Page 39 of Heart of a Witch
“Already had one.” I angled my head at my best friend. “Your sister knows the Kapps guy, right?”
He nodded once. “Why?”
I glanced down, then brought my stare back to his. “He owes me dramair.”
“He rob you?”
“Something like that.” The memory of Corbin sitting behind the apothecary, off his head on opium and with his pockets empty, flitted into my thoughts. Those so-called friends of his had robbed him blind and could have killed him in the process. I’d let them off before. It was my brother’s responsibility, after all, and he was just as bad an influence as they were, but they’d all gone too far this time. “What do you know about him?”
He shrugged. “His parents havesomewealth, I suppose, nothing worth bragging about.”
I leaned forward, holding out my hand. He handed me his cigar, and I took a puff, then blew out a circle of gray smoke into my bedroom. “Find out everything you can about him, will you?”
He raised an eyebrow. “I’m not your investigator.”
“No, but you’re better than any in this town. You can find things out about people, and you’re the only one I trust.”
He took back the cigar and leaned against the wall. “I’ll ask around.”
Morning light seeped through the crack in the floor-length drapes, illuminating wisps of dust and smoke in the air.
I nodded. “There’s another one too. Jackson Thompson.”
“He rob you too?”
I didn’t answer. “They’re friends.”
“All right, I’ll find out what I can. You gonna beat them down?”
I clicked my tongue. “They’re nineteen, men now. They’ll get punished as such.”
“Do you want me to get them alone?”
The corner of my lip curled upward. “The Kapps guy, yeah. He’s their little ringleader.”
He kicked back against the wall, walked to the ashtray, and pressed the cigar into a pile of ash. “You got it. Right, I’m heading out. Work doesn’t end. Got to meet the boys down at the docks. New shipments came in.”
“Did the cigarettes come with it? They’ve become popular at the club.”
He checked his pocket watch. “Yep, and we’ve got the best gin from up north.”
“Deliver everything to Bernie. He’ll be working at the club tonight.”
Charles grabbed a scotch before he left. “See you this evening.”
I stood and poured myself a water. I needed to talk to my father about not becoming a hunter. The training would begin soon, with my birthday approaching fast. I could no longer hide from my destiny. I had to make a choice, and I knew what mine was. My interests lay in business, not in hunting, politics, or the church. If I could make him understand how my ventures would be beneficial to us, he may understand. I could grow our wealth, leaving him financially free to continue carrying out his purpose. I’d be able to bring Corbin into the family business. There was room for more than just the club. I wanted to expand and open more gentlemen’s clubs throughout Salvius, aimed not only at businessmen and the elite but ones for the working class, where they could make connections. Only a few would have access to liquor. I didn’t want to risk being shut down.
I inhaled sharply as I walked to his study, which adjoined mine. I fixed the collar of my shirt and knocked twice.
“Good morning, son.” He was standing across the room, his eyes bloodshot. “I hope you’ll be joining me for my sermon tonight. It’s the first one since I left.”
“Good morning. I wouldn’t miss it. I know it’s important we show a unified front.”
He leaned over his desk, sighing. “If only your brother understood those values. I don’t believe he’s set foot in the church since he was ten.”
“He struggles with his faith.”
He snarled. “It’s in his blood; that’s why. If he were stronger, he could fight his demonic tendencies.”
