by Savannah Mae
She smirked. “No. The Jinx sisters tried to open one sometime back, but the city council members didn’t want to approve it because one of the sisters is difficult, and that’s me being polite.”
“Do you mean Calypso?” I asked.
She chuckled. “I’m sure you heard all about her already. I feel sorry for you. She scares people. Not me, of course. She’d have to grow a few inches and get a bigger bat to scare me, but I digress.” She looked over her shoulder as a man several inches shorter than her walked in from the back room. She gave him the once-over. “I told you not to walk around in public like that. You look like you took a bath in a vat of motor oil.”
He shrugged. “What if I did? Who cares?” He removed his hat and bowed his head to us. “Hello there, ladies. What can I do for you?”
The woman clicked her tongue. “You could take a shower for starters. But, lucky for you, that’s not why they’re here. They need a place to stay tonight. Unless you own a motel, I don’t know about, I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do for them. These are the girls that were kidnapped by those hooligans. They need somewhere to lay their heads.” She turned her head in my direction. “How long do you plan on staying?”
I shrugged. “Overnight at best. You see, we lost our transportation and the rental car company didn’t seem too anxious to let us rent another vehicle. I guess they don’t have an office anywhere near here, so we’re kind of stuck for now.”
“Why can’t you rent a car from another company? We know a guy.” She glanced at her husband. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and call what’s his name? See if he can get a rental for them.” She shook her head. “How far are you going? This guy has rentals, but there’s no telling what condition they’re in.”
Juliana responded, “We’re from a town called Mystic Meadow. It’s quite a distance from here. How far away is the rental car place?”
“Far,” she answered.
Her husband asked, “What did they do with your rental?”
I shrugged. “I have no idea. I think it might still be where we parked it, but I can’t say for sure. The police said they went to check, but they couldn’t find it, so who knows?”
“How’d you end up in Calypso’s car?” he asked.
“I wish I could tell you, but I, honestly, have no idea. It all happened so fast,” I fought tears as I spoke. “I’m just glad we made it out of there alive.”
He and his wife exchanged glances.
She nudged him. “Make that call. Can’t you see they need help?”
He scrubbed his dirty hand over his face. “I can help with the rental car issue, but I don’t think there’s anything I can do about getting you a place to stay tonight.”
Juliana groaned, “What are we supposed to do? Sleep in a box in an alley?” She looked out the window. “Does this town have alleys?”
The woman whispered in the man’s ear, then, turned back to us. “My husband has an idea.”
I nodded. “Okay, good. What is it? We’ll do anything.”
The woman cocked an eyebrow up at him. “Are you sure about this, Michael? She isn’t exactly known for her loving heart and comforting soul. She might not go for it. I heard she threw one of her colossal fits at the coffee shop this morning.”
“You heard that from me,” he snapped. “Anyway, she’s mad at me, not them.” He explained, “I’ll make a phone call to a friend of mine. He operates a rental car place about fifty miles from here. As far as getting you a place to stay, if you walk up the block, about halfway, you’ll see the coffee shop across the street. It belongs to Calypso and her sisters. They have a big house not too far from here. See if they can put you up for the night. I’ll swing by to let you know about a new rental car as soon as I hear from my buddy.”
Juliana nudged my arm. “Say yes.”
“No offense. I appreciate your help, but I doubt this Calypso woman will want us in her house.” I gave Juliana a warning look. “She might think we were in on it.”
Mike waved off my concerns. “She thinks everyone is out to get them. If you ask me, it’s karma biting her in her behind. She might be loud and obnoxious, but trust me, she’s relatively harmless when it comes down to it.”
“Relatively?” I asked.
He and his wife exchanged glances.
She said, “She’s all talk. She thinks she’s special because her family founded this town. They’re not that special.” She snorted. “Sure, she and her sisters are eccentric, but they don’t scare me. I’m onto them.” She glared at her husband. “Calliope and Lyra are decent people. Calypso, on the other hand, has had her eye on Mike since the 1800s. Don’t do anything to get under her skin. If they let you stay, my advice would be to stay away from her or you’ll never survive. Do you think you can do that?”
I shrugged. “I can try. Who is to say they’d even allow us to stay at their place? Do they usually take in strangers?”
Mike answered, “Trust me. There’s no one stranger than them.”
I could think of a million ways things could go wrong. “Is there another option? I hate to even ask them to do anything for us.”
Mike’s wife nudged him with her elbow. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. He talks out of the side of his mouth.” She pointed to the door. “Go ahead and give it a shot. The worst they can do is say no. If that happens, well, then, I guess we can put up a few cots in the garage and let you stay overnight. It might not be the most beautiful accommodations, but it’s better than sleeping in the street. You know, they still haven’t found the kidnappers-slash-thieves yet?”
I looked around their shop. Walls of tools and shelves full of everything you’d ever need to work on your home covered every square inch. “This place doesn’t look so bad.”
She cocked an eyebrow at me. “No. We can’t let you stay here. I don’t mean to be rude, but we don’t know you. This store and the shop next door are all we have in this world. Temptation is an evil beast. We’d hate to wake up and find that all our inventory is gone. If they say no, you can stay in there. In the garage.” She laughed as if she’d told a joke. “My name wouldn’t be Desdemona if I let just anyone stay in a place I owned.”
“Desdemona?” I asked. I didn’t understand what her statement was supposed to mean.
She scowled at her. “Don’t you read? She’s the woman who was murdered by her husband.” She gave Mike the side eye. “He wouldn’t dare try it. I’d knock him flat-out in two seconds flat, but that doesn’t mean someone else might not have it in their heads to try to off me. I have to do everything possible to protect myself.”
“You mean like not let desperate strangers stay in your place?” I asked.
She winked at me. “You got it, sugar.”
I didn’t know which option was worse. Part of me thought camping out inside a garage sounded much better than approaching Calypso Jinx, but not that much better. How do we know Calypso wasn’t involved in our kidnapping? Until I had confirmation she wasn’t, I considered her and everyone else in town suspect.
Juliana headed for the door. “Let’s go ask them.”
I thanked the couple and made my way to the door.
“It will be fine,” Mike said. “I’d go with you, but Calypso wants to kill me … again.”
“Oh, great. She’s in a good mood,” I groaned.
Desdemona sauntered to the door. “Let me help you.”
“You’ll go with us?” I felt better about that.
She shook her head. “Nope. I’m her mortal enemy. At least, that’s what she told me after I outbid her at an auction twenty years ago.” She laughed. “She’s not the only one who can hold a grudge.”
I stepped outside. “Which building is it?”
She pointed across the street. “Abracajava. The building directly across the street from it is their nightclub, but it’s only open for special occasions.”
“Abracajava? That’s an interesting name,” I mused.
She arched a brow, “I call it c
reepy, but to each his own. Like I tell Mike all the time, he can thank his lucky stars I saved him from disaster. Who knows what they would have done to him?”
I gulped. “You’re not sending us to our deaths, are you? All we need is a place to rest our heads for the night, then, we’ll leave and never come back. I promise.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “You’ll come back.”
“Why?” I asked as I watched Juliana make a beeline for the coffee shop.
“For the court case, of course. You’ll have to testify. Don’t you want the bad guys brought to justice?”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead. “You’re right.”
She placed a hand on my shoulder. “It will all work out. If they tell you no, give us a holler.” She glanced over my shoulder. “Look. There’s our handsome new detective. What’s his name? Ivan?”
I squinted. “Detective Randall?”
She squealed, “Isn’t he about the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? The crop of new folks in town gets better every day. F.Y.I, I heard he’s single.”
I was taken aback. “I’m sorry. What?”
She pointed to my hand. “I didn’t see a ring. You’re about the same age.” She giggled. “Don’t listen to me. Sometimes I can’t help myself. Get on down there. You might need his help to convince them to let you stay with them for the night. I bet he can talk anyone into anything.”
Mike stood in the open doorway. “There you go again. Ogling other men. I’ll tell you, if I wasn’t such a confident man, I might be offended.”
I thanked them and moved to catch up to Juliana. “Hold on!”
She stopped in the street and waved me over. “Pick up the pace. My feet are on fire. Why did I wear these shoes?”
I’d forgotten about her obsession with high-heeled shoes. “Because you don’t have common sense. Who takes heels on a road trip?”
She paused and asked, “How do I look?”
“Who cares?” I said.
“I do. We can’t afford to look bad,” she said as she turned and noticed Detective Randall. “Oh, hello again.”
“Behave yourself,” I warned.
She pointed to the woman who’d accompanied the detective. “Who is she?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She purred, “Did you notice his eyes? They’re amazing!”
I crossed the street. “Not now, Juliana.”
“I can’t help it. I call it like I see it.” She waved. “Who is your friend?”
The woman fixed her gaze on her and asked, “Who are you?”
Chapter 8: The Jinx Sisters
Calypso shooed the detectives away. “I know how you operate. Don’t you even think for a minute that I’ll let you mess with anyone I care about.”
Isaac took a step back as she grabbed Ben’s arm and pulled him out of the booth.
Renee arched a brow at Isaac. “I told you this wasn’t a good idea.”
He mumbled, “I don’t care how long anyone has known anyone else. I have a case to solve.”
Calypso kept her eye on them as she waited for Ben to retreat behind the counter.
The Montoya girls tried to duck away unnoticed, but she spotted them and immediately rushed to the door and opened it.
“If you want to hide from me, you’ll have to do better than that,” she said. “Are you lost?”
The shorter one gulped and said, “No, ma’am. We—”
She lifted a hand. “Save it. I don’t care. I have bigger problems to deal with.”
“You don’t have to be rude,” Lyra said as she motioned for the girls to cross the street. “Haven’t they already been through enough?”
Isaac kept his eye on Ben as he made a phone call.
Renee stood firm and watched as Lyra ushered the Montoya sisters into the shop.
“We don’t want any,” Calypso said.
“The sign says open,” Renee said. “They can’t enjoy a cup of coffee?”
Lyra pulled two mugs off the shelf and poured. “How do you take yours, Renee?”
“I’ll take one with two creams, one sugar,” she said as she took in the décor. “When did you have the place redone?”
Calliope glared at Calypso before she had a chance to say anything rude in response. “It’s been a couple of years. It was a nightmare to complete. I’m glad you like it.” She placed two full mugs on the counter for the Montoya sisters as well. “Ben didn’t do this.”
Renee nodded. “No one said he did.” She fixed her attention on the Montoyas. “Is there something we can help you with, ladies?”
The girls shook their heads.
Calypso busied herself with orders but kept one ear on their conversation.
“We haven’t been formally introduced,” the shorter of the two girls said. “I’m Beatrice, but you can call me Bea.” She held out her hand for Calypso to shake. When she didn’t respond, she said, “And this is my sister Juliana.”
Lyra offered, “I’m sorry about what happened to you. I can’t imagine how scary it must have been.”
Bea took a sip of her coffee. “Thank you. I must admit, I’ve never been so scared before in my life. We’re from L.A. We thought we’d seen it all, then that happened.”
Juliana hadn’t taken her eyes off Ben since they’d walked in.
Calypso cleared her throat. “And you? What’s your story?”
“Me? I have plenty of stories, but I don’t think they’re appropriate for daytime television.”
Ben chuckled. “That’s funny.”
She took that as an invitation to start a conversation. “Hi, I’m Juliana Montoya. What’s your name, handsome?”
He looked at Melanie, then, said, “Ben. This is Melanie.”
Calypso snorted, “See, I told you. You act like a couple.”
Juliana took that as a welcome invitation to challenge her. “Do you always let your mother speak for you, Ben?”
Melanie gasped as Calypso’s face contorted into something she’d not soon forget.
Bea intervened, “This is my sister. She was dropped on her head as an infant, so excuse her.” She pulled Juliana away. “Leave him alone. We didn’t come here for that.”
Juliana sauntered away, swinging her hips with every step. “It was a simple question.”
He surprised them with a question of his own, “Did you say you’re from L.A.?”
“Originally, yes. Now we live in a small town in the middle of nowhere.”
He laughed. “We’re in the middle of nowhere.”
She shook her head. “We live about fifteen hours from here. Have you ever been to Los Angeles?”
He and Melanie exchanged glances.
“Not yet, but I’ll be there later tonight,” he answered.
Juliana perked up. “Oh, what for?”
He blushed. “I have an audition.”
Melanie sighed. “We should hurry up or you’ll be late for your plane.”
Juliana asked, “An audition for what? Maybe we can help you with your lines. We know all about how Hollywood works.”
Bea shot a glare at her. “Leave him alone.” She turned to Ben. “Sorry. What she means is, good luck to you. I hope you get the part.”
Juliana protested, “No, what I mean is, we seriously can help you. We know our way around movie sets. Maybe we could put the good word in for you. Not that you need our help. With your dark hair and hazel eyes, they’ll hire you on the spot. I would.”
He asked, “You know people in Hollywood?”
“Sure do. Our mother is an Oscar-winning actress and our father is an Oscar-winning cinematographer. We know that town and that business inside and out,” she gushed.
He moved to the other side of the counter, mindful that Isaac still had his eye on him.
Calypso warned, “Don’t do it. Redheaded women can’t be trusted.”
Lyra slammed a mug down on the counter. “What did I tell you about being rude?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I
never listen to you. A few hours ago, those girls were in the trunk of my car and no one has explained to me how that happened.”
Ben was more interested in their connections. “I’m supposed to audition for a reality show. I don’t think you’d have any connections there since you come from Hollywood royalty.”
Juliana giggled. “Which reality show?”
He looked at Melanie and shrugged. “It’s a new one about attorneys.”
“Are you an attorney?” Juliana’s eyes lit up.
“No, but I want to be someday,” he answered.
Calypso asked, “Then, how do you expect to get chosen if you’re not what they want?”
He said, “There’s a cash prize. It’s like a competition for want-to-be attorneys. If I survive the 12 weeks, I could win a million dollars.”
The room went silent at the mention of the money.
Calliope broke the silence. “Good luck to you.”
Juliana and Bea glared at each other.
“Did I say something wrong?” Ben asked.
“No,” Bea started. “We know the people who created that show. One of them is our father. The other one is our stepmother.”
Ben’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious?”
“I wish we weren’t,” she said.
“I wish you would take this freak show on the road,” Calypso mumbled. “We have enough problems as it is. We don’t need any more complications. Too many connections mean too many potential fires to put out. It’s bad enough the cops think I did something wrong. I don’t need my friends tripped up with strange entanglements.”
Isaac said, “Detective?”
Renee turned. “Yes?”
“We need to get back to the station.” He glanced around the room. “Now.”
She gulped down her coffee and waved as she ran out the door.
“Do you think they found the guy?” Lyra asked.
Calypso shrugged it off. “No. I think that was an excuse to get away from us. Speaking of excuses, girls, tell me why you’re here. I know it’s not because you needed coffee.”
Juliana giggled. “Since you brought it up, there is one thing we want from you.”
“I figured. So, what is it?” she asked. “If it’s about Hollywood’s next has-been, you can’t have him. He’s already spoken for, even if she won’t admit it.”