Iris Johansen - No Red Roses

"I guess I'm becoming a bit imaginative," Tamara said, her violet eyes twinkling. "It goes with the territory when you've lived all your life with a psychic like Aunt Elizabeth."

They'd come almost to the end of the street without seeing any signs of life, much to Tamara's fervent relief. Perhaps a little further search and she could persuade Jenny to return to the car and leave this weird place.

"There it is!" Jenny clutched her arm suddenly and pointed to a building on their left with a broken seesaw in the front yard.

"But that's a schoolhouse," Tamara protested, with an obscure sense of shock. "And it seems as deserted as all the other buildings."

"It was a schoolhouse," Jenny whispered, her voice tense with excitement. "But that was over a hundred years ago. It would be ideal as a meeting place for any large group. Besides, I'm sure I saw a flicker of light at that right front window. Come on, let's see if we can get closer."

She was already moving silently toward the window and Tamara reluctantly followed her. The window was almost completely covered by a thick layer of dust and for a moment Tamara could see nothing. Then, with a chill chasing down her spine, she saw the flickering lights Jenny had mentioned.

"They must have candles," Jenny whispered in her ear. "Can you hear anything they're saying?"

Tamara shook her head. The barely distinguishable figures in the room were curiously shapeless and their voices almost entirely inaudible.

Suddenly the door opened and a large, black-robed figure stepped outside, not ten feet from where Jenny and Tamara crouched. Her heart suddenly pounding in her breast, Tamara groped for Jenny's hand and began pulling her away. Despite her earlier excitement, Jenny showed no reluctance to leave now.

The figure had turned slightly so that his back was partially to them, and Tamara and Jenny hurried down the street as quietly as they could. By the time they could see the glimmer of the shiny, cream- colored Mercedes, they were practically running. Tamara fully expected to hear the sounds of pursuit behind them any second.

Jenny reached the driver's side of the car several yards ahead of her, and fumbled at the door while Tamara tore around the hood of the car to the passenger door.

"Ugh!" The pained masculine grunt as she rammed full steam into a hard male body sent her into a panic. Instinctively, she knotted her fist and punched with all her strength. The man's torso was iron hard, but she must have hurt him for he staggered against the side of the car. She had only a moment to feel a sense of smug satisfaction before he straightened, grabbed her by both arms, and shook her until her head flopped like a rag doll.

"You damn little idiot, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Rex?" she gasped unbelievingly, but there was time for no more.

They suddenly heard a shout coming from the direction of the schoolhouse. Tamara looked over her shoulder to see a number of dark figures with flickering candles, moving down the main street in their direction.

Rex swore violently and tugged open the passenger door. "Take off, Jenny," he said sharply. "I'll bring Tamara in my Ferrari. We'll meet you at the turnoff for the ranch." He slammed the door and the Mercedes took off like a Grand Prix contender.

Rex grabbed Tamara's arm and urged her into a dead run to where the yellow Ferrari was parked by the road. She could hear him cursing steadily under his breath all the way to the car, and he almost pushed her into the passenger seat before jumping in the driver's side and taking off with a screech of tires. They nearly went off the road as he made a U-turn and took off after the Mercedes.

Tamara looked back over her shoulder and her breath caught as she saw that their pursuers had reached the spot where the Ferrari had been parked just a moment before. Then the shadowy figures disappeared as the car clocked over ninety miles an hour.

With a sigh of relief she sat back in her seat. "I can't see them any more."

"We're not home free yet," Rex said coolly. "They might decide to get their cars and chase after us,"

"Do you think they will?" Tamara asked anxiously, biting her lip. The last twenty minutes had been a nightmare. Now all she wanted to do was wake up into the bright daylight of sanity.

He shrugged. "Time will tell." His foot pressed down on the accelerator and the sports car's speed increased.

They were right behind Jenny when she pulled over to the side of the road at the turnoff for the ranch. Rex halted the Ferrari and opened his door. "Stay here!" he ordered.

He crossed to Jenny's car and spoke to her for a moment, then returned to the Ferrari. Jenny's Mercedes had already made the turn and was speeding in the direction of the ranch when Rex put his car in gear and drove back onto the road, heading in the direction of Las Vegas.

"Aren't we going to the ranch with Jenny?" Tamara asked, startled.

"No, we are not," Rex said emphatically. "I told Jenny we'd phone her from the apartment." He drew a deep breath. "Now please shut up and let me cool down. I'm on the brink of shaking you until your teeth rattle."

Tamara was about to remind him angrily that he already had when she glanced at his expression, illuminated dimly by the dashboard lights, and decided to hold her tongue. She'd never seen him so angry. His face was hard and taut with rage. There was a tiny muscle jerking in his jaw, and the dark eyes were positively blazing. She noticed he was wearing the white shirt and dark suede pants in which he usually performed. He must have left directly after the show without even stopping to change.

It was the first time since the night she'd met him that he'd shown her the tough ruthlessness beneath his easy charm; she had to admit to herself she was a little intimidated. The rest of the drive was made in silence that made Tamara distinctly uneasy.

When they entered the apartment, Rex said curtly, "Go into the living room. I’ll join you after I call Jenny."

Tamara wandered into the luxurious, white-carpeted room and strolled to the bar at its far end. She was trying to decide if she really wanted anything to drink when Rex strode in. He didn't share her indecisiveness. He stalked immediately to the bar and poured himself a double.

"Is Jenny okay?" Tamara asked hesitantly. The cooling-off period Rex had mentioned evidently hadn't succeeded in improving his temper. It was clear it was still at a white-hot pitch.

He drank half the whiskey down in one swallow. "Jenny is always all right," he said, with a grimace. "It's everybody around her who goes through hell."

"That's not fair!" Tamara retorted defensively. "How did we know there would be trouble at Lucky Creek tonight? We were just going to look around a bit and then get out before anyone saw us."

He crashed his glass down on the bar. "You wandered blindly into a deserted ghost town at midnight, not knowing what creeps or weirdos you might run into! What kind of wide-eyed idiots are you?" His mouth tightened. "Or perhaps you did it deliberately. You were mad as hell with me at breakfast. Was your little jaunt a ruse to worry me half out of my mind?"

"No!" Tamara cried, shocked. "I was angry at you, but I only wanted to get away for a little while. I never intended any of this to happen. How did you know where we'd gone?"

"Elementary, my dear Watson," Rex quoted caustically. "When you didn't show at the apartment for dinner, I just thought you were still upset. It wasn't until you missed the show that I began to get worried. I went back to the apartment to look for a note and after rummaging around, I found Jenny's ghost- town map." He took another long swallow of whiskey. "You'll be pleased to know that you scared the hell out of me. You see, I'd had Scotty check out that group with the local authorities in case they tried to make a nuisance of themselves. It seems they're not a legitimate coven at all. Most of them are affluent jet-setter types out to get a few kinky thrills by having their orgies and cocaine parties under the guise of a satanic cult." He looked up, his dark gaze stabbing into her. "Do I have to tell you what they had in mind for you when they sent that invitation?"