Free Dead Is Just a Dream - [Dead Is - 08] by Marlene Perez

conversation between Dominic and Mrs. Gray. Tashya gave me a wicked smile, her eyes gleaming.
    A few seconds later, Dominic and his mom entered the control room. “There you are,” he said to me. “I was wondering where you were.”
    “Hello, Jessica,” Mrs. Gray said. “I thought you’d want to spend your time training instead of running after my son.”
    “I like spending time with him,” I said. “And I train as much as any other virago.”
    I wanted to get away from Mrs. Gray and Tashya, so I asked Dom, “Do you want to work on our duet before the band gets here?”
    “We’re trying to narrow down our choices for our choir audition,” Dominic explained to his mom.
    “I didn’t know Jessica was in chorus with you,” she said.
    “We’ve performed together lots of times,” he said. “Which you’d know if you’d been around.”
    I felt awkward witnessing their squabbling, so I stepped into the vocal booth and turned on the mike. I cleared my throat and then launched into “Sally’s Song” from
The Nightmare Before Christmas
. The mournful tune suited my mood perfectly.
    When the last notes died away and I looked through the glass to the control room, I was surprised to see Mrs. Gray break into loud applause. “Jessica, I had no idea you were so talented,” I heard her say. Tashya was scowling.
    “I’m not just a virago,” I said pointedly.
    Dominic gave his mom a dirty look. I guess he figured out I’d overheard their conversation.
    “What do you think of that song for our audition?” I asked him when I returned to the control room.
    “I like it,” Dominic replied.
    Vinnie and Flo arrived, holding hands. Her T-shirt was a less snarky than her usual ones. It read I’M NOT YOUR HONEY, GIRL, OR SWEETHEART .
    “Jessica, I didn’t know you were going to be here today,” Flo said. “Good. I need to talk to you. Daisy, you can come too.”
    Flo took us out into the hallway and said, “There’s been another murder.”
    “Another one?”
    “Marlon Sanguine,” Flo said. “He was an older vampire. Didn’t even have his fangs anymore. Completely harmless. Count Dracul already heard and is flipping out long-distance.”
    “Why would anyone want to hurt him? Are you sure he was harmless?”
    “Completely,” Flo said. “Have you and Daisy made any progress?”
    I hadn’t mentioned that Daisy and I were working together, but I’d learned long ago that Flo knew everything.
    “I’m having a hard time tuning in to people’s thoughts,” Daisy admitted. “Everyone in town is missing out on their sleep, which means they’re not guarding their thoughts as much as usual.”
    “So you’re getting too much information instead of not enough.”
    “Yep, it’s like everyone is talking at once.”
    “I have suspicions about Jensen Kenton’s paintings being behind it,” I piped up.
    “Did you see any paintings that might frighten a vampire?” Flo asked.
    “You mean with garlic or wooden stakes or anything? No.”
    “Maybe it was the Mara,” she said.
    “I thought Maras only came out at night,” I replied. “And wouldn’t a vampire sleep during the day?”
    “That’s true,” Flo said, looking troubled.
    I brought up my other theory. “What if someone has found a way to use a painting to haunt people’s dreams?”
    “Jessica, you may be on to something,” Flo said. “I’ll ask Raven to research it.”
    Raven was the pacifist in our little group, which was weird for a warrior. But Flo seemed to understand that Raven was more comfortable looking things up than kicking butt.
    “We should try to find out who bought paintings from the exhibit,” I suggested.

    When the rest of Side Effects May Vary arrived, we focused on music instead of murder for a few hours.
    Dominic’s mom was sitting next to Tashya on a long couch against one wall of the control room. I walked to the other end of the room and pretended to study the framed concert posters on the wall.
    At one point while