by Jane Tesh
“No, someone called it in.” Brooke pointed out the next story. “December 19, a sighting near Trilby’s Antiques.”
I read the first paragraph of the December 19 account. “Parkland’s own superhero, the Parkland Avenger, may have prevented another robbery last night in Old Parkland. An eyewitness near Trilby’s Antiques tells the Herald that a man dressed in yellow and red surprised someone on the roof of the antique shop. Both men disappeared before the police arrived.” I glanced up. “How about this one?”
“I heard it on my scanner and went over there, but I missed him. What are you getting at?”
“I’m not sure. Your first stories report the Avenger as a dunce, but the other accounts make him sound pretty athletic. Half the time, he may be doing some good by scaring off thieves, but the rest of the time, he’s Captain Klutz.”
“So? Even a superhero has off nights.”
“Well, the next time you see him, tell him to step up his game,” I said. “I know some real superheroes who’d be glad to take his place.”
Chapter Fifteen
“He Looked For Some to Have Pity on Him”
I thought we’d had enough drama for one day, but when I got home, there’d been another crisis. Camden was sitting on the sofa, Mom holding a damp cloth to his forehead, and Kary hovering with a glass of tea. Camden was about as white as he could be and taking short little breaths.
“Did you two spill some ketchup or something?”
Camden was trying to control his gasps. “No. This is different.”
Kary got him to take a drink of tea. “It happened just a few minutes ago. He said something about being glad someone almost choked.”
“I enjoyed it. It’s the sickest thing I’ve ever felt.”
Someone who’s choking and someone else who’s enjoying it. “A woman was attacked and almost strangled late last night, probably about the same time you were having that nightmare. Her attacker got away, and she didn’t stay around to talk to anyone. The jogger who saw them said she was a black woman.”
I didn’t think it was possible, but he turned a shade paler. “Alycia.”
“That’s my guess. Another reason why you’ve been swimming in all this raw emotion. These are friends of yours, and when the bad guy keeps reliving his crimes, then so do you.”
Mom looked up at me. “David, what are you talking about?”
“Somehow, he’s tuned into the murderer’s thoughts, Mom, and the victims’, like Jared and possibly this woman who was almost strangled. Now, whenever the murder thinks back over his crimes, so does Camden.”
“Oh, my God. How horrible. How can we stop it?”
Camden sat back on the sofa. “We’ve got to find him.”
“‘We’? Don’t even think about it,” I said.
“In case you haven’t noticed, it’s all I can think about. This guy’s toxic brain waves are killing me, too.”
“All the more reason for you to stay away from him.”
“What if he starts planning to kill someone else? We’ve got to find him, or warn the next victim—I’ve got to do something.”
“And spend the day twitching and sobbing? I don’t think so.”
“But now that I know what’s going on—”
“Camden,” I said. “No. Not this time.”
“I totally agree,” Mom said. “You’re going right to bed.”
“No, I’m okay. If I go to sleep, I’ll have nightmares about the same damn stuff.”
“Well, sleep down here, then, so we can look after you,” Kary said.
Can anybody resist Kary when she pleads like that? Faced with her big brown eyes and Mom’s stern glare, Camden agreed. “Maybe I’ll lie down for a little while.”
It didn’t take him five minutes to fall asleep. Kary set the glass of tea on the coffee table and sat down in the blue armchair. Mom spread one of the afghans over Camden and then looked at me.
“What are you going to do about this?”
What was I going to do? “I need to find the Parkland Avenger. The way he’s been on the scene makes me think he knows about the map, too.”
“Shouldn’t we call Ellin?” Kary said.
I thought of Ellin’s reaction the last time she was summoned. “I’m not sure she’ll appreciate that.”
“I think she ought to know.”
“You call her, then. Maybe she’ll listen to you.”
As Kary went into the kitchen to call, Mom sighed. “I don’t know, David. It might be time to call the police, too.”
Jordan would immediately take over and take all the credit, too. “This is my case, Mom.”
“Has anyone actually hired you to find this killer?”
“Boyd Taylor’s going to pay me what he can.”
Kary returned to the island. “Ellin’s on her way. And I noticed we’re out of Pop-Tarts. I’m going to go get some more. I’ll be right back.”
“Thanks, Kary,” I said. “Mom, come help me fix something to eat. We’ll wake Camden after a while and load him up with sugar. He’ll be fine.”
Mom came into the kitchen with me, fussing about Camden’s odd diet and the lack of fresh vegetables in the house. “He doesn’t get enough vitamins. If they get married, will Ellin look after him? She seems obsessed with her job.”
I sliced some of the leftover meatloaf. “There’s no way you’re going to fix that relationship, Mom. No one understands it, least of all me.”
She got the tea out of the fridge. “Well, of course not. You’re too busy with your own curious relationship.”
I stopped slicing. “You haven’t said anything to Kary, have you?”
“You think I want to scare her? Besides, she knows how you feel about her. She knows you want to be more than friends.”
“And I’m valiantly hanging back until she’s ready.”
“Are you telling me you’re actually showing some restraint? Let me check your blood pressure.”
“Ha, ha.”
“Seriously, David, you need to reconsider this.”
“You back off and I won’t say another word about Grady Sipe.”
Mom filled Camden’s large plastic cup with tea. “Grady Sipe is my age.”
“You don’t think you could fall for a younger man?”
“I suppose. But it’s more than age, Davey. You’ve been through two marriages. You should have learned something by now.”
“This time I’m going to make it right.”
She set the cup down and put her arms around me. “I wish you’d come talk to Father Morgan.”
“I don’t need counseling, Mom. Besides, I’m not going to Florida just to see some old priest. We’ve got plenty of preachers here, and they all say the same thing: give it time.” I felt grief swelling inside. If I didn’t act quickly, it would overwhelm me. “That’s not going to work with me. You can give me all the time you like. I’m never going to get over Lindsey’s death. Never. The only thing I can do is push it to the back of mind every time it comes up and hope it stays back.”
She didn’t say anything. She gave me another hug. “Okay. How much sugar does Camden want in this cup?”
I did what I do best and pushed the rising emotion down. “Too much.”
A few minutes after Kary returned with a fresh batch of Pop-Tarts, Ellin came in, looking concerned. Mom explained what happened and she and Ellin sat at the island, talking in low voices about what should be done.
Kary put the Pop-Tarts in the cabinet. She left one box by the toaster. “He’ll probably want some when he wakes up.”
Adoption: Is It Right For You? sat on the counter beside a stack of pamphlets from adoption and child care agencies.
Kary caught my glance. “It’s a lot more expensive than I thought.”
>
I told myself I should be happy about this, but I had a sudden mad desire to smooth the way for her. “It’ll happen someday.”
“I hope so. I don’t like to think of myself as obsessive, but every time I see a mother with a baby, I stop and watch and imagine what it would be like to have a little life to look after. In stores, I’m always in the children’s department, admiring the little clothes and toys. Just now, in the grocery store, I saw a father with his little girl, and when she hugged him, I could almost feel her little hands on his face.”
I remembered hugging Lindsey and feeling her little hands softly patting my back. “My Daddy,” she’d say. “My Daddy.”
Kary straightened the stack of pamphlets. “I know it’s going to be a long process, but it’ll be worth it.”
I couldn’t believe how close to tears I was. I took a deep breath. Would I be able to help Kary fulfill this dream? Or would I be reduced to a blubbering mass of emotion every time she talked about children? Camden wasn’t the only one who needed to get a grip.
Fortunately, Kary changed the subject. “But right now, our main goal is to find out who killed Jared.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s the same person who’s sending Camden all the bad vibes. Did you find out anything about Bert Galvin?”
“Not a thing. But I have a plan.”
“Kary—”
She held up a hand to stop me. “Remember what we talked about?”
“No smothering. Got it.”
“Good. Now I know you and Cam have some kind of connection. Nothing there, either?”
“Sometimes I pick up on what Camden sends me, but I can’t count on that. Usually it’s a distress signal.”
“He’s better now that Ellin’s here.”
Camden looked pretty relaxed with Ellin holding his hand. She looked up as Kary and I came back to the island. She was sitting beside him on the sofa. Kary sat down in her chair, and since Mom was in the blue armchair, I stood behind it.
Ellin gave me one of her fiercest glares. “Jordan better be in on this.”
“He’s already on the case and has warned me off several times.”
“This is serious, Randall.”
“I know that. I’m doing all I can.”
Her next words surprised me. “What can I do to help?”
“Do you remember hearing or reading about a break in at the museum about six months ago?”
“No, but I can ask at the PSN.”
“Oh, everybody over there ought to know.”
She was about to tell me something uncomplimentary when Camden woke, and Kary, Mom, and I decided to leave the two of them alone.
Mom followed me into my office. “You shouldn’t tease her like that.”
“It’s okay, Mom. She can take it. You can chaperone if you like.” I picked up my copy of the map. “I’m going out for a while.”
She fixed me with a glare very much like Ellin’s. “Just be careful. I don’t want you trying to find those tunnels. The last thing you should do is snoop around underground.”
I wasn’t going to try. I was going to find the tunnels. And if I did, I was definitely going to snoop. “Yes, ma’am.”
Chapter Sixteen
“All They That See Him Laugh Him to Scorn”
I went to Carlene’s and hung around, talking music until closing time. Then she showed me the secret panel that allowed access to the safe. To her surprise and to my satisfaction, behind the panel was a doorway that led down into a tunnel. I was hoping to find the Avenger’s lair, complete with Avengermobile, or better yet, run into the thief as he tried to rob another store. Of course, if the Avenger or thieves decided to work the Royalle side of the street, I’d be screwed, because the tunnels didn’t run under the street. It was worth a look, though.
The tunnel was narrow, musty, and full of cobwebs. I had my copy of the map and a flashlight. I was thinking this might not be the smartest idea I’ve had when a sound behind me made me whirl around. A figure came closer. Wow, this was too easy. I hadn’t been down here ten minutes, and I was going to solve something, or possibly get killed. Or had Carlene decided to join me for a little search and seizure in the dark?
In the dim light of my flashlight, the figure looked like a ghost. A small ghost, however, and one I’d seen before.
“Thanks, Camden. My heart needed a jump start.”
He looked a lot steadier. “I was hoping I’d find you.”
“You knew you could find me. Ellin give you some hot lovin’?”
“Not only that. She gave me a ride.”
“And Mom let you out of the house? How did you manage that?”
“Well, I told her I was meeting you at Carlene’s music store.”
“You just didn’t mention you were meeting me under Carlene’s music store.”
“I didn’t want to trouble her with any unnecessary information.”
“Ellin didn’t want to come down here with you?”
“Business at the PSN.”
“Sometimes that comes in handy. What about Kary?”
“She went over to Lily’s.”
Uh, oh. “She didn’t happen to say what she was up to, did she?”
“No, and she’s annoyed you don’t trust her.”
I had a feeling we would both catch a little hell when we got home. “Any particular reason you wanted to see the tunnels of Parkland?”
“You’re going to need help.”
I’ve learned the hard way never to ignore Camden’s predictions. “Thief or Avenger?”
“I’m not sure, but someone’s going to come down here.”
“Are you up to this? Any blood or choking on the menu tonight?”
“You can always say, ‘snap out of it.’”
“Yeah, we know how well that works.” I shone the light on the map. “Let’s try this way.”
It gave me an eerie feeling to be in the tunnel, and I wondered if Camden was picking up any of the fear and desperation the slaves must have experienced as they tried to escape. I didn’t remember a lot about the Underground Railroad, but my elementary school class had read a story about Harriet Tubman, a conductor on the Railroad, who made over a dozen trips and saved at least seventy people.
“You think Harriet Tubman came this way?”
“Probably not. If she did, some expert would’ve made this a historical site by now.”
“Are you getting anything?”
He put his hand on the rough dirt wall. “I’m good, Randall, but not that good. That was before and during the Civil War, so we’re talking 1850 to 1860 something, and I’m sure people were hurrying to get through. I get a slight impression of anxiety, but that could be from the thief.”
We wandered single file under the shoe store, finding a passageway that led right up to the store. “Need new sneakers?”
“Not tonight,” he said.
“This is actually kind of cool.”
A few more turns and we were beneath the pet store. “Second floor: guppies, hamsters, snakes.”
Camden stopped. “There wouldn’t be any snakes down here, would there?”
“Doesn’t seem too snake-like.”
“Oh, brother. I never thought of that.”
“You’ve been thinking too much already. Come on. If I see one, I’ll get it.”
“I really don’t like snakes.”
“No snakes. Just spiders.”
“Spiders I can handle.”
I looked up at the entrance to the pet store. “You know, these doors are kind of high. The thief must have brought his own stepladder.”
“Or brought an accomplice.”
“Let me boost you up and see if you can reach it.”
“And have a snake f
all out on top of me? No, thanks.”
I measured the height. “If I take a running jump, I can get it.”
“You don’t actually want to break in, do you? I thought this was a fact-finding mission.”
“The detective business isn’t paying very well this month. I could use a few extra gerbils.”
Camden didn’t want to play burglar, but I convinced him to climb up on my shoulders and push on the door. It was solid as a rock.
He jumped down. “Guess the gerbils are sitting on it.”
We went around several turns until we reached a larger room. From here, tunnels went off in three directions. I checked the map. “Okay, according to the map, the right hand tunnel leads out to the world above, the left-hand tunnel ends, and the one in the middle goes on down under one more shop.”
“I vote for world above.”
The tunnel became even narrower and a lot dirtier.
Camden peered at the passageway. “Can you squeeze through?”
“It’ll be a lot easier for you.” The tunnel floor slanted up slightly. “We’re heading out.”
At the end of the tunnel was a round piece of wood like a manhole cover. We pushed, and it opened. We crawled out and found ourselves in the alley between two abandoned stores and behind a pile of trashcans.
I dusted my hands. “So much for that. Where was the danger?”
For an answer, Camden pushed me back against the wall. I saw a shadowy figure coming down the alley. Camden and I hid behind the dumpster and watched as the figure pulled up the tunnel cover and wedged his way into the tunnel, but not before he stroked his chin in a familiar manner.
Camden and I looked at each other. “It’s Tor,” he said.
“Tor of Comic World. That’s perfect.”
“What’ll we do?”
“First we plug the hole.”
We found a heavy piece of wood next to the Dumpster and managed to roll it over on top of the tunnel cover. Then we ran out of the alley and all the way back down the street to Carlene’s.