“She’s looking for him,” Aidan said as Shayne splashed cold water on his face.
“What else?” Shayne asked as he wiped his hand over his face before he stood up and grabbed one of the neatly folded hand towels off the silver platter before taking in the selection of toiletries lined up beneath the mirror, from the small jar of condoms to the bottles of cologne, before he settled on the bowl of mints.
“She met the owner. Caleb McClellan, easy-going smile, polite lad, who apparently went to school with our missing girl. He was a few years behind her in school, which would have probably made him fourteen or fifteen when she was killed,” Aidan said, shrugging it off as Shayne helped himself to a mint.
“Anything else?” Shayne asked, ripping the cellophane package open and tossed the mint in his mouth.
“Patrick wasn’t a hitchhiker. He worked for Caleb’s father maintaining the grounds. The police chief was apparently concerned about the tavern’s reputation and took it upon himself to change a few details and omit the fact that the lad worked at the tavern,” Aidan said as Shayne gently suckled on the mint and nearly fucking sighed with relief when he felt his stomach begin to settle.
“Ye know, if yer gonna try ta make the lass fall in love with ye, ye might want ta pretty yerself up for her,” Declean said, reaching past him to pick up one of the bottles of cologne.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Shayne said, helping himself to another mint from the bowl before making his way to the door, pausing along the way to throw away the wrapper before he opened the door only to find Ashlyn standing there with her fist raised, ready to knock on the door.
“Everything okay, lass?” Shayne asked as he stepped out of the bathroom and joined her in the small hallway.
“I was just about to ask you that,” Ashlyn said, frowning as she glanced back at the bathroom door. “Were you just talking to someone?”
“I was giving myself a pep talk, lass,” Shayne said with a sad shake of his head and a heartfelt sigh.
“Why exactly did you need a pep talk?” Ashlyn asked as they began making their way back to the waiting room.
“I had ta mentally prepare myself for what was ta come,” Shayne said as he found himself reaching for her hand before he realized what he was doing and stopped himself.
“And what’s that?” Ashlyn asked as they made their way to the hostess podium, where a middle-aged woman with a kind smile and a silver name tag letting them know that her name was Maria, was waiting for them.
“The rest of yer interrogation,” Shayne said, watching Ashlyn’s lips twitch as they reached the hostess.
“Two?” Maria asked, already grabbing two menus. When Shayne nodded, she said, “Right this way,” as she led them into the dining room to a table right by the windows overlooking the lake and flower garden below.
“Your waitress will be right out,” Maria said as she placed the menus on the table as Ashlyn reached for her chair only to have Shayne reach past her and pull it out for her.
“Thank you,” Ashlyn murmured after a slight hesitation before she sat down, her curious gaze never leaving him as hetook his seat across from her while Declean and Aidan took up positions by the window.
“How did you see this interrogation going?” Ashlyn asked as Shayne glanced out the window and watched as Robert tried to pick up a stick, most likely to beat the shit out of old man McClellan, only to have his hand go through it. He watched as Robert narrowed his eyes on the stick, muttered to himself and reached for another stick only to have the same thing happen again.
They watched him pace back and forth as he glared up at the tavern and-
“Fuck it. I’m gonna free the bastard,” Aidan said right before he disappeared.
“That depends,” Shayne said, watching as Aidan appeared in front of Robert, startling him.
When Aidan reached over to press his hand against Robert’s chest, Robert slapped his hand away, stumbled, and then made a run for it, forcing Aidan to chase after him. He watched Robert race across the yard only to disappear when he reached the stone wall and reappear back where he started, forcing Aidan to turn back around and go after him. Every time Aidan caught up with Robert, he either disappeared, ducked out of his reach, or slapped his hands away until Aidan gave up with a glare and disappeared.
“Ungrateful bastard,” Aidan mumbled as he reappeared back in front of the window so that he could glare down at Robert a moment later.
“Depends on what?” Ashlyn asked, drawing his attention to find her looking at the menu.
“On whether or not ye try ta trick me again, lass,” Shayne said, only to add, “Ye tried ta bluff last time,” when her expression turned confused.
“I have my methods,” Ashlyn murmured innocently as she focused back on her menu, making him chuckle.
“Good afternoon. My name is Catherine and I’ll be your server today,” a young blonde woman with a warm smile said as she set two water glasses on the table. “Can I start you off with a drink?”
“I’ll have a cup of coffee and he’ll have whatever’s on tap, please,” Ashlyn said as the waitress pulled a leather-bound notepad out of her pocket along with a pen and made a quick note. “Perfect. Can I start you with any appetizers?”
“Actually, I’m ready to order,” Ashlyn said, placing her menu at the end of the table.
“Perfect,” Catherine said as Shayne placed his menu on top of hers.
