Chapter 27 #3
She looked back up at Gavin, whose gaze had sharpened at the edges. “It has nothing to do with you—in case you’re worried about that.”
“I wasn’t.”
“I’m not trying to make any trouble for anyone here, or this town. Trust me, I’ve thoroughly learned my lesson on that front.”
“So why, then?”
A flash of annoyance passed through her—why couldn’t he drop this? But then she checked her reaction, reminding herself that Gavin was probably the best-equipped person in this room to talk to about what she needed to do.
But what motivation did he have to help her? Would he get in trouble with his girlfriend if he did?
She traced her finger down the scored surface of the table before finally saying, “Have you heard anything about a controversy in Eucharist, Idaho, involving the Goshen Group?”
“Eucharist…Eucharist…” He shook his head. “Not ringing any bells.”
“Well, some people think a Goshen development there caused heavy metal pollution in their water, like maybe the resort was knowingly built over old mine tailings, but it doesn’t seem like they have any solid proof because nothing’s come of it.”
“I see.” He studied her. “Why do you ask?”
“I…” She looked away, not willing to admit the details of the curse to him. “If the people there wanted to prove responsibility, what do you think would do it?”
He eased back on his heels, crossing one arm over the other and putting a hand to his chin. “Well, they would need to prove willful negligence. That maybe there wasn’t a proper inspection done, or the inspection results were misrepresented or buried.”
“They’d need a paper trail.”
She thought then of her blue bag back in Baba Yaga’s house, and a shiver passed down her back. Had she carried paperwork at some point that would have proven the malfeasance? Is that what Baba Yaga had wanted her to see?
“Or a whistleblower willing to testify.” Then he looked down with a tip of the chin. “Figured out what you wanted to write?”
“Excuse me?” She looked at her hands, realizing at some point she’d grabbed a slip of paper and pen and, without even really thinking about it, written something down.
The truth.
She closed her hand around the slip and stared, knowing that if she were to drop it into the bowl, allowing whatever forces were at work here to spirit it away, it could forever alter the course of her life. The paper crumpled, mashed between fingers and palm, as she shoved it into her pocket.
Hayleigh studied the table for a moment before saying, “Last year, you singled me out. Tried to convince me to see the value in how things were here.” She looked him in the eye, trying to forget how she’d assumed it was because he’d found her attractive—and had been so very wrong. “Why?”
His smile lightened. “I could tell you weren’t invested in it—not the same way the rest of them were. You were just trying to get the job done. I hoped I could reach the person underneath that.”
“Oh,” she said, surprised. “I see.”
“Obviously I didn’t succeed, but…” He glanced toward Stephan and then back at Hayleigh. “I’m glad to see I wasn’t totally off.”
“Gavin.” Rowan appeared at the table then, looping her arm through her boyfriend’s while keeping her eyes locked on Hayleigh. He planted a kiss on the side of her head. “I want to show you something. Come on.”
Then she all but dragged him away, and Hayleigh doubted very much there was something to see, except maybe the face of an irritated girlfriend.
Gavin gave Hayleigh a final nod of good-bye, and Rowan’s eyes raked her before zipping off.
A heavy footstep and falling shadow made her conscious of Stephan behind her.
“All we were doing was talking,” muttered Hayleigh.
“Rowan’s got baggage,” said Stephan. “She’d be the first to admit it. What were you talking about with little Lord McCreery over here, though?”
“I was getting his input on what I might need to pin the Eucharist situation on Goshen.” She leaned back against the table, sticking a finger in her mouth to gnaw at it as she thought. “The last thing we talked about was finding a willing whistleblower…”
“I wonder if that’s something we could divine,” said Stephan, his expression pensive.
“Divine?” asked Hayleigh. “Like divination? Tarot?”
“Mmm, but that’s just one of many forms. Birdie’s our seer. She could probably pull you a card spread, but if you want intel that’s actually identifying, we’ll need the entire coven.”
“Do you think they’d do it? Do you think that…” Her eyes flicked to the white-haired witch across the room. “Rowan would?”
“Do I think Rowan would do it to help you?” Stephan tipped his hand from side to side noncommittally. “Unsure. Do I think she would do it to hurt the Goshen Group? Much more likely.”
Birdie made for the snack table then, as if having sensed their conversation, which, being a seer, there was a decent enough chance she actually had. But before Hayleigh could open her mouth to present the idea, the old woman turned everything upside down.
“So,” said Birdie, “it seems you’re aware of what you are now.”