Witcher Upper - Amy Boyles Page 0,57

Rufus. Look at what he’d done to me. He’d messed with my mind, making it so that when I was with another man, I still thought of him.

What was wrong with me?

My thoughts got caught on a snag, however, when I saw Liam.

I grabbed Shane’s arm. “I can’t believe that Liam’s here.”

“Why?” Shane said.

Liam’s presence distracted me, and my tone became clipped. “Because he should be mourning Sadie. At least I thought he was.”

As we closed in, I saw that he spoke to Sykes Laffoon. Liam said something, and Sykes shook his head, appearing angry.

“Why are they talking to one another?” I murmured. “Shane, doesn’t that seem weird to you?”

Like, I had never seen Sykes Laffoon before Sadie’s death and now this guy was everywhere.

Shane frowned. “Why should it seem weird?”

I tugged him behind a tree so that we could watch the scene better. “Liam was Sadie’s boyfriend, who said he didn’t know anything about her dealings with Sykes and his associates. Sykes told me that Sadie owed him money. If I don’t pay up soon, he’s going to take my business.”

“Oh no, Clem, can I do anything to help?” Shane asked.

He reached for me and I shrank back. “No, I’ll figure it out.” I couldn’t focus on the money, or lack thereof, right now. Had to stay on point.

I pressed my mouth close to his ear. His hairs tickled my cheek. “Well, now I’ve caught Liam in a lie. If he didn’t know anything about Sadie, why’s he talking to Sykes all buddy-buddy like?”

“Maybe he’s trying to talk him out of taking away your business,” Shane offered.

“I don’t buy it.” I shook my head. “See the way Liam looks? He doesn’t look upset about Sadie the way I would expect. Every time I’ve talked to him or seen him since her death, he was distraught. But now he looks the exact opposite. Something fishy is going on.”

There had to be a connection. Liam placed a hand on Sykes’s arm, and both men started to move away. If I could just hear what they were saying, then maybe I could get proof that Liam and Sykes were involved in Sadie’s death.

Honestly I hated to think that Liam had something to do with Sadie’s death, but let’s face it—someone had killed her.

I darted around the tree with Shane on my heels. “Whoa, what are you doing?”

“I want to get closer and hear what’s going on.”

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

I scowled at him. “You can stay here if you want, but I’m going.”

The crowd had thickened, making it harder to weave through the people, but I still had my gaze trained on Liam. If I could only just get to the other side of the street unnoticed, there was a chance to hear everything they were saying.

It took some time, but I finally made it. Shane stayed with me, and I was grateful. If Liam or Sykes caught me eavesdropping, there was no telling what they would do.

A thick patch of boxwoods stood between me getting a front-row seat to the two men. I motioned for Shane. “Come on.”

I moved through the bushes, but Shane stopped. “My jacket. It’s caught.”

“Hand it to me.”

I tugged Shane out of it and wrapped the jacket over my arm. Something hard thumped against my pocket, and I figured it must have been his phone.

Now we were close enough to hear.

Liam spoke. “About my proposition…”

Sykes shook his head. “I’m a businessman. Can’t do that. Last time I let my guard slip, I had to get rid of little problem, you know what I mean? Hated to get rid of her, but I did anyway.”

That was it! Proof that Sykes had killed Sadie. What else could his “little problem” have been?

I knew it!

The two men moved off again, but it was okay. I had to call Tuney Sluggs. Okay, maybe not Tuney. I’d call his deputy, Earl Granger, and get him out here. Earl would listen to me.

I pulled my phone from my purse and saw it was dead. Crap. Why hadn’t I remembered to charge it?

I dipped my hand into the pocket of Shane’s jacket. “Is this your phone? I need to call the cops. That’s proof right there that Sykes was involved in Sadie’s death.”

“Um, wait.”

But I didn’t wait. I took the phone from the jacket and pushed the home button, but nothing happened. It was dead, too. Drat! I turned it over to hand it back to Shane, but a sticker on the