Page 28 of Destined Chaos
A man dressed in a dark suit stood at the window, looking down at the street below. His dark brown hair was cut in a military style. A white shirt poked out at the collar, contrasting with the black suit.
He turned and smiled.
“No, just no,” Hugh said, touching my arm, getting me to stop from moving in farther.
“Hugh. It’s good to see you again,” the man said.
Champ and I exchanged a look. “You two know each other?”
“We’re related,” Hugh said.
The man pulled out a chair and gestured for me to sit. “I’m FBI Special Agent Porter Anderson. I’m married to Hugh’s sister, Clara.”
“Right, prepared tub girl,” I said, starting to understand while I eased into the seat. I handed Champ my crutches.
“What are you doing here, Porter? Did Clara send you to try and talk Libby out of selling me the property?”
Porter’s lip twitched at the corners, making Hugh’s eyes narrow.
“She has no say in this,” Hugh said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Why would your sister not want you to have the property?” I asked, unable to hold my tongue.
Champ sat next to me and leaned in. “I should have made us some popcorn.”
They both turned their glare on Champ.
He shrugged. “This is my office, guys. You should have picked somewhere else to have this family squabble if you didn’t want witnesses.”
Porter took a seat and gestured for Hugh to do the same. “Clara is kind of headstrong and protective when it comes to her brothers. She’d go to any lengths to make sure her family is safe. We both would.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” I said, clasping my hands on the table. “Why wouldn’t she want to see her brother fulfill his dream?”
Hugh finally unlocked his gaze and glanced at me. “She’s worried about the type of new clientele that would come to town. People like my family, only not so nice.”
He’d used the code to help me understand. Clara was worried about special people coming to town. I fixed my gaze on Porter. “Well, it’s either Hugh or the investor, and the investor wanted to turn it into a hunting lodge at first but now wants to turn the place into a haunted freak show. So, which do you think would do more harm?”
“Is that the only reason you’re here? Forgive me for asking, but I was under the assumption that this involved the murder of one of our clients,” Champ added.
Porter smiled. “The FBI has a specialized team of people with unique talents. And we’d like to hire Ms. Slaughter’s services as a consultant for other jobs that would benefit from your…insight.”
“So, this is about work?”
“Just say no and walk away.” Hugh sat back with a huff.
“We help people and handle some unusual cases.”
“It’s too dangerous. Your own personal vendetta almost killed my sister,” Hugh said.
“I appreciate the offer, but I have too much on my plate at the moment.” Not to mention, in five years, I’d be dead.
“Of course,” Porter said, standing while I rose too, balancing my weight on my other foot. He held out his hand and grinned. “Good answer. I look forward to getting to know you better.”
“You seem pleased that I turned you down,” I said, glancing around the room. “I would think you’d want to please your wife and return with an answer she wanted.”
“My wife knows things. It’s part of who she is. So, if she says some unique people will come to town, I don’t doubt it, but in all honesty, maybe the town could use some new people. Like you, for instance. My wife isn’t anywhere nearby, and you haven’t batted your lashes at me yet or tried to flirt with me.”
I frowned. “Why would I do that when you’re married to Hugh’s sister?”
