Chapter 93
Chapter 93
Attempting to be cunning, I side eyed the man sitting beside me. “How well did you know Pops?”
My question could point me in the direction of least if I should have known him from before I was cursed.
“Hmmm.” He murmured while taking a hit. “We had some business transactions.”
I raised an eyebrow. Pops had a lot of business interests. I still hadn’t taken the time to go through all the holdings that had been transferred to me when I met with the lawyer. Those were the legal dealings. Pops had his moonshine business too. Possibly others too. He was the son of mobster after all.
“Legal or illegal?” I just went straight for it. Trevor chuckled.
“Does it matter?” He asked with a shrug.
“Fair enough.” I’d leave it alone for now. “Had you been doing business with him long?”
He looked at me slyly. “Depends on your definition of long.”
Ugh. Is this what it was like to deal with me as a teen? How was I supposed to figure him out if he wouldn’t work with me? This guy was giving me nothing!
I really didn’t think he was my enemy. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but my instincts weren’t screaming for me to run. Of course, Fenton hadn’t set them off either so maybe they were faulty.
“So, Kenna McIntosh. What are you doing hiding out in the woods on a Friday night?” He looked me in the eye as he took a swig of the rum cooler.
“Didn’t I already answer that?” I challenged back while putting my smoke in an empty can.
“Did you?” He gave me a knowing look. Who was this guy, Jiminy Cricket?
“Hmmm.” I mimicked him. “What are you doing out here?”
He snickered, clearly knowing what I was doing. “I was out for a stroll when I smelt smoke. Thought I’d make sure nothing was on fire. Happens often in this town you know.”
I had to fight a giggle at his puzzled expression when talking about things catching fire in this town. As a human it must be confusing. Even in the know, I was still caught off guard sometimes. But to be fair, I’ve only remembered for a week that magic is real. Trying not to sound mocking, I asked if he had noticed how bad the plumbing in the town is.
“Ya know, I have.” He took a hit of his vape. “I’ve even spoken to the mayor about it. They keep assuring me they are looking in to. But then, the next week…WHOOSH.” He threw his hands up like water erupting and shook his head.
I snorted. “Yeah, I’ve seen that. The pipes in the police chief’s office burst over his head the only time I was in there.” Shaking my head in mock confusion. “Plumbing in this town sucks and he had the audacity to look at me like it was my fault.”
I widened my eyes in feign innocents. VD knew exactly why that pipe burst, even though at the time I had no clue. He’d been going over the official story of how Pops disappeared. I’d lost control of my feelings. Then WHOOSH. VD and his desk drenched. Looking back, it was hilarious. He so deserved that cold shower.
“That sounds like Chief Hayward.” Trevor nodded. “Always gotta blame someone.”
“Had a few run ins with him, have you?” I knew that tone. Same one had when someone mentioned Deputy Hendricks. He smiled widely at me. For the first time I noticed he was kinda cute, in a wholesome way. I’d say the boy next door, but, that title was claimed by a Lego headed policeman at the moment.
“Oh yeah. We’ve known each other awhile.” He paused, probably choosing his words. “He doesn’t always approve of my actions.”
“Oh now, you got to expand on that!?” I laughed. If he had gotten under VD’s skin, I needed to know how.
“Can’t, my dear lady.” He smiled arrogantly at me. “Statue of limitations might not have expired on everything.”
I laughed so hard it echoed inside the willow umbrella. Oh, if we didn’t run together in high school, we should have. I nodded knowingly. “I feel. Got some stories I still have to be careful telling.”
He snorted. “I’ve heard things about you, Kenna McIntosh.”
“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”
He shook his head. “I might know things I’m not supposed to say out loud.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. What did that mean? He couldn’t possibly know things I didn’t, right? Stupid curse actually meant he could know a lot about me I don’t know. Time for some answers. I decided to go down a different line of questioning. “How long have you been in town?”
Trevor looked at me speculatively. After a pause, he answered. “I’ve been here about eight years.”
Eight years. That coincided with when Elle had come back. Could it be related? Or was it just a weird coincidence.
“Had you been in town before that?” Something about his tone made me feel like he was being evasive. Giving half answers. As a former town’s chief mischief maker, I recognized the signs. I too could lie with the truth. Give direct answers that hid whatever I didn’t want revealed. Which led me to believe he had answers. Or maybe was just a troublemaker. Whichever, I needed to know.
“I’ve been through a time or two” He sided eyed me. A faint smile on his lips. Oh, he was definitely playing with me. I needed to find out if it was illegal to waterboard humans.
“Oh?” I invited him to continue. He opened his mouth to speak when there was a noise from outside. We exchanged looks as we listened. As it got closer, we could tell it was footsteps. It sounded like a human. Or possibly Tony in the bigfoot costume. But I doubted that one.
“Miss McIntosh, fancy running into you out here.” The branches were brushed aside for the second time tonight. A tall dark-haired man with flirty blue eyes ducked under them. He crawled in on his knees. He grinned right at me. Oh yeah, this man was trouble.
Different kind of trouble than the one beside me. I looked to beside me to see what Trevor’s reaction to the new interloper was, but there was no one there. No sign that anyone else had been. The litter where he had been sitting was untouched. No empty rum coolers besides the ones I had drank. The smell of his vape was gone too.
My brow furled in confusion. Where had he gone? I’d just been speaking to him. He’d taken a can out of the bag. I’d smelt the vape pen. When he had ducked into the umbrella, the branches had moved.
That had all happened, right?