Page 45 of Her Cruel Dahlias
“Do you want to come back with us?” Anika asked once they finished eating.
“Perhaps soon I’ll stop by and bring you breakfast this time,” Cricket said as she folded the blanket and handed it to Anika. She then accompanied them back to their carriage and watched it until it safely disappeared out of the trees and onto the road. A few sprinkles dropped from the sky, causing her to glance up at the darkening clouds. She was about to turn to go back toward the caravans when she caught sight of a yellow-hooded figure darting between trees inside the cemetery.
Remembering what had happened to her when she was near the cemetery last, she drew out the hidden knife from its sheath. She wasn’t going to lose sight of the person, and she wouldn’t be foolish either. So while running in the direction of the mystery figure, she screamed as loud as she could to get the attention of the other performers. Breaking through the tree line, Cricket found no one, though the figure had been there moments before. And then she saw it. A folded sheet of paper pinned to a tree.
The others arrived as she ripped the note open.
Do you think there have been too many bodies, Cricket? Blame no one but yourself.
Chapter Twenty
Cricket trembled as she held the note—it was the same handwriting as the one left for her before. When she stepped forward, a hand pressed down on her shoulder, and she screamed, whirling, knife in her grasp, but Zephyr dodged the blade.
“It’s me, Cricket,” he said, his voice soothing. “I heard your scream while I was gathering supplies from the tent and rushed over here.”
Just as she was about to answer, more sets of feet thumped against the earth. Several performers halted near the edge of the woods where they stood. Wilder, Autumn, and a few of the strong men studied them.
“You were screaming,” Autumn said, holding a wooden staff. “What happened?”
“Check the rest of the woods. The murderer was just here wearing a bright yellow cloak with a long pointy hood. They left this note pinned to the tree for me.” Cricket handed Zephyr the letter while the others spread out and began searching through the woods and cemetery.
Zephyr furrowed his brow as he read the letter, his expression hardening. “You didn’t see what direction they went?” He clenched his knife in his other hand as he surveyed the area.
“No, I saw the yellow fabric slip behind the trees, but I suppose I wasn’t quick enough. They vanished as soon as I came in here.”
“Let me take a look around.”
“I’ll go with you.” Cricket gripped her blade, her knuckles white. If she had any enhanced strength, she would’ve easily crushed it.
They trekked through the trees, searching for any sign of movement or even a scrap of yellow fabric that had possibly snagged along a branch. But there was nothing besides the sounds of crunching leaves or snapping twigs from their own feet. The only evidence of anyone being there was the note fisted in Zephyr’s hand. She peered at the ground for footprints, but the dirt was too hardened for the murderer to have left any behind.
“We came up with nothing,” Autumn said as she and Wilder stepped out from between two trees.
“Empty here as well.” One of the strong men sighed, his muscles bulging against the sleeves of his shirt.
Zephyr gave the letter back to Cricket. “The upside is that a left-behind note is better than a dead body, right?”
Cricket scowled. “I suppose. I need to tell Mistress Eliza, then give it to Bram.”
“We’ll inform the others what happened while you two do that,” Autumn said to Zephyr and Cricket before they went their separate ways.
Mistress Eliza wasn’t in her caravan but sitting inside her tent, sifting through a deck of tarot cards. Two candles were lit, and a few crystals rested on the square table draped in red velvet fabric.
“Need a reading that desperately? You know the rules about barging in here,” Mistress Eliza snapped, but then her brows rose as she studied their faces. “What is it?”
“I’m telling you this time,” Cricket started, an anxious feeling clawing at her insides. “A note from the Dahlia Murderer was left for me in the woods near the cemetery. They were wearing a yellow cloak, but they got away.”
Mistress Eliza pushed up from the chair and limped toward them. Her lips remained set in a tight line as she read over the note. “Was anyone murdered?”
Zephyr shook his head. “No, and this isn’t Cricket’s fault. You won’t threaten or berate her for this, or I’ll fucking leave right now with her.”
“Well then…” Mistress Eliza blinked, seeming unused to this tone from Zephyr toward her.
“It’s fine, Zephyr, you don’t have to—”
But the necromancer cut her off by lifting a hand. “What I need is for you two to take a horse and tell the authorities to get this solved. We have lost pay, and traveling to our next location is still too soon. Everyone here needs to remain in pairs. No more milling about alone at whatever hours people please.”
“I won a good amount of money yesterday at the pub during a card game. Not that it’s as much as what could’ve been earned, but you can have it for the carnival,” Cricket offered.