“Yes.”
“Okay, so I was the last one in the trailer before you got there. I got in just in time to see Stomper wail on The Hospitaller’s friend.”
“His name is Fathi,”
“Sure, whatever. Thing is, when he hit that guy, Hunter was standing right next to him. Hunter got hit too, and he got thrown up against the wall. I heard bones break, and I was pretty sure he was dead.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “I kind of lost it. I knew I had to stop Stomper, so I shrank down as far as I could. I flew inside his ear, then I grew again.”
Molly’s eyes widened, but things fell into place quickly. She’d heard three gunshots, two went into Nelson, and The Aerialist had winged Stomper in the arm with a rifle shot. There hadn’t been another gunshot for the supposed bullet to Stomper’s ear.
“And that’s why you were limping.”
Beth nodded. “I bruised my hip when I grew. My shoulders too, but that’s not so obvious. I shrank back down when I heard the gunshots and came out to see Hunter on the floor. That’s when you came in.”
Molly started. “You heard the gunshots?”
Beth nodded. “Inside an ear canal. It was weird. I don’t think I ever shrank down so small before, so that was kind of messing with my head anyway.”
“But…” Molly shook her head, trying to make sense of things.
“What is it? You look freaked out.”
Molly leaned forward. “Hustle called me this morning. He said you were freaked out last night. He said you kept saying you didn’t mean to kill anyone.”
Beth nodded earnestly. “Right, Stomper. I thought I’d killed him, but Hunter told me he was all right.”
✽✽✽
"What is this?"
Sean looked at the gazebo on the hospital campus. Molly had never understood why hospitals felt the need to add such decorations. Did anyone really choose to visit one hospital over another because they had more interesting landscaping?
“I need to talk to you in private.”
Sean looked over his shoulder at Erasmus and Sandra.
“Everything’s relative.”
He glared at her. “You know how fond I am of games like this.”
“Then you’re going to love this even more.” She held out her hand. “Please give me your gun.”
When Sean was flabbergasted, his usual MO was to blink slowly. It was one of the things she found endearing about him.
“Say that again in a language other than nonsense.”
“I have a witness who is willing to talk to you, but she doesn’t want you to try and arrest her.”
“So Damselfly is in the Gazebo.”
She knew he’d figure that part out. He was a detective. There were only two witnesses he wanted to talk to, and only one who could shrink and hide in the rafters of the gazebo.
“No deal. I’m not promising any kind of immunity, even for ten minutes. She left the scene of a crime, and I can put her behind bars for that alone. If she wants to talk to me, it needs to be official. I’ll take down her statement, and we’ll decide what to do from there. If she’s innocent, she has nothing to fear.”
“I kind of figured you’d say something like that.”
“And?”
“And we both know it’s not going to happen that way. You can’t take an official statement from a girl in a mask anyway. There’s no way to confirm her identity” She stepped closer to him and put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, but the way I see it, you have two options. You can go talk to her, off the record, and get as much information as you can right now.”
“And option two?”
“You can skip out on the firsthand information, and just take your consultant at her word when she tells you Damselfly is innocent.”
He measured her with his eyes. “You’re sure?”
“I am.”
Sean made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a growl. He focused his attention on the gazebo. “Damselfly, I can get in a lot of trouble for handing over my weapon to a civilian, but I think we both know a pistol isn’t much of a threat to you given your maneuverability. I’m willing to talk to you off the record. That’s the best offer I can make.”
“Take it, DF.” Molly said, glancing over her shoulder.
Damselfly flew out from the rafters of the gazebo. She had changed costumes since the last time Molly had seen her. It was less decorative, but it looked considerably warmer. She was sure the girl appreciated the chance to get out of the showy clothes Nelson wanted her in.
“You know this is going to go better for everyone if you come to the station with me, right?”
Damselfly shook her head at Sean. “I’m sorry, sir. I can’t do that.”
Molly flashed a satisfied smile. “I’ll leave you two to it.”
Sean snaked out a hand and grabbed her elbow. “Where are you off to?”
“I know what she’s going to say, and she didn’t do it. That means there’s only one more suspect. I’m going to go find The Aerialist.”
✽✽✽
She had enjoyed sounding so confident about it, but the truth was, Molly had no idea where to look. The only option she could think of was to check on Heather. Grim would be appalled. All that criminology training, and she was reduced to asking for the latest gossip.
Molly parked a block from Heather’s shop. There was a small café on that block, but Molly wasn’t interested in coffee just now. Two faces in the window did interest her, and bringing Heather coffee would never be an unappreciated gift.
Tony Archer and Bri sat at one of the tables lined up against the window. Tony looked supremely tired. Bri looked supremely bored.
“Hey, guys.”
“Hey Miss Martin.” Bri smiled at her.
Tony stood when a lady entered. “Miss Martin.”
The gentlemanly manners were a bit much for Molly. She gestured him back into his seat and gave her order to the barista. As the coffee was pouring, Molly turned her back to the counter and addressed Tony and Bri.
“Martial arts practice for you two today?”
“Maybe later.”
Bri met this answer with a pout and a sigh. Molly raised an eyebrow, and Tony shot the girl a glare. Bri didn’t look abashed.
Tony continued. “I was kind of surprised when Bri told me you were giving her lessons.”
“I lived in a rough part of the city.” This was a lie. Molly had spent a lot of time in rough parts of the city, but she had lived in a quiet middle-class neighborhood.
“Bri said you’re trained in judo and aikido?”
Molly shrugged modestly. “Right techniques for someone my size.”
“I didn’t spend much time with aikido, but I’ve seen some of those joint locks in action. They can be pretty vicious.”
“Try teaching seventh grade.” Molly saluted with one of the coffee cups. “I should get this to Heather before it gets cold.”
“How is she?” Tony’s eyes lit up. “I heard she got hurt last night.”
If Molly had any doubts about how hard Tony was crushing on Heather, they had been dispelled in the space of that sentence.
“I haven’t talked to her since last night. I know she went to the emergency room, but she was able to walk on her leg, so I don’t think it’s broken.” She cocked her head. “Should I tell her you were asking about her?”
She chided herself for taking so much glee in his blush. Bri’s tone made it clear she had less sympathy.
“Please. He’s been stalking her all day.”
Tony shot his younger relation a dark look. “Hey.”
Molly gave Tony her most well-meaning look. “It is a little obvious. Sorry.”
Tony seemed to deflate slowly. “Have I crossed the line into creepy?”
“Yes.” Bri’s response was instantaneous.
“You’re approaching it,” Molly conceded. “Maybe you want to ease up on the waiting outside her store.”
“I’m sorry. I just…” He grimaced. There was no go
od way to end that sentence.
Molly took pity on him. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Do you think I have a shot? I mean, with less stalking.”
“I really don’t know, Tony. Heather has her eye on someone, but that might not go anywhere.” Especially considering the man in question wore a mask and might be a murder suspect. “So don’t get your hopes up too high, but don’t give up quite yet. Take it slow and see what comes naturally.”
Molly flashed both of them a smile and left on that note. The weather was milder than yesterday, so her nose wasn’t even numb by the time she entered La Belle Dame.
“Good morning, sunshine. How’s the leg?”
Heather glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes before noon “Crap, it is still morning.” She hobbled from around the counter and showed her leg in a brace. “The leg hurts almost as bad as the brace itches.”
Molly moaned. “I didn’t know.”
“Yeah, I wound up with a hairline fracture. The doctor says it’ll be fine in a few weeks if I take it easy.”
Molly set the coffee on the counter and gave Heather a hug. “I’m sorry, sweetie. If I’d known it was more than a bruise, I’d have tried to check on you in the hospital.”
“They had me in and out pretty fast. There weren’t a lot of people hurt despite everything, and they seemed to want me to get out of their hair.”
“You must be exhausted.”
“I’ve done with less sleep.” She looked at the coffee cups. “Is one of these for me?”
“The big one is, yes.”
“Bless you.” She snatched it up and took a gulp.
“Should you be standing all day?”
“I’ve only been here for a little while, but since you’re concerned, you could do me a huge favor.” She pulled a cane from behind the counter. “I brought a chair from home. My neighbors helped me get it to the car, but I can’t quite manage it with the cane. Can you help me bring it in?”
“Of course. Give me your keys.”
Heather shook her head. “I want to stretch out a little, and I had some bracelets shipped to the apartment. I left them in the trunk this morning without thinking.”
Molly held the door for her friend as they wandered into the cold. Heather’s car was close. They had just extricated the chair from the backseat and set it on the sidewalk when they heard a high-pitched rumble coming their way.
Teddy Smith loved his razor scooter. Molly had seen him about the town on numerous occasions. It wasn’t an all-consuming passion, but when she’d subbed in his classes, she could tell the boy would rather be zipping along the town streets.
Teddy turned the corner going way faster than he should, and found his way obstructed by two women and a chair. Stopping wasn’t possible, so he quickly changed his course and took himself off of the sidewalk to go around Heather’s car. This would all have been fine if there wasn’t a car driving down the street at the same time. The driver slammed on the brakes, but he was still doing about ten miles an hour when Molly heard the terrible thud.
Molly and Heather rushed around the car to help – Molly being the faster for obvious reasons. The car had swerved to an angle, and the scooter lay broken several feet away. There was no blood on the car’s bumper, and the women could not see what had become of Teddy.
At least, they couldn’t until Molly saw the driver looking up.
The Aerialist had Teddy under the arms and he slowly lowered himself to the ground. The newest cape set the boy down and made sure he had his feet before looking over at Heather.
“Hello again.”
Heather was speechless. Before it became awkward (just barely before) The Aerialist changed his focus onto the boy in front of him.
“You all right, son?”
Teddy looked like paper with a little bit of peach coloring over it, but he nodded. The driver of the car got out to look, but only far enough to hide behind her still open car door. Heather stood rooted to the spot, mouth agape. When she finally moved, Molly had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes. Heather put her hand up to make sure her hair was all right.
“Okay.” The Aerialist looked at the driver. “There’s a tiny dent in your front fender, but doesn’t look like anything else. I don’t know what you want to do about insurance with the kid.”
The driver shook her head. “I’m just glad he’s okay.”
“We’re unanimous there.”
“Thank you.”
The man seemed to smile behind his mask. “Just glad to help.” He checked for further traffic, then looked at Teddy. “Go get your scooter out from the road, and then I’d suggest you head home.” He gave the boy a little push, and Teddy reluctantly went to get the broken pieces.
The Aerialist turned to Molly and Heather. “I should go.”
“Wait!” Heather jumped forward, seeming to forget about her leg. “You’ve saved my life twice so far, you know?”
“Happy to do it, miss.” He looked at her cane. “Sorry about your leg.”
Heather ignored that. “Can I…” She blushed. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“I’d like that. I would, but I think it might be a little awkward.” He looked down at his costume.
Molly hated to interrupt Heather’s budding romance, but she reminded herself that there was a possibility that this man was a killer.
“Aerialist? My name is Molly Martin. I’m working with the State Police. Detective Sean Cedar needs to talk to you about what happened last night.”
He turned to her. “I know who you are, ma’am, and I remember you from last night. Aren’t you a teacher? Why are you working with the police?”
Molly considered an honest response, and almost slapped herself upside the head. “I have some experience in law enforcement, but that’s not the point here. A man is dead and you’re a witness.”
“I didn’t kill anybody.”
Molly frowned. She had purposefully chosen the term “witness” because it sounded so much better than “suspect.” He had seen right through that.
“You might have seen something that can help the police figure out who did.”
He shook his head. “They’d arrest me on sight. Sorry. They’ll have to figure things out without me.”
“Wait!” Molly watched helplessly as he began to rise.
“Sorry,” he repeated. In less than a minute, he had soared out of earshot.
Molly cursed under her breath but sprinted with all her might. As The Aerialist flew away, she managed to reach the end of the block. It let her keep him in view for another few seconds before he disappeared behind a three-story apartment building.
She stomped her feet in frustration but forced herself to keep an eye on the skies. He did not appear again. Apparently, he had expected her to be watching for him and had flown low to prevent it.
Molly returned, defeated, to Heather’s car and picked the chair up to take inside. Heather said nothing until they were inside.
“So…” She let the word stretch out. Molly put the chair down behind the counter before she made a response.
“There were a finite number of people in the room when Nelson was shot. He was one of them. I’ve talked to or eliminated everyone else who was there.”
Heather’s grew quieter. “You think he’s the killer?”
“I think I need to talk to him.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
Molly thought about that. If The Aerialist wasn’t the killer, then it had to be Fathi, Damselfly, or Hunter. That meant one of those people had lied to her, and she didn’t think that was the case. She wasn’t a human truth serum or anything, but she could catch most liars. She was a teacher, after all.
On the other hand, Capetown’s newest cape didn’t give off a vibe which screamed killer. Somewhere, her instincts were failing her.
“Maybe. I just don’t know.”
Heather shook her head. “It makes no sense. Why wo
uld he save me and kill someone else?”
“Save the innocent and make the guilty pay? It’s not a unique thought process for a cape, and he did show up to the party with a hunting rifle.”
Heather had evidently stopped listening at the beginning of the response. “Guilty? Matt Nelson?”
“Oh, right. You’re not in the loop on that one. Matt Nelson was an extortionist, and probably a murderer.”
“What?!”
Molly shook her head. “Sorry, this is old news to me.”
“I was going to vote for him.”
“Stay with me.”
Heather’s eyes went wide. “But wait! How would The Aerialist have known Matt Nelson was such a crook?”
Molly felt a flash of irritation, but she kept her voice level. “I don’t know. To know that, I would have to know anything about this guy. “
“Right, right. Sorry.” Heather moved to come around to the chair, and Molly could tell that her leg was starting to hurt. Once she sat, she gave Molly a hopeful glance.
“I don’t suppose Nelson could have killed himself?”
“It’s possible to shoot yourself in the head, though the angle is problematic, but I’m fairly certain you can’t shoot yourself in the head twice.”
Heather swallowed.
“So what are you going to do?”
“Something I’m not especially well suited for. I’m going on a manhunt.”
Chapter Twelve
“Please, can you help me?”
They were accustomed to hearing it, of course, but the timing was a little off.
“You got him?”
Hustle didn’t really need to ask the question. Major Maximum nodded almost imperceptibly. He did not tighten his grip on the prisoner’s shoulders, probably because he didn’t want to splinter the man’s joints.
Hustle sprinted to the woman and was there a good forty seconds before the rest of the group had made their way over. The woman looked frantic, and she ignored the policewoman beside in favor of the squad of brightly colored capes. Among the group, she noticed Etherya last, understandably so.
“We got a missing kid,” Hustle reported.
“Can you help me?”
Ex-Cape | Book 2 | Ex-Cape From A Small Town Page 16