What the Hex? (A Paranormal P.I. Mystery Book 1) Read online

  “What’s that?” George asked as he hurried over.

  “A letter,” I said after reading it.

  “Who’s it addressed to?” Derek asked.

  “It doesn’t say.”

  He frowned. “Well, what does it say?”

  “It’s from a secret admirer,” I said in a teasing tone.

  Derek quirked an eyebrow. “It’s kind of creepy though.”

  “I suppose that means it must be for you.” I chuckled.

  Derek scoffed. “Let me see that.” He scanned the letter. “That is kind of weird.”

  “Is anyone going to tell me what the letter says?” George asked.

  I paused, wondering if I should really tell him. How could I not though? It wasn’t like I could eat the letter to get rid of the evidence. “It says that this person has been watching you.”

  George’s eyes widened. “Me?” His voice was full of panic.

  “Calm down. It doesn’t say you specifically. Since it doesn’t say who it’s for, it could be any one of us in this office.” I glanced over at Derek.

  He held his hands up. “Don’t look at me. It’s probably for you. You’ve driven some poor sap crazy with your womanly wiles.”

  I rolled my eyes at Derek.

  “Don’t worry, George, I’ll find out who’s doing this.” I walked over to George and put my arms around him.

  He shook his head. “I know you’ll take care of it.”

  I stuffed the letter in my pocket for further analysis.

  Chapter 12

  Derek had placed a call and located Amber’s boyfriend. Of course I had no choice but to go with him and try to talk with this guy. I had no idea where we were headed. I wasn’t about to let Derek drive though. Maybe I should trust him more, but so far he hadn’t shown much in the responsibility department.

  “Where are we going? Do you plan on telling me before we actually get there? I need to be prepared,” I said as we stopped at the red light.

  He stared straight ahead. “I thought you’d like it to be a surprise. It’s just up ahead.”

  “Not another casino,” I said.

  “Well, we are in Vegas. But you’re in luck, it’s held in one of the convention rooms.” Derek pulled on his mirrored sunglasses. They might hide his baby blues, but the devilish smile was never concealed.

  “What is this ‘it’ that you’re talking about?”

  “Take a right up ahead.” He pointed.

  I turned into the casino and parked. “Are you going to tell me what it is?” I asked as I shut off the car.

  “We’re going to an Elvis impersonator convention.” Derek didn’t even look at me, as if ignoring me would stop any questions I had. Nice try, but that wouldn’t happen.

  “Are you just trying to play games with me?” Did he know about my other career?

  “What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Derek pulled down his shades and peered at me. His eyes were the color of a cloudless summer sky and full of mischief.

  He sounded innocent enough, but he was good at acting that way. We headed into the casino. It brought back memories of being kicked out. It also triggered memories of the gig where Derek had almost caught me.

  “I hope Morgan wasn’t a regular at this casino too,” I said. I really didn’t want to be kicked out of here too.

  Derek asked at the check-in desk where the event was located. I stayed close to the entrance in case I needed a quick getaway. My thoughts couldn’t help but go to Amber and Morgan.

  “It’s in the blue conference room,” he said when he walked back over.

  “This should be interesting,” I said as we headed down the hallway.

  When we stepped into the room there was a sea of Elvises. How would we find him?

  I blew the hair out of my eyes. “They all look alike.”

  “He’s supposed to meet us here by the door.”

  I searched the face of every Elvis who walked by, hoping that he would be the one. I looked at the time on my phone. “He’s late.”

  “Cece, you have little patience.”

  “I know, so why do you continually put me in situations where my patience will be tested?”

  He shook his head. “Your eyes are even more beautiful when you’re mad. The green specks light up.”

  I fought back a smile. Now was not the time for compliments.

  “What’s his name?” I asked.

  “Bobby Carroll.”

  I tapped my foot in rhythm to All Shook Up. I’d never seen so many jumpsuits and hips swirling in one place.

  “You think I’d make a good Elvis?” Derek asked.

  I looked him up and down. “I don’t think your hips would be able to move enough.”

  He quirked an eyebrow. “I’d like to show…”

  “Are you Derek North?” an Elvis asked, interrupting Derek’s comment.

  Thank goodness for small favors. Saved by the Elvis. The guy actually looked a little like Elvis. Nowhere as good-looking though. I mean, come on, there was only one Elvis. He wore the white jumpsuit, but it looked as if he wasn’t wearing a wig. His hair was the real deal.

  “Thanks for meeting us.” Derek shook the man’s hand.

  Obviously this was Bobby Carroll.

  “I guess you want to ask about Amber’s death? You want to know where I was, right?” he asked. At least he knew that he would naturally be a suspect.

  I stared at him. He didn’t seem too upset about her death. Of course, I didn’t know how close they’d been. And I supposed everyone handled grief differently.

  I’d let Derek handle this question. After all, he was the one who’d found this guy. The longer Derek went without asking though, the more I doubted my strategy.

  Did I have to do everything? Derek looked at me and then we both stood in silence.

  “Were you still in a relationship with Amber at the time of her death?” Derek and I spoke at the same time.

  I wasn’t sure how we’d managed to ask the same question. Derek had said he’d heard conflicting reports on whether they were still dating.

  Bobby from me to Derek. “We broke up about a month ago.”

  “When was the last time you saw her?” Derek and I asked.

  Okay, this was getting ridiculous.

  “I haven’t seen her for a week.”

  “What was she like the last time you saw her?” I rushed my words so that I could get the question out before Derek.

  “She seemed normal. Or normal for her, I guess. That was part of the reason we broke up,” fake Elvis said.

  “What do you mean?” Derek asked.

  “She wasn’t interested in a relationship anymore. She was too obsessed with her new friends.”

  This time I said, “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged. “Just that she wanted to spend all her time with them.”

  “Who are they?” Derek asked.

  We really had this questioning thing down. Maybe we made an okay team after all. I wouldn’t let Derek know that I had thought that though.

  “She was friends with Morgan. Amber and Morgan were together a lot and they both had a gambling problem. I heard Morgan hasn’t been seen since Amber was killed. I guess she murdered Amber,” fake Elvis said.

  “That’s what we’re trying to find out,” I said.

  “So where were you when she was murdered?” Derek asked.

  Fake Elvis frowned, as if he was offended that Derek had asked. “I was in Los Angeles at a performance when she was killed.”

  His tone sounded slightly less friendly now. Another Elvis walked back and started singing Burning Love as loudly as possible. “I’m just a hunk, a hunk of burning love.” I thought that was our signal that it was time to leave.

  “Thanks for your help,” Derek and I said at the same time.

  Fake Elvis flipped his collar up and then thanked us. He turned and walked away, disappearing into the sea of white jumpsuits.

  “I expected him to say thank ya, thank
ya very much.” Derek gave his worst Elvis impersonation.

  “Don’t quit your day job,” I said. “Whatever that may be.”

  “That was extremely snarky, Cece,” Derek said as he followed me.

  “It’s not snarky, just friendly advice.”

  “Sounded kind of snarky to me.”

  We headed down the hallway and out of the casino.

  “That Elvis seemed upset when you questioned where he’d been,” I said.

  “He must be guilty of something, right?”

  Derek and I walked out the door and to the parking lot. We’d almost reached my car when a whizzing sound zinged past my head.

  I wasn’t sure where it had landed, but I knew what it was instantly. Someone had fired a shot.

  “Get down,” Derek yelled.

  I instantly fell to the ground. I crawled across the pavement to the front of my car to take cover. My heart thumped wildly in my chest and my entire body shook from the adrenaline. I tried to steady my breathing so that I wouldn’t hyperventilate. Derek was to my side at the front of the car. I had no idea what to do next. If I peeked out from the front of the hood, I was worried that another bullet would find me. But I couldn’t just hide, I had to do something. If the bullet was intended for one of us, then the person could still be waiting for another chance. There was only one thing for me to do. Get the gun from my car.

  When Derek wasn’t paying attention I inched over to the car door.

  “Cece, what are you doing?” Derek had already inched over behind me.

  I peeked out over the door. Lucky for me, the gunman was nowhere in sight. He was probably hiding, waiting for his chance. I pulled out my gun. The only time I’d fired the thing was at the gun range. I’d prayed I never had to use the thing. But right now I would have to fight back.

  “You have a gun?” Derek asked.

  “And aren’t you glad I do?” I gripped the gun. “I’m a private investigator. It’s part of the job.”

  “Do you know how to use that thing?” he asked.

  “I wouldn’t have it if I didn’t know how to use it. I’m going to peek out and see if anyone’s around,” I said.

  “On the count of three we’ll both look,” Derek said.

  I nodded in agreement. I kind of didn’t want to look on my own anyway.

  Derek counted down. “One.”

  I wished my hand would stop shaking.

  “Two.”

  I still had a hard time breathing.

  “Three.”

  We inched up from the car. Another bullet rang out, but I had no idea what I would be shooting at, so I ducked, not returning fire. I wasn’t going to wait as long this time, so I peeked out immediately. That was when I saw him running away. He was dressed in a white jumpsuit with dark black hair. Derek rose up too. He spotted the man running away.

  “I’m going after him,” Derek said.

  “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

  Before I could finish the sentence Derek was running out from behind the car. Of course I had to run after him. I was the one with the gun. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Up ahead, Derek reached the edge of the building and then he stopped.

  “He’s gone.” Derek ran his hand through his hair.

  When I looked up and down the sidewalk, I didn’t spot the man anywhere. He could have run in any one of the buildings. One thing was for certain, he had to have been a part of the Elvis convention. Why else would he have had on the costume?

  “Do you think it was Bobby Carroll?” I asked.

  Derek looked over at me. “It sure seems likely.”

  Derek was right. We’d just interviewed him, and then been shot at by someone who looked an awful lot like him from behind.

  “We have to call the police and report this,” I said.

  Derek pulled out his phone. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

  Once he’d placed the call, I didn’t know what to do while we waited for the police to show up. I wanted to go and look for this guy, but he would probably be long gone by now.

  We stood on the sidewalk on high alert until finally the police cars pulled up. If the shooter returned I’d already made plans to hide behind the nearby palm tree. I’d already put my gun away, so the police wouldn’t think that I was the shooter. Luckily, no one had been hurt.

  Two officers approached. They wore the dark blue police uniform. One with salt and pepper hair and the other with dark brown hair. Before they had a chance to ask what had happened, more cars arrived. They were unmarked cars, probably detectives.

  After we explained what had happened, the dark haired officer said, “We’ll secure the area. You think you can point this guy out if you saw him?”

  “I’d never forget his face,” I said.

  Derek gave the other officer the Elvis’ information. By now everyone had stopped what they were doing. They were standing around watching the scene play out.

  We walked into the room where the Elvis convention was being held. What if Jailhouse Rock had been playing? Except there was no music at the moment.

  No one had been allowed to leave the room. I seriously doubted that the gunman would come back into the room though. He was probably long gone by now.

  The officer stepped into the room. “Which one was it?”

  This would be harder than I thought. Now they all looked like a bunch of white jumpsuits. My mind couldn’t focus. I had to remember to look at their faces. Somehow my attention was drawn to an Elvis in the corner of the room.

  Our eyes met. That was when he realized I was looking at him. He darted to the right.

  “There he is,” I yelled, pointing.

  Of course that probably didn’t help the officer. Thank goodness the other Elvises moved. The officer got a clear sight of the one running away.

  “Freeze!”

  The Elvis had gotten held up by a big group. He had no choice but to stop. The officer caught up with him. When the Elvis turned around he stared right at me.

  If looks could kill I wouldn’t be around. His stare made me long to be invisible at that moment. I turned around and spotted Derek coming over to me.

  “I assumed we’d be there a while making statements about what happened,” I said. “The police didn’t say anything about statements.”

  Derek shook the head. “No, not yet, but let’s go outside and see what happens.”

  When we reached the parking lot again the officer came over to us. “We found a bullet and casing. We’ll get a few witness statements. However, with the limited description we have, it may be hard to pinpoint who did this.”

  Most of the Elvises were leaving now.

  I blew the hair out of my eyes. “Yeah, I guess I can see why.”

  “We’ll be in contact,” he said.

  When he walked away, I said, “So that’s it?”

  “Apparently so,” Derek said.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “I guess we’ll leave. How about dinner?” he asked.

  Part of me wanted to just go home and crawl under the covers. But Derek got me with that sad look all the time, so I said, “Sure, I could eat something.”

  We went to the little diner down the street. I was more than a little paranoid. For heaven’s sakes, I’d just been shot at and no one could tell me who’d done it. I was one of Elvis’ biggest fans, but now I might have nightmares about Elvis killing me.

  Wait until my mother found out what happened. She would be so jealous. She’d probably love to say she’d been shot at by an Elvis impersonator.

  Derek held the door for me and we walked inside. Surprisingly, the place was pretty much empty. I cringed when I heard an Elvis song playing over the speakers.

  “Bad timing,” Derek said.

  We slid into the booth at the back of the restaurant. My back was facing the wall. I wanted to be able to see if anyone was coming toward me. I was anxious to discuss this with Derek.

  “Maybe we can figure out who would want
us dead.”

  I picked up the menu. “Okay, which Elvis impersonator did you make mad?”

  The waitress brought over glasses of water. “Are you ready to order?”

  “I’ll have a burger and fries,” I said. “And a Vanilla Coke.”

  “I’ll take the same.” Derek handed her the menus.

  When she walked away, I said, “It’s a natural assumption that you would be the cause of this. Were you dating one of their girlfriends?”

  “Cece, I’m offended.” He stared me in the eyes.

  “Oh, please. Nothing offends you.” I took a drink of water.

  A sweet little smile tilted the corner of his mouth. “Okay, you’re right, but honestly, I did nothing wrong.”

  “So the only other thing is the fake Elvis we were talking to. That would mean he’s involved in Amber’s murder and wanted to get rid of us too.”

  “Bobby Carroll? The police found no evidence that he’d fired at us.”

  The waitress brought over our food. I grabbed the bottle of ketchup at the same time Derek reached for it. For a moment our fingers touched. My stomach danced. I refused to let this affect me.

  “You go ahead and use the ketchup first,” I said, giving him the bottle.

  “No, ladies first.” He stared at me with those sexy blue eyes.

  Averting my eyes, I took the ketchup.

  “So what’s next?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “I suppose we’ll have to do more research on this guy,” Derek said.

  “I intend to,” I said, stabbing my French fry into the mound of ketchup.

  “See, working with me isn’t so bad after all,” he said.

  “I’ll be the judge of that.”

  After finishing our food, we headed back out to the parking lot. I had my hand near my side so I could easily reach for the gun in my purse.

  “Cece, I’m a little worried about you.” Derek’s tone remained teasing, so I didn’t know if he was serious.

  I slipped behind the wheel. “Don’t be worried about me. I have protection.”

  We pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the Strip. Sometimes the flashing lights and crowds made me wonder if I should just head back home… back to my family and friends in Savannah. That would be quitting though, and I’d never been a quitter. There would be time to go home later.