Obsessed (38 page)

Michael had agreed to act as Vera’s bodyguard un til the police caught the killer. That meant he picked her up every day for work, and took her home again at night. Carla wasn’t delighted with that arrange ment. It meant she rarely had time to spend with Michael. But she hadn’t complained. After all, Vera was their friend, and it was clear that she was badly frightened.

Carla sighed, and moved a little deeper into the shade of the palm tree. Where were they? Michael and Vera were already ten minutes late, and she had a ton of work to do this afternoon.

Long moments passed, and Carla grew more and more uncomfortable, waiting in the heat. She reached in her pocket, pulled out her new key for the front door, and thought about using it to go inside. She’d be breaking Mr. Calloway’s rule, but she couldn’t stand out here in the hot parking lot forever, and no one else was due to arrive for at least an hour.

Carla stepped out of the shade, and began to walk around the building, checking the doors and windows for any sign of forced entry. Everything looked per fectly normal, and she was sure she’d be in no danger if she went inside. She didn’t believe Vera’s crazy theory about Judy’s ghost, and the person who’d mur dered Heidi was probably long gone. And since Carla wasn’t Michael’s girlfriend, neither the Cupid Killer nor the Copycat Cupid would have any reason to at tack her.

As Carla approached the front door, she heard the hum of the powerful air conditioner inside. She imag ined how cool and dark the inside of Covers would be, and she made up her mind. She was going inside. It was stupid to risk a heat stroke out here in the parking lot when cool air was just a few feet away. She wouldn’t be alone for long. Vera and Michael were bound to be here soon.

Carla unlocked the door and hesitated. Was she being foolish, going inside without a weapon? But she did have a weapon of sorts. She’d stopped at the bank on her way to work and there were twenty rolls of change in her purse. The change was heavy, and if anyone was lurking inside, she’d bash them with her purse and knock them out cold.

The bars on the windows cut out some of the light, and Carla held her breath as she stepped inside the cool, dimly lit building. She listened, alert for any unusual sounds, but everything seemed to be per fectly normal. She turned back and looked at the door, wishing she could leave it open. But the elec tricity bill was always high in the summer, and she knew it would be even
higher if she let the hot air from the parking lot inside.

Reluctantly, Carla pulled the door shut. And then she listened again. There was no sound except the low humming of the air conditioner. Her eyes searched the dim shadows as she crossed the floor to switch on the lights. No movement. No one lurking in the shadows. But as she switched on the lights, she felt the hair at the back of her neck begin to prickle. Covers appeared to be deserted, but she sensed that someone was watching her, following her every move as she hurried to the office and locked the door behind her.

Carla was panting as she sank down in the chair behind her desk. She was safe. No one could get in the office unless she unlocked the door. But there had been someone out there. She was sure of it!

Carla’s heart was beating a million miles a minute as she pulled the rolls of change out of her purse and retrieved her ledger from the locked drawer. By the time she’d listened to the answering machine mes sages, and jotted down the reservations for the night’s show, she had almost managed to convince herself that her imagination had been working overtime. There was no reason to think that someone had actually been watching her. She hadn’t heard anything, and she hadn’t seen anyone. It was just her mind playing tricks on her. Although she was usually a very sensible person, it was hard to remain calm when everyone around her jumped at the slightest sound.

“There’s no one else here.” Carla said the words out loud, and then she began to work. It was impos sible to imagine things that weren’t there, if she was busy working. She returned four calls to confirm res ervations, typed out Andy’s order for kitchen sup plies, and ran off copies of next week’s schedule on the office Xerox machine. Then she counted the rolls of change again, and took a deep breath as she opened the ledger to the day’s date to record the amount.

“Oh, my God!” Carla drew in her breath sharply as she spotted a yellow sticky on the page. But then she read the message and she laughed out loud. It was a message from Mr. Calloway, reminding her to call the locksmith for a receipt. Changing the locks and having the bars installed on the windows was a legitimate business expense, and he needed it for his tax records.

Just then the front door banged open, and Carla heard Michael call out for her.

“I’m in here!” Carla glanced at the clock on the wall as she rushed to open the office door. Michael and Vera were over forty minutes late. It was a good thing she hadn’t waited for them in the parking lot. She might have died of heat stroke by now!

“Sorry we’re late.” Michael looked very apolo getic as he hurried down the hall to greet her. “We ran into Andy and Linda at Don’s. And then Berto and Tammy and Winona came in, and we lost track of the time.”

Carla nodded. She wasn’t happy that they’d all gone to Don’s without her, but it would sound like sour grapes if she complained.

Michael slipped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. “We wanted you to join us. Andy tried to call you at home, but you’d already left.”

“I had to go to the bank so I left early.” Carla smiled at him. The fact that Michael had wanted her to join them made her feel much better.

“What were you doing here alone?” Michael be gan to frown. “You know that’s against the rules.”

“I know, but the parking lot was hot . . . and I checked the outside of the building. It was perfectly safe.”

“Maybe.” Michael was still frowning. “I wish you’d waited, though. It gives me the creeps to think of you alone in here. What if something had hap pened to you?”

Carla remembered how frightened she’d been when she’d thought that someone was watching her, and she tried not to shudder. Michael had told her he admired her for being so calm and sensible. There was no way she was going to tell him she’d run down the hall like a scared rabbit, and locked herself in the office. It would ruin her image.

“I knew I wasn’t in any danger.” Carla shrugged casually. “After all, I’m not your girlfriend.”

The moment the words were out of her mouth, Carla wished she could take them back. Michael looked hurt, but he nodded.

“I guess you’re right. You’re not my formal girl friend. But the killer might not know that. We do spend a lot of time together, and I like you a lot, Carla.”

Carla felt her pulse begin to race. Michael had looked almost regretful, when he’d agreed that she wasn’t his formal girlfriend. And the smile he gave her was a little sad. Did he want her to be his girl friend? Did she dare to hope that he’d ask her some day, after the police had solved the murders and all this was over?

“I’ve got a favor to ask, Carla.” Michael turned serious. “I know you don’t believe all that stuff about Judy’s ghost. I don’t either. But Vera’s really freaked. I took her over to her aunt’s house this morning, and they did some crazy sort of spell thing.”

Carla tried not to look amused, but she couldn’t help it. Michael grinned, too, when he saw that she was trying not to laugh. “What kind of spell thing did they do? Tell me about it.”

“Well . . . it had something to do with restless spirits, and they used candles and incense, and a cou ple of things that smelled awful. Vera’s aunt gave her this little bag filled with stuff, and told her to sprinkle it around the outside of the building. I guess it’s some kind of potion to get rid of ghosts, but it smells like roach bait.”

Carla couldn’t help it. She started to laugh. “The ghosts check in, but they don’t check out?”

“Right.” Michael chuckled. “We sprinkled that stuff around before we came in, and Vera says she feels a lot better. Don’t laugh if she tells you about it . . . okay?”

“I’ll do my very best to keep a straight face.” Carla nodded.

“Now all she needs is something from you, and the spell’s complete.”

“Me?”

Michael nodded. “She needs something that be longed to Judy, and I thought maybe you had some thing in the office. Vera’s supposed to burn it to release Judy’s spirit.”

“I don’t think I have anything.” Carla frowned. “Unless . . . how about her time card? That’s still here.”

“If that’s all you have, it’ll have to do. Could you find it for me, Carla? I know it’s stupid, but Vera’s determined to complete the spell.”

“I’ll find it right away.” Carla agreed quickly. If Vera stopped being so nervous, she might tell Mi chael he didn’t have to be her bodyguard anymore. And then Michael would be free to spend more time with her.

Michael followed her into the office, and watched as Carla got Judy’s time card out of the file. But when she handed it to him, he hesitated. “There’s one other thing, Carla. Vera needs two witnesses when she burns it. I told her I’d ask you.”

“Okay,” Carla agreed. “I’ll be a witness. Do we have to do this in a graveyard at midnight, under a full moon?”

Michael laughed. “That’s exactly what I asked Vera! But her aunt said that outside by the dumpster would do just fine. It has to be done at midnight, though. The spirits are more receptive then.”

“Oh, great.” Carla gave a deep sigh. “When does Vera want to do it?”

“Tonight, after everyone’s left. It won’t take long, I promise.”

Carla sighed again, and then she nodded. “Okay. Count me in. But if I see Judy’s ghost, I’m going to ask her where she put my best ballpoint before we banish her forever.”

The ambience at Covers was eerie after everyone had left for the night. The full moon cast dark shad ows across the surface of the parking lot, and the night was so still it felt as if time had stopped. Mi chael and Vera stood beside Carla’s car until the last set of taillights had disappeared. And then Michael cleared his throat.

“Are we ready?”

“I am.” Carla nodded. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Carla was grinning as she followed Michael and Vera to the dumpster, but her grin changed to a frown as she caught sight of Vera’s pale face. It was clear that she hadn’t been sleeping well. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked as if she’d lost weight. And her hands were shaking as she took Judy’s time card out of her pocket.

“Did Michael tell you what we have to do?” Vera turned to Carla and gave her a shaky smile.

“Not exactly. He just said you needed a witness.”

“My aunt says I have to burn this, because I’m the only one who actually saw Judy’s ghost. And while it’s burning, you two have to chant this phrase.”

Carla glanced down at the paper. She could see it clearly in the bright moonlight. The words were for eign, but Vera’s aunt had written them out phoneti cally. “What is this? Latin?”

“No, it’s Romany. My aunt’s great-grandmother was a Gypsy queen. Our tradition is to pass the spells down to the oldest daughter, and my aunt has them now.”

“Okay.” Carla nodded. “We’ll chant, you burn.”

Vera’s fingers were trembling as she struck a match and held it to the bottom of Judy’s time card. As Carla and Michael started to chant, a dog began to howl in the distance. There was a rumbling over head that sounded like thunder, and there was a rustling noise in the bushes. Carla knew that it was probably a lizard or small animal, but she couldn’t help thinking that this was a scene straight out of a bad horror movie.

As the time card began to burn, a slight breeze picked up and extinguished the flame. Vera had to use a whole book of matches to burn the card, and by the time they had finished, Carla felt as if she'd chanted the words hundreds of times.

“That’s all?” Carla looked up at Vera, and smiled. She hadn’t thought it was possible, but Vera did look a lot better. A little color had come back into her face, and her hands had stopped trembling.

“That’s almost all.” Vera nodded. “I still have to prove to Judy’s spirit that there’s nothing left for her in the world of the living.”

“How are you going to do that?” Michael looked curious.

“I have to do three things to assume Judy’s place in the universe. I worked it all out with my aunt.”

“Which three things?” Carla was curious. “You can’t assume her job. Marc already has that.”

“I know. But I was the last one to leave tonight. I pulled the door closed and tested it to make sure it was locked. That’s one thing that Judy always used to do. And I punched her time card before I left. That’s something she used to do, too.”

Carla wasn’t sure why, but suddenly she felt very uneasy. “What are you going to do for the third thing?”

“Well . . . I tried to get something of Judy’s to wear, but her parents are on vacation and Marta’s not there, either. And I asked Mr. Calloway if I could carry out some props, but he said he needed me to stay behind the juice bar. I called my aunt and she told me to think of something else, something that Judy had really wanted to do before she died. My aunt said that if I could fulfill a dream of Judy’s, that would definitely put her spirit to rest.”

Carla winced. She was pretty sure she knew what was coming. She turned to glance at Michael, but he didn’t seem to be on her wavelength.