While she processed, I planned to drop in on the masseuse interviews.
Paint, fold, seal. Paint, fold, seal. It was an easy rhythm as I half focused on my client’s words. Thankfully, she just talked about herself and didn’t ask any questions, so I smiled and nodded my way through, then left her with a magazine to keep her company and made my escape from the fumes that clogged my senses.
Percy was already seated with the potential new girl and asking questions. I casually picked up her résumé from where it lay to Percy’s right, sat down in its place, and perused.
I liked Fern right away. Maybe it was her name, Fern Mayberry. Whatever it was, we clicked. She’d been in and out of work since she graduated three years ago. She probably still had a lot to learn, but she seemed eager to work.
“Hi, I’m Fern.” Her handshake was firm and her composure relaxed. I smelled no trace of fear, revealing her confidence and ease with meeting new people, which was essential, especially since most people she would meet would be half naked. She couldn’t afford to be shy, and she needed to put her clients at ease.
“Tell us about yourself, Fern.” Percy sat poised with her pen and paper.
“Well, I’m 25. I’m renting an apartment in Bangor, and I own my vehicle. Um, I’m willing to work whatever hours you can give me. I left my last massage job because I moved. I’ve been working at Mickey D’s and I feel like I’m wasting a perfectly good education. I’m Irish.” She circled the air around her face with her right index finger, indicating her red hair, green eyes, and freckles.
Fern stood at the end of the interview and shook all our hands again. I towered over her. Tiny little spitfire.
“It was nice meeting everyone!” She gave us a smile as she paused by the front doors.
“We enjoyed meeting you as well. You’ll hear from us after lunch either way,” Percy promised.
“Sounds great!” She made sure the door latched behind her before waltzing out to her truck.
I turned to Percy. “I like her.”
“So I noticed. I’ve never seen you cotton to someone like that before.”
I shrugged my shoulders. Her temperament was soothing, and she seemed like fun.
“All right, I’ll leave a message on her home phone.” Percy headed for the front desk, answering the phone after it rang for the millionth time.
In the middle of our lunch break, Percy called everyone together.
“All right we’re now fully staffed. Fern Mayberry will be our new masseuse.”
I pumped my fist in the air and let a grin take over my face. “Hooray!”
“It’s all settled. What does everyone think?” Percy opened the floor for discussion.
“Do we have to pay for the massages?” Meredith asked.
“Nope. Consider it a bonus, but only one a week.” Percy shook her head and smiled. “I’ll kick in to pay for her time, but remember to return the favor with hair and nails.
“You’re a goddess,” said Toni, her hand fluttering to her heart, her head tilting back slightly and her eyes closing for a moment, wearing a blissful smile on her lips.
“I am.” Percy laughed, ducking her head in false modesty.
“I’m absolutely fine with it,” I said.
“Sounds good to me,” Lacey assented with a nod. She had no problem at all with people touching her dead skin. In fact, the more attention she got, the better.
“Great! I have one other thing before I let you all go back to your lunches. Would you all like to come for supper tonight around eight?”
That nearly stopped my heart. Supper? Here? With us? Was Percy nuts? How were we going to explain Lacey’s liquid diet and my meat obsession?
“I’d love to, but—” Meredith started.
“No buts! My farm staff will be joining us as well, as will some of their families,” Percy interrupted.
Oh, this was going to be a blast.
“I’m in, then! Any day I don’t have to cook and do dishes is a vacation.”
“Wonderful. How about the rest of you?”
Everyone agreed to join us.
As soon as we separated, I cornered Percy with my fists balled up on my hips. “Are you completely friggin’ nuts?” I whispered loudly.
“I think you already know the answer to that. Don’t worry, it’s going to be fine. I have a scrumptious selection planned, including a mooing cow on a plate for you. Lacey knows how to hide food in her napkin, and we’ll pass off her blood as tomato soup,” said Percy, waving me off with a flick of her fingers.
“Blood does not look like tomato soup,” I grumbled.
“Glamour, dear. You’ve forgotten about glamour.”
“You can glamour food?” I perked up with interest. I didn’t know much about glamours and their many applications.
“Of course I can.” Her smile was smug as she raised her eyebrows at me and crossed her arms under her chest.
I left work a couple of minutes early to go for a run.
“Hey, wait up!” Lacey called from behind.
“Who’s the faster of the two of us?” I asked, faking innocent.
“Me,” she said, breezing up to me before slowing to match my pace.
“I rest my case.” I concentrated on maintaining my pace over the uneven terrain.
“So, what do you think of this dinner thing of Percy’s?” asked Lacey, running as gracefully as a deer.
“I believe I told her she was completely friggin’ nuts.” I leapt to tap a branch with my fingertips, landing easily on my toes and continuing without missing a beat.
“That sounds like a fair assessment to me. Is she getting everything ready all by herself?”
“Nope, her worker bees are helping her out.” I puffed and sped up the pace.
“Last I checked, our co-workers don’t know what we are. Aren’t they gonna play connect the dots and figure us out?” She sped up with me.
“You’ll be eating tomato glamour soup.”
“Sounds tasty,” she said glumly, brushing a pine branch out of her way as she ducked her head to the side.
“We probably shouldn’t go far. I wanna get back in time to at least rinse off and change.” I glanced down at my watch.
“I’m gonna need a rinse too, and a fresh coat of paint.” She indicated her carefully applied makeup. “Oh, I know!” Lacey skittered to a halt, sending up a hail of pine needles and decayed leaves.
“What? What?” I said, breaking with much less grace.
“You should invite the band!” She grabbed my hands in her cold ones and swung me around.
“Uh, yeah, ’cause Scott really needs more encouragement.” I rolled my eyes at her and pulled out of her grasp.
“Have Mark call ’em,” she persisted.
“Fine. I’ll invite the band.”
“Great! Race ya home?” Lacey stretched into a starting pose with one leg stretched back, balancing with one foot forward up on her toes and her fingertips, her rear poking comically in the air.
“You’re on.” I slapped her butt and tore off, knowing cheating was the only way I’d beat her.
She beat me by several minutes, waiting patiently perched on a large rock at the edge of the woods.
“Don’t forget to call your boys!” she reminded me as we approached her door.
“Yeah, yeah.” I left her laughing and grabbed my cell off my bedside table in my own room.
“What’s up, Gretch?”
“Hey, Mark. Listen, Percy’s decided to make a huge dinner and invite lots of people. Want to join the awkwardness? You and the rest of the guys, I mean.”
“Yeah, okay. Food there is always good. Should I bring Rachel?” He’d only eaten Percy’s cooking on a couple of occasions, and he’d been liberal with the compliments both times.
“Of course. The more the merrier. We’re sitting down at eight.”
“I’ll call the guys. We’ll be there,” Mark promised.
“’Kay. See ya.”
“Bye.”
The line rang twice, then a voice that was quickly becoming familiar answered.
“Gretchen.” Doug’s French accent was light and pleasant in my ear, making me feel warm and chilled all at once. It was a beautiful, musical voice.
I paused, feeling awkward. “So, um, do you want to come to dinner? I mean, Percy is having a big dinner tonight. Will you come?”
“It would be my pleasure, colombe. What time should I be there?”
Colombe. I was unfamiliar with the term, and I figured it must be French.
“Eight. And a lot of people there will be, um, normal.”
“I can keep to polite conversation,” he said, chuckling softly, which made my heart speed up.
“Ha, that’s not quite what I meant. I just mean that they don’t have a clue about us.” I took several deep breaths trying to sooth my curious wolf back into slumber.
“Like I said, I can keep the conversation polite. Don’t worry, colombe, I won’t reveal you.”
“Right. Okay then, see you at eight.” I hung up before I could think of something stupid to say, my wolf becoming dormant once more.
I slapped my palm against my forehead, having almost forgotten an important couple that should be invited. I typed a quick text to Mem with a short invitation and the time.
She answered back immediately: We wouldn’t miss it! See you soon!
I showered quickly, getting rid of sweat, debris from the woods, and clipper hairs.
Dinner with the whole family. Oh, joy.
I got ready in record time, then thundered down the stairs to help Percy set up. I was a terrible cook, but I thought I could manage stirring and carrying. She put me right to work mashing potatoes. I’m a good potato masher. Those buggers were creamy when I was done.
Lacey helped us set the tables in the formal dining room we’d only eaten in a handful of times since I’d moved in.
The first person to show up was Robert. Big, softspoken, non-human Robert.
“Hey,” I said, as I carried a stack of extra chairs in.
“Hello,” he replied. He was a real talkative fella.
Jane, his wife, followed and gave me a hug hello, then went to join her husband.
Dante, Christina, and CJ rounded out the group of the farm staff, all of them part or full fae, plus their gaggle of children. Christina was quite possibly one of Percy’s handmaidens from way back when.
The farm staff and I aren’t really good buddies, though they tolerate me despite werewolves and vampires being the perceived bad guys.
Mem showed up on her husband’s arm, bearing two bottles of red wine. After handing the bottles off, they surrounded me with their arms and a kiss on either cheek.
“Glad you could make it!” I said, giving them an extra squeeze. I really did love them both, though Mem held a special place in my heart.
Mem laughed and patted my cheek. “Of course, my dear!”
Meredith showed up alone bearing a green bean casserole.
Toni brought her husband and children, who immediately gravitated towards the staff, noting common ground.
Doug looked around, shifting awkwardly from leg to leg, until he spotted me.
“Welcome,” I said, handing him a platter of carved turkey.
“Putting me to work, then?” He accepted the tray, his smile a sharp contrast to the face hidden beneath all the hair.
“You’ve been lurking around quite a bit, young man,” said Percy. “You’ve earned family duties.”
We all sat together after the four of us brought in all the food and settled it down along the middle of the table. There was a lot of clanking and chatter as bowls and platters were passed up and down. I sat between my boys and Doug, not knowing how they would react to him.
“So, Doug, how’s work?” I asked, cutting into my barely seared steak. Mm, juicy. I repressed the urge to close my eyes in bliss as all the smells and tastes congregated in my head.
“It’s been good. I’m grateful to have a job where I can travel.”
“Good, good. Hey, have I introduced you to my boys? This is Mark, our lead singer and guitarist. Austin, our drummer. Oh, and Scott, our bassist. You’ve met him, right?” I made my introductions, ending with the important one. “Gentlemen, this is Doug, my new friend.”
“Nice to meet you,” they each took a turn saying.
“So, how did you do it, Gretch?” asked Mark with a glint in his eye.
“Do it? Do what? I didn’t do anything,” I spluttered out guiltily. I had way too much going on.
“Wow, guilty much? I’m referring to Scott’s lack of hair. We’d been trying to get him to get rid of it for months. How’d you do it?” Mark crossed his arms and waited, tipping his chair back on two legs.
“Must be my wily female charms.” I put my fork down and crossed my arms in response.
“Yeah, we’ll have to talk about those and their effect on,” he tossed his head in Scott’s direction, “but not now.”
“That and I think he gave me permission to do whatever I wanted. So I took out the clippers and mowed.” I was hoping it would make Scott back off.
“Huh?” said Scott.
“Nothing, just talking about work,” I said, taking another enormous bite of steak.
“’Kay,” he went back to his conversation with Austin.
“Well, whatever. The hair needed to go. You are a goddess,” said Mark.
That was going around. “Nah, Percy’s the only goddess around here,” I argued.
“Yeah, okay. Gotta love a girl who can cook.” He winked at his girlfriend, who was listening in.
“I suppose, but I did the potatoes.” I pointed at the mound on my plate with my fork.
“The potatoes are good,” said Rachel, giving me a smile. I liked her. She and Mark were good together.
I took another big bite, ending the conversation. Mark and I tend to have those pointless conversations that disguise themselves as small talk.
Someone had flipped on the TV, and my attention was caught.
“Hey, turn that up!” I called, scooting my chair back so I could get a better view.
“25-year-old Joslin Webber was found dead in her apartment at the foot of Sugarloaf Mountain. Webber was a popular hairstylist with the mountain crowd and appears to be the latest in a series of murders over the last few weeks. These women were all successful with no apparent connection to each other, beyond their choice in profession. Police are urging stylists all over the state to use the buddy system when leaving work and to check up on each other once they’ve gotten home. No evidence has been brought forward to indicate who the murderer might be. If you have any information, please call your local authorities or this hotline. Stay safe.”
A 1-800 number flashed across the screen. Apparently it wasn’t just us who thought we were being targeted. Problem was, these girls were being killed in their own homes, not anywhere near the salons where they worked.
I growled quietly, and Mem shot me a worried look.
The room was silent as Percy stood and turned off the television.
I caught her eye and jerked my head in the direction of the library. Percy nodded, and I stood.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m going to steal the hairdressers from your midst to go have a little powwow. Manicurists and masseuses are welcome as well. We’re heading over to the library, so if you’ll just follow us.”
I pushed my chair farther away from the table and led our ragtag little troop to the door and shoved it open. It felt as if I were leading a charge. We hurried to the library and arranged ourselves around the room on various favorite pieces of furniture. I grabbed my normal comfy chair and stared at the door, avoiding the gazes of the other stylists in my presence.
Percy jo
ined us within minutes. “All right. We all heard that. We all know that this is real, not a figment of our overactive imaginations. What we need to do is figure out how to protect ourselves. We have some information the media is not giving out.” Percy perched herself on the edge of the study table.
“The girls were murdered in their own homes when there were other people up and about. Nobody heard a noise, no signs of a struggle. We don’t know if that means the murderer is someone they all knew, or if they are just this good. Each girl was drained of all her blood through slices made through each jugular. There was no mess, no blood splatter found. There is absolutely no evidence of the guilty party, besides the bodies.
“Now, protecting ourselves from someone like this is going to be difficult. They are only targeting one girl at a time, and there are a lot of successful hairdressers in the state. It happened when the other person left the room. I’m not saying we should always have someone with us at all times, but I am saying it wouldn’t be a bad time to take on a roommate, maybe even several. The more people you’re in contact with, the less likely you are to be a target. Just be careful. Don’t give out any personal information to clients, especially you new girls.
“Ah, I gave Scott my phone number. Is that bad?” asked Meredith.
He was relentless. “No,” I answered with a sigh. “Scott’s a decent guy, and I can guarantee he’s not the murderer. A hopeless flirt at times, but he’s not psychotic. Trust me. I can usually smell a psycho.”
“And what does a psycho smell like?” asked Lacey-Marie. “I’m curious.”
“You should know. She smells a little funny, likes to wear lots of pink.”
“Haha.” She rolled her eyes at me and sank back in her seat.
“But seriously. They’re usually the ‘normal ones,’ but they tend to be shy, reclusive. They aren’t the type to invite a big group over for dinner for instance.”
“Oh, good, I was a little worried I was the psychotic in the room,” said Percy, wiping her brow, adding a little drama to her sarcasm. “Let’s get back on topic and brainstorm. What else can we do to make sure we all stay safe?”
Beauty is the Beast: Beasts Among Us - Book 1 Page 17