I take a deep breath. “Camila asked me to help get her off the hook and I agreed.” My stomach cinches. “I meant to tell you when you got off work last night, but well, Annabeth had other plans.” And so did we.
Jasper groans, and I’m not sure if it has to do with Annabeth or me—probably both.
“No fireworks.” He dots a kiss to my cheek and looks tenderly into my eyes. “I figured a U-turn was inevitable, albeit I’ll admit you still managed to catch me off guard.”
“Stick a fork in me.” Camila rolls her eyes. “Turns out, I’m not sticking around for the show after all. Have a nice dinner.” She looks my way. “We’ll talk.”
She takes off just as my name is called over the speakers, letting us know our table is ready.
Georgie lands an arm over Jasper’s shoulders. “Good thing you’re here. We just lost our ride.”
Juni nods. “And we might need you to spot us for dinner.”
His lips curl as he looks my way. “It’s good to know I come in handy once in a while.”
“How about coming in handy tonight for me?” I tease, and both Georgie and Juni whoop and holler. “At the frightmare.” I shake my head as I correct them. “I’m dying to take a hayride. Rumor has it, it’s haunted.”
Jasper chuckles. “I take it Annabeth’s the driver?”
“Let’s hope not,” I say. “But just in case, we’d better stock up on garlic and holy water on the way home.”
We enjoy a fancy meal composed of delicious Maine lobster while I tell Jasper all about my exchange with Tabitha.
“She might just be the killer,” I whisper.
“She might be.” His chest widens with his next breath.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me something?”
His eyes close a moment too long. “Forensics found cell samples under Blair’s fingernails.”
“Do you know who they belonged to?”
He gives a curt nod. “We already had her DNA on file. They belonged to Camila.”
Chapter 8
The frightmare is well underway when we arrive back home, and the Country Cottage Inn is fully transformed once again into the haunted house it never wanted to be.
Thankfully, the inn itself is off-limits for the participants of this scare fest. And for that reason alone, I’ve decided to close down the haunted doll—and spider exhibit each night at seven. There’s just too much going on, too many people, too many monsters on the loose for me to keep track of.
I asked Jasper if I could question Camila regarding how her DNA might have gotten under Blair’s nails, and he said I could have at her. He said normally he’d want to haul the suspect in and record the event for analysis of their facial expressions, but he assured me Camila was a pro when it came to keeping a poker face.
So I sent her a text and laid it out for her, but she hasn’t replied yet. Needless to say, I’m not too interested in seeing her poker face either. I figure she could lie to me just as easily over the phone as she could in person—or tell the truth for that matter. As for reading her mind, that feels like sort of a moot point with Camila. She’s onto my mind-reading ways whether I want to admit it or not.
Jasper shakes his head as he looks to the crowd around us as we walk the haunted midway. The stars shine above Cider Cove despite the intricate network of twinkle lights, and it all adds an enchanted appeal.
“You’d think after a human being was killed here the other night everyone would want to steer clear of this place,” he says.
“And yet the crowd has doubled in size,” I point out. “Sadly, I think that grisly murder is the sole reason for it.”
The haunting mood music is a touch too loud for me, with its creaking doors, the ceaseless screaming, the faux thunder, ominous footsteps—all under the backdrop of rather dramatic organ music. But apparently, they’re deep-frying a fresh batch of apple fritters not too far from where we’re standing and the scent of vanilla and sugared up apples more than makes up for the spooky ruckus.
“Rumor has it, that haunted hayride is pretty good,” Jasper teases as he lands a kiss to the back of my hand.
“Too bad we won’t find out for another twenty minutes.” We bought our tickets as soon as we arrived but missed the last hayride by seconds. “How should we kill the time? You want to win me a stuffed pumpkin? Or take a bite out of one of those caramel apples with me?”
“I’ve got something else I’d rather take a bite out of,” he says, whisking us to the dark area just past the haunted maze.
Jasper wraps his arms around my waist and lands a searing kiss to my lips.
“Why do I get the feeling you’ve pulled this move before at a haunted festival or two?” I ask.
“That might be true. But just for the record, I’ve been polishing my moves for my bride. That would be you, in case you forgot.”
“Ohh.” I wink. “I did forget. Care to remind me?” I hook my arms around his neck, and just as I go in for a kiss, my phone chirps. I pull it out. “It’s Camila. She said she’s sorry she missed my text. She was in the shower. And as far as her DNA being under Blair’s fingernails, she says she tripped when they were on their way to those hay bales where Blair met her demise. She says she was about to fall when Blair tried to intervene and Blair ended up scratching her on the arm instead.”
Jasper lets out a breath as he thinks about it. “Okay. Fine. I’ll jot that down in my official notes. I’ll have to question her again regardless. But I don’t want to think about Camila now.” He dots a kiss to my nose, then each of my cheeks before landing another on my lips.
