes, Mr. Calloway? We could move the equipment over to Vera’s house and she could dupe the tapes for us.”

“What tapes?” Linda was curious.

Mr. Calloway grinned at Judy. “Our show tapes. I’ve been taping every performance, and Judy thinks we should pick out the best numbers, and put them on a tape to sell at intermission. People are always asking if they can buy a cassette.”

“That’s a great idea, Jude!”

Michael looked pleased, and Judy felt a warm glow of pleasure as he smiled at her. But it wasn’t fair to take credit for something that hadn’t been her idea. “Carla’s the one who told me that people were asking for cassettes. It was really her idea.”

“Good for you, Carla!” Michael turned to smile at her. “Maybe you should go into the record business.”

Carla blushed beet red. “Thanks, but ideas are a dime a dozen. Judy’s the one who arranged to rent the equipment for high-speed duping. I just figured out the profit margin.”

“Are we all going to be on the tape?” Linda was curious.

“You are.” Carla grinned at her. “And Michael, of course. And there’s one song of Deana’s that we want on the tape, but we have to ask her parents.”

Mr. Calloway nodded. “It’s a go, Carla. I already asked them, and they gave us permission.”

“Then the profits will be divided the way we originally planned?” Carla opened her notebook, and waited for Mr. Calloway’s answer.

“Yes. We’re splitting everything five ways. One share apiece for Michael, Linda, and Deana’s parents. One for Covers, and one to be divided up among the rest of the regular staff.”

“We get some of the profits?” Berto looked surprised.

“Absolutely,” Carla nodded. “It’s only fair.”

Vera frowned slightly. “But we don’t perform. Why should we share in the profits?”

“Because your jobs are important.” Carla looked very serious. “We couldn’t put on a show without you.”

Nita stared at Carla in surprise, and then she grinned. “Thanks, Carla. It’s nice to know we’re appreciated. But how about you? This place couldn’t run without you, either.”

“But all I really do is take tickets. Anybody could do that.”

“And keep the books.” Judy pointed out. “You also do all the filing.”

“And order the supplies,” Andy chimed in.

“You do a lot, Carla, and we couldn’t get along without you.” Michael stood up and looked around the table. “I say Carla gets a share. Who agrees with me?”

Judy raised her hand. And so did Linda, and Andy, and Nita, and Berto, and Vera.

Mr. Calloway nodded. “Okay, Carla. You’re in, by popular demand. Now is there anything else, or can we get to work? We’ve got time for a short rehearsal, if we hurry.”

That was the cue for everyone to get up and start their preparations. Berto and Andy went to the kitchen, Carla headed for the office, Vera took Nita to the bar to fill her in on some last minute details, and Linda hurried off to photocopy some music. Judy was about to head backstage to check some props when Michael took her arm.

“Jude? I need to talk to you for a minute.”

“Sure, Michael. What’s up?” Judy smiled at him. She wished he’d tell her that he’d finally realized that he loved her, but that was too much to hope for. Michael probably just wanted to change the order of his songs, or something like that.

“Who’s taking you home tonight?”

Judy felt her heart beat faster. Was Michael asking her for a date? “I’m riding with Andy. Why?”

“Who else is he taking?”

“Just Carla. Linda’s mother is picking her up.”

Michael nodded. “Okay. I’m supposed to take Vera home, but I’ll switch with Andy. Do you have anything to do after you get home?”

Judy shook her head. “Not really.”

“Good. I need some time alone with you. We’ll drop Carla off first, and then . . . do you think we could sit out by your pool and talk? It’s important.”

“Of
course.” Judy couldn’t keep the smile from spreading across her face. At last! She wasn’t sure what Michael wanted to talk about, but that didn’t really matter. He’d said he wanted to be alone with her, and that was definitely a step in the right direction
!

Carla was working in the office, when Judy stuck her head in the door. “Carla? Michael switched with Andy and he’s taking us home tonight. We’ll drop you off first, okay?”

“That’s fine,” Carla said as she looked up at Judy in surprise. “Wait a second—are you going out with Mi chael?”

Judy’s heart pounded so hard, she was afraid Carla could hear it. But she managed to keep the smile off her face as she shook her head. “Of course not. You know how upset Michael is about Ingrid. He just needs someone to talk to.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive. We’re just going out on my patio to talk. That doesn’t even come close to a date.”

“Okay.” Carla nodded. “Just don’t get too involved. You know what happens to the girls who date Michael.”

Judy sighed. “They die. I know that, Carla. But you don’t have to worry about me. I’m just Michael’s buddy.”

“Just keep it that way,” Carla insisted. “Then you’ll be safe.”

“But who am I safe from? Do you think you know who the killer is?”

“Come in, Judy. And shut the door. We have to talk.”

Judy’s heart was pounding as she came in and shut the door behind her. “Tell me, Carla! What do you know?”

“Not as much as I’d like to.” Carla motioned to a chair. “But I’ve noticed a few things around here. I haven’t said anything, because I’m not sure, but . . . I think the killer is someone we know.”

Judy’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding! Who?”

“That’s just it. I don’t know. But I’m sure the killer works at Covers.”

“How do you know that?”

Carla sighed deeply. “Deana’s car ran out of gas, but she stopped to fill it up before she came to Covers. I checked with the gas station she always uses, and they remember that she filled her tank that night. That means the gas was siphoned out right here in the parking lot.”

“But anyone could have done that.”

“That’s true. But it could have been one of us, right?”

Judy nodded. “I guess so.”

“Then Becky got killed, right after she left Laughs Ga lore. Who knew she was going to audition there?”

“We all did. She told us.”

“Exactly.” Carla nodded again. “And we all came to the show. Every single one of us knew she was staying late to talk to the owner. And we all had the opportunity to come back and punch a hole in her tire so it would leak air.”

Judy’s eyes widened. Carla had thought this all out. “And we all knew where Mary Beth lived. And we also knew that she’d be home alone. Is that what you’re saying?”

“That’s right. And Ingrid told us she’d be working at the church carnival. She even posted a notice on the bulletin board, giving us directions and asking us to come. We knew exactly when Michael was meeting her. She told us that, too.”

“But . . . that’s all circumstantial.” Judy began to frown.

“That’s true. I know it wouldn’t stand up in court, but it all makes me think the killer is one of us.”

“How about the arrows? What do they mean?”

“You told us, Judy. And I think you were right. They’re Cupid’s arrows, and the killer is warning us to stay away from Michael.”

Judy shivered. “Do you really think one of us is killing the girls who date Michael?”

“
I do. That’s why I tried to warn you, Judy.”

“Wow!” Judy drew a deep breath and let it out again. “Are you going to tell Detective Davis about this?”

“No.
I don’t have a shred of proof, and he’d just laugh at me. I wasn’t going to tell you either, but . . . I wanted to warn you to be careful. I’m almost certain the killer is someone who works at Covers.”

Judy nodded slowly. “It does make sense. Do you think the killer’s one of the contestants?”

“Not necessarily. The killer could be anyone.”

“But you think it’s a girl?”

Carla shrugged. “Maybe. But maybe not. It could be Andy.”

“Andy?!” Judy gasped.

“Sure.” Carla nodded. “He’s been trying to go out with almost all the girls at Covers. You know that. But the girls won’t go out with him because they’d rather date Michael. Isn’t that a motive for murder?”

“I guess so. How about Mr. Calloway? Do you suspect him?”

Carla nodded. “He’s on my list. Don’t forget that he’s counting on Michael to bring in a crowd every night. And he’s always complaining that Michael spends too much time dating, and not enough time writing music.”

“But . . . Carla! You don’t really think that Mr. Calloway would . . .”

“Not really.” Carla gave a deep sigh. “But stranger things have happened. And then there’s Berto.”

“You suspect Berto?”

“Sure. Nita could have told him about the contest. They’re very close. Maybe he’s helping her win.”

Judy shook her head. “That’s pretty far-fetched. In fact, it’s totally bizarre. It’s almost as ridiculous as suspecting Michael!”

“But I do suspect Michael,” Carla stated solemnly. “If he found out about the contest, he might be so angry, he’s killing off the girls who try to win.”

“But . . . why?”

“Maybe he thinks they’re treating him like an object, and they’re only dating him on a stupid bet. He could be taking revenge. And revenge is a motive for murder.”

Judy shook her head, and shivered slightly. “Wait a min ute, Carla. If I accept your crazy theory, you could be the killer!”

“Absolutely.” Carla gave an approving nod. “I’ve got a motive. Everybody knows I don’t date, and everyone sus pects that I want to. I could be so insanely jealous of the other girls that I’m killing them off one by one.”