Free mystic caravan mystery 02 - freaky lies by Amanda M. Lee Page A

okay,” I said finally. “Some of my lineage – on my mother’s side – is Romani.” In truth I didn’t know a lot about my own heritage. My parents died when I was a teenager and I was never allowed to speak about my abilities as a child. It was only after they died that I found out my parents knew about them. I never got a chance to ask the important questions, and I was still annoyed by that fact. “I don’t know a lot about my family tree, though.”
    “And why is that?” Annette asked.
    “Because my parents died when I was young, and then I was moved into the foster care system for a bit,” I replied, opting for honesty. “I didn’t have any other family. Well, I guess that’s not entirely true. I have uncles somewhere, but I haven’t seen them in more than fifteen years.”
    “That’s too bad,” Annette said, wrinkling her nose. “It looks like you have strong bloodlines.”
    “How can you tell that?” Kade asked, casting a sidelong look in my direction. “She looks like a normal woman to me.”
    “Thanks,” I said dryly, rolling my eyes.
    Kade balked. “What did I say?”
    “No woman wants to hear she’s normal, boy,” Annette said, shaking her head. “You may be a looker, but you’re clearly not a thinker.”
    “Hey!” Kade rested his hand on my shoulder. “That’s now what I meant! I happen to think she’s extraordinary.”
    “That’s better, but your complimenting skills still need work,” Annette said. “So do your undercover skills, for that matter. What are you really doing here?”
    She was sharp. I had to give her that. Instead of continuing the game I decided to be straight with her. “We want to know what gossip is going around about the body found in the cornfield by the circus grounds,” I replied, catching Kade off guard as he widened his eyes. “The cops didn’t give us much information. We figured we could learn a few things and get dinner supplies at the same time.”
    “Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak?” Annette asked.
    I nodded. “We’re understandably … curious.”
    “Yeah, I don’t blame you on that front,” Annette said, blowing out an exaggerated sigh. “That’s all anyone has been talking about since the body was found this morning.”
    “Do you know anything about the victim?” Kade asked, leaning against the counter. “Do you know who he is?”
    “The police around these parts aren’t known for being generous with information,” the second woman said.
    “The police around these parts are known for being controlling buttheads, Kathy,” Annette corrected, making a face. “They have leaks in their department, though. And, well, people have been looking for Frank Ryland for days.”
    Now we were getting somewhere. “Frank Ryland? Is that the dead man?”
    “I don’t think they’ve confirmed it yet,” Annette replied. “I heard the coroner wouldn’t make a positive identification until later today. Frank has been missing, though. The paramedics said the body had tattoos on the chest … and so did Frank. It’s not much of a stretch to realize it’s him.”
    Something about Annette’s matter-of-fact delivery didn’t make immediate sense, but I let it slide for the time being.
    “What can you tell us about him?” Kade asked.
    “Why do you want to know?”
    If Kade was surprised by Annette’s question he didn’t show it. “Because we’re understandably curious,” he answered. “We don’t often find eyeless and limbless corpses in cornfields next to where we stay.”
    “We’re just trying to find out whether there was a reason for him to be out in the cornfield,” I added. “We were the ones who ran into the field when we heard the girls screaming. We’re kind of … invested.”
    “I’m not trying to be difficult,” Annette said. “Don’t get me wrong, I understand why you’re asking questions. From our perspective, though, you’re suspects. It happened right next to you.”
    “You’re also