“—by Cessair, yes.” Laurence nodded emphatically.
“And his friends call him Orotund Bastard.”
“Um, yes,” Laurence said, sounding lost. He didn’t get why that was what Connor focused on.
Connor’s mind worked furiously on piecing together this new bit of knowledge.
Chapter Twenty-One
Connor’s head hurt so much it stopped working. For the life of him, he couldn’t put together a scenario where everything fell into place in a way that made sense. That Cessair was his dad’s boss he could understand. Austin might not have known that. But everything that happened with the case didn’t make sense if Cessair truly was responsible for bribes. Because when it came down to it, a testimony would have been enough. What was the agenda here? Was there even one, or was Connor just seeing shadows on the wall?
He looked out at the ocean. He watched the waves and let his mind settle, focusing on how he’d felt a little while ago instead of this new confusion.
Adonis gasping against his neck. Clinging to him afterwards… All Connor wanted to do was swim out where he knew Adonis lingered and spend time with him. Rather than Malta, his future could be buying a boat and living on the ocean.
Connor doubted he’d get away with asking his dad for enough money to buy one, but he could save up; Sally would hire him in a heartbeat. Spend his days with Adonis by the beach in the meantime. Connor wouldn’t have any qualms leaving behind the world. He’d visit Laurence and Trevor, stop in every so often to stock up on books and food, and he’d be set.
“Are you okay?” Laurence asked him quietly.
They’d sat in silence for a while now. Connor’s stress had melted away with his tension. He glanced at Laurence, taking in his nervous lip biting. “I’m fine. But let’s leave the conspiracy stuff be, okay? If there’s something there, the police will investigate it.”
They returned to silence. Connor was reluctant to leave the beach and drive toward civilisation.
“Do you want to see?” Laurence dragged Connor’s attention from the ocean. He’d been leaning against the steering wheel, gazing out at it, trying to get a final glimpse of Adonis before they left. He knew it was futile, the beach was far too busy now for him to appear.
Connor turned to Laurence, who offered out his sketchbook. Laurence had joined them in the water after the girls started to surf with them, but after another hour he’d set himself on the beach and dedicated his time to sketching.
On the page was a full body drawing of Adonis.
“It’s good,” Connor said, taking the sketchbook to study the drawing in more detail. He’d captured Adonis’s arrogant expression in the image. He smiled to himself, looking at it. “Can I have it?” he asked.
“Of course,” Laurence said. “I have a few more if you flip over.”
Connor would wrap it in plastic and bring it to the dock to show Adonis. See what he thought about being drawn. The following pages were filled with close-ups of his face, small sketches of him swimming in the water. The last page had Connor sitting on his board, petting Adonis’s hair as he rested his head in his lap.
Connor’s gaze snagged on his own expression in the drawing; a pleased little smile on his face.
“Did I look that smug?” Connor asked.
“You looked happy,” Laurence said.
*
They’d brought everything they needed to go straight to the festival on the docks. It was coming up to three p.m., and the roads were packed as they got close to town. In the distance, Connor saw the Ferris wheel and another tall ride, one that turned you upside down—The Exterminator. There was also The Terminator, spinning cups, go carts.
Laurence leaned over the dash to admire the rides. “I can’t believe I have to work for this,” he said regretfully.
Connor glanced at him. “Want me to do it? And you can go around with your friends.”
“But then you won’t get to go around either.” Laurence shook his head. “No, it’s okay. I’m saving up for a drawing tablet, so I don’t mind working. I just want to complain about it, too.”
Connor nodded. He didn’t exactly want to go around the festival. He was curious, and maybe in past years it would have been the ultimate distraction, but now it hardly seemed like it was worth the effort. If he had someone to spend it with, friends or someone fun, then maybe he could enjoy it. But Laurence was the only person he would probably like going around with, and he was working.
Connor would rather go straight home and see if Adonis would come meet him at the dock…
Thanks to Trevor running a food stand, they could by-pass the jammed parking lot and get access to a staff lot. Connor parked in the first space they found and joined the crowd heading towards the docks. Trevor’s food truck had a long line of people mobbing it, and Trevor and Nick both scrambled around inside.
“Ugh.” Laurence scrunched up his nose. “I’d better go help them.”
