The Worst Crime - ZeRoyalChaos

13: Rumors

Ze's POV

My eyes were narrowed as I observed the usual commotion of the town from the sidelines. For a town full of people paranoid about the killing, no one was really awake during the evenings to stop it. The only person who came to mind that should be watching these things would be Chilled, but I had seen him disappear from the meetings earlier today and hadn't watched him return. Even staying after, late into the evening hours, he had not come back. I was vaguely aware of a couple of roles that lived out of town, and I knew that they were both townies. Therefore, I had no quarrel with them. The only town member that bothered me was Chilled, and that was because he was the only one now that could sell me out.

I did think about Chilled a lot, I realized now. Even the thought of his blushing from both the night prior to the one occurring now and the meetings during the day never left my mind. The simplest things about that man seemed to stick, and rather than acknowledging it, I ignored it. I didn't need Chilled consuming all of my thoughts, I did have mafia members to track after all. Although his disappearance had worried me, I decided not to let it bother me as of now. I was onto something I felt.

Suddenly a cold pair of hands had ahold of me, and before I panicked there was a giggling from behind that was unmistakable. Despite instantly tensing up, I relaxed and grabbed the hands from my mouth, breathing a little bit better and shaking my head with a laugh.

"You know, for an arsonist your hands are oddly cold." I observed, and Minx only shoved me playfully. I laughed and shoved her back, noting her good humor and deciding that she and Krism must have something else planned for tonight. I gave her a knowing look and she grinned.

"You got any liquor at home? I've had a tiring day," she told me, and I did. I always kept whiskey at hand, and I beckoned her follow me. She did, happily, as I trudged back home with my own aching feet and exhausted mind. Sleep was hard to come by, the mafia never rested, and I was a one man team. Well, two, except that Chilled disappeared and so there would be none of our teaming tonight. As frustrated as it made me that he bailed on me without telling me, even though it had never been decided that we would work so closely, I knew that I needed to push these thoughts out of my mind. Minx wouldn't want to hear of them, and I didn't want to think of them.

"What do you and Krism have planned out, Minx?" I asked, opened and holding the door so that she could come inside. She let herself in, shivering and seating herself on a stool by my counter rather than on top of it. I pulled my whiskey from atop a shelf and poured it into a glass for her, handing it to her. She eyed it as though the last thing she wanted was whiskey, but with a remorseful glance she chugged and sent it spinning back my way across the smooth countertop. I grinned, grabbing her glass and filling it back up. "Not too much, now. I can't deal with you hungover."

"Ah, Krism and I have decided to take a break tonight, we didn't want to risk anything." Minx informed me, taking the next glass much slower than the first, and I watched her reactions carefully. I had my own glass now, but I ran my finger around the rim as I forced my attention onto Minx and off of Chilled. Why was that guy so wrapped up in my head anyway?

"Why would you have to be careful?" I asked her, and she grinned at me. She chuckled knowingly as though there had been some secret that she knew that I didn't. I was afraid that she was already getting drunk, but I should have known better. Minx could hold her liquor rather well, I needn't be too worried on a second glass of whiskey. Rather she shook her head and smiled.

"The werewolf, silly. There's a full moon tonight and I've a feeling that if he's here he might be out and about tonight." Minx explained, taking another swig and I stiffened. I didn't like the idea of a werewolf being here in town, but there didn't appear to be any signs of him and so I didn't worry too much about it. Even so, the thought was terrifying. The werewolf was the one role that could catch anyone off guard, and I could see why Minx took her chances every single full moon. It was a hard risk to want to make. "Plus, the mafia have something big planned it seems. I overheard some guys talking about storming the sheriff's house and ending this once and for all."