* * *
Autumn hadn’t seen Gwen from the animal shelter since the day she'd agreed to participate in the fundraiser race. She wondered how she’d responded to the death of her daughter Nikki's boyfriend. If what Skye had said about her disapproval of Mick was true, she could very well be relieved that he’d been eliminated from the picture. Still, it was a morbid thing for anyone to experience, no matter if she liked the victim or not.
Costumes were encouraged for the pumpkin run which was now upon them, and Autumn and Skye had opted to do face paint instead of trying to run in full on costumes. Autumn was also adamant that nothing should hinder her from beating Dan.
“What do you think?” Skye asked, turning away from the bathroom mirror when Autumn passed the open door, already donning her running clothes.
Autumn’s brows rose in astonishment. Skye had gone all out, covering her face completely in white paint and then adding crimson red lipstick and blackened eyes so that she resembled a well-known comic book villain.
“That’s very….elaborate.”
“You don’t like it?” Skye asked, her mouth tilting down in opposition to her painted-on grin.
“It’s scary, that’s for sure.”
Skye rolled her eyes. “You know what would be even scarier? Dressing up like an alien.”
“With all the cruel mischief going around, I don’t think that would be a very welcome scare,” Autumn remarked. “It’s best not to poke fun at it at this point.”
“Do you think the Cosmic Keepers will be dressed up as aliens?” Skye asked, turning back to the mirror to complete a few finishing touches.
“They’re creepy enough—they don’t need to dress up,” Autumn remarked, wryly.
“Yeah. Creepos.”
Autumn glanced at the clock, realizing she needed to get going on her own face paint if they were going to make it to the race by 3 PM. She chose a cat-like theme, covering her face in brown and then painting on whiskers and adding dramatic, winged points to her eyes.
When the sisters arrived downstairs, it was to find only a few people in the café. Rowan stopped short when he saw Autumn and Skye. The appalled look on his face made it hard for Autumn to conceal her laughter. He stared at Skye, seemingly unable to speak.
“Cat got your tongue?” Autumn teased.
Rowan snapped back to reality, shaking his head. “That’s quite the face paint you two are wearing.”
“Costumes are encouraged for the fundraiser,” Skye responded, impatiently, making her way out of the café’s back door.
Autumn had to cover her smile with her hand as she took in Rowan’s devastated countenance when he watched her leave.
“Why would she do that?” he asked, his tone crushed.
“Do what?” Autumn asked.
“Cover up her face when…"
Autumn patted Rowan’s arm, sympathetically. “There, there. Don’t be fretting. Paint washes off, and soon she’ll be back to her beautiful old self.”
Rowan rolled his eyes, catching onto Autumn’s sarcasm. Instead of saying anything else on the matter, he changed the topic. “When will you all be back?”
“I’ll come back right after the race and get cleaned up in time to help with the influx of customers that’s sure to come once the fundraiser is through. You’ll be alright by yourself until then, won’t you?”
Rowan said that he would and wished her luck in the pumpkin run. “Beat that lousy Dan Butler. I know you will.”
“Me too,” Autumn said. “I’m running on superfoods. There’s no way he’s going to beat me.”
Main Street was bustling with people. Most of the booths set up housed vendors selling animal-related items like leashes, dog and cat food, and handmade pet toys. Delicious smells from the food carts that had been set up at one end made Autumn’s mouth water. She knew they would be a welcome treat after the race.
Autumn caught up with Skye, and the pair made their way to Gwen's booth.
Gwen was cheery as ever as she chatted with the folks who’d come out to support the shelter and handed out t-shirts to the runners. If she was at all stunned by Mick’s death, she was hiding it beautifully. Or she wasn’t sad.
Autumn half-wished that Skye had done alien make-up. Perhaps watching Gwen’s reaction to such a blatant reference to the murder would help Autumn to decipher how she felt about it.
“Oh,” Gwen exclaimed when she caught sight of Autumn and Skye. “I hardly recognized you ladies. Don’t you look great.”
“Thanks. It looks like there’s been a good turn out,” Autumn remarked.
“It certainly seems that way,” Gwen said. “Here are your t-shirts, ladies. Good luck.”
Almost everyone had dressed up for the event or had at least applied face paint. There were clowns, ghosts, Indians, and much more.
“The town sure got decked out for this,” Skye remarked. “You would think there hadn’t just been a murder.”
“Not everyone was close with the people who knew Mick,” Autumn reminded her. “Still, I know what you mean.”
Skye’s hideous villain face turned toward Gwen’s booth where she was chattering animatedly with a dog owner. “Gwen doesn’t even seem sad about what happened to Mick.” She frowned. “That must be because she isn’t. She never liked him.”
“I thought that it was strange she could manage to put up such a front too,” Autumn said. “But, this fundraiser is really important for the shelter. Even if she wanted to be sad, you know she would try and hide it for the sake of her business.”
Skye didn’t look completely convinced but nodded.
“Come on, let’s go over near the starting line and stretch,” Autumn suggested.
Autumn scowled when she saw Dan coming toward them. “Oh, darn. What has he done?”
Skye laughed. “He looks like a penguin. How’s he going to run with a mask and that toupee on?”
Autumn couldn’t help hoping that the mask and headdress which was supposed to resemble the phantom from Phantom of the Opera would fly off during the race, ensuring Autumn’s victory, though she figured she didn’t need it.
“And what are you supposed to be?” Autumn asked out of spite, though she’d already figured out who Dan was trying to imitate.
Dan frowned at her. “I guess you have no sense of culture.”
Autumn realized she’d brought that assumption upon herself and chose to let it slip by without further attention.
“So, are you ready to lose a race?” Dan asked.
Autumn laughed. “In your dreams, Dan.”
“I could beat you any day of the week, and I intend to do just that this afternoon.”
“You can try,” Autumn said. “Good luck.”
Dan sent her one last frown before turning around, clutching his race t-shirt in one fist.
“You guys are so spiteful,” Skye remarked.
“Someone needs to knock Dan off of his high horse every once in a while,” Autumn said.
“I think beating him in the race will do the job well enough,” Skye replied. “I don’t think you had to say all that.”
Autumn and Dan took any opportunity that arose to spar back and forth. They’d been playing tricks in an attempt to sabotage each other’s businesses ever since they had gotten divorced. Skye didn’t know the half of it.
“Ah, he’ll survive." Autumn shrugged. "Let’s go and stretch.”
They were almost completely warmed up, and it was only fifteen minutes to race time when Gwen came over. She looked a little frazzled.
“Nikki should be here by now,” she said, glancing at her wristwatch. “I told that girl not to be late.”
“When did you tell her that?” Autumn asked.
“Early yesterday. I didn’t see her at all last night. Have you talked to her, Skye?”
Skye shook her head.
Autumn looked over at her sister and immediately knew that their thoughts had gone the same direction. The look on Skye’s face was one of sheer panic.
�
��I’ll call her,” Skye volunteered, her voice tight.
“That’s a good idea,” Gwen agreed. She turned away when a participant stopped her with a question.
Skye scurried off, already dialing her friend’s number on her cell phone.
“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation,” Autumn said in an attempt to calm Gwen. The last things she needed was to appear out of sorts at a benefit for the animal shelter.
“She’s always had the habit of being tardy,” Gwen answered, wringing her hands.
“There you go then. Don’t worry. I bet you she’ll answer the phone and tell you that she’s on her way right now.”
“I hope you’re right.” Gwen was becoming more nervous by the minute.
Autumn turned around to see Skye coming back towards them. She knew that if Nikki had answered the phone, she wouldn’t have been back so fast. “Any answer?”
Skye shook her head.
“Where is that girl?” Gwen’s voice was high with panic.
“Now, don’t worry, we’ll find her,” Autumn said. “Maybe we should—”
A sudden commotion cut off Autumn’s sentence. Amidst the sea of animal-clad fundraiser attendees, a band of men who hadn’t dressed for the occasion made their way right through the middle of the event. Autumn recognized the Cosmic Keepers immediately. Guy Horne was leading his manic posse.
“What are those devils doing here?” Gwen spat, her tone having lowered with rage.
They held signs with phrases like the next attack is coming and watch the skies. Just reading the words sent a shiver down Autumn’s spine.
“Oh my goodness,” Skye exclaimed.
“What is it?” Autumn asked, grabbing her sister’s arm in a silent signal to keep her voice down.
“I know now why they’re here and why Nikki didn’t show either. They did it.”
Before Autumn could piece together Skye’s meaning, Skye called out.
“You beasts," Skye yelled. "You’ve abducted Nikki! Where is she?”
Gwen began sobbing, thrusting her hands over her mouth.
A hum went through the folks gathered on Main Street, and a number of the Cosmic Keepers looked around in search of the owner of such offensive words.
Skye pushed through the crowd, stomping right up to stand in front of Guy. She pointed her finger in his face. “You did this to Mick and now to Nikki. Now tell us where you’ve taken her!”
Guy’s eyes widened. “If you would have been listening at all to anything we’ve been saying, you would know it wasn’t us who took Nikki. It’s like we’ve been telling you—the aliens are due for another abduction, and it seems they’ve carried out their plan.”
A sharp cry of anger shot from Skye’s throat before she planted a hard slap on Guy’s cheek.
Everyone began talking at once as the crowd dissolved into chaos.
Autumn worked her way through the mayhem and grabbed her sister’s arm. “Skye, you need to calm down.”
“Calm down?” Skye squeaked. “They kidnapped Nikki. They might kill her like they did Mi—” Her eyes grew to twice their size. “We might have realized she was missing too late!”
“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Autumn said.
Gwen had joined them then, having heard the last part of their exchange. “We need to find out where she is in any case.”
Autumn nodded. “Where should we look first?”
“I know where I’m going.” Without another word, Skye took off.
Autumn looked over at Gwen.
“I don’t care if there’s a race today,” Gwen said. “I’m following Skye.”
Autumn was tempted to look elsewhere, but when she saw that Skye was headed toward the biking trail where they’d encountered Mick’s corpse, she knew she had to go with them. She raced to catch up with them, realizing that her chance to beat Dan was gone and this was the only run she was going to do today.
But, what did it matter when Nikki’s life might be at stake?
* * *
Gwen and Nikki were halfway to the spot where Mick had been killed when Autumn and Mochi joined them.
“I’m sure scared to come up here,” Skye said, her voice quivering. “But, I have a bad feeling about that Guy Horne, and I feel like it’s the most obvious place to look.”
“I hope to heaven you’re wrong,” Gwen said.
“Me too.”
“Me too,” Autumn added. “But, it is a good precaution especially since those Cosmic Keepers decided to crash the fundraiser. Let’s go.”
The group jogged the rest of the way to the dreaded location of the last crop circle. Even in her haste, Autumn noticed a cluster of poison ivy off to the side of the trail. She figured that was where Skye had gotten it when she’d refused to wear socks.
Autumn’s insides went cold when she heard Skye scream and saw her clutch at Gwen’s arm.
Then Gwen screamed too.
Chapter 12
It took only a moment after Autumn saw Nikki lying on the ground where Mick’s body had been to pull herself together. She left Skye who had gone completely frozen from the shock and Gwen who was now sobbing. She crouched down next to Nikki, dreading what she might discover. Before she could think too much about the idea of touching a dead body, she reached out to feel the woman’s neck for a pulse.
“She’s alive!” Autumn cried when she sensed the blessed thump of a pulse beneath her fingertips.
In a moment, Gwen and Skye were beside her, both talking at once, creating a rise in hysteria.
“Oh, my dear!” Gwen cried. “How could this have happened?”
“Are you sure she’s alive?” Skye asked. “I don’t see her breathing.”
“She has a pulse,” Autumn said.
Just then, Nikki stirred ever-so-slightly.
“See?" Autumn stated. "Skye, hurry up and call the police.”
Skye scrambled to find her cell phone, and when she did, Autumn saw that her hands were trembling uncontrollably.
“Here, give it to me and I’ll do it,” Autumn said, holding out her hand.
Skye looked relieved. “Why isn’t she waking up?”
Autumn’s gaze went to Nikki once again. “I don’t know. It’s just a guess, but maybe she had been sedated? The important thing is that she’s alive. I’m going to go down the hill a bit so that I can get a signal. I’ll be back soon.”
Autumn was grateful when Detective Green picked up on the first ring. “Detective, we’ve found Nikki up on the path where Mick's body was found. She’s alive but unconscious.”
“I’ll be there in less than ten minutes,” Detective Green said. “Who’s up there with you?”
“Just me, Skye and Gwen, Nikki’s mother,” Autumn answered.
“We’ll be there soon.”
Autumn hung up, ready to go back up to stay with the other women until the police arrived, but she stopped when she saw Guy Horne coming up the trail.
“What on earth are you doing here?” Autumn yelled. “Come to finish your handiwork?”
Guy looked at her with an expression of bewilderment. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play innocent with me,” Autumn said. “You told Skye that the aliens were the ones who’d abducted Nikki. You lied, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t, and I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, you don’t, do you?" Autumn accused him. "Why else would you be on this trail? What have you done to Nikki?"
Guy shook his head, glaring at her. "Nothing."
“It’s in your best interest to tell me because the police will be here any minute,” Autumn stated.
"I'm not lying," Guy insisted.
Autumn took a step back when Guy made a move toward her. “Stay away. Thankfully, Nikki isn’t dead, and I plan to keep it that way. There’s no need for you to get any closer. It’s not her time to be joining Mick.”
Guy scowled at her. “Mick? Look, I swear I had nothing to do with the murder of that guy
.”
Autumn’s chin rose in disbelief. “You really expect me to take your word on that?”
“Yeah, I do,” Guy said, his voice tinged with annoyance.
“Then, explain to me why you’re here.”
The leader of the Cosmic Keepers contemplated for a moment before finally speaking. “Okay, I did know that Nikki was up here.”
Autumn’s brows rose. “How?”
Guy shifted his weight, uncomfortably. “I brought her here myself.”
“I knew it,” Autumn said.
“It was only because she was nosy," he explained.
“Stay right there and don't come an inch closer," Autumn warned him.
Guy hesitated again for a moment before exhaling. “I was the one who painted the crop circle on the outside of the church.”
“That’s no surprise,” Autumn remarked.
Guy rolled his eyes. “I was almost done when I realized that Nikki had been snooping around while I was working. I couldn’t risk having her telling everyone what she’d seen.”
“So, you decided to try and kill her….”
“I didn’t try and kill her," Guy shouted. "She’s alive—you said so yourself. I just sedated her. The dose I gave her didn’t do her any harm and won’t have any long-term side-effects.”
“How do you know that the drug you used is safe?” Autumn asked, thinking that the police had better get there soon in case Nikki was at risk for going into a coma or something like that.
“I used to be a nurse,” Guy said.
Autumn blinked, thinking she would never have guessed this in a thousand years. “Oh.”
“Now do you believe me? I never intended to kill her and I had absolutely nothing to do with Mick’s death. Satisfied?”
Autumn pressed her lips into a firm line. “Satisfied isn’t exactly the word I would choose, but I suppose I’ll have to be content with the information you’ve just given me. The police will start their investigation when they arrive in any case.” She was about to turn back to make her way up the trail when she paused. “Why are you so adamant about the people of Mineral Springs believing that the symbols that have been painted on doors are signs from aliens? Drugging an innocent woman seems a little extreme.”
Pumpkin Smoothie Murder (Harmony Cafe Cozy Mystery Book 4) Page 5