Teased to Death (Misty Newman 1) (15 page)

The idea of a warm bed was pretty appealing. The wind whistling outside whispered against the window, telling me to stay, warning me against the chilly outdoors and the shadows slipping through the night.

"All right." I ruffled Harmony's hair. I didn't say it aloud, but there was also the implied promise of breakfast that wasn't cereal. "We'll stay. Twist my arm."

"Yippee!" Harmony leapt up and pumped a fist. No sooner had she landed than she darted off to play with the other kids.

"Don't get any ideas," I called after her. "Bed soon."

There was no answer. Oh well. It'd do us both good to have some fun and to take our minds off things. Mine was heavy with the weight of the comic shop findings, the worry I didn't have a phone or a car, the fear my life would collapse into a bigger mess than it already had.

But the one thing I did have going for me was a pretty kick-ass friend. I couldn't ask for a better sidekick than Donna. And as I glanced up at her, hoping she knew how grateful I was, I couldn't help but feel a surge of warmth toward Jax too. Maybe we could be friends after all. Just friends, of course.

"I'll grab you some blankets." Donna disappeared from the room, leaving Jax and me together in a silence that couldn't seem to decide if it was awkward or friendly.

"Well, thanks," I said.

"For?"

"Checking out my house, watching the kids…all that stuff."

"It's my job."

I couldn't tell if Jax was reminding himself or me. Either way, his point was clear.
It wasn't personal
.

"I'll see you." I shrugged.

"I'm just down the block if you need anything. I expect a phone call if you hear anything about…anything."

I smiled. "Deal."

Jax leaned in, and I opened myself up for a one-armed side hug. But Jax pushed past and brushed a quick kiss against my forehead before striding out the door without looking back.

I woke up cuddled with Harmony on a bed full of blankets and comforters, decorated with enough pillows to outfit a furniture store. I stroked her blonde hair gently, remembering one of the main reasons I'd ended up back in Little Lake. It had been a culmination of my grandmother's passing, inheriting the house, and feeling like I was missing out on my baby sister's life. Then, there'd been the ACL incident, which had knocked me off the dancing stage for the foreseeable future.

"Misty, are you awake?" Donna poked her head into the bedroom.

I nodded, lifting a finger to my lips so we wouldn't disturb the peacefully sleeping Harmony.

"C'mere," Donna half whispered, half mouthed.

I slipped out of bed and padded over to the doorway.

"Is everything okay?" I whispered, shutting the door behind me.

"This was under the door."

I glanced at the envelope in Donna's hand. There was one word on the front of it.

My name.

"Did you see who left…" I asked.

Donna shook her head no before I finished the question. "Do you want me here when you open it?"

I hesitated.
Yes
,
because I wanted the support.
No
, because I wanted the privacy to feel sad or upset or scared alone. "Of course."

Slipping my finger under the lip of the envelope, I peeked up at Donna.

Her face was turning pinker by the second.

"Breathe," I instructed.

A whoosh of air escaped from her lungs. "Oh, that's better. I was too anxious to see who it's from."

I finished popping open the envelope and sliding out a flimsy sheet of paper. It was folded in half and looked like it had music and lyrics on one side. Almost like a church hymnal.

"Father Olaf?" Donna guessed.

I shrugged. Flipping it over, I read the handwriting squashed between a few lines of prayer. "Confession is at nine a.m."

Donna's eyes were wide as she met my gaze. "No, it's not. Confession is at four p.m. What do you think that means?"

"I'm assuming he wants me to meet him at church."

"That's…that's a little odd. I'm not sure if you should go," Donna said.

"But what if he knows something he didn't want to say in front of Alfie last night? I have to go."

"You don't have to go."

"Yes, I do." I gave Donna my most determined stare.

"Then I'll go with you."

"No, Donna. No. Thank you for everything you've done and all your help and support, but you have a candy store to run. Kids to feed and clothe and water—or whatever it is you do to keep them alive and happy and adorable. This is my problem."

"I want to help." Donna reached over and squeezed my hand.

"You will. You are. You already have."

"I'll take Harmony home. I'll feed her and get everything ready. It's no problem," she said.

"Are you sure?" I felt bad—she'd already done so much.

"Yes, of course. That's how I'll help you. It's eight fifteen already. You've got to hurry. Stop by Jax's, though, and let him know. Maybe he can drop you off on his way to work."

"I'll check."

"Aww, honey. This will all be over soon." She clasped my face in her hands, assessing my expression.

I did my best to be cheery. But really I was wondering if going one-on-one into a confessional based upon an unsigned, hand-delivered note was the best idea I'd have today.

*   * *

I kissed Harmony good-bye, and she was more than overjoyed to be spending the morning with the other kids. They were licking the frosting off Toaster Strudels when I thanked Donna once more and dipped out the front door.

It was a short walk to Jax's place a few doors down. I wasn't sure that I'd want to be neighbors with all my siblings—it was a little bit too close for comfort to me. But, I had to admit, the convenience was nice. He functioned not only as a built-in babysitter but a person to call if Donna's car broke down, or one of her kids was sick, or any number of things. It wasn't until I'd moved away to Cali that I started noticing the positives of being close to family. Plus, it was much less lonely.

I reached the front of Jax's modest place, lost in my thoughts, and I barely noticed the blonde bob bouncing down the steps as I turned up the sidewalk into his front lawn.

"Oh, hey, Misty. What are you doing here?" Sarah flashed a grin in my direction, but confusion was written over her face.

"Oh, Sarah—hi." She'd caught me off guard, and it took me a moment to figure out why she was leaving Jax's place.

The realization that she'd probably slept over and was heading to work hit me. "Oh, I was, uh, looking for Jax. I had to tell him something—police business—uh, do you know where he is?"

Sarah hesitated at my babbling. "He's at the station."

"Oh."

"Do you need something?" She cast a gaze beyond me, as if in a bit of a hurry.

"I just had to tell Jax about something…"

"Do you want me to pass on a message?"

"No, no, that's all right. I'll just…you said he's at the station?"

"Yeah. He's working," she repeated.

"Do you know what time it is, by chance?" Without a phone, and without wearing a watch, I was clueless.

Sarah clicked her phone on. It's eight twenty-eight. Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, I just have somewhere to be. Thanks anyway." I turned and headed down the path, trying to calculate whether or not I could make it to the station before I hit the church.

No
, I decided. I barely had enough time to make it to the church from here—it was a solid two mile walk, so I'd have to hustle.

"Do you need a ride?" Sarah called from the doorway.

I turned around. She'd moved back toward Jax's house and had a key in the lock.
She already had a key?

I pushed away the small hint of jealousy and smiled. "No, I'm okay, thanks."

"Honestly, I just have to grab something from upstairs. If you don't mind waiting a sec, I can drop you off in town, or at the station, when I head out." She paused. "About what I said on the phone the other night…I hope I didn't upset you."

"No, no. You have every right to be nervous about helping me out. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, I want to help. I do. A real friend would be there for you when you need them." She gave a weak smile. "I didn't do a great job of that so far."

"It's better this way—believe me. Once everything is cleared, we can hang out. I'm just going to walk down there. I have time."

"Let me give you a ride to the station. I insist. I want to make up for not rescheduling the comic store trip with you."

"Oh, I already went there, so it's not even an issue," I said brightly.

Sarah raised her eyebrows. "Wow! You went last night then?"

I smiled. "Yep. You didn't miss anything."

"Hm. Tell me about it in the car. I insist on taking you."

I hedged a bit. I didn't want to put anyone else in danger more than I already had. "Is it out of your way?"

"Not at all. I have extra time. I was even considering stopping by the station just to surprise Jax and say hi this morning anyway. It's no trouble at all."

"In that case, I'd really appreciate it." I headed back up the pathway and followed Sarah into Jax's house.

It was clear a bachelor lived here, but the attempts to make it a little more homey were obvious, even though it was more of a patchy attempt at this point. A picture of Jax and Sarah sat on the entryway table, but judging by the lack of dust or fingerprints on it, the frame was a new one. A purse lounged in the chair beside the door, and a woman's jacket—probably Sarah's—hung in the open entryway closet.

"Nice flowers." I smiled and pointed to the sunflowers next to the photo of her and Jax. "I see you've added a nice feminine touch to the place."

"You know,
guys
," Sarah said. "They'd leave all the windows shut and drapes pulled if it weren't for us. I like to brighten the place up a bit. Or at least I try."

Sarah dashed upstairs, calling down that she'd only be a second.

I poked around the entryway, trying to get a feel for the way Jax lived these days. The walls were fairly bare, the carpets and rugs nondescript but classy. He lived simply, I assumed, based on the lack of clutter on most surfaces and the minimum amount of furniture in his home.

He had a couch and a television in the sitting room, which I could see from the entryway, and a kitchen next to it that had only the necessary appliances and a coffee machine on the counter. One mug hung from the drying rack.
Sarah's?

"Ready?" Sarah's voice jolted me back.

"Yeah. I'm ready. Thanks again."

Once we were strapped into Sarah's sporty little car, cute and zippy, she headed in the direction of the station. "Sorry again that I bailed on you last night. I didn't know they were closed today."

"It's no problem. Of course you didn't know." I relaxed in the passenger seat, grateful for saving my feet the extra steps to the station.

"Yeah, still…"

"My feelings aren't hurt. And I really appreciate you giving me a ride. We're all good." I smiled at Sarah, and I was surprised to realize my feelings were genuine. My grudge was starting to fade. It was a nice change.

"How was it though?" Sarah's eyes twinkled. "Did you find out anything?"

"Not too much. Apparently Jenkins was a member there—they're very into cosplay. Do you know what that is?"

"Costume play. Yeah, I flew out to San Diego for Comic-Con once. It's pretty fun."

"Oh, wow. I never knew. But anyway, they were all dressed up like characters, and some of the people who were there, you'd be
real
surprised at."

"Hunh," Sarah said. "Like who?"

"Actually, I promised I wouldn't say." I bit my lip, already backtracking. I probably shouldn't have told Sarah the details, especially since I hadn't mentioned them to Jax. "I'm sorry, I've said too much already."

"Anything about Anthony?"

"Not really." I glanced out the window, wanting to ditch the rest of her questions. "Anyway, this is great here. Thanks so much for the ride."

Sarah nodded.

"Were you going to say hi to Jax?" I asked, getting out of the car. I looked back through the window. Her hands still firmly gripped the wheel, and she didn't look like she was moving anywhere too soon.

"No, I'm gonna get going, I think." She gave me a small smile. "Good luck!"

She was off as I raised my hand to wave good-bye.

I didn't think about Sarah anymore as I headed inside the station. My mind was already onto other things, namely finding Jax, telling him about the note, and getting over to the confessional by 9:00 a.m., which was now in twenty-two precious minutes, based on the clock on the wall.

"Alfie," I nodded. He was manning the front desk.
Of course he would be
—today was the day the comic shop was closed. What else would he be doing?

I was proud of myself for having enough restraint to hold back a minor smirk as Alfie blushed. "Misty, how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Jax."

"For what, if I may ask?"

I leaned on the counter. "You may not ask."

Alfie's ears reddened, and he looked a little bit like a teakettle that was just about to boil. I wouldn't have been surprised if he started steaming. "Fine, then. In his office."

He thumbed me down a hallway straight behind him, and I took off, scanning for the name plaque that would tell me I'd reached my destination.

"Look who it is." I whirled to face the familiar voice behind me.

"Jax. I must have missed your office."

"It's not marked." Jax pointed to what may have been a broom closet. There
was
a name plaque, but in my defense it wasn't what I'd been looking for. Instead of white block letters, the name Jax was spelled J-A-C-K-S in color crayon, with snowmen dancing around the letters and a yellow exclamation mark that looked like a hot dog. Clearly a gift from one of Donna's kids.

"That's a beautiful nameplate."

"That's why I leave it up." Jax grinned. "What can I do for ya?"

"I got a letter this morning."

Jax looked up and down the hallway, his grin melting into a mask that intersected on curious and concerned. "Come in."

The interior of his office was not much better than the broom closet I'd initially thought it to be. Two mismatched, raggedy chairs sat on opposite sides of a plain metal table. Papers were spread on his desk, semi-organized to him probably but chaotic to an average bystander. A computer perched against a stand to his left, and there was a tiny, college-style refrigerator on the other side of the room.