Whispers at Moonrise (32 page)

“Blake,” Burnett answered. “And no.” He looked at Holiday. “I’ve left messages at both his work and cell that we need to talk.”

“Should I call him?” Holiday asked.

“No,” Burnett clipped. Shifting his shoulders as if to push off the stress, he looked back at Kylie. “Who were you speaking of when I walked in? Who left?”

Holiday glanced at Kylie and she could see the message in the camp leader’s eyes. She left it up to Kylie whether to tell him … or not.

She appreciated that, and when she imagined Burnett’s reaction to her disregard for the rules, Kylie almost went with the “not.” But realizing the position she was putting Holiday in by lying to Burnett, Kylie reconsidered. She didn’t want to be the one to cause even a ripple of discontent between them. Not when her goal was to get them together.

“You’re going to be upset,” Kylie said.

“How upset?” He frowned.

*   *   *

It turned out Burnett had been quite upset. Kylie had been relieved when, an hour later, Derek showed up and the four of them left for the café to see if they could find out anything about Cara M.

When Burnett and Holiday walked into Cookie’s Café, Derek held her back and let the door close. “Is everything okay?”

He’d obviously picked up on Burnett’s
cheerful
mood. Although Kylie didn’t know if it had everything to do with her, or the fact that he’d been unable to run down Blake.

Looking up at the glass door and seeing Burnett staring back at them, she recalled some of their earlier conversation.

“The FRU is not the enemy,” he’d insisted, when Kylie reminded him her grandfather had a reason to distrust Shadow Falls.

“You’re not the enemy,” Kylie had said. “But I’m still not sure about the FRU. And while I know you don’t want to admit it, you wouldn’t have hidden my grandmother’s body and wouldn’t be keeping some facts from them if you completely trusted them.”

Burnett hadn’t argued with that, but Kylie pointing it out hadn’t done much to improve his mood. He was obviously torn between his loyalty to Shadow Falls and his loyalty to the FRU. Not that Kylie worried. She trusted him. Getting her grandfather and aunt to trust him was another matter.

Derek cleared his throat to get her attention. He wore his favorite jeans and dusty green T-shirt. “Did something happen?”

“Not really,” Kylie whispered to Derek, slightly bothered by how close he leaned into her, brushing her shoulder with his. Or was she bothered by how aware of his touch she was? Pushing that thought aside, she reached for the glass door.

But she got the craziest feeling that someone was watching her. She swung around, but Derek blocked her view of the street.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“No.” She still shifted to see around him. But the brief sensation she’d gotten was gone. Were her grandfather and aunt close by? She glanced all around, left and right. The old houses lining the street had been turned into gift shops, and an old red caboose now served as a concession stand. What she didn’t see was anyone peering back at her. No one. Nothing.

So she turned back and walked inside the café packed with a chattering crowd.

The smell of bacon flavored the air in the old house that served as a café. She didn’t find the smell the least bit tempting. The downside of being a vamp. The room held wall-to-wall tables, filled with hungry people who looked like vacationers. The sound of forks clinking against plates echoed with the voices.

Only one table stood empty and Holiday led the way. A server came out of the back, carrying a tray of food that smelled like cinnamon rolls.

“Is that the same uniform?” Derek asked as they sat down.

“Yeah.” Kylie’s heart lightened with hope that this would lead them to the killer.

Another waitress, Chris G., according to her name tag, stopped in front of their table.

“You guys ready to order?” Before they spoke, she waved at another table. “One minute.”

“Actually,” Burnett spoke up, “we’re here hoping to get some info on a Cara M., a waitress who—”

“Oh.” She walked away.

“Oh, what?” Burnett frowned as she took off. She stuck her head through the door and called out, “Hey, Cara, someone wants to talk to you.”

Burnett, Holiday, and Derek all turned and looked at Kylie.

“She can’t be alive,” Kylie said. “Trust me. She’s dead.”

Then a pretty blond, with a name tag that read
CARA M
., walked out of the back. “She looks alive to me,” Derek said. “And even kind of hot.” He blushed.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Kylie opened her mouth to speak, but didn’t have a clue what to say. Or do, for that matter.

“Hi, Cara,” Derek spoke up, glancing at Burnett as if making sure it was okay to take the lead. Burnett nodded and Derek continued. “We wanted information on a Cara M.”

She pointed to her name tag. “I’m Cara M. M for Muller.”

Kylie studied the waitress’s face and tried to compare it to the spirit. It wasn’t her. Was it? Kylie played emergency recall in her memory but could only envision her long blond hair and blue eyes. Which this girl had, but …

“I’m sorry,” Derek said. “We were under the impression that Cara M. no longer worked here.”

“Well, I’m still here. Been here since I was fifteen, over two years. Why?”

“Is there another Cara M. who worked here?” Kylie tried not to stare, but feeling desperate to discover the truth, she couldn’t stop herself.

“No.” The girl looked at Kylie. “What’s this about?”

Kylie noticed that the waitress’s name tag had come unpinned and barely clung on the uniform. “What happens if you lose your name tag?”

Cara cut her eyes toward the back of the restaurant. “The manager has a freaking cow.”

“And what would you do to prevent him from having a cow?” Kylie leaned forward.

“What do you mean?” Cara asked.

“She means, do you ever loan your name tag to one of the other girls?” Derek asked.

The waitress leaned closer as if afraid someone might hear. “The boss hardly notices. But I don’t understand why you want to know this.” She smiled at Derek as if … well, as if he was some cute guy and she was some cute blonde. Which she was. Which he was. A frown pulled at Kylie’s lips.

Holiday touched the girl’s arm. No doubt to send her some calming emotion in hopes of encouraging her to answer. “Have any of your waitresses just … disappeared?”

Kylie saw Burnett tilt his head, listening for a lie, and Kylie did it as well.

“They quit all the time. The owner can be a real jerk.” Cara spoke the truth.

“Has anyone just left? Never officially quit?” Holiday asked.

Cara paused. “Yeah, there was a girl like that. A Cindy something. Can’t remember her last name.”

“Did Cindy ever borrow your name tag?” Burnett added his voice to the conversation.

“Was Cindy a blonde?” Kylie tossed out her own question.

“Yes,” Cara said to Burnett, and then focused on Kylie. “And yes. Why?”

Between Holiday’s casual touches on the girl’s wrist and Derek’s flirty smiles, the girl answered all their questions about Cindy. Before she walked off, Burnett asked if her manager or the owner of the restaurant was here.

Cara grew nervous. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Burnett assured her. “But can you let her know I need to talk to her?” He pulled out his wallet and flashed his badge. Kylie wasn’t even sure what the badge meant to humans, but it didn’t seem to matter.

Cara’s color paled. “Oh, shit. Did something happen to Cindy?”

Yeah, Kylie thought. Something happened. Something really bad, too.

*   *   *

Before leaving, Burnett had the name Cindy Shaffer and a copy of the resume she’d filled out with her emergency contacts. When he sent the info to FRU via his phone and asked for the driver’s license, they answered within a few minutes. When he showed Kylie the image of a smiling young blonde, tears filled Kylie’s eyes. It was her. And Cindy Shaffer would never smile like that again.

While Burnett spouted orders over the phone for someone at the FRU to contact the Shaffer family, Holiday ordered some cinnamon rolls. They arrived, hot and covered with gooey white icing. Derek ate two, Holiday nibbled on one. Kylie and Burnett picked at their pastries with even less enthusiasm. Even with Kylie’s stomach grumbling, she couldn’t stomach the taste. That, and she kept seeing the image of the smiling Cindy.

“Are you drinking your meals?” Holiday asked Kylie in a low voice.

“Not regularly, but I’ll start.” She didn’t look forward to it.

Burnett paid for the breakfast. As they walked toward the car, Kylie got the feeling again that someone was watching her. She swung around and saw a male figure disappear inside one of the stores. She’d barely gotten a glimpse of a shoulder and arm, but she recognized those appendages.

Kylie shot across the street.

“What is it?” Burnett’s feet ate up the pavement right beside her.

Kylie stopped in front of the store. Her gaze flew to the large carved wooden sign that read
PALM READER
. She reached for the door. “I thought I saw someone.”

Burnett grabbed her, his eyes now green in protective mode. “Who?”

Kylie heard Derek call her name from the other side of the street. “Let me find out.” She rushed inside the store.

Burnett rushed in with her.

The first thing Kylie noticed was a voodoo doll hanging from the ceiling with pins in it. The second was a foul odor. She slapped her hand over her mouth and nose. Even while wanting to gag, she searched the room for the man she’d seen enter the building. When the place looked empty, she glanced back at Burnett.

“Garlic.” He frowned. “Just breathe it in; the reaction will fade. It doesn’t kill us.”

“Can I help you?” a voice asked from behind a counter in the corner of the room.

Kylie forced herself to pull her hand from her mouth and looked at the woman dressed in a brightly colored, loose-fitting dress that had con-artist-pretending-to-be-a-clairvoyant written all over it. But just to confirm her assessment, Kylie checked her brain pattern. Human—but shady looking. Definitely a con artist.

Kylie tilted her head to the side to hear if anyone else was in the old house. Not a sound. No one breathed inside these walls but the three of them, and Kylie still wished she didn’t have to breathe. The smell crawled down her throat. She focused on the door. Where had the man gone that she’d spotted rushing inside? Noting that the backdoor stood slightly ajar, she tuned her ears to listen for anything outside. If he’d left out the backdoor, he was gone now.

“Uh…” Kylie pushed words around her gag reflex, but before the words spilled out, she noted the hand-painted sign hanging over the register.

NO SHOES, NO SHIRT, NO SERVICE. AND UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, NO COLD-HEARTED VAMPIRES.

She glanced at Burnett and back at the sign.

He frowned.

“You need a reading?” the woman asked.

“No.” Kylie ignored her desire to heave. “A man just walked in. I thought I knew him.”

“Yeah. The bell rang, but I was in the back; when I got here the person had vanished. Probably a spirit. I get them all the time.”

Kylie put out her feelers for ghosts. No deadly cold filled the space. And who could blame them? The stench of garlic probably scared them off, too. She eyed the woman again, who Kylie now had down as a complete nutcase. A stupid nutcase if she thought a sign and some garlic would actually keep vampires away.

The woman noticed Kylie’s attention to the sign. “Don’t be too quick to judge. I see them around here all the time. They have a different smell about them.”

“Seriously?” Burnett asked in mock disbelief. “You believe in vampires?”

“You aren’t the only non-believers,” she said. “But I have proof. The Native Americans drew pictures of them on the cave walls on my grandmother’s property.”

“Interesting stuff for fairy tales.” Burnett glanced at Kylie. “You ready?”

As soon as they walked out, he bit out, “Who the hell did you think you saw?”

She didn’t consider keeping it from him. She’d been going to tell him, she just hadn’t had the time. “What do you know about Hayden Yates?”

“The new teacher?”

She nodded.

“I personally did an extensive check on all the new employees. Why? Do you think I missed something?”

“I think he gives me bad vibes.”

“Bad vibes?” Burnett asked.

Kylie nodded. “And this morning before the sun came up, Della walked me to Holiday’s office and we caught him following us.” She stopped talking, realizing that wasn’t altogether true. “Maybe not exactly following us, but he was walking around. And Hannah insists whoever killed her is close to the camp.”

“And that’s who you think you saw?”

She nodded.

He frowned. “But Blake, Holiday’s ex, has been in the area, too. Hannah could have meant him.”

Burnett wanted Blake to be guilty, and Kylie wasn’t sure he wasn’t, but … “I know, but I’m just … Maybe I’m making more out of it than I should.”

“Or not.” Burnett snatched his phone from his pocket and dialed. “Della,” he said into his phone. “Find Hayden Yates at the camp.”

“Can I whup his ass, too?” Della’s voice echoed from the phone.

“No, don’t let him know you’re checking on him. I just want to know if he’s there. And do it now!”

“I’m already on my way,” she smarted back.

The line went silent for a second. “Okay … I’m at his place, peering though his window. He’s reading the paper, sitting on the sofa. You sure you don’t want me to kick his ass? Did Kylie tell you we think he was following us?”

“Yes.”

“Is that an affirmative on whupping his ass?” Della chuckled.

“No,” Burnett said, missing the humor. “Thanks.” He hung up and met Kylie’s gaze.

“I don’t think he could have made it back to the camp in that time,” Burnett said.

“I know,” Kylie said. “So maybe it wasn’t him.”

Burnett frowned. “But to be safe, I’ll do another rundown on him.”

Kylie appreciated that.

“Where the hell did you guys go?” Derek stopped beside them.