Con Artist Legacy

Chapter Nine: The Fortune Teller

Chapter Nine: The Fortune Teller

 

…I shouldn’t have left.

It wasn’t until I reached my car that I realized what a stupid decision it had been to leave the office in the hands of those boys. Despite trusting Nate, Sheriff Clark’s intentions were still dubious to me at best and I was having a hard time believing that he could be trusted with this new information.

There was no way I was going to run through the haunted park again, so I got into my car and doubled-back towards the office. The streets were already blocked though, it seemed like Rosswood PD had decided to raise its efficiency levels (they had horrible timing). Officers were milling around the street, trying to look important on their cell-phones.

I wondered if they were discussing anything serious, or if they were just talking to their moms. It was probably the latter, but maybe the boys had managed to find something I didn’t.

Paul spotted me before I would sneak through, waving awkwardly from behind the yellow tape. He discreetly ran his finger through his hair and straightened his uniform (as if that was going to help).

“Nate said you might be back, and I can’t let you in,” he stuttered.

“Is that so?”

“Yes, but you know maybe I can help you,” he answered timidly with a stupid grin on his face. I didn’t even want to know what he was thinking.

“Paul, don’t make me punch you,” I said, returning to my car in defeat.

“Oh right…Sorry!”

Dealing with Paul was not worth the trouble, I would just get any new information from Nate later. In fact the more of I thought about it, the more trustworthy the Sheriff seemed.

That little lie made me feel somewhat better as I planned my next step. It was late and the obvious answer would be to just go home, but something had occurred to me during my non-conversation with Paul. Besides no one would actually notice if I came home late or not at all, my grandfather had been the only person who kept track of my whereabouts.

Stepping on the gas, I sped past my street, not allowing any time for me to second guess my decision. The quaint small town slowly disappeared, replaced by long stretches of isolated farms and a cobbled road that rattled my car.

The town electricity services didn’t stretch out very far, which meant that the lampposts were spaced further and further apart, their yellow light flickering constantly. It wasn’t long before I was driving in complete darkness.

I had made this trip twice before, and each visit was even more terrifying than the last, because I knew what awaited me. Just when my body wanted to hyperventilate and turn the car around, I spotted the first clue that told me I had reached my destination.

A few beat-up, old cars were scattered in front of a fenced in camp ground. Taking a deep breath, I got out of the car and head towards the shadows in front of the gate. A high-pitched squeak coming from a very little man wearing a kilt disrupted the silence.

“Who are you?” He demanded.

“Hey Angus, I’m Olivia’s granddaughter…remember me?”

“Oh yea,” Angus smiled and shuffled forward, stretching out his hand for the secret handshake.

Initially, I had refused to learn anything from these people, but apparently there was a rule preventing them from letting anyone in otherwise. They were all about their rules, a lesson I unfortunately had to learn the hard way during my first visit.