“I didn’t even tell you her last name,” I announced as I walked through the door. “Or what she looks like.”
But there was no one behind the counter anymore. Paunchy, Dorn, the other officers…everyone was gone.
“Where are we going now?” Aaron asked as I breezed by him and jogged down the steps. My face was on fire. My heart pounded against my skull. I gritted my teeth as I speed-walked across the park, hugging myself against the cold breeze.
“They don’t believe me? Fine. I’ll get proof,” I said, fuming.
Fisher and Lauren were sitting on the edge of the fountain talking, but they both stopped to stare when I raced by, their gaze hard and silent. I almost tripped when I got a glimpse of what Fisher was wearing. Sitting at a cocky angle on his head was a funky straw fedora, one I recognized all too well.
“What the hell?” I said, stopping dead.
Even though they were yards away, Fisher and Lauren got up, as if they’d heard what I said, and started off in the other direction. At the edge of the park, Fisher slipped the hat off his head and held it in front of him, out of my line of sight.
“What is it?” Aaron asked, watching after them.
“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head.
I felt like a series of puzzle pieces were trying to fit themselves together inside my mind. First, the minstrel disappeared and then his guitar strap mysteriously shows up at Tristan’s house. Then, the blond guy showed up at the general store solo, and now his absent boyfriend’s hat was sitting on Fisher’s head. Were the local kids on some kind of crime spree? Stealing random accessories from the visitors?
Unless, of course, the tall guy had given the hat to Fisher. Maybe that was why he wasn’t with his boyfriend yesterday. They could have broken up. He could have dumped the other guy for Fisher.
Except they’d seemed so happy, their pinkies linked, their smiles true. Could they have really broken up just like that?
“Rory? You’re starting to freak me out here,” Aaron said.
“Sorry,” I said, starting to walk again. “I’m fine.” Aaron hustled to keep up with me as I crossed Main Street and hooked a left onto Freesia Lane.
“What kind of proof are you looking for?” he asked me.
That was a good question. What was I looking for? Evidence of the fact that she still wasn’t there? From the corner of my eye I saw a shadow in one of the upper windows of a yellow house, and I walked even faster. In the park, the swings creaked in the increasing wind. Overhead, gray clouds began to gather.
“I don’t know,” I told him. Shaking my head, I shoved open the front gate. “But there’s got to be something.”
“I’ll wait out here!” Aaron called after me. “Just in case she’s there and you two need to talk!”
In case she’s there. God, it would be so amazing if she was just there.
One fat drop of rain plopped onto the back of my hand as I reached for the porch’s banister, and all of a sudden I was in the woods. Raindrops plopped from slick wet leaves. Mud like sludge under my fingernails. The pain in my gut was excruciating as I lifted the knife and swung.
The front door squealed open, and Joaquin slipped out. I blinked, forcing myself back into the present. Into reality. I bounded up the five steps to the porch.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded.
He looked back over his shoulder and closed the door behind him, forcing me to stay on the porch.
“What’re you, following me?” he asked with a casual smirk.
“No, I’m not following you,” I snapped. “What’re you doing here, Joaquin?”
“I just came to check on Olive,” he said, turning up his palms, then crossing his arms over his chest. “You’re right. She’s not here.”
My heart fell slightly. I glanced over at Aaron, who shrugged up at me from the street as if to ask “What’s going on?”
“I’ll be right back!” I shouted to him, reaching for the door handle.
“Whoa, wait. Where’re you going?” Joaquin asked, gripping my wrist. “I just told you she’s not there.”
I’d never liked Joaquin, but this was the first time his touch felt threatening. My palms turned clammy as adrenaline rushed hot through my veins.