The Girl with the Uninvited Ghost: Pandemonium Cozy Mystery #1

Chapter 27

"Mahogany?" Tony glanced back and forth between the opened passenger door and the trailer across the road.

"Hey, Layla." Mahogany stood on her tippy toes, raising her five-foot-two-inch frame a bit. She waved her arms over her head.

Across the road, Layla turned and squinted. "Mahogany? What are you doing here?" she called.

Layla hopped down the steps and passed a bewildered and somewhat panicked-looking Jeff.

Mahogany trotted across the road, and she and Layla embraced in a hug. Bazgul scrambled onto Mahogany's head to keep from being accidentally crushed.

"I might ask you the same thing." Mahogany eyed the bare-chested Jeff, who had turned a lovely shade of crimson.

Layla nodded toward Jeff. "Just letting off a little steam." She winked and then leaned over and whispered in Mahogany's ear, "but just a little."

"No doubt." Mahogany glanced at Jeff again, her eyes narrowing.

Tony's shoes crunched over the gravel as he joined Mahogany. "Hi, I'm Tony." He held his hand out to Layla.

"You sure are." Layla's violet eyes sparkled as she took his offered hand. Her long, straight black hair fell like a dark river over her shoulders.

"What the hell are you two freaks doing here?" Jeff said. He puffed out his chest and sauntered over to where they stood. Disgust raised the corner of his upper lip in a sneer as his gaze fell on Bazgul.

Layla raised an eyebrow. "Freaks?"

"We're investigating a murder," Mahogany said.

Beside her, Guy cleared his throat.

"A set of murders," Mahogany added. "Can you tell us where you were from midnight till 4:00 on Tuesday morning?" Mahogany said, turning to Jeff.

"Investigating? You two aren't the cops," Jeff said, his sneer widening. "I don't have to say anything to you about anything. Babe, let's go back inside."

"Don't you want to know who was murdered?" Tony said.

"I do," Layla said. "We've been out here since Tuesday. Drove out at about 5:00 a.m."

"Guy Miller and the older man he was traveling with who went by Magic Mike were murdered. Are you sure about the time?" Mahogany said to Layla, yet let her gaze linger on Jeff.

"Positive," Layla said. "We were listening to the radio on the way out here, and they did a station break. His's CD player's broken." She nodded to Jeff.

Jeff hooted with laughter. "That little twerp Guy is dead? That's hysterical."

Layla, Tony, and Mahogany glared at Jeff.

"He's lucky I'm dead," Guy said through clenched teeth.

Bazgul chattered on Mahogany's head.

"You've got that right, Bazgul. This guy's a jerk," Guy said.

"What?" Jeff said, sobering. "It's not like you knew him? Why do you care if he's dead?"

"Wow," Layla said. "You're cute but a complete ass." She turned to Mahogany and Tony. "This fool was with me Tuesday night. He stopped by the Beast of Burden and hung out while I closed. Then we headed over to Diabolical Delight for dessert. We fooled around a bit in his jeep. Then he dropped me at my place so I could pack a bag, and he did the same at around 4:30 before heading here."

Tony and Mahogany glanced at each other.

"That goes along with what Karrie told us yesterday," Tony said.

"You talked to Karrie." Jeff's cocksure posture dissolved into a near-seething rage. "You have no business talking to my sister." Jeff strode over to Tony, closing the distance in a few quick steps, and grabbed his shirt collar.

"Oh, for the love of Shaytan," Layla said and slipped a smooth, dark hand onto Jeff's shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

Immediately, Jeff relaxed, his eyes filming over. He released Tony and backed away.

Layla sighed. "Sorry about that. He has an unhealthy relationship with his sister. If he hadn't been with me when the murders occurred, Jeff would be at the top of my suspect list too."

"What did you do to him?" Tony asked. He waved his hand in front of Jeff's face but received no response.

Layla shrugged. "Jinn magic. I can be persuasive when I need to be."

"You might want to get him back to town. The police have taken Karrie in for questioning about the murders," Mahogany said.

Layla nodded.

Tony and Mahogany had just gotten back into the car when a dark blue Charger pulled up to the Samuels' trailer. Detective Teresa Sawyer stepped out of the vehicle, her gray trainers crunching in the gravel. As she took in the area, her gaze lingered on Tony's car.

"Crap!" Mahogany said and ducked behind the dashboard. Tony stared at her blankly, and she grabbed his collar, pulling him down.

"What?"

"It's the detective," Mahogany whispered.

"Crap," Tony whispered back. "Why are we whispering?"

The proximity of Tony's face to hers sent Mahogany's brain into an uncontrolled free fall. His aftershave drifted into her nostrils—salty air and sunshine. Butterflies bumped and tangoed in her stomach.

"It seemed appropriate." Mahogany inched her gaze back over the dash and watched as the detective shook her head, turned toward Jeff's trailer, and knocked on the door.

Tony peaked through the windshield and watched the detective enter the trailer. "That's our cue." He started the engine and got the car moving.

"Does Jeff know Layla's a jinn?" Tony asked as they drove back to Pandemonium.

"No way." Bazgul sat on Mahogany's lap, munching away on mini candy bars. So far, he'd remained in his spider form. Mahogany petted him as he ate, grateful he hadn't slimed her lap with frog juice.

"What a hypocrite," Guy said from the back seat. "That lunatic threw every wrench possible into mine and Karrie's relationship, and here he is spending a week with a genie." Guy kicked an empty snack bag on the car's floor, and it tumbled into the air.

"You just moved something," Mahogany said, her voice filled with astonishment.

"I did!" Guy's voice rose two octaves higher than usual. "I guess if I get mad enough, I can affect my environment."

Tony glanced over at Mahogany. "Are you talking to Guy?"

She nodded. "He's angry about Jeff and ended up moving a candy wrapper."

"That might come in handy," Tony said. He lifted his chin and aimed his words towards the back seat. "Keep at it, Guy. Maybe we'll be able to have a conversation one day."

Guy leaned between the seat and said, "This one's a keeper. You better make a move before he loses interest."

"That reminds me," Mahogany said, changing the subject. She turned in her seat, the seatbelt cutting into her neck. "Did you understand Bazgul back when he called Jeff a douche bag?"

"I did, actually," Guy said. He rubbed his chin. "That hasn't happened before. Wow. Today is full of firsts." He kicked at the wrapper again, but it remained stationary.

Mahogany frowned and faced forward. With a sigh, she let the thick pine trees wash over her as they sped back to Pandemonium.