Page 41 of Love at First Sighting
If I’m happy, he’s happy.
We eat in silence for a few minutes, but silence with Carter doesn’t feel like ithasto be filled. It’s comfortable.
“So, no info on your dad.”
He shakes his head. “Something’s missing. I know my dad was working right up until he died. He was workingmorethan usual. That much I remember. It’d make no sense for his files to be empty for that long. The question is where they went and who has them.”
Those are big questions I’m not sure I know how to respond to yet, so I take another bite as I consider. The easy answer is one I don’t think Carter wants to hear, but if I hadto start digging, the first place I’d look is to the partner who is still alive.
“The best clue we have is Terra. Ian Forte. You know, since Howard’s dead.”
Carter ponders and chews. “We could get a Ouija board.”
“Absolutely not.”
“So, how are we supposed to get within ten feet of Ian Forte?”
“I probably could.”
Carter points at me like I’ve hit the jackpot. “Great point. But me? No way. I think my proximity tanks anyone’s net worth. You know he’s launching a vodka brand now? What a visionary. So visionary that the bottles are supposed to be submarines, but they just look like dicks. Like,alarminglyphallic.”
Then it hits me like a torpedo striking a Terra submarine. I shoot up and rest the scraps of my burger on the paper bag in front of me. “Wait a minute.”
I pass him my phone, where I’ve opened it to Alaka-Sam’s Instagram. The post in front of him has Sam, in his signature tight pants and sequined sapphire shirt, abracadabra-ing a bottle of Terra Vodka into existence. There’s a swirl of magic dust photoshopped around the bottle and Sam’s got one single eyebrow raised. He’s still struggling with his branding. He’s trying to be a serious and enticing magician, but he’s coming across more asDavid Blaine Street Magic. Despite this, heisworking his way up the fame ladder if he’s collaborating with Ian Forte.
“This. This could be our in with Ian. Sam is doing a show at the vodka launch party at Houdini House. I can get us into that party.”
Carter huffs and looks part annoyed and part disgusted. “Your ex is really going to want to help us out?”
“How did you know he’s my ex?” I ask, but then realize it’s not annoyance or disgust in his tone. It’s jealousy.
“Government-sanctioned stalking, remember?”
I frown. “Right. Your creeper era.”
Secretly, I might like the idea of Carter looking through my pictures, trying to figure out everything about me.
Carter raises his hands in surrender. “Just doing my job.”
“He dumped me,” I pivot.
Carter responds withactualdisgust this time. “Idiot.”
“We’re not exactly onbadterms,” I continue. “It wasn’t going to work out. I think if I tell him I can provide a bunch of guests for his show, he would be inclined to get us on the list. Even if I’m damaged goods to him, I still have some sway.”
“I mean, he looks like he does kids’ parties and wears a lot of Lycra.”
“He does. I can work on buttering him up. But not now,” I say, looking at the time. “It’s ‘conjuring hour’ before his second show.”
“What’s he conjuring?”
I legitimately do not know and I don’t wish to know, honestly. “It’s better not to ask. He doesn’t like to be disturbed.”
“…Right. Well, we have our next steps, I guess.”
“I think this mission will be a bit less high risk than tonight’s. Hopefully.” I liked the thrill of action, but we did cut it a little too close for comfort. Carter almost got arrested. Leonard assured us he deleted all footage of our time at the archive, so unless that guard has a photographic memory, it’s not likely we can be identified.
“Thank god. You held your own pretty well, but…I don’t like the idea of you being in danger.”
