Chapter 25

The room is decked out to look like a forest, alive with flashing red strobe lights, and the depth and width of the place seems to evade the principles of time and space.

"Wow," Cooper marvels as the fog begins to thicken. "It's as if we're really in the woods. This entire place is incredible. I'm not sure what kind of black magic they're using to pull this stuff off, but it's genuinely creepy."

"I've long suspected Naomi Turner was a powerful witch, and seeing that she can pull off the headless look and run this haunted hovel with her head on a platter proves it."

"Duly noted," he says.

If only my evening ended there. It would truly be the perfect night.

"Trick-or-treat," I call out with caution as the eerie mood music builds as we enter deeper into the haunted woods. "Johnny Marino, come out, come out, wherever you are!"

A loud thwack comes from our left and a giant evergreen falls this way, missing us by inches.

"Geez," Cooper growls as he pulls me out of harm's way. "They've got some real liability issues here. If they're not careful, someone might really get hurt."

"Someone's going to get hurt, all right," a deep voice rumbles, and out of the shadows steps Johnny the Meatball Marino wearing a ripped-up flannel and jeans, along with tall black boots and a dirty beanie pressed over his head. His facial scuff looks thicker than usual, and yet there's dirt smeared over his nose and cheeks to give him that I-chop-for-a-living look. "Hey, it's you." He nods to Cooper. "Sorry, Detective, but I've got an ax to grind tonight." He belts out a laugh. "How are you enjoying the show?"

"It's perfectly terrifying," Cooper says with a laugh. "This place is great. You should leave the attraction up all year."

"I was toying with the idea, but you know your sister. Once she vetoes something, it's hard to get your way."

Cooper offers an affable smile. "You really do care about her, don't you?"

"I'd kill for that girl," Johnny says, slinging his ax onto his shoulder as a glint of darkness flickers through his eyes.

"And you have, haven't you?" I say as my heart begins to race ten times as fast as it did with any of those fake monsters we've encountered. Okay, so maybe it pounded a little harder in the room with the creepy dolls, but who could blame me?

"Pardon?" Johnny squints my way as the lights continue to flicker around us.

"You heard me," I say. "Johnny, I know what you did and why you did it."

He inches back. His eyes flit to Cooper, then to the exit behind me.

Cooper shakes his head my way. "What's going on, Effie?"

"I think Johnny should tell us." I nod to the man, but the only thing he seems capable of doing is glaring at me as if he were about to find some place new to bury that ax. "Fine. I'll get the ball started. I heard you had a problem with how your brother was able to fund his share of this place."

Johnny's eyes expand and he shoots me a look. "So what if I did? He's dead. It's water under the bridge."

"What's going on?" Cooper loosens his hold on my waist and looks as if he's about to reach for his weapon.

"Johnny here didn't like that Sal borrowed money from Sergio," I tell him.

"I hate the entire Sorrentino clan," Johnny riots and swings his ax at the nearby trunk of a tree. The smell of whiskey emanates from his breath even at our vantage point. "Why he thought it was a good idea to go groveling to the enemy is beside me."

"You thought he was a traitor," I continue.

"Sal was a traitor," he riots and his eyes are red with rage.

"He betrayed you in another way, too, didn't he?" I go on. "With the woman you love."

"What?" Cooper snaps his neck my way. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Sal the Sausage got your sister snockered up on limoncello and then he took advantage of her."

A riotous roar evicts from Johnny and he goes on a wild swinging spree with that ax of his.

Both Cooper and I put down our pooches but keep the leashes held tight. Cooper puts a hand over his weapon but doesn't quite remove it from its holster just yet. I'm no psychic, but I bet that's next.

"Back up," Coop shouts my way, but I take a step forward instead.

"Is that why you killed him?" I shout over Johnny's wild howls. "Is that why you sent Sal packing to the big haunted house in the sky?" I suppose it's the ultimate haunted house, but I'd venture to guess it's not nearly as gory or scary. That is, unless you end up in the hot place. Then it's sort of a haunted house twenty-four seven for all of eternity.

"Yes." Johnny jumps in front of me with such vigor the floor shakes beneath our feet. His eyes are bloodshot, his face glows as if his skin is on fire from the inside, and his rage is palpable. "I killed him because I had to. Not only did he disrespect me as a businessman by going to our enemy to build this place, but he disrespected me as a brother when he took my girl. Sal Marino was a traitor, and there's no room for a traitor in the Marino family no matter who he is. He's in a casket where he deserves to be and I'm the one who put him there." He swings his ax at the tree to his left and it falls over with a crash, sending the dogs into a barking tizzy.

"Freeze," Cooper shouts at the man while aiming his gun at him, but Johnny simply swings his ax at the weapon.

"I'm not going anywhere, Officer," Johnny shouts, and the next thing I know he snatches me by the wrist and lands the crook of his arm around my neck. "Sorry, Cooper. If I'm taking a road trip to Hell, she's coming with me."

"No can do," I squeak. "I hear the heat can be a real killer this time of year." I turn my head to the right and lift his arm right off of me. I dance backward, and in one quick move, I manage to dig my Glock out of my purse and point it at the lunatic in question.

In an odd turn of events, I'm actually facing both Johnny and Cooper, my weapon inadvertently pointed at the two of them.

My twin targets.

There's not another soul in the room as far as I can see, save for the dogs, and if I happened to take down my two intended hits, I'm sure they'd never tell. Although let's be honest, Watson would never forgive me for taking out his father. I don't think I could forgive myself either.

Cooper turns his head slightly, his eyes never leaving mine as if he knew what I was contemplating. He lowers his weapon and gives a slight nod my way as if daring me to do it.

A fresh bout of rage enlivens in me and it's all for my uncle, and maybe for myself, too, for getting stuck in such a Glock-shaped pickle.

"Don't just stand there," I shout to Cooper. "Arrest him."

Cooper goes to tackle the perp, but Johnny springs in my direction so I fire a shot and hit him in the hip, knocking him right to the floor.

While Cooper cuffs him and calls for help, I quickly put away my gun and scoop up my sweet pooches and smooch their little faces, just thanking the Big Guy Upstairs they came away without a scratch.

I watch as Cooper shouts into his phone, and Johnny writhes while pinned beneath Cooper's knee as both of my targets are still alive and kicking.

My targets might be alive and kicking, but I don't think I'll be so lucky come midnight.

Soon enough, the sheriff's department swarms the place. Johnny is arrested and taken away by the EMTs, along with a few deputies to make sure he doesn't go anywhere. Not that he can with the bum hip I gave him.

Cooper and I follow them out to the front of the Tavern of Terror and watch as the ambulance takes off.

"You did good, Detective Canelli," he says, holding Spooky while I hold Watson tight as can be. "Next time give me a little warning and leave the shooting to me."

There won't be a next time, I want to say but don't have the gumption to.

"I've got news about Spooky." He frowns a bit as he says it. "Naomi let me know the owner called and was asking about him. He belongs to a very nice family who lives right here near Main Street. I let her know I'd return him as soon as I could. His name is Sparky, and it turns out he came from the same litter as Watson."

"I figured so," I say, giving the little cutie a scratch over the ears. "I'm really going to miss the little guy." The brownies he leaves in my front yard, not so much.

"I let the lady know where you work and that I hang out at the bakery a lot myself with Watson. She said she's going to set up some playdates for the two of them at the dog park."

"Aw, I love that." My heart melts just thinking about it. And then a visual of me lying dead in a casket takes over. Then another visual of Cooper falling in love with Sparky's mom, and suddenly I want to shove every candy bar in the world into my pie hole. But face it, there's not a candy bar in the universe that can fix what's wrong in my world.

"I'd better get going," Cooper says. "I've got a mountain of paperwork waiting for me and I want to book Johnny before the night is through. Try to keep out of trouble, would you?" He gently lifts my chin with his finger and steadies his eyes over mine. "For a second there tonight, I thought you were going to shoot me."

"For a second there tonight, I thought the same thing." I try to make it sound as if I were teasing, but it comes out like an apology. And I am sorry I ever entertained the idea, let alone trained a weapon on him.

Cooper gives me a deep, dark, delicious kiss before we part ways.

Watson and I say goodbye to Spooky and watch as the two of them take off.

After Cooper drops the pooch off at his forever home, he said he's headed straight for Ashford.

And I take off for Leeds.

If my uncle is about to do me in, I may as well make it easy for him. Or find a way to change his mind.

Whichever comes first.