Chapter 12
He was right. I knew it. My practices were kind of outdated. Nathan, Clayton, and I stepped out into the smoldering Texas heat, where it was hard to breathe. An iridescent shimmer formed on my skin.
“What now?” Nathan asked.
I shrugged. I didn’t know. Normally I had time to prepare. Clients sent me their things in advance, and I had time to do whatever I needed. Sometimes I didn’t even need a map. The crystal would do all the talking, or visions would just pop into my head and point me in the right direction. Just like my recent case of the keys hidden inside a crockpot.
“We old-school it,” I said and glanced up and down the street.
“And what exactly does that mean?” Clayton asked as he and Nathan followed me.
I had my fingers wrapped around the crystal at my neck, trying hard to concentrate on the feelings it was giving off. The strength of the vibration would be my guide. I walked in one direction and then moved back to the store and walked in the other. I grinned and glanced over my shoulder.
“This way. We definitely need to go this way.” When they didn’t move, I returned to them. “What’s the problem?”
“I’m not dressed for this occasion,” Clayton mumbled. “I should have worn my tennis shoes.”
“Here, take the truck back to the house.” Nathan passed him the keys. “I’ll call you when we’re done.”
“Come on. Let’s go. I don’t want to lose the momentum,” I said, already looking back over my shoulder in the direction I wanted to walk.
“You’re just going for a walk around town, right? You’ll call me when you hit on something so I can come back?” Clayton asked.
Nathan’s brows dipped. “Of course, I will.”
Clayton left us on the sidewalk, and Nathan tossed his arm around my shoulder. “We’re just out for an afternoon stroll to onlookers. You just lead the way.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him that his touch sent me into a tizzy. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I wished his words were true.
We took it slow through town, stopping a few times as people approached Nathan. Had I known my way around town, I might have left him so we could get done quicker. I held the bank heist money in one hand and my crystal in the other.
It wasn’t until we were standing in front of the bank that any hope I had vanished, and my shoulders deflated.
“Please tell me that isn’t the bank where your mom died.”
He sighed. “Yep. Maybe the money isn’t going to help us after all.”
Nathan’s Uncle Dan waved as he passed and pulled into the bank parking lot. A man was sitting on the sidewalk in front of the building, resting his head in his palms.
“Do you think he’s okay?” I asked.
“My uncle will take care of him.” Nathan gestured with his finger toward where his uncle was headed in the young man’s direction.
The man rose to his feet. His hands gestured wildly as they exchanged heated words.
“Maybe you should go check on him.” I said gesturing to Uncle Dan.
Before Nathan could even cross the street, the man who’d been sitting met our gaze and started slowly started to walk off.
My stomach grumbled as the sun began to set. Our day had been wasted. A dead end.
“Come on. Let’s get you something to eat, and then we’ll call Clayton to come and pick us up.”
I snapped the heist money and held it up. “Too bad we can’t use this.”
He chuckled and took it from me, stashing it in his pocket. “That would be the quickest way to get the FBI into town.”
Nathan took me to this dive of a place. I almost balked at the idea of entering a building that looked like it might fall down around us. There was a neon sign above the entrance that wasn’t lit up. Mitchell Brothers BBQ.
