“Don’t touch me right now,” I said.
He dropped his hand. “I’m sorry.”
“You said that.”
“The second one was for getting angry.”
“Fine, I forgive you.” For getting angry, I added silently.
Evan looked like he wanted to say something else, perhaps something to make me forget, but he must have thought better of it. I was glad, because I really just wanted to forget it had ever happened.
Silently, he held out the bracelet-wrapped handkerchief to me.
“Is it still spelled?” I asked as I took it with deliberate care.
He shook his head. “And now, I think we need to get you out of here.”
“What?” It was my turn to get angry. I spun on my heels, horror nearly forgotten as I drove a finger into his chest. “I don’t think so. Call in reinforcements if you want, but you still need me.”
“I won’t put you in danger again.”
“I’m in danger every second I’m around you.” The words slipped out before I had a chance to censor them, but I meant them. I would not take them back.
Evan just stared at me for a long minute. “Come on. Let’s get back to camp.”
* * *
The explosion did not go unnoticed. By the time we returned to the mess hall, every deputy in the county had been dispatched to the cabin, along with the fire department. Since Jeff had gone with them, Evan missed his chance to confront the deputy who had handed me the poisoned water.
With all the campers gone and the search parties temporarily stopped, things were much less chaotic. For the most part everyone sat around the mess hall tables with coffee or soda. They talked to one another, but the tone was unmistakably mournful; when I caught snatches of conversation, it was clear that a lot of people thought the girls had somehow been involved in the earlier explosion. They might even have been right, but I wasn’t ready to speculate about what may or may not have been in that cabin. The only solid clue I had was the charm bracelet in my pocket.
Armed with that, I headed for Tracy and Vera. They sat silently together at a table near the windows, staring out in desolation. Vera did not even acknowledge me when I walked up, which almost made me think that Tracy’s breakdown had been contagious. Then I saw Tracy turn fully toward me and give me a faint, “Hello.” Apparently, the two women were taking turns.
Seated with them at the table was Nora, who barely acknowledged me, Jack, who gave Evan a forced smile, and another man I did not know. He was a wiry little man with a few streaks of gray in his brown hair, and he kept shooting looks across the table at Vera.
Carefully, I pulled the bracelet out of my pocket. Before I had a chance to ask about it, Tracy shot to attention. “Where’d you get that?”
“Do you recognize it?” I asked.
“It’s Laura’s. I gave it to her for her birthday.” Tracy snatched the bracelet away from me and hugged it to her chest. “Where did you find it?”
Before I had a chance to answer, the wiry man whose name I didn’t know interrupted. “Are you the detectives?”
“Yeah,” I said.
He stood up and offered his hand to me. “I’m Ben Goldstein, Regina’s dad.”
“Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” I shook his hand.
“I’ve been out with search parties for two days now,” he said. “I’d be out now if they hadn’t told us to stay here.” He darted another nervous glance at Vera.
“May I have a private word?” I asked him, motioning toward a nearby alcove.
He followed me, then asked, without lowering his voice, “What do you need?”
“I was wondering if you ever noticed anything unusual about your daughter.”
I was trying to figure out how to explain unusual when he jumped in, enthusiastically. “You mean magic? Nope, never noticed anything.” Again, his gaze darted to Vera.
“How are you holding up?” I asked, noting his nervous state and wondering if he would soon be following his wife’s lead.
“I’m upset,” he said. “How else could I feel? But I’m sure we’ll find her. I mean, Vera seems to have given up but I–” He broke off. “Did you want anything else?”
“No, thanks.”
I followed him back to the table so I could have a word with Nora. She grudgingly gave me her attention. “What do you want?”
“I need to talk to a few people, still. Could you point out Mackenzie and Renee?”
Nora looked around the room. “I don’t see Renee, but Mackenzie is standing by the water fountain.”
“Thanks.”
The man standing by the water fountain was a tall, muscular man who stood with his arms crossed, glaring out at the room as if it were about to bite him. He was a man clearly ill at ease with his surroundings.
“Mackenzie?” I asked.
He jumped. “What?”
“I’m Cassie Scot, a private investigator.” I handed him a card, which he shoved in his pocket without reading.
“I was hoping to ask you a few questions about the girls. A few people have told me that you spent a lot of time with them.”
He gave me a resigned sort of look and nodded. “They liked horses. Kept coming by to see me, sometimes when they shouldn’t have.”
I arched an eyebrow, but he didn’t explain his comment further. “Randy said they both fell off once, early on. I thought that was strange, since they were so good with horses.”
Mackenzie closed his eyes. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t know. The saddles weren’t secured right. Might have been a practical joke or something. No one liked them.”
“Did you like them?” I asked.
“Yeah, I did. Excuse me.” He pushed himself off the wall and strode purposefully out of the mess hall, leaving me to stare at his back and wonder what that had all been about.
As I stood there, another young man, probably a counselor, came to stand by my side. “I think he may have liked Laura a little too much, if you know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t know what you mean.” I let my irritation show without restraint. If someone had something to say, I wanted them to say it, rather than perpetuate rumors.
“I saw him kissing her, once. He tried to tell me she kissed him, but now I’m not so sure.”
I turned to face the man more fully. “When was this?”
“Day before they went missing. I was trying to decide whether to report him or not when all hell broke loose.”
“Thanks for telling me,” I said, heading back for Evan.
Before I reached him, however, the mess hall door banged open. A plump, middle-aged man with a camera around his neck barged in, making a beeline for the grieving parents. I knew instantly that he was a reporter.
Nora knew it too, because she stood and tried to impede his progress. “They don’t want to talk to you right now. Have a heart.”
“I’ve been at the blast site,” he said. “Just thought they’d want to know what’s going on. They have a right to know what’s going on.”
“And give you a reaction, I suppose?” Nora shot back. “Stay away. When the police have something, they’ll tell them.”
“I don’t know,” he said. “When they found this weird dagger stuck in the crater, not even damaged or anything, they didn’t seem like they wanted to tell anyone about it. I heard the sheriff say so.”
Evan strode over to me and grabbed me by the arm. “Let’s go.”
“But–” I looked back at the reporter, then at the haunted, terrified looks on Vera and Tracy’s faces.
“Nora can handle him,” Evan said. “You and I need to call in some reinforcements.”
* * *
We were halfway to the nearest town with cell phone reception when I began to question Evan. “What’s going on? Do you think the girls were in that cabin when it–” I wasn’t quite able to finish the sentence.
“I don’t know. I do know that a dagger like the one he described is often used for blood sacrifice. I also know whoe
ver warded that cabin meant business, and probably knows who I am now.”
“Mackenzie,” I said, “I think it’s Mackenzie.”
“Why?” Evan asked.
Quickly, I sorted out the reasons in my head. “He knew that cabin better than anyone, he was closest to the girls, and... hey!”
“What?”
“The girls fell off their horses. They weren’t novices. Why did they fall off?”
Evan stared at me blankly.
“You said you could tell if someone had magic or not if you got a blood sample.”
“Oh.” Evan nodded. “It could be more than one person, though. And we still can’t be sure.”
“You should also know about the rumors that Mackenzie had an inappropriate relationship with the girls. One man saw him kissing Laura, though Mackenzie claimed it was the other way around.”
Evan went silent for a long time, but before he spoke again, I smacked myself in the forehead. “Of course, the lust spell! It was Laura’s bracelet. She might have actually used it on Mackenzie, but then, if she had, he would have known about her magic.”
Evan nodded thoughtfully.
“Who are you going to call for backup?” I asked.
“Scott Lee owes me a favor.”
“Scott?” I didn’t know anything about him except that he was a werewolf, but as my dad used to say, that was enough. Werewolves were dangerous, deadly, and unpredictable. Evan and Scott were cousins, but even so, I couldn’t imagine what had caused Evan to befriend him. When it first started, I thought it had been a bit of teenage rebellion, but now...
“And my dad,” Evan added.
“Oh.” This was getting better and better. “How about my brother?”
“Well, he may not be too bad in a fight, but I think I really need someone with more experience. And I’m not sure it’s a good idea for us to call both your brother and my father.”
“Probably not.”
There didn’t seem to be anything else to say, so we remained silent until Evan spotted a McDonald’s and pulled into the parking lot. He checked his cell phone and gave a satisfied nod. “We may as well go inside and get some lunch while I make these calls. I don’t think I want to go back to camp without backup.”
I wasn’t thrilled about eating fast food. I was particularly not thrilled about Evan eating fast food when he may need to go into battle, but there didn’t seem to be any better options. He handed me a twenty and told me to order while he started making phone calls. I got us both salads, fruit and yogurt parfaits, and orange juice. I figured we were both better off staying away from the hamburgers and French fries, even if the lettuce in the salads looked a bit limp.
Evan had procured a table at the back, near the play area, and was still on the phone when I put the tray down in front of him. He held up a finger to let me know he would just be a minute, then said, “All right, Scott, I’ll see you soon.”
He hung up. “That should do it, I think.”
The three of them together would make a powerful force, but I still didn’t know what, exactly, he planned to do. “We still don’t have all the answers.”
“We’ll get them. The time for subtlety is over. We’ll find out who’s using magic at that camp if we have to physically force each suspect to donate a blood sample.”
I recognized the look in his eyes – determination and power. It was a look no one wanted to be on the wrong side of.
“When they get here,” Evan said, “I want you to take my car and drive back to Eagle Rock.”
I had seen it coming, but that didn’t change how angry I felt at his insistence on getting me out of the way. “You still need me here. While you’re tramping around letting everyone within a hundred miles know there are angry sorcerers on the rampage, I can keep an eye on whoever conveniently disappears.”
“You’re leaving. I’ll make it an order, if I have to.”
“Which effectively means you just did.”
He turned his attention to his parfait, not even deigning to respond. I wasn’t finished, though.
“You are so full of yourself sometimes,” I told him.
“I’m just trying to take care of you.”
“Really? Like you took care of me this morning?” It was a cheap shot, and I realized it the minute the words came out, but it was too late to recall them.
“You know I wish I could erase that.”
“I’m not stupid. I know when I need help, and I don’t charge recklessly into danger.”
“That’s true.”
“So why are you treating me like a child? You’re only a day older than me, remember?”
“I remember.” He didn’t say anything else, though. He just dove back into his lunch, telling me as clearly as he could that the subject was closed.
I picked at my salad for a minute, then put my fork down. “I’ll be right back.”
Evan nodded distractedly, as I made a beeline for the ladies’ room. I spent a few minutes in there, splashing water on my face, brushing my hair, and generally trying to find some kind of inner peace. Finally, deciding I wasn’t going to get any more prepared, I stepped back into the dining room.
The half-finished food remained at our table, but Evan wasn’t there. Deciding he must have gone to the restroom as well, I began making my way back to the table.
I didn’t even make it out of the restroom alcove before I felt someone at my back. The next thing I knew, there was a hand clamped over my mouth and my hands were being forcibly twisted behind my back.
I couldn’t see the hand over my mouth. It was completely invisible. Moreover, the moment it had touched me, I went invisible too. I could no more see my own hand than I could see his.
“Don’t move,” a somewhat familiar male voice whispered in my ear.
My pulse thudded in my ear as I twisted, trying to free myself. Whatever the man said, I knew that I needed to get free and get to Evan – wherever he was.
“Move!” He pushed my back. When I started to fight him, he muttered a few words that sounded ominously like a spell. The next thing I knew, my entire body went limp. I couldn’t even move my mouth, but my eyes worked. The man held me in his arms like a baby, but I stared up into absolutely nothing. I could feel him, but I couldn’t see the invisible man holding me captive.
No one else could see us either.
A minute later, I was being shoved into the backseat of a dusty black Ford pickup truck, roughly strapped into a seat that could be folded into the wall. The car rumbled to life and began to move, but my body remained limp and motionless, thanks to the effects of whatever spell he had used. The truck rumbled to life and pulled out of the parking lot, while my mind worked frantically for some kind of solution. Nothing came immediately to mind except the bitter knowledge that Evan had been right.
12
I COULDN’T SEE OUT THE TRUCK’S WINDOW. The spell had left me paralyzed, and my captor had not taken care when tossing me into the backseat. I hurt everywhere. I felt every aching muscle, I simply couldn’t move them to more comfortable positions.
I guessed we were heading back to camp based on the direction the truck had taken. Why? Who had done this? His voice had sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it. Someone from camp?
The truck rumbled to a stop on uneven ground – possibly a dirt path – then the driver’s side door opened and closed.
My body couldn’t move, but my heart had no trouble pounding out its terror as the back door opened and invisible hands reached for me. Instinctively I tried to shrink away. I couldn’t, but my legs were able to move just a little bit. The spell was wearing off.
Had my captor noticed? I didn’t know, but I feared so after he tied nylon ropes around my wrists, pinning them behind my back. The bindings were tight and painful, but rope burns were the least of my concerns.
Where was Evan? Had they gotten him too? I wanted to deny the idea, but he hadn’t been at the table when I’d left the restroom.
Please don’t
have Evan. If he was free, there was hope.
There’s always hope, I reminded myself. I’m alive, so there’s hope.
My captor yanked me out of the truck and half dragged me towards a building. The smell of horse and hay told me where we were headed even before I caught sight of the wooden beams of the stables.
The stables. My captor’s voice had sounded like Mackenzie’s. I had been right to suspect him. Little good it would do me now.
Slow down. It could be a trick. Auditory illusions are not as easy to accomplish as visual illusions because the eyes are easier to fool than the ears. But they are possible. I could take nothing at face value.
That’s the trouble with magic. It’s hard to take anything at face value. It’s why I called myself a normal detective. Not that I would have turned down this case, even knowing what would come. This was personal. This was family.
It might also be the death of me. I could think of no nice, benign reasons for my own kidnapping under these circumstances.
I was close to something. Too close, apparently.
My captor dragged me down a long row of stalls, all of which were occupied by horses of various sizes and breeds. I only caught glimpses of them as I passed. One or two neighed in agitation, possibly smelling my terror.
I still couldn’t move. I willed my body to twist and writhe. I saw the motions in my head. In reality, my knees scraped the ground, collecting dirt and cuts along the way.
I gritted my teeth against the pain. It was the least of my worries. Better the pain of cuts and bruises than whatever awaited me at the end of this journey.
One stall, about halfway down, was empty. As I neared it a new smell entered the mix – something like rotting flesh. I had a sudden, traumatic memory of an abused vampire corpse, its head cut off, decaying beneath a deck. That had hit me so strongly at the time that I’d had to flee to throw up. This time, I didn’t have any problem keeping down my scant lunch, but my heart felt like it wanted to escape my chest.
Twist. Writhe. Was that a wiggle? I kicked my leg slightly. Not enough that my captor had noticed.
I was visible. When had that happened? It didn’t matter. If I could get out of here, someone could see me.
Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot) Page 13