15. Fifteen #2
Mom blinked as if I were speaking a foreign language. Dad, however, perked up like a schoolgirl told she could shop with no limits at Sephora.
“Get out,” he enthused.
“I’m serious.” I looked up at the server as she returned with our cocktails. I would have preferred she’d stayed away longer, but I couldn’t hold her efficiency against her.
“Do you know what you want for your entrees?” the server asked sweetly.
“Yes.” I grabbed my menu to look. I didn’t eat on this side of town all that often. “I’ll have the My Mom’s Chicken and Dumplings.”
For once, Dad didn’t drag things out when ordering. Normally, he liked to turn it into a big thing — another example of him putting on a show — but I’d dangled the Axeman in front of him in tantalizing fashion, and that was all he cared about.
“I will have the Sugarcane Glazed Duck Popper and a side of collard greens,” he said.
I didn’t point out that duck would not heat up well for seconds. If they wanted to waste their money on food that would never be eaten, that was on them.
“And I will have the Braised Oxtail Risotto,” Mom said primly. “It sounds divine.”
“Great.” If the server thought there was anything weird about our table, she didn’t show it. She collected our menus. “Your appetizers will be up shortly. I’ll check back in a few to see if you need anything.” With that, she was gone.
My father barely waited for her to step away from the table to pounce. “What do you mean the Axeman is back? Be specific,” he added before I could respond.
I filled them in. I even included what Alice had said regarding the incident fifty years ago, although I didn’t say who had told me that. Explaining why I had taken off with Knox would turn into a whole big thing.
They’d met Knox. He’d been there the night they were attacked in their home thanks to Heloise. I had no idea how they felt about him, and I didn’t care to find out.
“That’s interesting,” Dad mused as he kicked back in his chair. “I heard the news about the killing but assumed it was a copycat, that someone close to the family had carried out the killing and was trying to make it look similar.”
“I might have jumped to that conclusion too, but they don’t really have enough money to make that sort of murder worth it,” I supplied.
“People will kill for ten bucks and a mediocre watch,” Dad countered. “You’re looking at it too rationally.”
“I saw the scene. That was not a normal way to go. It was … bloody.”
“Did you see the symbol at the first scene?” Mom asked. She was analytical and wanted to know all the facts before lodging an opinion.
“No, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there, under all the blood.” I shook my head.
“Can you draw the symbol?” Dad asked. He was far too eager, and I was taken aback.
“Um … I have a photo.” I pulled out my phone and handed it over. “It’s the first one.”
Dad grinned as he took the phone from me, then frowned when he got into the photos. “Really, Freya, what is with you and Lex? Are you together or not?”
Confused, I snatched the phone back from him and scowled. Lex had taken my phone at some point during our trip to the magic store and taken a weird selfie. It did sort of look like we were together. When had he done that?
“He takes those photos to send to himself to use against women he decides he doesn’t like halfway through a date,” I complained. “He tells them the ‘little woman at home’ wouldn’t like it if he strayed.”
“That’s genius,” Dad said. “The boy is charming. I’ve always liked him.”
Mom gave him a dirty look. “The boy has a wandering eye. Freya can do better. She deserves to be the only woman in his life.”
I cleared my throat. The conversation was making me feel awkward. “Lex and I are not together. We’ve never been together, and we’ll never be together, at least that way. We really are just friends.”
“Then you need to stop spending so much time with your ‘friend’ and find a boyfriend,” Mom said, using air quotes. “He’ll scare off would-be suitors.”
“I don’t need a suitor,” I assured her. “Not right now.” I handed Dad the phone. “Do you recognize that symbol?”
Dad showed no reaction to the bloody scene. He cocked his head to look at the symbol, then frowned. “I’m sorry, I don’t recognize it.”
Mom took the phone from him. I hoped her witchy background would offer me a beacon of light to get out of the darkness. When she started shaking her head two seconds later, however, my heart sank.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t know it either.” She handed the phone back. “Do you really think the Axeman’s ghost is possessing people?”
“It’s one idea,” I replied. “There are others, like the Axeman was a paranormal who fled the area after his murders and has now returned.”
“That doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Dad said.
“It doesn’t. None of it fills in all the gaps. We need more information.” I paused, then focused on my father. “You love this stuff. The stories and the killings.”
“You make me sound like a monster,” Dad protested. “I don’t love the killings. I am, however, interested in the killers. From a purely clinical point of view, of course. The mindset is what interests me.”
“Any ideas on who the Axeman is — or was?”
“No, but I wouldn’t mind doing a deep dive on that case. There are books at the paranormal libraries that might help. That sounds fun.”
“You have an odd sense of fun,” I said on a half-laugh.
“So do you.” Dad’s gaze was heavy when it locked with mine. “I’ll see what I can come up with. You need to at least go on one date to placate your mother. She wants another grandchild.”
“You have two grandchildren,” I complained to Mom. “Focus on them.”
“I love Peyton and Luc,” Mom replied, “but they’re older. I want a baby.” Her smile bugged me. “The last thing your brother needs is a third ex-wife. He’s just not geared for marriage. That leaves you.”
“What if I don’t want to have children?” I shot back. She was starting to irritate me.
“Then I’ll make the rest of your life a living hell.” She was deadly serious.
I sighed. “I don’t have time to date now. I’ve got other stuff going on.”
“Find the time.”
I stared at her. She stared right back. Ultimately, I gave in and sighed.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Mom’s smile was instantaneous. She thought she’d won. “That’s all I ask.”