The Once and Future Scream Queen: Marlene Ambrosia Mysteries Read online

  “Great idea.”

  They talked for a few more minutes and as tired as she was, Marlene hung up excited and feeling energized.

  Cromwell was impatient to hear about the day’s events. “Tell me everything that happened.”

  So Marlene filled Cromwell in, starting with Jill’s interview of Artie and up to and including the attack in the library. The owl shook his head, which took a long time of course because he could turn it so far back and forth.

  “It is a mystery to me why you are just coming into your powers and the Dark One has found you. The Merlin is usually gifted from birth.”

  Marlene didn’t have an answer for that. “It can’t be coincidence that all this started on my birthday.”

  “How old are you?”

  She laughed. “Never ask a woman that.”

  He shook his owl head. “Women are so sensitive.”

  “I’m thirty-two, for your information.”

  “You are thirty years old?” Cromwell was flabbergasted enough to actually jump backward, like he’d spotted a snake. “I thought you were eighteen, or twenty, at most.”

  “Uh … thank you?”

  He puffed his chest. “You humans all look the same to me and your age is impossible to tell.”

  So he wasn’t really complimenting her. “Cromwell, you really know how to charm a lady.”

  “My job is not to charm you.” He looked away. “Thirty-two years old! You are already past middle age!”

  “Hey.” She pointed at him. “Thirty is the new twenty-five, from what I hear.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Never mind.”

  “Don’t give me an attitude. I’ll bet you have no idea how old I am.”

  Marlene knew whatever answer she gave would be taken the wrong way. “You’re right.”

  “Typical.”

  She ignored the gibe. “Merlin seemed like he was older than sixty.”

  “The Merlin will live forever.”

  “So I’m going to live forever?”

  “No.” Cromwell shook his head. “By Mithras, you have so much to learn.”

  “Who is this Mithras character? You’ve mentioned him and Merlin did the other night too.”

  Cromwell gave her a look. “Are you serious?”

  “Forget it.” She waved at him. “I’ll just research it myself. Some of us have to actually learn things. We weren’t just born with all our life skills and knowledge of fifteen hundred year old history. But the Dark One—you can at least tell me who he is.”

  “He is an ancient evil. Once he was a man, long ago, in the days before the Merlin. He gained favor with the Roman Kings by counseling them. Always his advice came from a place of self-interest so that he found ways to benefit from the suffering of others. Eventually the Roman Kings left as Rome diminished. Our Merlin then was a young man and discovered Arthur. The Dark One attempted to take Arthur under his wing, but Merlin challenged the man and revealed his true nature for all to see. After that, the Dark One went away in disgrace but from time-to-time came back to thwart Merlin and Arthur in their plans. Now he lives—if you can call it living—to gain his revenge on the Merlin.”

  “Great. So I’m the proud beneficiary of a fifteen-hundred-year-old grudge match.” Marlene gripped her cell phone a little more tightly. Ever since the attack in the library, she had decided to keep it in her hand at all times. In the time it took her to draw it from a pocket or purse, this guy might be able to kill her.

  “What’s his name?” Marlene asked.

  Cromwell shuddered. “Merlin took his name away, so that he might never know repute again. He has none.”

  “I guess the Dark One will have to do.” Marlene looked out across her lawn and up into the night sky. It was a cold March night and she wrapped the blanket a little more tightly around her as she gazed at the stars. She realized these were the same stars that Merlin himself had looked at all those years ago.

  She smiled. “I think I’ll call him Pete. I knew a Pete once. He couldn’t harm a fly.”

  Cromwell turned and looked up at the stars too.

  Marlene’s smile turned into a frown. Thinking of Pete McKenna in turn made her think about Gwen O’Vear. Pete had once worked up the nerve to ask her out in seventh grade. She had politely turned him down, but of course word got around school that she’d rejected him and poor Pete had become the laughing stock.

  “Why did he kill Gwen O’Vear?” Marlene asked.

  Cromwell kept looking at the stars. “It is not important.”

  “Excuse me?” Anger touched her. “Gwen was a friend and he killed her. That’s important to me.”

  “Your destiny is to counsel Arthur. Not to solve crimes.”

  “The two aren’t mutually exclusive.” She balled her fists. She was tired of having everybody else tell her what her destiny was. “My fate is for me to decide. Not you. Or Merlin.”

  Cromwell turned just his head to look at her. She was almost getting used to the maneuver, even though it seemed like he was going to dislocate his head every time.

  “Focus on your destiny.”

  “Listen, Cromwell. I know Artie’s important, but so was Gwen. She was murdered. I can’t sit back and let that go. And—”

  As she said this, an unmarked police sedan pulled up in front of her house and parked on the street. Without a word, Cromwell hopped into the bush near the front door to hide.

  Detective Dan Bors got out of the car. He walked wearily across her lawn. Marlene got out of the lawn chair and waited on the front walk for him.

  Bors was wearing the same suit and tie and probably shirt from the other day. “Evening, Marlene.”

  “Good evening.”

  His tie was loosened about three inches. His hair was out of place and he hadn’t shaved in two days, it seemed.

  “I wanted to ask you some more questions about the other day.”

  “What about it?” She was in no mood, especially not after getting attacked today. Especially because she wasn’t guilty.

  “You said you got a text from Gwen that morning.”

  “That’s right.” Marlene unlocked her phone. “I wanted to talk to you about it, actually.”

  “Oh?” Bors was thrown for a loop.

  “Yes.” She scrolled through her texts and found the one from Gwen. Holding the phone out for him to see, Marlene said, “Tom Gelder and Gwen had history.”

  “That so?” He read the text on her phone.

  “There’s a rumor that Gwen and his daughter—”

  “Gee.” Bors scratched his head and frowned theatrically. “Why didn’t I think of that? There was trouble between Alison and Gwen. The only problem is, Tom Gelder couldn’t have killed her.”

  Marlene’s eyes bulged. “I have a text from her saying she was going across the street for coffee. That’s the only place she could have gone near my office. So if he’s saying he didn’t see her, he’s lying and that should tell you something.”

  “He’s not lying.”

  “What?” Marlene couldn’t believe it.

  “I watched the video from his surveillance cameras. He couldn’t have killed her.”

  Marlene still couldn’t believe it. “That means he must have done something to the tapes.”

  “DVDs, actually.” Bors folded his arms and pursed his lips. He was a big man and intimidating despite his lack of wit.

  “But …”

  “Enough, Marlene. I’m here to ask questions, not answer them.”

  The more reasons Bors gave her for why Tom Gelder couldn’t have killed Gwen, the more Marlene’s conviction grew that he had. It was a totally irrational response to the situation. She told herself that and then thought of the Dark One and felt totally played. He must have killed Gwen and was just toying with her, trying to mess with her head and confuse her while he played his wicked game.

  As if on cue, Bors took out his notepad again. “So let’s talk about this guy you said you saw.”

  �
��I saw him,” Marlene said.

  “Right.” He scratched something down. “Sure you did. That’s why he doesn’t show up on Gelder’s cameras and nobody else remembers seeing him, and nobody else remembers seeing his vintage car.”

  “Why would I make something like that up?”

  “You know,” Bors said like he’d just remembered something. “I talked to the mayor.”

  Marlene was this close to saying something smart, but she’d already gotten a bad vibe from Bors. She didn’t want to add any fuel to the fire and turn faint dislike into hostility.

  Bors nodded. “Gwen and he met for dinner the night before.”

  Something went click in the back of Marlene’s mind. It was a shame, though, that she didn’t know what it meant.

  “Gwen mentioned that to me as well. That they had gotten together.”

  “Did she now?” Bors smiled and there was nothing nice about it. “That’s interesting.”

  “Why?”

  “Gwen told the mayor she had changed her mind about hiring you.”

  “What?” Marlene felt her stomach drop.

  Bors nodded, enjoying this little spiteful moment he got to have. “She said yes out of pity but later changed her mind because she wanted to work out her problems herself.”

  Marlene felt like she’d been sucker-punched. What made it worse was Bors’s obvious enjoyment at her discomfort.

  “Try not to smile while you say it, at least,” Marlene said.

  His smile lessened, but didn’t go away.

  “Well, far be it from me to call anybody a liar … but if she had changed her mind, why did she keep her appointment with me?”

  Bors shook his head. “She didn’t keep her appointment, though. Not really.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Here’s what I know. The woman told the mayor she wasn’t going to hire you. She comes to your office probably to talk to you in person, because that’s the nice thing to do.” Bors put his notepad away and hiked up his pants, like they were perpetually too small for him despite his bulk. “I followed up with a couple of your clients. It sounds like to me you haven’t been giving out such great advice of late.”

  Marlene tried not to squirm or flinch or reveal anything. Poker face. But Bors had obviously talked to Bob, whose life she had singlehandedly helped to unravel in a very short time.

  Bors went on. “It’s almost like you like to set people up for failure, like Bob. Things haven’t gone so well for them.”

  She couldn’t help but glare at him.

  He kept going. “Maybe you’re a weirdo and you enjoy giving people bad advice. I don’t know.”

  “Yeah, because that makes a lot of sense. I’d be out of business right away.”

  He ignored her comment. “Then along comes Gwen O’Vear. A bona fide, Hollywood celebrity. Okay, maybe she was C-list, and maybe that was a long time ago, but still. With her as a client, you could easily find more local clients. Along she comes and she tells you she’s interested, but later changes her mind.”

  “She never told me she wasn’t interested.”

  Bors talked right on top of her. “She tells you thanks, but no thanks, and it’s bad timing, isn’t it? Your business is off to a slow start, you’ve lost a couple clients, and now your meal ticket has walked away.”

  “Is there an arrest coming?” Marlene asked, indignant. “Or at least a half-baked accusation?”

  Bors shrugged. “I’m just talking out loud.”

  “Well, go talk somewhere else out loud if you’re not going to arrest me.”

  Bors smiled. “You’re telling me that Gwen didn’t end your business relationship?”

  “That’s right. That morning, she was coming to see me so we could get started.”

  Bors nodded. “Anything else you want to tell me?”

  “There’s a lot more I want to say, but I’m a nice lady.”

  ***

  After Bors had gone, Marlene paced her living room. The guy was so aggravating. He was supposed to be the chief detective of the Medboro Police Department, and he was wasting his time suspecting her of Gwen’s murder.

  Not able to relax, but also not able to get any farther in her solving of the crime, Marlene took out her phone.

  It was time to call Mom.

  “Hey, Marlene. How are you?”

  “Hey, Mom. Sorry I couldn’t call you back right away. Some things came up.”

  “Was it a man?” Mom laughed.

  “No.” Marlene hesitated. “Well, yes, but not how you’re thinking.”

  “Marlene, when are you going to settle down? You’re a strong, independent woman, but finding the right person can really change your life.”

  Marlene didn’t say what she was thinking—that Mom had not found the right person and had divorced him pretty quickly.

  But it was a good enough Segway. “Ganny found an old picture.”

  “Oh?” Mom’s voice faltered a bit.

  “Of this man I didn’t recognize at what looked like a psychiatric hospital.”

  Mom said nothing.

  “He looked … I mean, I kind of looked like him.”

  Mom still said nothing.

  Marlene could tell from Mom’s silence that she had uncovered something life-changing. “Was he my father?”

  “Marlene …” Mom’s voice had gotten heavy. “I don’t know what to say. I prepared for this moment your entire life, but after a while it didn’t seem like a good idea anymore …”

  “Good God, Mom, is he my Dad?”

  Mom sobbed a little. It would have broken her heart, if she wasn’t so angry.

  “Yes.”

  “But …” A million questions flooded Marlene’s mind. “Who was he? Why didn’t you ever tell me? Where is he now? And why?”

  Mom was crying softly. “Marlene, I’m so sorry. He begged me to never tell you about him.”

  “Why not?”

  “He was such a kind, thoughtful man. When I met him.”

  “So what happened?” Hot tears blazed trails down her face.

  “Marlene, I should have told you a long time ago, but I could never work up the nerve. I’m …”

  “MOM. HOW COULD YOU KEEP THIS FROM ME?”

  “He made me promise to never tell.”

  Then Marlene thought about the town. Everybody knew everything here, it was that small. “How come nobody else knew about this?”

  “I met your father in Ireland when I lived there.”

  “You lived in Ireland?”

  “I was supposed to go with Peggy, but she backed out at the last minute. So I went to Ireland by myself. I met him there and we got married and had you.”

  Marlene couldn’t believe this. The room was actually starting to spin.

  “Who was he?”

  “He was a seanachie.”

  “A what?”

  “One of the few remaining traveling story-tellers.”

  “I don’t believe this.” People like that didn’t exist. Not anymore. Marlene had been born in the 1980s, not the 1880s.

  Mom’s voice brimmed with nostalgia. “He was such a kind man.”

  Marlene didn’t even know where to start, but the photograph came back to mind.

  “But he wasn’t just kind, was he?”

  “He was also very troubled. Alcoholism raced through his family, as he used to say. And if that wasn’t enough, schizophrenia and depression. His mother … anyway, he got really sick right after I got pregnant with you. It was scary. He started having delusions.”

  “He was schizophrenic?”

  “Yes, the doctors thought so. He started to believe he could communicate with animals.”

  Marlene’s throat locked up.

  “And there was more. So much more, Marlene. He was convinced that you would be born with …”

  “With what?”

  “Special powers.”

  Marlene wanted to say, Maybe I was.

  “He grew very paranoid. He felt our live
s were in danger, that people were looking for him and would try to kill you.”

  He wasn’t wrong, Marlene thought.

  “What happened next?”

  “It only got worse. I had to get him committed.”

  “Mom.”

  “I know this is a lot, Marlene. I’m real sorry. I can only imagine how you’re feeling right now.”

  “No, you really can’t imagine it. Not at all, Mom.”

  “Marlene …”

  Anger rendered Marlene speechless.

  “Marlene, I’m so sorry.”

  “I need to see him.” Her father—her real father—might be able to help her. Maybe he was the Merlin. Right now, she’d gladly hand the reins back to him if he wanted.

  “You can’t.”

  “Don’t tell me what I can’t do, Mom. You kept him from me for my whole life and pretended like Dad—like Ben—was my real father.”

  “I’m sorry, Marlene. But I did what I thought was best for you.”

  “Best for me?” She shook her head.

  “Small towns like ours can be great places to live. But they can also be very judgmental. I didn’t want the whole world to know your father was sick. I didn’t want that hanging over your head.”

  “He was my father.”

  “And he made me promise …” Mom started to cry.

  “I need to see him,” Marlene repeated. “You have no idea how important it is.”

  “Your father’s family disowned him when he got sick. They thought he’d turned his back on the church.”

  Marlene almost snapped, I didn’t ask about his family.

  But Mom kept going. “So I was always listed as his next-of-kin.”

  Suddenly, Marlene saw where this was going.

  “The hospital contacted me just yesterday. This is really unbelievable. Marlene, I’m sorry, but your father passed away.”

  “WHAT?”

  Mom was sobbing.

  “I can’t believe you!” Marlene shouted. “I can’t believe this is happening. Mom, you have no idea what’s going on in my life right now.”

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted you to have a happy, healthy, normal life.”

  “Oh yeah?” She laughed sardonically. “Well, I don’t. And you know what, Mom?”

  “What?”

  “Dad was right.” Marlene paused. “About everything.”