Sex and Salmonella by Kathleen Taylor

Author:Kathleen Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, suspense, drama, murder, mystery, small town, female detective, detective, carnival, diner, summer, killer, women sleuth, south dakota, fair, prarie town
Publisher: Kathleen Taylor

19

Real Dead

Sometimes you know the Real Thing when you see it. Real power, real talent, and real diamonds all have depth and a sparkle that assistant vice presidents in charge of advertising, and cubic zirconium, simply cannot muster.

Real butter may not actually be better than margarine, but it is appreciably different. Like silk and polyester. Asphalt and cedar. Ivanna and Marla.

Unfortunately, the same goes for dead bodies.

In the middle of a sweltering amusement park attraction, with faux fatalities lying around everywhere where random limbs were scattered in the corners and assorted internal organs decorated the doorways, it was still impossible not to recognize the Real Thing.

So when I looked up into the girder-crossed ceiling in the Evil Hall of Mirrors and saw open-eyed Lily Mitchell peeking over the edge of a bank of mirrors, I did not mistake her for an artfully posed prop.

She looked dead.

I stood, stunned, for a full thirty seconds as my chest tightened and my heart hammered. I had no urge to scream or run, though I had to fight for enough air to breathe.

I honestly didn't know whether to continue on through the maze or to double back to keep anyone else from entering the mirrored room.

I couldn't send Tres ahead alone without an explanation, and those behind me would likely ignore any warning. It seemed less likely to cause panic if we continued on.

Tres had not yet looked up, or she did so without realizing what was up there. I took her hand and shouted over the noise, neutrally, casually, "We'd better hurry through, hon. The little ones are probably raising a ruckus."

There were several people behind us, bumbling through the obstacles. I could hear real screams and laughter behind us.

I hurried Tres as quickly as I could through the final dark passages, conflicting emotions warring inside.

Sadness for Lily was paramount—Lily who'd looked forward to seeing Delphi, not knowing she would die here.

I was angry at whoever put Lily's body in the mirror room, where children might have seen her first.

And then there was fear, barely repressed, because I knew immediately that Lily had not crawled up into the rafters to die. She was put there deliberately.

And through it all ran a thread of self-pity, a whining, wailing "Why me?"

Finding dead bodies was Miss Marple's job, not mine. I am a waitress and a reader and a small-town widow with a life already complicated enough, thank you.

I considered saying nothing, letting someone else deal with it. But I knew even as the thought formed what I had to do.

Tres, eager and excited, let go of my hand and burst through the exit door ahead of me, laughing. Momentarily blinded by the sunlight, I followed her, squinting, through the crowd.

Stu and Renee stood on either side of the triplets, who sat cross-legged on the dusty ground licking multicolored Sno-Kones. Calmly sitting, neatly and quietly eating, making no mess at all.

Renee talked quietly with Tres, who babbled enthusiastically. Stu held his son's hand and did not look my way.

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