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“Even the kitchen?” Cody asked with a grin.
Oliver barely managed to bite back a smart ass remark. Cody had dated pretty much every woman in Parson’s Hollow before he realized his heart belonged to Demetrius. And even though Cody was happily married to Demetrius, he was still a massive flirt with both men and women.
Demetrius, obviously used to Cody’s flirting and seemingly unaffected by it, didn’t say a word as he headed to a booth with an outlet underneath and slid in next to the window. Oliver sat across from him then looked all around the diner, taking stock of the customers and few staff. The waitress approached—Jesus Christ, had she brushed her hair?—and handed them menus.
“Want anything to drink?”
“Iced tea for me, please,” Cody said, then ducked his head as he read her name tag. “Christine.” He flashed a big, bright smile that made Oliver want to roll his eyes so hard he’d pass out and hopefully forget he’d ever seen it.
“Same here,” Demetrius said.
“Water’s fine,” Oliver said.
Christine walked away, and Demetrius plugged in a phone charger as Oliver resumed checking out the other diners and staff, drumming his fingers on the menu.
“You should order something,” Demetrius said. “Even if we just end up taking it back to the motel. You need to eat.”
“Anyone in here look familiar?” Cody asked.
“No,” Oliver said.
Christine returned with their drinks and held up her pad, ready for their orders. Oliver asked for two grilled chicken breast meals. “One’s for Dave. He’ll be hungry when we find him.”
Once everyone had ordered and Christine walked off, definitely swinging her hips, Demetrius leaned in over the table and met Oliver’s gaze. “We’ll find him.”
Oliver nodded, but found he was too choked up to say anything. He really needed to hear that kind of reassurance, because he was having a hard time getting past feeling responsible for Dave going missing. If he’d only done more research beyond watching a few episodes of a TV show and scanning a handful of wiki pages, he probably could have prevented this.
“Demmy’s right,” Cody said. “We’ll find him. I know it.” He waved a hand between him and Demetrius. “If we were able to find my father in the mountains of Colorado and avoid a damn Sasquatch, we can find Dave in this small chunk of woods.”
“Exactly,” Demetrius said with a nod and sat back.
“Thanks,” Oliver said, truly grateful.
They talked a bit about the new wiki page Oliver had found and the items that would repel a ghost.
“Salt, iron, and mustard seed?” Cody said. “Mustard seed? Really?” He looked at Demetrius with a frown. “Why the hell would a ghost be afraid of mustard seed?”
“I take it you guys have been checking out the Morelock Motel?”
Oliver had been so involved in the discussion, he hadn’t seen Christine approach their booth carrying a tray loaded with plates.
“You caught us,” Cody said, giving her that Times Square-level bright smile once again. Oliver barely managed to hold back a derisive snort. “What do you know about the place?”
“I know to avoid it,” she said, setting a plate in front of Oliver and handing him a boxed meal in a plastic bag. She smiled and said, “I heard you say the second meal was for someone else, so figured you’d want it to go.”
“Thanks, that’s really nice.”
Cody tapped the side of Oliver’s foot. When Oliver glared at him across the table, Cody tipped his head slightly toward Christine and widened his eyes. Oliver frowned in confusion, then finally understood. Cody felt he had an in with Christine and wanted Oliver to pursue the conversation about the ghost at the motel.
Christine placed Demetrius’s plate in front of him and was about to walk off when Oliver said, “Um, you know, my friend might actually be in trouble. Out at the motel?” He lowered his voice a bit. “We think the ghost has something to do with it.”
“Oh?” Christine touched a small gold crucifix on a delicate chain around her neck. “That’s terrible. They really need to tear that place down. If it’s not the drifters using it, it’s thrill seekers or kids partying and getting in trouble.” She shook her head. “So many men have never returned from there.”
“Have you lived in this area all your life?” Demetrius asked.
“Yep. And I’ve been out to that place a few times.” She made a face. “I didn’t like it.”
“Ever see anything you couldn’t explain?” Oliver said.
