If he knew anything about this town or myself, then he’d know I wouldn’t give a fuck about Tico. He was just some random kid, which led me back to my theory of Tico being convenient.
Asshole was looking for a way to get my attention subtly and stumbled across a body. Or what he thought was a body. Tico looked dead, all fucked up and beaten black and blue. Ned really did a number on him. I might’ve made the same mistake. It also explained why Tico never mentioned my apparent stalker. He was unconscious at the time.
I strolled down the left side of the beach and stopped near a ‘No Dumping’ sign to compare the view of the lake to the one in the video.
This looked like the place, though all signs of what had happened were long gone. The sand, lake, and people enjoying the afternoon all appeared normal. It was a little windier and less occupied. The incoming hurricane saw to that, but still normal.
Honestly, I don’t know what I expected to find or why I came here in the first place. Mr. Ace of Spades wanted to meet on Devil’s Peak at the bluffs. That wasn’t going to happen. I knew a trap when I saw one. Besides, any good predator would say the first rule of the hunt was to know your prey, and I knew fuck all about this asshole.
Perhaps that was why I came? I needed to learn something about him. As much as I’d like to write him off as inept, he managed to hide under my nose for over a year. I couldn’t help but wonder what he wanted. If it was my death, then why not just take me out? Sure, there’d be repercussions, and he’d never leave town alive, but the deed would be done. Why waste all this time? Those unanswered questions were starting to grate on my nerves.
Grumbling under my breath, I kicked the ground and prepared to leave. That was when something caught my eye—the tiniest glint of metal under the sand. I squatted down to sweep my hand over the buried object.
My brow instantly rose.
Hidden in the sand, under where Tico’s ‘body’ was found, was a small foil flower.
What the fuck?
I picked it up and held it in the sunlight to examine the folds. It was definitely one of mine. I knew only one other person who could make them, and he wasn’t around anymore. When I was ten, I was stuck in the principal’s office. Evidently, it was wrong to smash a kid’s head into the slide, but Mr. Grier thought I needed something to keep my hands occupied. So once a month, we had arts and crafts class, where he taught me how to make them.
The only difference between this flower and one of mine was that it was made from gold foil. I used silver. Or at least I did now. I was a kid the last time I made a gold one, and I never left one on a…
Shit.
A motel room flashed through my mind. One from years ago, with an old tube television in it and worn shag carpet…
“What areyou doing in here, kid?”
“This…”
Bang.
I’d almost forgotabout that hit. It was my first one. When I was thirteen, Micha paid me five dollars to off some asshole that slapped Mase. We discovered he was also in the business after the deed was done. Lou was pissed when he found out. Apparently, he’d gotten permission to conduct his work in town, and we’d fucked with Lou’s word.
Sunlight glinted off the flower as I twirled it between my thumb and forefinger.
Mr. Ace of Spades couldn’t be that prick. He was dead.
Wasn’t he?
I watched him die. Or at least I thought I had. Was it possible I made a mistake? I was only thirteen at the time. There was one way to find out.
Standing up, I dialed a number and pressed the phone to my ear.
The Lost Souls Enforcer answered on the third ring.
“Hello?”
“Snake, it’s Preston—”
“I’m going to stop you right there. I don’t care what your crazy ass sister did or how much of a mess she left behind. Call someone else. No amount of money is worth dealing with her.”
I rolled my eyes. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“Not that bad!” Snake growled back. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to cover up an explosion?”
“Depends on where it was.”
