Curiosity Killed the Cat

Chapter 10. Some Broken Promises are Worth a Single Truth

"Maybe we should come back tomorrow," suggests Wesley who nervously taps his fingers on his leg. It's a familiar tick I've noticed since that night.

"Do you want to find out the truth?" I look over at Wesley who peers in at the diner.
"Look, Zachary knows me so he'll think something is off if you're with me. Just go wait for me in a booth or something." I open the door to the diner and step in before Wesley can think up another excuse. "You're already suspicious by going to talk to him about you know what." I sigh, turning to him.

"If you have something to say, say it now. You seem to disapprove of every idea I come up with." I talk low. "Because all of your ideas are bad." His eyes flared with annoyance.

"Excuse you, this is the first real step in our investigation," I protest. "Unless, you'd rather go back to your miserable apartment and think about what could be." Wesley rakes a hand through his brown locks.

"Fine, fine but we're leaving if something feels off. I'm not interested in ending up like our friends, alright?" And with that last sentence he storms off to a booth. Sometimes I wonder if it was even worth the trouble to team up with this man.

He's uncontrollably stubborn, thinks that his way is the only right way and apparently only cares about himself. I know he's struggling with all that he's been through but he's not alone. I'm struggling just as much as him and I'm managing to be more than a decent person around him.

"Laney? I didn't know you were on today's schedule." I find Zachary in the office doing some work on his laptop. "No, I actually came to talk to you!" I sit in a maroon cushion chair that is sat in front of his desk. Billie and Zachary actually share desks but whenever Billie isn't in, he claims it as his own.

"Are you putting your two week notice in? It's alright if you are. I completely understand." Zachary stands shorter than me with a long, red beard. He's about in his early thirties and still living with his mom. But there's nothing wrong with it. Zachary has always been a chill manager.

"No, I'm actually here to talk about my friend, Nadine." For a second I think I see Zachary's face become sickly but he regains himself quickly. "I was given information from someone that you know what happened to Nadine. Did you get her involved in something dangerous?" I question in a calm voice. I can't let my emotions rage this time. I need to remain calm if I want to find out the truth.

"What the hell do you know about that?" Zachary's demeanor has suddenly shifted into something I've never seen. Coldness. "What do you know about it?" I test him never letting my gaze leave him.

Zachary quickly gets up and closes the door to the office. "Who told you about this? If you want to know what I told Nadine you'll tell me the person who sent you here." This is getting messy. I could lie but then he'd know. I've never been a great lier. I end up confessing whenever someone suspects something from me. I'm not sure if Professor Carla is worth keeping a secret for.

"I'll tell you who told me if you tell me what happened first." Zachary's eyes glare into mine as if he's waiting for me to break first. "That's not how this works, sweetheart," chuckles Zachary leaning back into his squeaky office chair.

"Then tell me how this works, sweetheart." I contradict his words coming on stronger. His smile fades.

"I think we're done here." Zachary taps the desk twice before standing up to leave. Shit this can't be done. Not yet. Too desperate to find another way to find out the truth, I burst out, "Carla Jones, my professor." Not all promises are meant to be kept. Even when the truth to your friend's murder is on the line.

Once again, Zachary closes the door and returns to his seat. "Of course she did. That bitch can't keep her mouth shut." The way his voice has shifted so much since I entered his office is making me more and more on edge.

"Look, I don't want to cause any trouble for me or anyone. I just want to know what my friend got herself into." Zachary stares at me unapologetically.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you. I was honestly going to say that your boyfriend was going to be who told you but I'm shocked it wasn't." I knit my eyebrows together in confusion.

"Boyfriend?" I ask for clarification. "Yeah, aren't you and Connor together?" My jaw practically drops. "No, we are most certainly not together," I protest. "Well my bad." Wait if he thought Connor told me then that means he's involved in the shit that could've gotten Nadine killed. Even Kelvin. I don't know why Connor's involvement shocks me but it does. Connor's involvement is clear in my mind but what wasn't clear was the whole enchilada. I wanted the truth. All of it. No matter how painful hearing it would be.

"I'm not the boss of this organization but I'm heavily involved." I feel sick to my stomach. Was she enlisted to join a cult or something "In the state of Ohio it's illegal to gamble and play poker if you're under the age of twenty one. We do among other illegal things I dare not repeat to your innocent mind," spits out Zachary. His words have become more careful and callous. He's slowly but surely inching towards answers.

"Nadine and her boyfriend, Kelvin, were looking to score a load of cash and Nadine found out how. So here we are." I sit silently letting this process in my mind.

"Hold on a second, are you implying we had something to do with your friends' death?" I swallow hard. "No, Nadine was just acting off before..." I trail off. "If you're interested in joining, here's the location but don't say I didn't warn you. We didn't kill Nadine if that's what you're implying. " Zachary pauses momentarily before saying, "but it doesn't mean their life was never not in danger." Zachary hands me a piece of paper that has the address written down on it. "I haven't heard of Big Bear putting our customers in danger but who knows. There's a first for everything." I remain silent.

What does one say after finding out about an illegal gambling cult that their best friend was secretly involved in? "Who's Big Bear?" I ask. "He's the boss, the person who runs it." Big Bear. Is his name supposed to be intimidating?
"That's all I can do. It's your choice no matter what happens after you go to this address." My manager nods hesitantly before shooing me out of his office.

Glancing down at the address, I sigh deeply. Where the hell is this illegal gambling located? I don't recognize this part of town. It's not like I expected this place to be surrounded by rainbows and sunshine.

When I go to find Wesley I see Connor standing at his table. "Hey, you two," I say, dragging out the last word. The atmosphere suddenly feels thick and tense between the three of us. "I'll take a cheeseburger with everything on it and a lemonade," Wesley says in a smug tone. "And for you?" I'm about to say nothing when Wesley interrupts and says, "On second thought I'll take the nachos. No cheese." Does Wesley know something I don't? They both seem oddly off towards each other.

Connor rolls his eyes before mumbling under his breath. "Wait, Connor, can I talk to you?" Connor's jaw clenches before he mutters, "No, you can't." His demeanor is cold as he stalks back to the kitchen to give the order.

"What the hell was that about?" I fell on the opposite side of the booth. "Just Connor being his usual assholeness." I nod in understandment. "You know I'm pretty sure 'assholness' is not a real word." I play with a napkin on the table, folding it until I make a heart shape.

"Don't care," smirks Welsey. "Fine, Mr. Smartass."

"So what'd you find out?" questions Wesley. "You might want to eat your cheeseless nachos before I tell you." 

_

_

Chapter posted: 6/07/2022

What do y'all think about this chapter? Were y'all shocked to find out Nadine and Kelvin were involved in something illegal?