Page 53 of A Curse On Black Lake
“Is that an invitation?” I ask her.
“Call it what you want, cowboy,” she says and hops off of me, floating into the house.
“Well, how can a man say no to that?” I holler.
She pokes her head back out the door. “Good because I made a quiche I couldn’t possibly eat all by myself.”
Chapter nineteen
Killian
Elianaopensthestore,and I sit at the table eating the delicious sausage and bacon quiche she made. It’s been years since I’ve thought like a detective, and my mind keeps going to the evidence Wyatt has compared to what I have. I feel like one of those old-school detectives on TV with a picture of an outline of a person and red threads pointing in twenty different directions to theories.
Wyatt has continued to try and search my land. At first, I didn’t think anything of it because it made sense from an investigative perspective. But he hasn’t been able to obtain a warrant because there is no additional probable cause for a search. So why did he try to get me to say yes? Was it so he could find the undergarments we found next to an old campfire? Did he know they were there? The only way he would, is by seeing them or putting them there himself, and that’s too much to fathom. But if the Spirits are right, then who else would it be? I don’t have friends. The rest of my family is gone.
“I promise you there’s not enough lavender in that bottle to calm the raging bitch disease you’ve got,” I hear Eliana say.
“Excuse me? Have you looked in the mirror recently, you freak? If anyone has a problem, it’s you, witch!” someone yells, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Be careful there, Jane. You’re going to knock your halo off those horns of yours,” Eliana says.
Jane gasps. “You’re pathetic. Your grandmother is better off without you,” she says.
What the hell?
I stomp into the front of the house, and Jane Reed stands in front of Eliana, sticking her finger in Eliana’s face. While Hazel Usher has her hand over her mouth as if she’s trying to conceal her laughter.
“And another thing, I—”
“Is there a problem here?” I ask, stepping into the room.
Jane nearly jumps out of her skin and does a double take at me. Her hand drops, and she takes a step away from Eliana.
Our eyes meet, and I can see Eliana’s unshed tears she refuses to let loose in front of these psychotic women.
“I said, is there a problem, Jane?” I ask her again. I’m pretty sure I went to high school with these women.
“Well, no, but I think she’s lying to me,” Jane snaps.
“Why would Eliana lie to you?” I ask her.
“Because she doesn’t like me and she wants to poison me,” Jane says.
Swallowing my desire to say many ungentlemanly things, I clear my throat and look her in the eye. “Well, Ms. Reed—”
“It’sMrs. Reed,” she says, enunciating each word.
“Yes, well,Mrs. Reed,Eliana may not like you, and based on your performance today, I can’t understand why that might be. Regardless, she’s trying to help you, and if you don’t want it, then I can show you to the door.” I take a step closer to Jane, and her eyes widen. “Because Mrs. Reed, I will not allow you to speak to her like that again. Are we clear?” I ask her.
She swallows thickly and steps back again.
“I said, are we clear?” I ask her.
“Yes,” she squeaks.
“Good, would you like to pay now?” I ask her.
She nods and steps around me to the counter. Eliana rings her up, and Jane slides a ten-dollar bill across the counter, grabs her amber color bottle, and scoots out the door with Hazel.
