Teased to Death (Misty Newman 1) (12 page)

They both looked up as I entered the room, their mouths halting movement at exactly the same time. They looked more like twins at this moment than siblings, Jax the older brother and Donna the youngest.

"Don't stop on my account." I sat down at the empty seat on the other side of Jax. I lazily draped my arm over his shoulder. "PS, we're friends now."

"I see that." Donna took a sip of wine, and her cheeks brightened. "Good to see."

"What'd she say?" Jax asked as I handed him his phone back.

"Schnookie said she doesn't want to reschedule." I smiled at Donna. "Schnookie, can you believe it? What's it been, like three weeks?"

"I don't call her that," Jax growled.

"Okay then, Sugar Pie," I said.

He looked away.

"Fill me in," Donna said. She reached over and poured me a glass of wine.

I took a few sips before I began. I recounted the afternoon's events to Donna, hitting the high points like making plans with Sarah, chasing away an intruder, and finding out that the store would be closed tomorrow.

"I don't want to wait," I groaned. "I don't have
time
to wait for the place to open."

"Let's go tonight." Donna finished her wine, then reached over and started on Jax's still-full glass.

"No," Jax said, just as I said, "Sure!"

"No," Jax said again. "Who would watch the kids?"

"You?" I asked, at the same time Donna said firmly, "You."

Jax stood, a bit wobbly as he tried to scoop one more bite of lasagna into his mouth and push his chair back. "No, thank you. No can do. I like kids, but this many is…impossible."

"Crack open a beer, turn the television on, and watch football. Make sure none of the kids kill each other, listen for sounds of screaming, and don't let Alec eat his chalk. It
doesn't
taste like strawberry, and it's
definitely
not edible."

"Have you tried it?" I asked.

Donna raised an eyebrow but didn't stop talking. "Please? You don't want Misty to go alone."

"And you can't go poking around, since you're a cop, and we've talked about that," I said.

"Fine." Jax sat down heavily.

"We'll be quick. I promise." Donna plowed ahead. "Nathan is close by, anyway. You just told me he's headed to Misty's house to look around. I'll tell him to swing by here to help until we get back."

"Where's your beer?" Jax finished his food and started for the kitchen with his dirty dish in hand.

"Right hand side of the fridge—and thanks! You're the best." Donna leapt up and grabbed my wrist. "Adventure!"

I smiled, hoping for more than an adventure.

I wanted answers.

After Donna's speech to the kids, which included things like no sword fights, no nudity, and mandatory toilet flushing, we encountered a last warning from Jax, who was already looking like he needed earplugs and serious Advil.

I kissed Harmony on the head and promised I'd be back soon, but she was already tugging Jax's finger and begging for an action movie instead of a princess one. My little feminist. Donna and I slipped out after another ten minutes of good-byes and hugs from little hands. When we reached her car, the silence felt almost cold.

"Pretty crazy, huh?" Donna asked as we got inside. "I bet that doesn't make you want kids."

"A little," I said, honestly. But another small part of me disagreed.

"But?"

I smiled. My best friend could always read my mind. "There's something nice about having a bunch of people who love and care about you, running around all loud and chaotic. It keeps life interesting, or so it seems."

"Interesting, yes. Stressful, yes. Glamorous, no."

"But you love it?"

"I wouldn't trade it for the world." Donna reached a hand over. "You'll find it someday too, if and when you want. And if and when you do, you'll know."

We rode to the city center in silence. I couldn't tell what Donna was thinking about, but I had a lot running through my mind. Everything from kids and families, intruders stealing fishnet stockings, and comic books, of which I knew nothing. The latter scared me the most.

It was a good thing the drive took only five minutes. Otherwise, I would have probably talked myself out of going before we pulled into the dark, gray alley Donna's phone GPS directed us to.

"This can't be right," she muttered. "I've lived here for
how
many years, and I never knew this was here?"

"They're not exactly your type," I said. "Anthony was always a little bit greasy, a little bit creepy, and a little bit strange."

"A lot a bit strange," Donna said, driving by the doorway once more. "Anthony gave me the shivers."

As much as I didn't want it to be, I was fairly certain the plain, dark-brown door off the alley was where we were headed. "Unfortunately, I think we should park."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.

"After the day I've had? Not at all. In fact, I want to go back and eat more lasagna and drink the rest of the wine."

Donna put the car in park. "But we should go in. We've got to find someone else who has a motive. We can't let this nonsense go on any longer. I really don't like when people break into your house."

I wrinkled my nose. "Yeah, I'm not a huge fan either."

We both took a deep breath, as well as another sip of the leftover wine Donna had poured into a small flask that read
Bachelorette
in sparkly pink letters on the outside, and gathered up our courage to go inside. Once we stepped out of the car, the chilly night breeze blew leaves between our legs, scratching goose bumps on our skin as they whistled by. It was Halloween weather: trees creaking in the dark evening, black shadows snaking along the edges of the alley, and the promise of an adventure on the other side of the large, mahogany door we stood before.

The door itself was not as plain as it'd looked from the car. Ornate carvings laced the edges, and there were no fewer than nineteen knobs on the outside. Placed in all locations, made of all different materials and all different sizes, it was my best guess which one would get us inside. If any.

"That is one way to make a door more difficult than necessary," Donna said.

"Are they trying to confuse people or keep them out?" I wondered. "Should I turn one?"

Donna shrugged. "Beats me. I'm not into this comic book thing. I saw one of the Spider-Man movies one time."

"More than me. I was a Barbie sorta girl."

"Try one of the doorknobs."

"Why me?" I asked, sizing up too many options.

Donna glared at me.

"Fine. As long as you stay right by me…" I reached out a hand and twisted the knob closest to where a normal door handle would be. A slight zap shocked my fingers, and I leapt backward as if my hand had blown up in flames. My heart pounded, and adrenaline coursed through my veins. I reached out for Donna just as the door swung open from the inside.

I glanced around for my friend, even reaching a hand back to grasp her arm for support, but I snatched nothing but air.

"Donna?" I hissed.

There was a movement behind the trash can next to the door, and I caught a glimpse of Donna's bob behind the lid.

"Donna, get up here." I kept my voice low.

Donna's head emerged hesitantly from behind the bin. I redirected my attention to the doorway, which had opened into a black hole. The door seemed like it'd been opened from a hinge by an invisible hand, but there was no sign of life inside. I couldn't see past the blackness that began an arm's length inside the door and stretched to an infinity. There was no sound except for the shift of Donna rejoining my side.

"Did you see who opened the door?" she asked.

"No," I whispered. "It just kind of popped open. But the handle zapped me."

I shook my hand as if I'd been burned, and Donna reached down to examine it. Apparently she decided I wasn't hurt, because she shook her head and peered into the empty doorway. "This is so freakin' creepy. Should we go in?"

I shrugged, trying not to show my fear despite the creepy crawlies both inside and outside of my body. My skin tingled with anticipation while my guts, currently filled with licorice and lasagna, told me to turn around, go home, and digest in peace.

"I guess we have to." I poked the thick mahogany between the handles, and it swung open a bit more. "It's technically an open door."

"Consider ourselves invited." Donna put one arm around my shoulder, and I welcomed the touch. "You first."

I welcomed the touch a bit less as she gave me a small shove forward, put both her hands around my waist, and cowered behind me as I staggered into the building. We probably looked like a pair of teenagers entering the haunted house at the Minnesota State Fair.

"Oh no. Wall." I crashed into a sturdy piece of cement, which was painted black. In fact, the entrance only appeared to be a black hole, because there was a divider about two feet past the door that filtered us into a tunnel. We could go left or right, but both sides led to dimly lit, small openings that didn't particularly look promising.

"A few signs wouldn't hurt around here," Donna said, straightening up and brushing off her jeans. "A simple arrow or a welcome mat would go a long way."

I gave her a mini-glare as she pretended to be completely nonchalant about pushing me into a dark, scary building and following me at a distance.

"What?" she asked. "I didn't have to come with you."

"That's true," I said, grudgingly. "I appreciate it. I didn't say thank you yet, and I should have."

"Let's get a move on." Donna patted me on the back with a smile. "For Jax's sake. I think he's probably more scared than we are, watching the kids."

"Left or right?"

"Uh…I'll follow you."

I glanced in both directions, went with my gut, and turned left. We followed the dark corridor to the dim light at the end of the tunnel, keeping an eye out for moving shadows, ghosts, and spiders. When we reached the entrance, which was a narrow opening between the two black walls on either side, we paused next to each other. 

"Well, this didn't work out." Donna pointed to a sign above the doorway.

Employees Only.

All Regular Folk Forbidden
.

"Are we
really
regular folk, though?" I asked.

Donna gave me a crooked eyebrow. "Let's try the other side. Just so happens, turns out your gut feeling was wrong."

"It usually is." I sighed. "Its judgment was clouded by an overload of sugar and caffeine. And a bit of wine."

"That'll do it," Donna said. "Can't make clear judgments on a crappy stomach."

"I didn't say
crappy
. It's quite pleasurable, in fact."

"Yeah, yeah, your sweetness, this way." Donna led the way back down the hall, pausing so that I could go first once we got to the actual entrance. This doorway was a mirror image of the other, except the sign above said
Regular Patrons
.

"Regular, schmegular," I huffed. "These guys sure know how to make their customers feel welcome."

"
Regular
probably has a different meaning at a place like this. I'm not sure their
normal
is quite the same as ours."

I gave Donna a nod of agreement, inhaled a large breath of fresh air, and took a step forward. Donna hesitated, and I attached myself to her wrist, dragging her in behind me. It was a little cold, sure, but I figured we had better chances going as a team.

Safety in numbers, right?

Hopefully two was a big enough number to make a difference.

We stepped around the corner into the mystery room on the other side of the entryway, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the creepy level wasn't as high as I expected. There had been a small chance someone would be harvesting organs on the other side of the doorway, and I was glad that it didn't seem like the type of place where they'd steal a kidney. At least not in plain sight.

"Who opened the door?" Donna whispered. "We still haven't seen anyone yet."

"Maybe they have a security camera around back. Could be remote control or something. Seems like the type of place they'd get a kick out of playing a little joke on their customers. I mean, the door had about forty knobs on it."

Donna wrinkled her nose. "True. I'm still just a little bit weirded out. Although, it doesn't feel quite as scary now that we're inside."

"I agree. Let's take advantage of the quiet. Maybe if we walk around for a bit, someone will come out and ask us if we need help."

"But do we
want
anyone asking us if we need help?'

I shrugged.
Not particularly.
"We can't ask these books if they've seen Anthony Jenkins. But we could ask a real person."

I gestured toward the rows and rows of books lining the outskirts of the room. It was a decent-sized space, but not huge. It resembled how I imagined a library would look in a private home. The books, however, were thin and brightly colored, their edges crinkly with natural wear and tear. There was a slight musty scent to the room, much like the whiff of well-loved paper one gets when cracking open an old library book that hasn't been touched for ages.

A slight dust coating lined the edges of the shelves, but the place was clearly kept in pristine order. Each and every book was immaculately in place. There were no books lying on the desk in the center of the room, no chairs helter-skelter, and the sliding ladder attached to the bookshelf was firmly pushed against the side.

"Wow, this place is sort of cool." I ran my fingers along the edges of the books, browsing for one I may have been familiar with. Or at least heard of. As I said, I was more of a Barbie girl, not the comic type.

"It almost makes me wish I liked to read." Donna gestured to a glass case, which held the
Ultimate Spider-Man
#1
for me to see. "Even you know this one."

"Spider-Man! I've heard of him." I sidled over to Donna. "Maybe I'll pick it up for Harmony. She's not into Barbie—she's a strong, independent woman. She'll appreciate an action book over a doll any day."

"You won't be picking this up for her," Donna said, her eyes wide.

"Why not? She should be encouraged to stimulate whichever part of her brain she—"

"It's like, two hundred dollars."

"She's getting a Barbie," I said, changing my mind at the mention of the price tag.

"Step away from the case." A soft, velvety voice slithered throughout the room.

Donna started, taking a step back.

"Back away…
slowly
." The voice was hardly welcoming, but it wasn't exactly a threat either. Donna stepped back, moving with careful motions so as not to upset the faceless voice coming from the entryway.

The figure wore a thick purple robe that brushed the tops of his shoes as he swayed in place, his face a black hole underneath a hood studded with shimmering crystals. His hands were perched before him, white and scaly in the dim light. The place went from mildly cozy to downright scary in two seconds flat.

I stepped closer to Donna. "Sorry, we were just—"

"Eh, eh, eh…what brings thou here?" The figure waved a hand in our direction.

"We were just browsing…" I gestured at the shelves surrounding us. "All these amazing books. I was looking for a gift for my younger sister."

"Why art thou
really
here?" he asked again.

He moved so little, I wondered if the man was fully alive. I couldn't sit so still, even if I was in a straitjacket.