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“Have you eaten today? At all?”
I have to stop and think about his question. I don’t think I have.
He must be able to tell, “Want to go to the diner with me and grab a bite to eat?”
“Are you ready to give me an interview?”
He rolls his eyes but leans over to open the door on the passenger side for me. “Sure.”
Once I’m inside and buckled he tells me he has a quick stop to make before we go to dinner. “I have to stop at my house and grab some papers so I can make sure this town meeting happens as soon as possible. Do you mind?”
“Not at all.” He and the Sheriff decided on a town meeting for tomorrow night to inform everyone of what was going on and what steps were being taken to solve the two murders. The Sheriff is still reluctant to call it a serial killer for now, but it sure feels that way with the victims all looking the same and both of them being found in the woods with silk cords around their necks.
“I’m shocked you’re still on this whole witch thing since you have the murders to write about now.”
“I have a commitment to keep. He gets one final story from me before I tell him to kiss my ass and move on.”
We go farther and farther from the town until there are no more lights illuminating the road and the setting sun is well hidden by the trees.
“You live a long way from the town.”
“Yeah. The town really popped up after my family established their home here. It didn’t really grow into what it is now until well in the 1800’s. Not much has changed since then though. The storefronts may have new facades and some of the people might have died off leaving their spots to family but it’s still kind of the same as it was way back in 1892.”
“Wow. That’s amazing that you all have been able to keep that sense of history and being a small town alive through so much.”
“Yeah, well in case you couldn’t tell, most of the people here just love tradition.”
He pulls up a long driveway that winds back and forth gaining altitude the farther we go. Finally, we come to a gate that automatically swings open for us. I frown a little as we drive through. I didn’t see him hit anything to make the gate open. Maybe it is on a motion sensor but then it really would defeat the purpose of having the gate at all, wouldn’t it?
Just as I’m trying to figure the whole gate thing out, a tall house made of wood and stone rises up out of the forest. It looks like something that should be in a fairy tale and not the real world, like a cottage on steroids.
“THIS is your home.”
“Yeah, home sweet home.”
He pulls up to the front of a cobbled driveway. He’s by my door before I realize it because all my focus is on the house. It has to be four stories high, with some walls covered in ivy and what looks to be late-blooming roses. Who has roses at this time of year?
“Come on, I’ll introduce you to Brian and he can show you around while I grab the things I need.”
“Brian? Whose Brian?”
Before I have my answer, the door opens, and out steps a tidy little man in a gray suit.
“Brian takes care of the place for me. Hell, I guess he takes care of me too.”
“I’m his butler, ma’am.”
“You have a butler?” A big ass house, power over the whole island, and a butler. “Are you rich or something?”
“Mr. Magnus does own most of the island and has a share in over half the businesses that operate here as well as several holdings on the mainland. He also has businesses in several other states.” Wow. I’m actually speechless. “He would make a very good husband as he is successful at whatever he focuses on, Ms. Newman.”
“Brian!”
He shoots Nate an unapologetic look, “Ruth called, sir.”
Nate shakes his head and starts speaking, “I don’t necessarily have a butler. I have a friend who happens to be a butler.”
“And yet I’m paid every week. I worked for his grandmother when she was getting on in years.”
