The friends were laughing as they stepped out of the elevator.
When Darby gasped and cried out, at first Raven didn’t understand why. Then she followed her friend’s gaze and felt her stomach lurch. Rachelle lay just outside the elevators, her pale skin a dark ashy grey, her glassy eyes staring up at the ceiling, unseeing.
The desire for blood had to be quenched.
Even if, this time, no blood had literally been spilt. There were, after all, other ways to feed the flames. Watching the ash color flood over the normally soft-pink complexion was even more rewarding than they had assumed.
“More,” the monster deep inside growled. Now that it was awakened, it was a daily battle to quench the thirst.
Tempering the desire to put something in the proverbial town’s well hadn’t been easy. Still, knowing that, once again, their staging would shock the one person they hated the most fulfilled those desires.
Giddiness overcame upon thinking of the three friends finding their prize. Yes, they would have to do this again. Soon.
Chapter Twenty
Foul water will quench fire ~ English proverb
Less than five minutes after stepping inside his house, his phone chimed. Seeing his uncle’s number on his screen, he frowned and began to worry.
“Hey, what’s up?” he answered.
“Hey, better head back up to the resort. Something tells me that your girl is going to need your support right now,” Sean said.
“What’s wrong?” He turned back towards the door and grabbed his coat. He decided this time to take Blue with him.
“She and her friends found Rachelle Braun’s body,” Sean answered.
Blue followed Cade outside and jumped into the truck when he opened the door for him.
“What happened?” Cade asked, starting the engine.
“We’re not sure yet. The coroner will have to do an autopsy. Raven and her friends seem really shaken up though.”
He thought about how the three women had headed towards the elevators happy, laughing, and extremely drunk. Then he thought of Raven finding another dead body in her resort.
He knew she’d take it hard, especially since she’d grown close to Rachelle, but also because the entire town was still talking about the first murder. If it turned out that Rachelle hadn’t died of natural causes, this could be seriously detrimental to the grand reopening that Raven had planned.
“I’m a few minutes out,” he told Sean before hanging up.
When he stepped inside the lobby doors, he noticed Raven, Darby, and Carrie all huddled together under a large blanket.
Blue got to Raven before he did, and he watched from a few steps away as she bent down and wrapped her arms around his dog’s neck.
“Hey,” he said, running his eyes over the friends’ faces. “You guys okay?”
“No,” Darby sniffled.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be okay again,” Carrie said. “That’s the first dead body I’ve ever seen.”
“I was with my dad when we found my mom.” Darby closed her eyes. “That was hard but this…” Then Darby gasped. “Oh, I just remembered you found your accountant.” Her voice lowered. “Without a head.” She laid a hand on Raven’s shoulder. “Sorry,” Darby sighed, “still a little drunk.”
Raven’s face was buried in Blue’s fur, but he heard her sniffle.
“Hey.” He knelt beside his dog. Raven mumbled something incoherent. “What was that?” he asked softly.
Raven lifted her face, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
“I’d just given her a raise,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Oh, honey.” He pulled her into his arms. “I’m so sorry.”
Just then his uncle walked over to them.
“We’re taking Miss Braun out the side doors,” he informed them. “We won’t know anything further for a few days, but the coroner believes Rachelle’s death wasn’t due to natural causes.”
Raven covered her mouth and closed her eyes.
Two murders under one roof. Cade was desperate at this point to get Raven out from under that roof. But she was stubborn, and he figured he would have to maneuver her so she thought it was her idea. So, he was shocked at her next words.
“Can I stay at your place?” she asked, her eyes searching his.
It took him a moment since he was still trying to figure out how to get her to agree to the move. When her words registered, he nodded quickly.
“Can we stay there tonight too? I don’t think any of us want to be left alone,” Darby asked, running her hands through Blue’s soft fur. “And I don’t want to wake my dad up. He took the morning shift for me.”
“Sure.” He touched Darby’s shoulder.
“I’ll need to meet with you in the morning and ask you all a few questions,” Sean said.
“You know where they’ll be,” Cade said, pulling Raven up to her feet. “Do you need anything?” he asked her.
She glanced towards the elevators. “No.”
“Our bags are in your room,” Darby said.
“I can have one of my men bring them down?” Sean suggested.
“Thank you.” Carrie stood up. “They’re just inside the door.” She turned to Raven, who reached into her small purse and handed Sean her room key.
“Do you want anything?” Sean asked.
Raven’s eyes moved to his. He remembered the last time she’d spent the night at his place. They’d slept in the nude, holding one another all night long. However, knowing that her friends would be there, most likely in the guest room just down the hallway, he nudged her slightly.
“I can go up…” Raven started.
“No,” he broke in. “Whatever she needs, I’m sure I have something she can wear for tonight.”
“Thanks,” Raven agreed.
“Come on. Let’s go home.” He wrapped his arms around her just as Blue happily barked at one of his favorite words.
They rode in his truck in silence, the only sound other than the engine was Blue snoring as he lay across Darby’s lap.
“We should talk about it,” Carrie said suddenly.
“I don’t think I can,” Darby replied.
“I know I had a few glasses of wine earlier, but I’m totally sober now,” Raven said with a slight sigh.
“I could totally go for some chocolate,” Darby said as they approached the general store.
“I can run inside and get you ladies something,” he offered, even though it was past one in the morning.
“Cookies,” Carrie suggested.
“Brownies,” Darby added in.
“With double fudge ice cream,” Raven suggested.
He pulled over and parked, then turned around. “Anything else while I’m in there?”
“Wine,” Carrie said with a slight sigh. “If I had a little buzz again, maybe I could get a few moments of sleep tonight.”
“Any preference?” he asked.
He took their orders and tried to quickly grab everything they’d requested. By the time he walked out of the store with a bag of sweets and three bottles of wine, the ladies were talking. He hated interrupting their conversation, since he knew it was probably the best therapy for them.