Page 16 of Moody as a Minotaur

Jeremy laughed. It didn’t sound entirely natural, but Tammy didn’t seem to notice. “I thought the same thing! The first time I saw it I told my boyfriend I was sure there had to be ghosts.”

It was strange to hear him refer to his mate as his boyfriend.

“And? Is it?” Tammy leaned forward.

I held my breath. Oh Magic. What would he say?Everyone knew the place was haunted. Davina, one of Gage’s old teammates who also happened to be a medium, had confirmed it.

“I haven’t seen or heard any ghosts,” Jeremy said. He stuck his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. “I’m thoroughly disappointed.”

How had he come up with that answer so quickly? His answer was even technically true.

“The spirits might be shy and need a little incentive to show themselves.” Tammy waved her card at Jeremy until he took it. “We’d love to explore, if the owner allows it. It’s free publicity.” She cast her gaze around, as if implying the place could use all the help it could get.

“The inn isn’t open at the moment,” Jeremy said, brushing his thumb over the shiny, smooth surface of the business card. “So, I’m not sure the promise of publicity is something that’ll sway their decision.”

“But the pub is open. It has a great atmosphere. We could film a few clips in here.”

At that suggestion, Kyle peered around the pub like he was noticing it for the first time. I didn’t believe his act for a minute. Out of all of them, I bet this guy posed the biggest threat. Well, Parker’s grandmother seemed equally dangerous. She was definitely giving off murder vibes. She might be old, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t vicious.

Then there was Tammy. She wore all that camo, which was never a good sign. I eyed Finley again. If he was hanging out with these others, there must be something seriously messed up about him too.

And what did that say about Parker, that he was associating with them?

Tammy moved, and a second later, Kyle jolted. He frowned at the woman. Had she just kicked him under the table?

“It could work, I guess,” Kyle said.

“I could meet with the owner and answer whatever questions they might have,” Tammy persisted as she smiled sweetly at Jeremy.

Interestingly, Parker hadn’t offered to introduce these people to Jake. He’d known Jake longer than Jeremy had, and Jake was standing right there, behind the bar. Parker could have easily pointed him out. Did that mean something? Or was I reading into Parker’s actions?

“I’ll let them know,” Jeremy said, tucking the card in his pocket. “In the meantime, what would you like to drink? Did you want food too? I can grab you some menus. Or did you have some of the amazing pizza at Parker’s café before you came over?”

As they rattled off their drink orders, I knew I should make my escape, but I couldn’t move away from Parker. It made no sense. Half the people he was sitting with were his family, and he seemed to like them. But I swore sirens were going off in my head, punctuated by screams ofred alert, red alert, red alert, warning me to stay close to him. To protect him.

My brain was obviously fried. Maybe I’d injured it when I fell.

“Uh… Can I have a card too?” I asked Tammy. “Does it list your YouTube channel?”

Parker gaped. “What’s going on right now? I neverpegged you as someone who’d be interested in spooky things.”

“Absolutely,” Tammy said, as she fished out another card and handed it to me. “Based on our earlier talk, I didn’t think you were interested.”

“It, uh, took me by surprise, I think. I’ve been thinking about what Finley said this afternoon. It sounds…” I didn’t know how to finish my sentence. Horrifying? Nightmare inducing?

“Exciting!” Fin grinned, completing my sentence for me. I couldn’t quite say why, but I sensed something more than academic curiosity was going on with him. His gaze took on a wistful quality. “Can you imagine? Magic? There’s so much that’s hidden or forgotten. It’s like being a modern-day Indiana Jones.”

“Well, I don’t think we have any ancient tombs in Willow Lake…” Parker argued.

“No, but that’s the beauty of it. We don’t need tombs. Ghosts and all that stuff could be around us right now. And October is the perfect month for it, don’t you think? Everything feels spookier when people put out their Halloween decorations and leaves fall off the trees. The bare branches are creepy, like skeletons.” He ended with a wicked cackle.

Parker sighed. Edie rolled her eyes. Finley’s friends shared a look that seemed patronizing. Were these people his friends or not?

“Thanks for this,” I lied to Tammy as I tucked her card away. “I’ll look it up tomorrow. I’m curious about how this all works.”

“If you’re going to keep talking, sit down, boy,” Ediecommanded me. A challenge danced in her pale blue eyes, like she was daring me. But was she daring me to obey or to defy her?

“Nana…” Parker said sharply.