MORNING CAME WAY too early for Kerry Underwood. The wine headache she suffered didn’t make her want to open her eyes anytime soon, either. A bright sliver of light peeked through the crack of the curtains covering her window, urging her to her feet. She dragged the pillow over her head, choosing to ignore it. The crinkling sound of a plastic bag, however, irritated her hearing until she tossed the pillow to the side and sat up, glaring around the room for whatever made the cursed noise.
On her dresser sat a small man, smaller than leprechauns even, with dark brown skin and long, pointy ears that stuck straight out the side of his bald head. His bony legs dangled over the edge of the dresser as with tiny, sinewy hands he reached into the bag of chocolates Arden brought her last night, pulling out another piece and popping it past his dark, thin lips into his mouth. He just stared at Kerry as he chewed, his beady, dark eyes blinking every once in a while.
“You really should chew with your mouth closed,” Kerry said as she pulled the covers up closer to her neck. She didn’t know anything about brownies, which is what she assumed this creature was, except for what the strange man at the front desk and Arden told her. The tiny creatures played practical jokes on people, but no one told her whether or not they were dangerous. She chose to err on the side of caution.
“And you should sleep with more clothes on,” the little man snapped, reaching into the bag for another piece of candy. “And tell the leprechaun to buy better chocolate next time, not the cheap shit.”
Kerry couldn’t help it. She laughed. Of all the craziness she witnessed since she arrived in Black Hollow, the tiny little creature on her dresser topped it all. “I doubt there will be a next time, but I’ll tell him,” she said.
“Not a next time?” the small creature said as he popped another chocolate into his mouth. “The way you two were locking lips? Please, I wasn’t born last millennium. He’s hot for you, and after what I saw while you were sleeping, I don’t blame him.”
“What the..?” Kerry grabbed her pillow and chucked it at the small creature. “You peeping tom! Pervert!”
The brownie cackled as he avoided the pillow, still clutching the bag of chocolates in his hand. “If you didn’t want people to see it, you should have covered it up.”
“No one told me there’d be sneaky little men in my room,” she said back at him. “Do you spy on all the guests?”
“Only the ones who sleep naked,” he said with a leer as he bounced his eyebrows over his beady eyes. He pointed a little finger at her. “You were told we were here; don’t deny it. You knew. It’s your own fault.”
Kerry rolled her eyes as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and wrapped the blanket around her body. “Well, you’ve seen all you’re going to see. You might as well leave now.” She stood, tightening the blanket around her.
The brownie waved at her as if dismissing her. “Bah. You’re just as rude as the last human who was here.”
Kerry froze, staring at the small man. “The other human? You mean the one who occupied the room next to mine? You saw her?”
“Of course I saw her. I live here, silly. I see everything.” He reached into the bag for another chocolate. “She didn’t have chocolate when she first arrived, but she soon learned her lesson.” He cackled as he popped the candy into his mouth.
“You little shit! Did you hurt my sister?” She lunged for the brownie, but he dodged her, squeaking as he moved out of her reach. “What did you do to her?”
“I didn’t do anything to her,” he shouted. He stood on the dresser, the bag of chocolates, which was almost as big as him, clutched at his side. “Well, I didn’t do much to her. Nothing that hurt her. We’re not vicious, you know. We just like our chocolate.”
Kerry narrowed her eyes at the dark-skinned little man. “What do you mean you didn’t do much to her?” She took another step toward the brownie, whose eyes went wide as he scampered to his feet and scurried to the side.
“Hey, now,” he said, pointing a finger at her as he shoved the bag of candy behind his back in case she tried to snatch it away from him. “She was warned just as you were. Sandie always makes sure to tell the guests the special deal we’ve got going.” He shrugged his scrawny shoulders. “She didn’t believe, so we ransacked her room her first night. Nothing serious, mind you. Just a wee bit of mischief to let her know we won’t be forgotten.”
Kerry growled at the tiny man as she took a step back. Then she wondered how involved the little creature was in the lives of the guests at Daydreamer Inn. “Do you remember the last time you saw my sister in her room?”
He eyed her suspiciously, as if she would still take his prize. “About four days ago,” the brownie said. “She was with that leprechaun. What she ever sees in their ilk, I’ll never know. They think too much of gold, and not enough about chocolate.”
“A leprechaun?” she repeated. “Arden? The one who was here last night?”
“The one you were swapping spit with?” The little man actually looked disgusted. “You two looked like you were about to eat each other. No, it wasn’t him.”
“Had you seen this other leprechaun before?” she pressed. Did the brownie ever leave the inn to even know what anyone else would look like?
His face twisted into a disgusted snarl. “What? You think just because people leave me chocolate, I don’t get money as well? How do you think I pay for these stylish threads?”
She stared at his ragged shorts with the frayed hem. “I don’t even want to know.” She shook her head. “Who did you see?”
“You’re a right grumpy woman, aren’t you?” The brownie bunched his fists on his hips as he glared at Kerry. She didn’t care what he thought about her as long as he gave her the information she needed. Of course, if he kept jerking her around, he would see just how grumpy she could become. “Fine,” the tiny man said with an exasperated breath. “She was here with your boyfriend’s friend, the one with the shaggy mane of red hair. They were arguing about something.” He quickly held a hand up. “I don’t know what, so don’t bother asking. All I know is that the leprechaun was pretty incensed about something.”
Quinn never told Kerry he saw Brandie or visited her room. Why would he keep that a secret? Kerry wondered. She also wondered what else he kept from her or if Arden knew about Quinn’s visit to Brandie’s hotel room. She glanced back at the brownie. “Do you know if they left together?”
He shrugged as he plopped back down on the dresser, reaching into his bag of goodies for another piece of chocolate. “Don’t know. The yelling hurt my ears, so I left. However, I know that was the day your sister stopped coming back to the inn.” He shoved the candy into his mouth and chomped down.
“Was that the only time he was in her room?” Kerry tightened the blanket around her body once more, wishing she slept in something besides her birthday suit right then.
“Nah,” the brownie answered. “He visited her a couple of other times. They even did that lip lock thing you and the other leprechaun did, only they went a lot further. That noise really hurt my ears.” He made a scrunched-up face as he shivered at the memory.
Kerry felt her eyebrows go wide. “Are you saying Quinn and my sister had sex?” Quinn left out a lot of information, it seemed.
“Yuppers,” the brownie cackled. “All night long, too. Almost forgot to leave out my chocolate.”
“Then why were they fighting?” While she asked the question out loud, she really hadn’t expected the little man to answer her. The question was more a pondering on her part. However, the brownie didn’t know the difference.
“Well, like I said, I didn’t hear what had he-with-the-red-hair all lathered up, but I could guess. I don’t think he cared for her other visitor. Seemed your sister was seeing two men.”
All right, that didn’t sound like Brandie at all. “Did you see her having sex with this other person?”
“Nope,” the brownie said. “But, they were talking all secret like. I don’t think the other man liked her being here.”
“Really? And just who was this other man?” Who would want Brandie out of Black Hollow?
“She talked with that trouble maker over at the bank, the cluricaun.” The brownie popped another chocolate into his mouth.