Page 40 of Moody as a Minotaur

“Do you need some painkillers?” Although would painkillers be the right treatment for burning eyeballs? “Or would an ice cube be better?”

“I’m fine.” Van dismissed my concern.

It didn’t look fine, but who was I to judge?

Levi shuffled by the office door again with a broom and a dustpan. His gaze flicked to mine, then away.

“So, what do you need to know?”

“Do you mind answering some questions?” Van motioned for me to sit in Levi’s chair. It also happened to be the one furthest from the door. I’d boxed Levi in the same way, so I understood the tactic. That was okay. I didn’t have anything to hide. At least not now that my erection had faded.

I sat. Van didn’t.

“Do you plan to harm any supernatural being?”

Okay. We were diving right in. “No. Of course not.”

Van inhaled deeply. The flames in his eyes brightened for a moment before fading again.

“Did you invite supernatural hunters to our community to harm supernatural beings?”

“No. And I really don’t think they’re hunters.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

“Do you know if your grandmother, cousin, or their friends plan to harm anyone in Willow Lake?”

“No. Why would they? Fin and his friends are here on a lark…”

“And your grandmother? Why is she here?”

Now I could feel my cheeks heat up. My gaze darted to where Levi stood on the other side of the broken mirror. How awkward. I rubbed my face.

“Please answer the question,” Van prodded.

I sighed. “Fine.”

I told him the same thing I’d told Levi. How I sensed something was off. How I’d mentioned it to my grandmother. I scratched at my arm as I spoke. Just thinking about that tingling feeling I got in the pub sometimes made me itchy. “She came because she thinks, in her words, that something is hinky. When she first got here, she said she suspected you guys might be in the Mafia.”

Of course, that wasn’t all of it. She’d also decided to play the role of unlikely matchmaker, but hopefully I didn’t need to say that aloud in front of Levi.

Van’s lips twitched like he was fighting off a grin. “And your cousin and his friends?”

“She called them up and told them to come.” I sighed. “She wanted them here to use their equipment.” Ielaborated a little more, based on the few things she’d mentioned.

As I spoke, Van scribbled in a small notepad. When he finished, he looked up at me. “Will you keep our secret? Can you promise not to tell them or anyone else about supernatural beings?”

“Yes. Of course.” Now that I understood better what was going on in Willow Lake, I had no problem seeing why keeping the secret would be important. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure what I could say to my grandmother or my cousin to get them to leave.

“Do you know why someone broke into Levi’s house?”

“What?” I sat up and looked for Levi for confirmation. He wasn’t there. I’d seen him outside the door a few seconds ago. Where was he? “Levi? When did that happen?”

Levi popped his head up on the other side of the wall that’d once held his window.

“Why didn’t you say anything? Were you there? What happened? Did they steal anything? Wait—” I turned my attention back to Van. “You can’t think that Fin or Nana had something to do with that…”

Although now that I said it, hadn’t I been worried about Nana doing that at the Willow Lake Inn last night? Had she left earlier last night than I’d thought? Had she stopped by Levi’s before heading toward the pub?

Van leaned forward. “What are you thinking right now?”