Scarlet Nights (Edilean 3)

“Of course. We all thought he was going to marry Sara, but then he dropped her in a really rotten way. I wanted to go to England and kick him, or better yet, to send you to beat him up. I wrote you all about it.”

“Did you? I can’t remember every dumped-on girl you wrote me about. Could you find out everything you can about him now? Tell the captain to send me any stats he can find and to call the police in England. Tell them to send someone out to talk to Tolworthy—and take a tape recorder. I want to hear the bastard’s side of what he did to Sara.”

Tess was silent for a moment. “You think Greg had something to do with this, don’t you? I can hear it in your voice. Do you think maybe he threatened Brian and made him leave? I know Greg showed up in town not long after Brian left, and we’ve all thought Sara latched on to Greg on the rebound. She seemed to want to prove to us, and herself, that she could get a man and keep him.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me all this?”

“I did tell you!” Tess yelled. “I told you every word of it!”

“You probably did,” Mike said calmly, “but I forgot. Find out everything, will you?”

Tess regained her calm. “How are the tarot cards coming?”

“I haven’t seen them. Can you get it spread around town that Joce is going to tell fortunes with a very unusual deck of gypsy cards?”

“Sure. Easy. I’ll call one person, and three hours later, everyone in town will know. Mike, Joce won’t be in any danger, will she?”

“No, but I hope a deck or two of cards disappears. We’re making a curtain that can be drawn, so Joce can look away when customers of the right age show up. If Mitzi is here, we hope she’ll pocket an unopened deck. And one of Luke’s cousins is installing a camera system so we can record everything that goes on in the tent.”

“Which one?” Tess asked.

“The cameras are made by—”

“No, you idiot! Which cousin is setting up the camera system?”

“How the hell would I know? Everyone I’ve met is a cousin or aunt or whatever to Sara.”

“So how’d you like Ariel? Too much of a good thing, right?”

His sister didn’t fool him; he knew exactly what she wanted to know. “She’s a hag compared to you.”

“Yeah?”

“Good night, baby sister.”

“Good morning, big bro.”

When Mike got back to the apartment, he was glad Sara was in bed. He’d again brought in some files to go over, searching to see what he’d missed.

Hours later, Mike closed the files and tucked them under the mattress. No matter how many times he read about what Mitzi had done, it still shocked him. That such crimes could go undetected and unpunished for so very long—generations—made him sick.

It was six A.M. when he turned off the light and for all that he’d found out, he still had no idea why the Vandlos were after Sara.

17

ON SUNDAY MORNING, Sara told Mike through his closed bedroom door that he had to get out of bed and get dressed to go to church.

“Go away,” he said, sounding like he had a pillow over his head.

“I’m not leaving without you. You get up every morning before daylight to go to the gym. It’s after nine A.M. now, so you can get out of bed to go to church.” She waited but heard nothing. Quietly, she turned the knob and went into the room. It was so dark that Sara guessed Tess had had a thick interlining put in the curtains. In anticipation of her brother visiting? Sara wondered.

Tiptoeing, she went to the window, threw back the curtains, and sunlight flooded the room. She turned at Mike’s groan. All she could see of him was one bare arm holding the pillow over his head.

“Get up, Mr. Sleepy. It’s time to go.”

“Edilean …”

She couldn’t understand what he’d said, so she lifted the corner of the pillow, but Mike pulled it back down. “Did you say a naughty word on the Lord’s Day?”