Deceptions (The Mystical Encounter Series Book 2) (18 page)

The entire time I waited for my fries, my eyes wandered everywhere but the mirror. My phone made for a good distraction as I pretended to check messages. On occasion, curiosity won out as my eyes strayed upwards, always catching Bart staring back at me. His loathing for me was obvious, but he didn’t try to move closer. My instructions were clear‌—‌do not approach him. But how else was I going to get him to come?

When the waitress brought me my sack of fries, I paid her, leaving a hefty tip. I considered approaching Bart despite my orders‌—‌we needed that confession in order to incriminate the mayor, and this was our most likely chance of getting a recorded confession. As I walked by Bart, the concern in Tanner’s voice replayed in my mind, shutting down any rogue ideas circling inside my head. Instead, I returned my own icy glare before opening the door to leave.

I walked away, and my heart sank, knowing I had failed this mission. Not only had I let Tanner down, but I felt like I let Barry down too. Even though he hated me now, that was still unacceptable. I almost turned around to head back inside The Mole Hole when the faint door chime sounded behind me. I took a step forward and froze when I heard my name shoot through the air.

“Heather, wait a second,” Bart called out.

Slowly turning around, my breathing quickened as I waited for the police chief to approach. Bart’s mouth curled into a snarl while his eyes projected pure venom. All my strength went into maintaining a neutral expression. I was so scared.

“Heather, I wanted to thank you for all your help,” he said, eyeing my every move and looking scornful.

As stoically as I could, I responded, “Thank you, officer. I’m glad to help.”

He tilted his head as he continued studying me. “Heather, I’m curious how you figured out about Jillian’s involvement,” he said, his tone more menacing than his words, as his piercing stare sliced through me.

My eyes shifted, and I paused for a moment, trying to decide how to answer. I maneuvered my purse toward the front, hoping Tanner and the other agents were listening. Evidently I took too long to answer, because Bart started talking again.

“You were pretty close to that Barry kid at the park. How is he taking the news about you being involved in his mom’s arrest? Maybe you should stick to your studies and stay away from police business.”

My eyes widened. “Is that a threat? Because it sounds like an ‘or else’ should be attached.”

“Take it however you want. Just know this: I will not let you breeze into town, and cause this much uproar without facing some consequnces.”

Bart had pushed his limit. If his intent was to get a rise out of me, then he had succeeded. Through clenched teeth, I said, “The only thing I did was damper
your
operations. And what a nice little operation it was, too. Remember the other day when you praised me for my help with Nick? Do you remember placing your hand on my back?”

Bart’s eyes squinted before his pupils dilated as he realized his mistake. “And just what did you see?”

“Let’s just say, I’ve seen enough to know that Jillian’s not the only one involved.”

“Good thing you don’t have any proof, because no matter how talented you are, it will never hold up in court.”

“Yeah, I know. But you’re forgetting something.” Bart’s piercing glare made me falter, but the rage boiling inside spurred me to speak. “You’re forgetting that day we were at the Canter estate. After you left, Mr. Canter shook my hand.” I let those words hang in the air while they registered with him.

Bart’s eyes widened as he whispered, “What exactly did you see?”

“What exactly are you afraid of me seeing?” I asked in an antagonizing tone.

“I’m not scared of you, little girl," Bart mocked.

I arched my brows and stared at him while he worked his jaw, fidgeting. “So you know?” Bart asked. With the slightest movement, I nodded. His eyes drew together and he grabbed ahold of my arm‌—‌hard. Pain shot through my elbow as I winced, trying desperately to keep the vision away.

“Bart, how are you doing today?” an elderly woman asked in passing. She glanced between the two of us, drawing her face into a question. “Is everything all right?”

Bart released my arm. With a smile, he nodded at the woman. “Yes, Ms. Goodrum. Everything is fine. Has your son been by to check on you lately?” He sounded so calm, he could be making small talk at church.

“No, not for a few days,” she said slowly.

“Well, if I see him, I’ll send him your way. You be sure to have yourself a good day now,” he said dismissively.

Her gaze darted to him as her eyebrows drew together. “Okay,” she said, her voice shaky.

The old lady walked away and Bart turned, getting right up in my face. “Listen here, you little freak, it doesn’t matter if you know I was blackmailing Mr. Canter or not. Your precious Tanner and his stupid agents can’t prove anything.”
Confession one
. “And whatever you know or think you know, about my involvement with Jillian proves nothing.”

“Oh, that’s not all I know. You’re leaving somebody else out of the equation,” I said. Bart tilted his head and pursed his lips. I half–smiled. “The day of Johnny’s ceremony, someone else congratulated me by patting me on the back, too. Any guesses as to whom?”

“The mayor,” he whispered, more to himself than to me.

I jutted my chin and nodded ever so slightly. My smirk grew wider as his entire face turned ruddy.

“Yes, and it looked like there was money exchanged,” I said.

“You saw me hand over the mayor’s payment?” he asked, his voice distressed.
Confession two.

“Yes.”

“Son of a…‌how did you see that? We were discreet the entire time.” He pulled me to the side of the building, and peered into my eyes. “Who have you told?”

“No one,” I lied as calmly as I could. “I didn’t realize the connection before, but now I see you’re paying him off. What’s the reason?”

He clucked his tongue. “Not so fast, little girl. You may think you know everything, but you don’t.”

“Yeah, well I know enough that could get you convicted. Do you really think the mayor would stand up for you once his back’s against the wall? All I have to do is tell the authorities and he’ll be questioned. How long do you think it will be before he squeals?”

“That’s not going to happen, sweetie. We have a deal. I give him a cut of our pay, he maintains my status. It was a rather sweet deal, until you ruined it. Now, I just need to figure out how to take care of you.”

My heart rate spiked at his threatening tone. Shouldn’t Tanner be swooping in to rescue me right about now? I scanned the area frantically, trying to plan an escape. A moment later, I heard an authoritative voice shout, “Hands in the air.” Bart closed his eyes for a second and then glared at me.

“We’re not through,” he said menacingly.

Two armed men flanked Bart, placing him under arrest. They read him his rights while I backed away.

Tanner came up to me. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. God, I was scared to death. What took you so long?” I asked. “He confessed several minutes ago.”

Tanner smiled at me with a gleam in his eyes. “They wanted me to wait and see if Bart would admit the reason behind the mayor’s payoff. Heather, you were incredible. You provoked him just enough, and he practically booked himself with that confession. Come on, let’ get you home.”

Detective Tanner smiling was a rare, joyous moment. I grinned back and sighed. Home sounded so good right about now.

~~~~~

“Mom, you look really nice,” I said as she walked into the living room. And she did, too. Out of her normal scrubs, she had on a nice pair of black pants with a striking, fuchsia–colored silky top. The neckline plunged into a V–shape and she had a sash wrapped around the waist, tied at the side. She had curled her strawberry blond hair into soft waves. This was her first date in about as long as I could remember, and she had clearly pulled out the big guns.

She mumbled, “Thanks.” She nervously smoothed nonexistent wrinkles in her shirt, and her hands shook slightly.

“Mom, are you worried about this date?”

“You have no idea,” she said with a grimace.

“It will be fine, Mom. Tanner’s a great guy. I think you’ll have a wonderful time tonight. Do you know where you’re going?”

“Some restaurant in Harrisburg. It has a great ambience. Well…‌according to my coworkers, anyway.”

Pain shot right through my heart at the mention of a restaurant in Harrisburg. It had to be the same restaurant Barry took me to on our
official
first date. God, I wasn’t expecting to be reminded of that place‌—‌ever.

“It’s really nice, you’ll enjoy it,” I croaked. My throat closed, making it difficult to talk. I could still picture him confessing his love to me with the candlelight glow highlighting his handsome face. I sighed. I had been too guarded and unsure of my feelings then, so I missed one of the many opportunities to tell him I loved him back.

“You’ve been before…‌” Mom started to ask, but then stopped herself, her face drawing into a frown.

I didn’t want my problems to mar her evening. It had been forever since she had been on an actual date, and the last thing I wanted to do was depress her right before she left.

“Yeah, I’ve been,” I said. “You’ll have a wonderful time.”

Before she could respond, the doorbell chimed. “You want me to get that?” I asked mischievously.

“No.” She chuckled. “Are you sure you’ll be all right here tonight by yourself? It’s not too late to cancel.”

She’d been debating whether to cancel all day. She claimed she didn’t feel comfortable leaving me alone, but I wondered if she was just too nervous to go out. Regardless, I wasn’t about to interfere with her date. “I’ll be fine. Now go, you’re keeping Tanner waiting.”

With a devious smile, she raised her eyebrows slightly. “That’s not a bad thing,” she said before turning to answer the door.

I peeked through the window. Tanner was handsome dressed in a black suit. The color accentuated his dark hair, and they looked cute together. A cute
older
couple, but cute nonetheless.

~20~

Friendships

I didn’t turn my phone back on until Saturday. I clutched my belly as I heard all my missed calls and texts of the last four days beep through, muttering, “Please let some of those be from Barry.” My brief bout of hope dissipated when all five voicemails and two dozen text messages were from Nicole. I deleted her voicemails without listening to them and glanced through her texts. They all had the same theme: “call me” or “we need to talk.”

I shook my head. School resumed on Monday, so hiding indefinitely wasn’t an option. I would soon have to face everyone, including Barry and a very irate Nicole if I didn’t call her back. I sucked in my breath and broke down and called Nicole. “Hey.”

“I didn’t think you would ever call me back,” she said coldly.

“Nicole, I’m sorry. These past few days have been pretty rough.”

“So it’s true then?” she asked, softening her tone.

“Yeah. And believe me, you wouldn’t have wanted to be around. I’m a mess.”

“If you had called, I could have been there for you,” she countered.

“Frankly, I’m surprised you still want to talk to me at all.”

Nicole sighed heavily. “Heather, just because Barry’s upset with you doesn’t mean that I am. Really, what choice did you have? I know my uncle. I know he wouldn’t have given you a choice about keeping it a secret from Barry.” She let her words settle before continuing, “Look, just give Barry some more time. After a while, he’ll see he’s being unfair.”

“It won’t change anything, Nicole. Every time he looks at me, he’ll see the person who betrayed him, the person who got his own mother arrested,” I argued.

“Don’t you understand? She set herself up to get arrested. The fact that you happened to be the reason the police finally found out, doesn’t change that she’s a criminal. Barry will realize this eventually; he’s just hurting right now.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Yes it does. You need to snap out this funk and quit feeling sorry for yourself because you two will inevitably get back together.”

“Nicole, stop! I appreciate what…‌”

“No, you stop and go answer your door. I’m here.”

“What?”

“I’m at your front door, let me in.”

I stammered, “Okay” and hung up. Nicole always found a way to amaze me. But showing up at my door? That was one of the nicest things she had done for me. It may seem like a small gesture, but to me it was huge. Sometimes the smallest acts of kindness were the most cherished.

As soon as the front door swung open, a pair of arms wrapped around me, pulling me into an embrace. At that point, I realized how much our friendship meant. In all my years of being essentially friendless, not once had I felt sorry for myself. But now that I had a comparison, loneliness was just sad. The last thing I wanted to do was lose Nicole’s friendship as well as Barry’s.

“You’re a mess,” she stated as we pulled apart.

A laugh escaped as I nodded. “I know.”

“I brought chocolate,” she said, with a devious smile, shaking a box of truffles.

“Can’t turn that down, now can I?” I asked, shutting the front door.

“We’ll eat tons of chocolate while we hate on men,” Nicole said, smiling mischievously. With a shake of my head, I followed her to my bedroom.

It was therapeutic being around Nicole that morning. We chatted about things besides Barry, which helped get my mind off him‌—‌as much as possible, anyway. When Mom got home from the beauty salon, she waltzed into my room.

“Oh, hi, Nicole. I heard voices and wondered who Heather was talking to.”

“Hello, Ms. Reiner. You look really nice,” Nicole replied.

Mom did look nice. The newly lightened streaks in her hair erased ten years from her age.

“Thanks, I just came from the salon. Well, I’ll let you two catch up.” Mom smiled before leaving.

“Your mom seems unusually happy today.”

Uable to hide the smirk on my face, I said, “Yeah, she’s been in a good mood since she went on her date.”