Chapter 21
While Noble had a feeling there was a reason to not trust George ‘Georgie’ Babs, he was struggling not to like the man the longer they talked, based on how he treated Ollie alone.
With stark-white hair that was cut short, and deeply tanned and lined skin, the older man was wearing a long-sleeved black T-shirt, blue jeans, and boots. He stood only a couple of inches under six feet, and looked to be in pretty decent shape, despite being nearly seventy.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Noble. You don’t understand how happy I was to hear that Ollie had met someone. Can’t say I wasn’t worried with how many years this boy of ours was alone in that big old library of his.”
Ollie huffed. “Now, Georgie, you can hardly say I was alone in the library, given the constant influx of people.”
“Bullshit. It’s not the same and you know it! You might as well have been alone with how useful that damn godfather of yours was growing up. I feel we all should be surprised the place didn’t burn down with how inattentive he was!”
Yep, Noble liked the man. Which would make things suck more if they turned sideways.
“Rowden…did his best.” Ollie cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Best, my ass!” Georgie snapped. “That—”
Seeing that the man was about to go on a tirade that, even if truthful, would likely make Ollie sad, Noble cut in. “While I can’t say I’m a fan of the man, he isn’t who we wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh?” Mr. Babs asked with a smile.
“Right!” Ollie chimed quickly, almost desperate to cling on to the subject change.
“We wanted to ask you about the blonde waitress in the photograph behind the counter, the one of the original crew. Specifically, the waitress in the center with her arm around your shoulders. Well, kid you, that is.”
The change that came over Georgie on hearing Ollie’s words was barely noticeable, as if the man was used to hiding his reactions.
Fortunately, Noble was pretty well trained in noticing even minute changes.
So, he clearly saw the moment Mr. Babs’ stance stiffened, as an edge of tension seemed to tighten the lines on the older man’s face, and his smile became less real.
More than that, for a brief moment, there was this flash of something darker inside Georgie’s eyes, along with a bit of guilt. Noble could almost assume he had imagined it, if the rest of what the man was putting out didn’t point towards something being off.
After a moment of silence, Mr. Babs, in an oddly neutral tone for someone who had seemed impassioned with every word he had spoken before, said, “You’re talking about Irene Genson. Though it is a sad story, I'm not sure why you’d be asking about her.”
“I found a newspaper clipping, but it's so faded that only the picture remains. I just wanted to know about her,” Ollie explained, reusing the same lie he had before. Only this time he sounded a tad more believable.
Georgie seemed to relax a bit at the witch’s words. “I see. Well, as I said, sad situation. Sixty—no, sixty-two—years ago, only a year after that photo was taken, Irene went missing. They never found her. The lady was as sweet as pie, so it was just sad all around.”
“And the police never had any leads?”
Georgie grimaced. “No, they didn’t. And I have to say, I don’t much like talking about it.
Brings up too many bad memories. So, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.
You two go enjoy your meal now.” With that said, the man gave Ollie a brief hug before heading into the backrooms of the restaurant, which most likely were offices.
After they had finished ordering their food, and the waiter had walked away, Noble softly drawled, “He’s hiding something.”
“What?” Ollie asked with a blink.
“Georgie is hiding something.”
The witch frowned. “Why do you think that?”
Instead of overly explaining what he saw, Noble simply said, “He tensed up the moment you mentioned the waitress.”
“Are you sure? I didn’t…” Ollie’s frown deepened. “I mean, I think we can confirm there was definitely some foul play involved, considering she disappeared. But Georgie would have only been seven at the time. I know there are kids that young who have killed, but most don’t get away with hiding it.”
“While I can’t be sure what he’s guilty of at the moment, the fact is, he knows more than he is letting on. How about after we eat, I drop you off and then come back alone to keep an eye on the man? Given how he was acting, he could lead us to some clues.”
“I’m just going to trust you on this one, as I didn’t notice any change. But…is this something you did often when bodyguarding? Like stakeouts?”
“Yep, that it is,” Noble lied.
“Cool!” Ollie giggled before pursing his lips. “Then while you do that, I can go back to attempting to make that mirror.”
He winced. “Do you have to?”
“Yes!” the witch huffed.
Noble sighed. “Could you at least make sure Red is nearby to put out any possible fires, please?”
“I’ll have you know, the only reason I panicked was because I didn’t know where the nearest fire extinguisher or fire blanket was in that room. And I’m pretty sure there wasn’t either, by the way, but I’m actually very helpful in emergency situations, under normal circumstances!”
Considering he'd seen how Ollie reacted in multiple stressful situations, he just rephrased. “Please, make sure your cat is in the room.”
“Fine!” Ollie pouted.