“I … don’t know,” Kade admitted. “I think there’s something off about the scarecrow, but I’m starting to wonder whether someone was masquerading as the scarecrow.”
“But … why?”
“Think about it,” Kade said, picking an easy pace so my shorter legs could keep up. “If someone pretended to be a scarecrow they could be in plain sight and spy on us without anyone being suspicious.”
“But why would you hang yourself on a pike to spy?”
“We don’t know that’s what happened,” Kade cautioned. “Someone could’ve taken the real scarecrow down so they could spy for a short amount of time. You heard Burt. They don’t tour every acre of land because they don’t have a need to do it. Someone could’ve taken the scarecrow down and taken its place to spy on us.”
I still wasn’t convinced. “So why steal the scarecrow?”
“Maybe they didn’t steal the scarecrow,” Kade said. “Maybe they hid it. It could be anywhere around here.”
He had a point. “Okay, let’s say you’re right – although I’m not certain you are – why spy on us?”
“Because someone clearly has an agenda,” Kade replied. “I don’t know whether they killed Frank as a warning to us, meaning he was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they’re now interested in us to cover for the murder. I do think somehow everything is connected.”
I studied his profile as we crossed the dreamcatcher and returned to the fairgrounds. “So you don’t think it was an evil scarecrow?”
Kade’s smile was rueful. “I’m not ruling it out,” he said. “That seems unlikely, though. It seems far more likely a human is messing with us – and apparently trying to do sexual things with a scarecrow, if you believe Burt.”
“Well, we’ll have to keep our eyes open,” I said. “I’ll watch your back and you can watch mine.”
“I like watching your back,” Kade said, wrinkling his nose as he gave me a gentle kiss. He was feeling me out to determine whether I was still irritated.
“Even though my behind is scrawny?” Yeah, I wasn’t letting that go.
“Oh, man.” Kade made a face. “How long are you going to be ticked about that?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Well … .” Kade broke off, frowning when he caught sight of Percival jogging around the outer pathway that encircled the circus grounds. He was shirtless, and he appeared to have a fan club.
Now, I don’t know a lot about British bodies. The accents are a known commodity, but the bodies … . Movies have taught me that British men are pasty, pale and scrawny. Percival seemed to be the exception to the rule. I wasn’t the only one who thought that, because Nixie, Naida and Raven all trailed behind as he took his morning jog. I’d never known any of them to work out before, but now they were all struggling to keep pace as Percival’s smooth and chiseled chest gleamed under the early morning sunlight.
“Wow.” The single word was out of my mouth before I realized the intelligence associated with uttering it.
Kade scowled when I risked a glance in his direction. “I hate that guy,” he grumbled. “He’s a freaking clown. Those idiots are chasing him like it’s a scene from Rocky.”
“He’s a hot clown.” What? He said my behind was scrawny. He had it coming.
“He’s British,” Kade snapped. “He’s supposed to look like Prince Charles, not Chris Hemsworth.”
I was impressed with his pop culture knowledge. “You’re still hot. Don’t worry. Your body is great.”
“I’m not worried!” Kade was growing increasingly shrill.
“He has the accent and the body, but you have … charisma.”
Kade grabbed my waist, causing me to squeal as I tried to escape. “You’re in big trouble! I’ll show you charisma.”
In the end, it wasn’t a bad morning after all – other than the potential murderer hanging around the cornfield. Hey, nothing is perfect.
17
Seventeen
Kade and I were laughing so hard we didn’t notice Luke and Max drinking coffee at the picnic table in front of the trailers when we returned to start our workday preparations. Kade refused to stop tickling me, and I couldn’t catch my breath, resorting to gasping to keep from passing out.
“Ah, young love,” Luke cooed, his hair standing on end as he wrapped his fingers around his mug. He’d clearly just got out of bed. “And how are Dawson and Joey this sweltering summer morning?”
I frowned at the reference.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kade was reluctant to release me, but because the boss was present he obviously decided pretending to be professional was just as good as being professional.
“It’s a television show,” I said. “It was a teenage soap opera.”
“Ah.” Kade ran his hand through his hair before sitting next to Luke and reaching for the coffee carafe. I couldn’t decide whether he purposely distanced himself from Max or wanted to irritate Luke. It was a toss-up. “I vaguely remember that show. Was Dawson the resident heartthrob?”
“No, that would’ve been Pacey,” I replied, realizing too late that I was owning up to watching an outdated show built around pretentious teenagers. “Not that I would know or anything.”
I took the open seat next to Max and returned his kind smile. He looked exhausted. I had no doubt my ultimatum weighed heavily on him. I also had no intention of backing down. Kade had to know the truth. Every day I got closer to him. Every day I risked my heart breaking when he found out I’d been lying to him. I couldn’t take much more pressure, because I knew I would collapse … and soon.
“Yes, she wouldn’t know,” Luke teased, grinning. “She watched every episode with me last year when we were going through our Netflix phase.”
“It’s okay,” Kade said. “I think it’s funny. If Pacey was the heartthrob, though, why did Dawson get the girl? Joey is a girl, right? I think that’s how I remember it. The girls in my high school watched that show.”
“Joey is a girl,” Luke said. “And Dawson didn’t end up with the girl. He was the only guy who had a show named after him who lost the girl in the end. True story.”
Huh. I’d never really thought about that. “That is weird,” I said, rolling my neck until it cracked before accepting a mug of coffee from Max. “Why do you think that is?”
“I think Dawson was a douche, and everyone knew it,” Luke replied. “That’s why Kade is Dawson.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to be Dawson,” Kade said, refusing to rise to Luke’s obvious bait. He didn’t want to pick a fight, which I would’ve welcomed at this point. I knew why, too. He wanted those photos. Drat! “I want to be Pacey. If he gets the girl, I’m clearly Pacey.”
“You can’t be Pacey,” Luke scoffed. “I’m Pacey.”
“You can’t be Pacey,” I countered. “He gets the girl, not the boy.”
“Yes, but teenage soap operas rarely let gay characters get anyone,” Luke argued. “I’m Pacey.”
“Dawson’s Creek had a gay character named Jack,” Max pointed out, taking everyone by surprise. “He ended up with Pacey’s brother in the final episode. You’re clearly Jack.”
I couldn’t keep my mouth from dropping open. “You watched Dawson’s Creek?”
“You weren’t the only ones addicted to Netflix,” Max replied, clearing his throat to signify the conversation was going to take a serious turn. “What can you tell me about the body?”
“Nothing more than I’ve already told you,” I replied. “Kade thinks there’s something fishy going on with the scarecrow, but I don’t know what to think.”
Max lifted his eyebrows. “The scarecrow?”
“It was there the day the body was found and gone the night Poet was chased through the cornfield,” Kade explained.
“It’s back now,” Luke said, craning his neck so he could see the area in question. “Do you think it’s walking around killing people? That would make a great horror movie.”
�
�That’s not the same scarecrow,” I said. “Also, that would make a weird horror movie. Who’s afraid of a killer made of straw? Light a match and … whoosh!”
“Whatever,” Luke said. “I would be a great lead for that horror movie. I’ve always been a terrific screamer. I’ve even been likened to a young Jamie Lee Curtis.”
Kade incredulously shook his head before locking gazes with me. “I’m going to let that one go.”
“That’s probably wise,” I said, sharing a small smile with him.
“How do you know it’s not the same scarecrow?” Max asked. “Is it dressed differently or something?”
“I saw the scarecrow was back this morning when I was coming back from town with breakfast,” Kade said. “Poet and I went to check it out once we were done eating. We bumped into the farmer who owns the land. He told us.”
“A breakfast I wasn’t invited to, mind you,” Luke groused. “I still haven’t eaten.”
“There’s cereal in your trailer,” I reminded him. “Eat that.”
“I’m definitely giving Kade those photos now,” Luke huffed.
“Kade left you out of breakfast,” I said, an idea forming. “You’ll be rewarding him for bad behavior if you give him the photos now.”
“Hey!” Kade extended a warning finger. “I’m going to see those photographs. I don’t care how you manipulate Luke. They will be mine.”
“What photographs?” Max asked, his eyes twinkling. He clearly enjoyed the banter, which made the task in front of him all the more difficult. My heart went out to him even as my irritation threatened to overwhelm me. I needed him to move faster.
“The ones of Poet when she got drunk that one night and dressed up in the cheerleader uniform,” Luke replied. “I took photos and video, and I’ve been holding them over her head. She’s not being blackmailed right, though. I don’t like it.”
Max snickered. “I remember that night.”
“You do not,” I shot back. “You weren’t there.”
“Yes, I was,” Max said. “You might’ve been too drunk to remember, but I was there. Someone ran up to my trailer and told me I couldn’t miss the show, so I came down.”
I was mortified. I had no idea Max witnessed my performance, if you can even call slurring words and jumping up and down until tipping over a performance. “I … who told you to come down?”
“Raven.”
“Well, that figures,” I muttered, visions of payback dancing in my head. I didn’t care that the incident happened two years ago, she was going down. “She needs me to kick her in the vagina.”
“Poet!” Max’s eyebrows flew up his forehead as Luke and Kade burst into gales of laughter. “I just … her vagina?”
Sometimes I think my mouth has a mind of its own and my big brain doesn’t connect with that mind. I can’t explain it. “I … yes. I want to kick her in the vagina. I said it … and I mean it.”
“Oh, I love chick fights,” Luke enthused. “Tell me before you do it so I can film it and add it to my collection.”
“Your embarrassing Poet moments collection?” I wanted to kick him, too.
Luke bobbed his head as he snickered. “It will have prominent placement. I promise.”
“I’m going to find all of those photos and videos and destroy them,” I warned. “I can control minds. I’ll make you tell me where everything is.”
“You will not,” Luke argued. “You’re too good for that. It’s a violation.”
He wasn’t wrong. Controlling bad guys and forcing them to do something wasn’t easy, but I could convince myself of the merit associated with it because it’s for the greater good. Mind- raping a friend is something else entirely. The mere suggestion made me squirm. “Fine,” I muttered. “If you show him, though, I’m going to kick you in your vagina.”
“Well, at least that will be entertaining,” Luke said, winking. “Go back to the scarecrow. Why is it different?”
“The farmer, who calls his own wife ‘Mama,’ by the way, told us his went missing,” I replied. “Kade originally thought the scarecrow came alive and went after me, but now he’s leaning toward a human dressing as the scarecrow and replacing it so he could spy on us without attracting unwanted attention.”
“Wow, that was a mouthful,” Kade said, shaking his head. “I never thought the scarecrow came alive and chased you. I merely pointed out that the scarecrow was gone.”
“After admitting you’re terrified of corn because of Children of the Corn.”
“And that’s why I can’t wait to see those photos,” Kade said. “You need to be taken down a notch or two. By the way, I’m not terrified of corn. I said there’s something creepy about a cornfield. There’s a difference.”
Crud. I dig myself in deeper every time I open my mouth.
“Oh, leave her alone,” Luke chided. “I can’t stand it when everyone gangs up on her. It makes me want to take her side.”
That was a step in the right direction. “Thank you, Luke. That’s why you’re my best friend.”
“You’re mine, too.”
“I know,” I said. “You’re the most loyal person I know … and the most handsome. You’re even more handsome than Percival.”
Kade scorched me with a dark look. “Keep it up. I’ll finish the tickle war I started earlier, and I won’t stop until you cry.”
“You two really need to start doing the horizontal mambo so I don’t have to listen to this PG-rated courting you’re doing,” Luke complained. “If you’re going to have a tickle war you should be naked … and there should be oil and stuff.”
“All right, that will be enough of that,” Max said, making a face.
“You don’t even know what we’re talking about,” Luke said.
“I don’t want to know either,” Max shot back. “We need to focus on the problem at hand. We’re in town for only a few more days. That means if something is going to happen directed at us it’s going to happen soon.”
“That’s not our only problem,” Kade said. “The cops are suspicious of us, too. That Detective Brewer who was out here the day we found the body returned last night because Poet stabbed a guy with a potato peeler. He’s even more suspicious now.”
“I heard about that,” Max said. “That guy is lucky I wasn’t around, because I would’ve peeled him a couple of times before calling the cops. Things could’ve gone a lot worse for him.”
“Nellie wanted to peel him, too,” I said. “As for luck … well … he’s not going to survive county jail for very long.”
“Do you feel guilty about that?” Max asked.
I shook my head. “He was going to kill three innocent people. I don’t feel guilty about wiping his memory and setting him up for a messy prison death.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that someone killed a man and removed his limbs,” Kade replied. “Poet has remarked on more than one occasion that the death felt ritual. That means it feels off and weird. Most people look at circus folk as if they’re off and weird. We’ll be suspects.”
“So you’re worried the police will try to pin the murder on us if they go too long without a legitimate suspect,” Max mused, rubbing the back of his neck. “We have an airtight alibi. We were hundreds of miles east when the murder occurred.”
“You have runners, though,” Kade reminded him. “Everyone knows it, because the guys ask questions and draw attention to themselves about a week before we show up. They could be suspects.”
“I never considered that,” Max said. “Still, we didn’t murder anyone. I have a hard time believing the cops would focus on us when there’s no proof of guilt. That seems … unlikely.”
“You obviously don’t watch enough television,” Luke said. “There are dirty cops everywhere.”
“There are also good police officers,” Max said. “I’ve chosen to live my life on the right side of the law for a reason. I believe in the system. It works. Are there errors? Of course. If the police com
e after us, we’ll handle it.”
Kade stilled, Max’s words washing over him. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Only that this isn’t the first time we’ve ended up on the wrong end of a murder investigation,” Max replied. “We make convenient scapegoats for some people.”
“But … .”
“He’s saying that we’ve been questioned before,” I explained. “Sometimes it was warranted, because we really do make people disappear. Sure, they’re bad people, but when you delve too deeply into our timeline you’ll find a string of missing people trailing behind us.”
“Like the guy you and Luke killed the week I started at the circus?” Kade asked, reminding me of the serial killer I mind-wiped before sending him into a lake to keep the unsuspecting local women safe.
“Yes.” I wasn’t sorry about killing him. The dreamcatcher lured evil entities. Some of them are supernatural but the rest are human. “We only kill bad people, but we do kill.”
“I’m not accusing you of anything,” Kade said, reaching across the table and resting his hand on mine. “Don’t think I was doing that.”
“I … don’t,” I said, my cheeks warming as Max sent me a sidelong glance, his expression unreadable. “I was only explaining that if anyone looks too closely at our history they’ll find some odd things. It’s inevitable. That’s why we have contingency plans for when that happens.”
“And what are those?”
“I … .” How could I explain this without looking like a monster?
Luke slapped the table, startling everyone before inclining his chin in the direction of the front gate. “Don’t look now, kids, but it looks as if we’re going to have to put that contingency plan into action sooner rather than later.”
“What? Why?” Kade knit his eyebrows.
“The cops are here,” Luke said, causing my heart to freeze when I caught sight of the now-familiar detective striding in our direction. “Something tells me he’s not here for an elephant ear and the big show.”
18
Eighteen
I often find cop faces hard to read. They always look stern, even when they’re about to give you good news, so it’s impossible to ascertain their inner emotions before they speak. Granted, I’ve never received good news from a police officer. The first round of bad news I got was the death of my parents, so I might be biased. The look on Detective Lance Brewer’s face as he approached was one for the record books, though.
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