Dead Is Just a Dream - [Dead Is - 08] (8 page)

“You and Dominic sound good together. You guys should try another duet.” Dominic and I had sung a duet at the Battle of the Bands in the spring, but we still hadn’t settled on a new song for the choir audition.

Daisy and I followed Teddie to the third floor. We walked along a hallway with white carpeting and white walls. The starkness was alleviated by huge framed photos of Teddie during her glory days. One photo had her sitting on the lap of an extremely handsome well-known rocker. I stopped to take a closer look.

“My first love,” Teddie sighed.

The next photo showed her playing guitar in an all-female powerhouse rock band.

“Is this where you’re going to hang your new painting?” I asked when we reached an expanse of blank wall.

She looked startled. “How did you know about that?”

“We met Jensen Kenton on the way in,” Daisy explained. “He had your painting with him.”

“I wonder where he got off to,” Teddie said, but she didn’t seem too concerned.

“Is it one of his scary pieces?” I asked.

“No,” she said. “I don’t really care for his work. I bought one of his older, tamer landscape pieces for Lola.” Teddie’s sister, Lola Wells, was chief of police in Nightshade, which was kind of mind-boggling. They seemed so different.

“This is my favorite room in the house,” Teddie said, throwing open the door to the recording studio. “Go on, girls, take a look.”

“Can’t you see we’re busy recording?” Tashya snapped before she realized it was Teddie standing behind Daisy and me.

“You’re not recording,” Teddie replied calmly. “Or the light above the door would have been lit up like a Christmas tree.”

Tashya looked sulky and crossed her arms.

On the opposite wall was a state-of-the-art soundboard manned by an older guy with a fedora perched on his head.

“This is my buddy Josh,” Teddie said. “Best engineer in the business.”

“This place is amazing,” I said.

Tashya snorted, but subsided when Daisy gave her a warning look.

“This is the control room,” Teddie explained. Above the soundboard a window looked into another room with microphones all over the place. “And that is where the band will be recording.”

Right now, Dominic and his mom were the only ones on the other side of the glass. They appeared to be having a heated conversation.

Teddie’s cell rang and she stepped out of the studio, saying, “Excuse me, I’ve got to take this.”

“I wonder what those two are talking about,” I muttered before I could stop myself.

Josh the engineer shrugged. “Easy to find out,” he said, and pressed a button on the soundboard that allowed us to hear what was going on in the recording room.

I heard Dominic’s raised voice. “Why did you invite her here, Mom?”

“Truthfully?” she replied.

“It’d be a nice change.”

“Because I wanted the two of you to get back together,” she said.

Dominic’s mom really did not like me one bit. I knew I shouldn’t eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help myself. I was dying to know why his mom was playing matchmaker.

“That’s never going to happen,” Dominic said. “I’m dating Jessica.”

“But Tashya’s devoted to you and she’s not . . .”

“Not what?”

“Not a virago,” she said.

That’s why Dom’s mom hated me so much? It was the last thing I expected.

I cleared my throat, loudly, and Josh quickly yanked his hand from the button, muting the conversation between Dominic and Mrs. Gray. Tashya gave me a wicked smile, her eyes gleaming.

A few seconds later, Dominic and his mom entered the control room. “There you are,” he said to me. “I was wondering where you were.”

“Hello, Jessica,” Mrs. Gray said. “I thought you’d want to spend your time training instead of running after my son.”

“I like spending time with him,” I said. “And I train as much as any other virago.”

I wanted to get away from Mrs. Gray and Tashya, so I asked Dom, “Do you want to work on our duet before the band gets here?”

“We’re trying to narrow down our choices for our choir audition,” Dominic explained to his mom.

“I didn’t know Jessica was in chorus with you,” she said.

“We’ve performed together lots of times,” he said. “Which you’d know if you’d been around.”

I felt awkward witnessing their squabbling, so I stepped into the vocal booth and turned on the mike. I cleared my throat and then launched into “Sally’s Song” from
The Nightmare Before Christmas
. The mournful tune suited my mood perfectly.

When the last notes died away and I looked through the glass to the control room, I was surprised to see Mrs. Gray break into loud applause. “Jessica, I had no idea you were so talented,” I heard her say. Tashya was scowling.

“I’m not just a virago,” I said pointedly.

Dominic gave his mom a dirty look. I guess he figured out I’d overheard their conversation.

“What do you think of that song for our audition?” I asked him when I returned to the control room.

“I like it,” Dominic replied.

Vinnie and Flo arrived, holding hands. Her T-shirt was a less snarky than her usual ones. It read
I’M NOT YOUR HONEY, GIRL, OR SWEETHEART
.

“Jessica, I didn’t know you were going to be here today,” Flo said. “Good. I need to talk to you. Daisy, you can come too.”

Flo took us out into the hallway and said, “There’s been another murder.”

“Another one?”

“Marlon Sanguine,” Flo said. “He was an older vampire. Didn’t even have his fangs anymore. Completely harmless. Count Dracul already heard and is flipping out long-distance.”

“Why would anyone want to hurt him? Are you sure he was harmless?”

“Completely,” Flo said. “Have you and Daisy made any progress?”

I hadn’t mentioned that Daisy and I were working together, but I’d learned long ago that Flo knew everything.

“I’m having a hard time tuning in to people’s thoughts,” Daisy admitted. “Everyone in town is missing out on their sleep, which means they’re not guarding their thoughts as much as usual.”

“So you’re getting too much information instead of not enough.”

“Yep, it’s like everyone is talking at once.”

“I have suspicions about Jensen Kenton’s paintings being behind it,” I piped up.

“Did you see any paintings that might frighten a vampire?” Flo asked.

“You mean with garlic or wooden stakes or anything? No.”

“Maybe it was the Mara,” she said.

“I thought Maras only came out at night,” I replied. “And wouldn’t a vampire sleep during the day?”

“That’s true,” Flo said, looking troubled.

I brought up my other theory. “What if someone has found a way to use a painting to haunt people’s dreams?”

“Jessica, you may be on to something,” Flo said. “I’ll ask Raven to research it.”

Raven was the pacifist in our little group, which was weird for a warrior. But Flo seemed to understand that Raven was more comfortable looking things up than kicking butt.

“We should try to find out who bought paintings from the exhibit,” I suggested.

When the rest of Side Effects May Vary arrived, we focused on music instead of murder for a few hours.

Dominic’s mom was sitting next to Tashya on a long couch against one wall of the control room. I walked to the other end of the room and pretended to study the framed concert posters on the wall.

At one point while Dominic was recording vocals, there seemed to be a problem. Josh said, “Try it again” into the microphone before he handed Teddie a headset.

Dominic tried again, but I could tell something was wrong. Then his eyes rolled back and I knew what was going on.

I tapped Teddie on the shoulder. “Can you tell what he’s singing?”

She listened for a moment. “It’s a song called ‘Black Heart,’” she replied. “Does that mean anything to you?”

It meant something. I just didn’t know what. The rest of the recording session went smoothly, but on the way home, I turned the clue over and over in my mind.

After the visit to the studio,
we went to Dominic’s house to watch a movie and finally enjoy the brownies I had made. We had the house to ourselves, since Raven, his mom, and his aunt were at dinner in San Carlos.

“Jensen Kenton is helping with the decorations at the Wilder estate for the Day of the Dead party,” Dominic said after polishing off his third brownie. I guessed I was a better baker than I had thought.

“He doesn’t really seem like the community service type,” I observed.

“I did hear something interesting the other day,” Dominic said. “About Mr. Martin. Did you know he was related to Mrs. Lincoln?”

“He was?”

He nodded. “He was her nephew. I heard it from Mrs. Wilder.”

“Where did you see Mrs. Wilder?” The elderly matriarch of the shape-shifting Wilder family rarely left her estate these days.

“My mom and I went to dinner there,” he said. There was something in his voice that made me uncomfortable.

“Special occasion?” I asked. Wilder’s was a fancy eatery on the estate. I tried not to let it bother me that I hadn’t been invited.

He took a deep breath. “It was for Tashya’s birthday.”

“Take me home,” I said. “Now.”

“Jess, it didn’t mean anything.”

I was furious. “I’m glad that something like going to dinner with your ex-girlfriend was so meaningless that you didn’t even tell me about it.”

“I’m telling you about it now,” he said.

“Too late.”

“Jessica, it was my mom’s idea,” he said. “I didn’t even want to go.”

“But you did. And I know your mom doesn’t like us together,” I snapped.

I thought he’d try to deny it, but he didn’t.

“My mom doesn’t run my life,” he said.

“If that’s true, then why did you go out with Tashya?”

“I didn’t go out with Tashya.”

“Close enough,” I retorted.

“Why do you let her get to you?” he asked.

I crossed my arms. “Why do you?”

“Look, I didn’t ask Tashya to come here,” he said. “And she was my girlfriend when I was a sophomore. That was ages ago.”

“How would you feel if my ex-boyfriend followed me around all day?” I asked.

“You mean like Connor does?”

“Connor? What are you talking about? He’s dating Selena.”

“He still has a thing for you,” Dominic insisted. “And he’s in half of your classes.”

“You sound jealous,” I said, but he had a point.

“Maybe I am.”

“It never occurred to me that you might get jealous,” I said. “You have girls hanging all over you all the time. Half of them would like to push me down the stairs just to get next to you. Including Tashya.”

He pulled me into his arms. “What else can I do to prove to you that you’re the only one for me?”

“Kiss me,” I replied.

He leaned in seductively. “Have I convinced you?” His breath warmed my lips, but he was still too far away.

“Yes.” I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him closer.

We sprang apart when the front door opened. His family had returned home.

“Jessica, nice to see you,” Mrs. Gray said. And she actually sounded like she meant it. “We brought dessert. Would you like to join us?”

I glanced at the clock. “I’d love to, but it’s almost my curfew. I’d better get home.”

I smiled all the way back to my house. Mrs. Gray was finally warming up to me, which meant it wouldn’t be long before Tashya figured out it was time to leave Nightshade.

But Tashya show no signs of departing when I got to school the next day. She and Harmony were standing about a foot from my locker. I was sure it was deliberate, and their loud conversation only confirmed my suspicions.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” Tashya held out her hand in a flamboyant way.

“He gave you a ring?” Harmony asked. “And such an expensive one.”

“Yes, for my birthday,” she boasted. “And he took me to Wilder’s.”

I gritted my teeth as Tashya and Harmony swanned away. I knew she was baiting me, but I couldn’t help the jealousy I was feeling.

Raven overheard them and walked over to me. “Ignore them,” she said. “Dom didn’t give Tashya that ring.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Raven replied. “It came from her parents.”

“Why is she trying to make it seem like it’s from Dominic, then?”

“C’mon, Jessica,” she said. “You know why. She wants Dominic back. But he’s not buying it.”

“I wish I were as sure of that as you are.”

“Sure of what?” Dominic asked. I’d been so caught up watching Tashya that I hadn’t noticed him approaching.

Raven opened her mouth to explain, but I shook my head at her.

“It’s nothing,” I said. “Tashya’s just trying to make everyone think that you gave her a ring for her birthday.”

“A ring?” Dominic repeated. “Why would I give her a ring?”

“And more importantly, why would she think I’d be stupid enough to believe it?” I scoffed. I didn’t add that she was a good enough actor that she’d almost had me fooled.

He gave me a quick kiss. “Her dad gave her that ring. He was in town.”

“I’m surprised her parents are letting her stay in Nightshade this long. Don’t they miss her?”

He shrugged. “They travel a lot.”