Ten Little Bridesmaids Read online

  “I don’t think it’s that bad. Maybe she throws darts at your photo, but not a Voodoo doll.”

  “You think you’re joking, but I don’t. She’s got at least one of the two in her room upstairs, I’m sure.”

  “I shouldn’t have gotten so upset with her, though. I can’t control the things that she does, but I can control the way that I react.”

  “That’s very Zen of you,” I told him.

  “That’s me,” he said. “Mr. Zen. I noticed she did pick up a tray from the bar before she left. At least she wasn’t lying.” I raised my eyebrows in disagreement. “About that, anyway,” he said.

  “She would have needed time to mix or pour or whatever you do with those kind of drinks. She didn’t have time between when she left us and when she left the garden room, just now,” I said.

  His mouth hitched on the corners.

  “What?”

  “You’re cute when you talk booze.”

  “My point is, she was in that room before we entered it. And if she was innocently mixing drinks, why did she hide from us?”

  “She was hiding in the shadows and then listening in and—watching us. How much do you think she saw?” He shook his head and held up a hand. “Never mind, I don’t want to think about it. It’s scary.”

  “And what happened to people not doing things alone?” I said.

  “It’s hard to tell whether or not anyone’s still playing the game.”

  “I had Eva pegged as the murderer, but if I had to guess from the people who are left, I’d have to say it’s Pam.”

  “You don’t think it’s Audra?” Alex asked me.

  “Why? Do you know something I don’t?”

  He began his reply on a laugh. “No. I don’t know anything. Nothing has gone like I thought it would. I was just going through the possible options.” He shrugged. “I guess I shouldn’t assume anything, but I never thought it was you, so they’re the only two left, not including K.C.”

  “Aww. You never thought I was the murderer. That means a lot to me.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Does something seem odd to you?” Alex asked as we rounded the corner on the hallway behind the bottom of the grand staircase.

  “It’s dark.”

  “Yeah.”

  The hallway was flanked on both sides by an assortment of rooms. The study, the music room, a small powder room and a couple that I’d never been in. Since the hallway was on the interior of the lodge, it didn’t get much natural light, thus the need for overhead fixtures. Currently those fixtures were all dark. The music room, where K.C. had played the piano, was on the outer side of the lodge. I could see light shining out from under the door and assumed the curtains must have been open.

  As we approached, the all too familiar feeling of chills and goose bumps started up again. Maybe it was the presence of Pam and had nothing to do with ghostly appearances. I could definitely classify her as an other-worldly being.

  Alex leaned forward, listening at the door. “Do you hear that? I think they must be in here.” He gave a quick knock with the back of his hand.

  “Enter with reverence,” K.C.’s muffled voice called out from behind the closed door.

  Alex cut his eyes to me and smirked. “What?” he mouthed.

  I bit back a laugh and shrugged.

  He drew me close to him and whispered, “I don’t know if I dare enter at all. What does that mean—enter with reverence?”

  Suddenly the door opened. Pam stood there, staring at us, her lower jaw protruding and her mouth twisted in anger. She let loose an exasperated sigh. “Still at it, huh? You know, you can’t get mad at people for watching you make out like hormonal teenagers when you never stop. It’s absolutely incessant around here.”

  “We weren’t—” I started to explain.

  “I can’t stop. It’s an addiction,” Alex said, just before he dipped me in the hallway and gave me a blockbuster movie kiss. They’re not as easy as they look. If he wasn’t so strong and athletically adept, I would have been flat on my back on the floor.

  He hauled me to my feet and I felt the burn of my ever-present blush forming all over my face and neck—and pretty much the rest of my body. When I looked up at him in surprise he shrugged. “What? I like incessant.”

  “My mother says if you keep smirking like that, it’ll get stuck that way permanently,” I told him.

  Pam let out more of a growl this time. She’d abandoned her post by the time we got around to entering the room. We’d kind of blown the whole reverent entrance idea.

  “Enter and prepare to receive the spirits,” K.C. said in a deep and drawn-out melody of a voice.

  I could barely see Alex’s face, since my eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dim atmosphere just yet, but I detected a resemblance to a cornered animal in his posture.

  Save for the mellow flickering coming from five or six hurricane lamps set about the room, there were no other sources of light. The two large, multi-paned windows in the room had been covered by heavy curtains that blocked out any natural light.

  “What’s going on in here?” Alex asked. I detected a note of amusement and maybe a little fear in his question.

  K.C. sat at a round game table on the far side of the room. She wore what looked like the same head-scarf as her fortune-teller character from before, only the scarf was twisted into a turban style with the knot on top of her head this time. Her page-boy bob wig-hair poked out from under the edges of the turban like the bristles on a street sweeper. She hummed to herself with her eyes closed, her palms pressed together in front of her in a prayerful pose.

  Audra sat next to her, gazing at us with glassy eyes. “We’re having a séance.” Her voice was overly loud, and she extended the Ess sound at the end of the word.

  Certain mutterings emanated from Alex, most of which should never be repeated.

  K.C.’s eyes popped open. “Come. Sit.” She indicated with an outstretched arm toward two chairs across from where she sat.

  “Uh…that’s okay—” Alex said.

  “Don’t you want to know what the ghosts really want?” K.C. asked him.

  “Not really,” he said quietly enough that only I could hear.

  Pam stepped into the picture from the side of the room near the mini bar. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. Besides, have you got somewhere else to go?”

  Before he could reply, I took his hand and gave it a gentle tug, leading us to the table. “It won’t take long.”

  He managed to give me the side-eye and roll his eyes all at once. Very talented, that one.

  I shrugged. “Okay, maybe it won’t take long.”

  Pam put a beer at one of the places at the game table. “I got you one of these—just guessing.”

  His features softened. “Thanks, Pam.”

  “Would you care for anything, Quincy?”

  “I could use a Coke if you have any here,” I said.

  “Sorry, not here,” Pam said. “I can run to the kitchen.”

  “That’s okay, I’ll be fine. Thanks.” Pam must have gotten over our incessant amorous behavior. I wasn’t going to question it, I was just grateful she was in a good mood—for the moment.

  Pam sat between K.C. and Alex, and I sat next to him. Audra was on my right. She leaned over and pseudo-whispered, “Did you hear that?” The alcohol fumes on her breath could have dropped a charging rhino.

  “Uh, I don’t know what you mean. I didn’t hear anything,” I said.

  She nodded, her attention wandering elsewhere.

  I turned toward Alex, but before I could say anything to him, I felt an urgent tap on the back of my arm.

  I looked back at Audra who leaned so far off the side of her chair, she looked precariously close to falling on her face. “Hey, Quincy.”

  “Yes, Audra?”

  “Did you hear that?”

  “I didn’t hear anything. What are you hearing?”

  “It’s
a weird gurgling noise.”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t hear it,” I said to her.

  “Now,” K.C. said, “we’re almost ready to begin. Everyone think of the question you would like to ask the spirits. Once we’ve invited them to join us, we will go around the circle, and each person will ask their question.” Alex cut his eyes to me. He definitely wasn’t thrilled. I gave his knee a gentle pat and smiled at him. Hopefully demurely, but I don’t know if he read it that way.

  “Pam, could you please bring the goblet and place it in the center of the table? And bring the photo too?” K.C. asked.

  Pam stood up dutifully and went to retrieve the items. She came back with a pretty champagne flute—I guess it was substituting for the goblet—and a framed photo, then placed them as K.C. had requested. My eyes had finally focused in the dim lighting, and I could see that the photo was the same one that had been hanging in the hallway upstairs until Alex and I accidentally knocked it down—more of that incessant behavior of ours had been the cause.

  “Now, let’s form the circle.” K.C. held her hands out for Audra and Pam to take hold and nodded toward us to follow suit.

  Alex made a brave attempt at hiding his annoyance at this step in the process, but anyone that knew him could tell he would rather have been anywhere else in the world at that moment. I took his hand and gave it a squeeze, and with my other hand, I grasped Audra’s very clammy one.

  K.C. closed her eyes and bowed her head, and then began to recite:

  “Oh, spirits, as we form this circle, please bless this space.

  Let the light of these lamps bathe this room with protection.

  We ask you to release the negative energy from this place and let us communicate with entities of the Light to teach and inspire us for the Good of All. Please protect this house and all within it. AMEN.”

  I thought I heard a sigh from Alex, and started to formulate a plan for our extrication from the séance, but when I looked over at him I realized he’d dozed off. He really was that tired, and I wasn’t that far behind him. I slowly lowered our clasped hands and rested them on my knee. I was sure Pam would keep her grasp on his other hand without paying attention to his level of active participation in the hold. Maybe he could pass as being meditative.

  I heard a gurgling noise off to my right. Audra’s face curled into a grimace. I figured the noise was coming from her stomach.

  K.C. continued the ceremony by asking the spirits in the house to join us. I surreptitiously watched Pam and Audra glancing here and there, possibly looking for signs of ghosts. The slow flicker of the lights lulled me into a feeling of warmth and something that felt like deep focus. K.C. remained quiet, with eyes closed. The silence in the room seemed to magnify, becoming its own entity, growing in intensity until it felt physically uncomfortable, almost painful to withstand.

  Suddenly, a high pitched whistling noise pierced the silence. K.C.’s eyes popped open in a look of startled surprise. She darted a look at Audra. Alex jerked awake and in a sleepy slur said, “Was that a ghost?”

  “Sorry,” Audra said. “My stomach is just tumbling around.”

  “Oh, my sweet lord,” K.C. screwed up her face and pointed it in the opposite direction. She strained to crane her neck as far away from Audra as she could. She lifted her arms up as if in a reflex, but she held strong to the hands she was holding. I had to admire her resolve to keep the circle intact.

  I’ll also admit that I had to stuff down the glee I felt in having Audra do something embarrassing in front of the others instead of me, for once.

  “Keep hold kids, don’t break the circle,” K.C. said in a quiet, determined voice, but, unable to withstand the powerful smell, she smashed her face against her shoulder.

  We all sat in uncomfortable quiet until the cloud passed. I tried with every muscle in my face to resist the urge to laugh. I pursed my lips in a tight, trembling line. I would have kept my composure, but I made the mistake of glancing at Alex. His eyes said it all and I spent the next minute sputtering and trying to catch the laughter that seemed determined to escape me. I too buried my face against my shoulder, biting the fabric of my shirt in an attempt to keep it together, or at least muffle the bursts of laughter that I couldn’t contain.

  “Elder spirit of this house, please reveal your presence by upsetting the water in the glass,” K.C. said.

  The four of us focused on the champagne flute. Beads of sweat had formed on the outside of the glass and slowly trickled downward. I felt similar beads developing on my brow. Someone must have cranked up the thermostat in the room.

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake, Audra,” K.C. shouted. She shook her hands loose and shoved her chair back, away from the table. She stood and said, “Let’s take a break, everyone.” She stared pointedly at Audra.

  “I’m going to visit the powder room,” Audra said, meekly standing and making her way to the door.

  “I’ll go with her.” Pam volunteered rather forcefully. She stood, but she still held on to Alex’s hand. “We need to go in pairs, right?”

  “I’m not going with you,” Alex said as he withdrew his hand from her grasp. It seemed to take a bit of muscle based on the recoil his arm made once she finally let go.

  “I really wanted to make this a fun evening,” K.C. said, her voice sounding like that of the downtrodden, as she switched the overhead lights on.

  “Ghosts are fun,” Alex said, obviously trying to placate her, but not making it believable for one second.

  “Ah, you’re a pal,” she said to Alex. “I appreciate you making the attempt, but I know you’re not a believer. But I am, and I really wanted to communicate with the spirits here before the boat comes to pick us up this evening. Find out why they chucked that rock at you, and why they keep messing with the electricity and—”

  “What boat is coming?” I asked.

  “The one Pam told us about. She said once one of us announces the murderer, a call will be made and the boat will come get the rest of us.”

  “A call?” Alex wondered out loud. “The phones aren’t working, and there’s no cell reception.”

  “When did you talk about all this?” I asked.

  “We talked a while ago, after we left you two. We were looking for Eva, and then Pam found Eva’s charm.”

  “So, are we all in agreement that Pam is the murderer?” I said.

  “Oh, a hundred percent,” K.C. said with conviction. “I just wanted to have my séance before we got to that. I would be the talk of the P.I.S. if I could prove contact with three witnesses to back me up.”

  I clamped my lips together tightly and looked off to the side for a moment to keep her from seeing me laughing at the acronym for the Paranormal Investigation Society she belonged to. I was relieved that she kept talking and didn’t seem to notice my inner giggling. “But seriously,” she continued, “Pam’s our suspect, no questions.”

  “Alex, what do you think?”

  “I think that when the two others return, we should finish this séance. I’d like an explanation for getting beaned without any provocation. And I’m told the ghosts were the culprits.” He winked at K.C.

  K.C.’s eyes welled up. “A pal, you are. A real pal.” She patted him on the back—actually it was more of a hearty thwack—enough to send him lurching forward a step to catch his balance. Without pause K.C. set about clapping in a rhythmic pattern, and then she veered off into the different corners of the room, continuing with the clapping.

  Before we could ask she said, “Gotta clear out the negative energy before we can start over.” She walked over to the door and swung it back and forth. “And the air. Thanks to Audra,” she said in an aside while grimacing.

  While K.C. occupied herself with more clapping, Alex and I sat on the small loveseat in one corner of the room.

  “That was very gallant of you,” I said.

  “What, sitting on the couch?” He gave me a knowing smile.

  “You’ve m
ade K.C. very happy.”

  “Well, who knows? Maybe she’s right. There are ghosts here and they don’t like me for some reason. That would explain the rock to the head, the lights not working right, and the rain coming at precisely the moment when I was about to get lucky.” He bumped his eyebrows up and down and I gave him a tap on the arm.

  “I think she’s right about Pam being the murderer, don’t you?”

  He paused for a moment. “I suppose so. I don’t really see Audra as the mastermind type. Or as the type who would follow all the instructions required. Knowing her, and Mike and Christie like I do, I’m thinking they would have given their mystery company friends a heads up about Audra.”

  “Yikes, not exactly a ringing endorsement.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying she’s not capable of following instructions, just that she would probably choose not to. Kinda’ stubborn, I guess. I don’t want to come across as being mean to her.”

  “You don’t have to sugar coat it. I’ve dealt with her enough this weekend to know what you’re saying. And aren’t you a big meanie?” I said sarcastically. “Encouraging K.C. to continue the séance.” I gave him a knowing look. “I realize there are a million other things you’d rather do.”

  “As long as I’m with you, I’m right where I want to be.”

  Before I could get all emotional, Pam and Audra returned.

  “We’re so sorry for interrupting the séance, K.C.,” Pam said, even though she hadn’t interrupted. Audra took care of that all on her own. It seemed somewhat out of character for Pam to accept part of the blame for something, especially something she had no part of. “Do you think we could try again?” she said meekly to K.C.

  “Let’s do it,” K.C. said. The overhead lights were doused and everyone returned to their same places at the game table. We sat in quiet for a minute or two before K.C. repeated the prayer.

  As I sat, holding hands with Alex and Audra, I felt an unusual kind of calm slowly drifting through and eventually filling the room. And then I had a new feeling, which I can only describe as the flow of energy. It seemed to be passing through me. It was coming from my hands and then going through my arms. It felt the way a drink of hot cocoa on a cold day flows down your throat coating and soothing and warming your whole body. Once the energy passed through my body, it flowed through the other arm and moved on to the next person.