Page 32 of Bobbing for Bodies
“I told you. I’m determined to find my fae prince who will wrap me in his strong arms and return the feeling to my s-s-skin.” Her teeth chatter as she says it. “You’re no better yourself.”
I glance down at the short blue dress and my tall black boots with their cute crisscross pattern running down the front. That badge on my chest is proudly glinting in the light, and the patches that readpoliceover my sleeves look official. Keelie lent me a pair of official handcuffs she swiped from her father, and I’m terrified I’ll do something dumb like lock myself in them, so I’m letting them dangle from my belt for now as a flashy accessory.
“Iknow.” I shiver. “But I couldn’t help it. There’s some irony to it. Besides, when Lily said she’d bring in one of her spares for me, I had no idea it would be so suggestive.”
“Please”—she tips her head back and laughs openly at the thought—“everything that girl does is suggestive.”
“Amen to that,” I say as a giant mass of humanity fills the pumpkin farm as far as the eye can see. The entire grounds are decorated with scarecrows and skeletons, witches and ghosts. The nonstop screams from the haunted hayrides can be heard for miles despite the fact they have speakers set up and are blaring Halloween-themed music on a loop.
“No, no.” Keelie shakes her head at something behind me. “Do not turn around.” Her hands grip me by the shoulders. “Say, I really want to try that blue cotton candy. How about we each get one and see who can finish up the fastest?”
“We already know it’s going to be me. We do that every year, Keelie,” I say, straining to turn around. “What is it that you don’t want me to see?” I break free from her hold, and as soon as my eyes snag on a horrible sight, the wind gets knocked right out of me.
“Well then.” It comes out with a contrived sense of strength. “I guess we really are over.”
Off in the distance, standing in line for the coveted haunted hayrides are Noah and Ivy Fairbanks. Her long, red hair glimmers like copper as she laughs at something he said, and my heart breaks just witnessing the event.
I stagger backward until I end up at the petting zoo and spot a familiar stripper dressed as a scantily clad bunny—far more than she wears most weeknights. She’s on her knees helping the little child in her arms pet a baby goat, and I gasp when I see the little boy’s face. That dirty blond hair, that olive skin—sure, a lot of people have those physical attributes, but that face looks a little too familiar. I’ve seen that face a thousand times before, and it wasn’t on him. A dark-haired man steps in front of the boy, blocking him from my view, and I glance up to find the man who was comforting Stella at the funeral, the same one who saved me from the scaffolding the day Hunter died.
A crowd moves in between us, and I lose them in the happy chaos of the evening.
Kids shout into the night at the trunk-or-treat lot next to me, and suddenly this entire farm is nothing but a cacophony of sounds.
Just as I’m about to pull out my phone and call Noah, I suddenly remember we’re not exactly on speaking terms, and he just might be having the time of his haunted life with Ivy on that spooky hayride.
I glance over and spot the haunted corn maze and frown. That about sums up my life. Everywhere I turn there’s a dead end—or a dead pet. And right about now, I’m not crazy about either.
“Lottie!” a cheery voice calls out, and it’s Molly with Ken trailing by her side. “You did a fantastic job on the cupcakes! You really are a genius in the kitchen.”
“And you’re far too kind. It was really—” I’m about to segue into an entire litany of self-deprecating thoughts when I spot Micheline Roycroft standing next to Bear, and the two of them seem to be having a heated debate while they each hold one of my genius cupcakes in their hands. I’m betting they’re not anywhere near the topic of my IQ. “I’m sorry. I see someone that I need to speak with. I’ll be right back.”
I speed over just as Bear and Micheline hit a lull in their argument.
“Happy Halloween,” I say, looking to the both of them without the aid of a smile. Truth be told, there’s not a hint of anything cheery in my voice either. I’m a bit peeved at them at the moment, because it’s becoming clear the two of them know more than they’re letting on.
“You look great, Lot.” Bear frowns while craning his head past me.
Micheline is dressed as a vampire with trails of fake blood running down her chin. She looks past me as well, and I follow her gaze to where Stella and the little boy were just a moment ago.
“That’s him, isn’t it?” I look back to the two of them accusingly. “Hunter had a son. That’s why he had to keep borrowing money.” A slap of shock detonates over me all at once as the pieces to the puzzle fall into place. “And the two of you knew about it.” I shake my head incredulously. “Why? Why keep it a secret?”
“Lottie,” Bear moans. “Hunter didn’t want anyone to know.”
“Why? It’s his kid! Hunter loved children. He would have made a great father.”
“I agree.” Micheline nods, but those wild eyes are saying something else entirely. “But you don’t know Stella. She’s a nightmare to deal with.”
“Was she threatening him?” I step in front of Bear as I demand the answer. “Do you think Stella or that creepy boyfriend of hers did this?”
Bear’s face hardens to flint, and he takes off into the crowd without warning.
“Bear!” Micheline calls after him. “We’re not finished,” she shouts before threading through a thicket of people, and she too is gone before I can stop her.
“Oh my God,” I whisper as I pull out my phone once again. A part of me demands I call Jack, Keelie’s father, the captain of the Ashford Sheriff’s Department, but my fingers find another name, and I put in a call to that number instead. But Noah doesn’t pick up. I bolt into the crowd in the same direction Bear and Micheline took off in and run for what feels like half a mile before I head away from the crowd to catch my breath. From the corner of my eye, I spot a dark-haired man looking at me just as he ducks into the haunted corn maze, and hot on his heels are Stella and that sweet baby who bears a striking resemblance to his father.
My heart drums up my throat as I head on over.
Corn Maze, I hit send before I realize I sent it to Noah and not Bear.