âOkay, listen â Iâm supposed to hear back from a director on Monday, but until then, Iâm going to drown my anxiety in martinis. Which means you have to drink with me, because if I drink alone, itâs just sad.â She gestured to the barstool next to her. âItâs on me.â
âNope.â He shook his head and stepped back. âI donât want drinks bought with your boyfriendâs money. How old is he again? Fifty-five?â
âOuch, that one hurt,â she said with a laugh, checking her phone to see if an Ursaring happened to be nearby. He was right, they couldnât get off track now. A real PokĂŠmon trainer wouoldnât do that. âUm, okay, so I think thereâs one a block or two away. Do you remember where this stop is?â she asked, tapping on the PokĂŠstop to show him. âI guess one of these days Iâll need to actually get to know this place.â
He looked at the Pokestop on her phone and nodded. âYeah, I think I remember that statue. Come on.â He began walking, occasionally checking his phone for new Pokemon to catch.
âSwim trunks,â she repeated head bobbing, nodding to herself. Forcing herself to relax, she adjusted herself in her chair, giving him an incredulous look, âWhy would I need that. Youâre so silly. Silly, handsome boy.â God, she really did need to be alone, didnât she? âBut, yâknow, if you need to leave, Iâm not going to stop you. Wouldnât dare to. Couldnât, not with those muscles. Jesus.â
âI donât need to leave.â He shrugged. âBut I might as well. I have work soon.â He paused in the middle of standing up from his chair. âPlease donât show up.âÂ
âI hope your right.â Kennedy said and then shook her head. âNo. I didnât know her like that.â She said. âWere you?â She poured herself a glass of wine and looked at Adam.Â
âNope. Didnât know her.â He sighed. âDid the police question you too?â
Heâs not wrong but, still, she wants to see. For a moment she stopped breathing, his hand lifting his shirt almost in slow motion, lips tugging up into a grin at the sight of his abdomen. âYou have no idea,â she leaned back into her seat, sated.
âSo, whatâs your work uniform like⌠Is there a shirt? âCause that seems silly, right? Having a shirt on when youâre a lifeguard.â
He moved his shirt back to its original position. âShirts are optional, I guess, if youâre a guy. I just have to wear red swim trunks.â He narrowed his eyes at her. âDo you need to be alone, because I can go,â he said and his lips almost curled into a smile.
âYeah.â Kennedy nodded. âShe seemed really cool.â She added. âItâs kind of scary that she went missing too, like what if someone else goes missing?â
âYou mean someone else from the apartment goes missing? Thatâs not going to happen. She probably just left town.â He shook his head. âWere you friends with her?â
âStereotyping girls, are we?â Brighton gave him a slightly annoyed look, not really caring for his implications, whatever they were supposed to be. âYou know that people can like me and Kim and still dig PokĂŠmon, right? Get with the times, honey.â
âI wasnât stereotyping girls; I was stereotyping people who like you.â He caught an annoying Pidgey, hoping it would turn out to be a Ditto, but it didnât. âSo are we going to catch an Ursaring in the meantime, or just wait for your disciples?â
Kennedy watched Adam quietly and after a moment asked, âHow do you like it?â She was usually good with conversion, but somehow found it hard to speak to Adam at times.
He swallowed the food in his mouth and nodded. âItâs good. Do you make this often?â
âSo weâre enemies then,â she joked, narrowing her eyes at him. âI knew it. Iâm Mystic - but honestly Valor is the second best option, everybody knows that.â Brighton thought about his concern for a moment, then opened up her Twitter app and started typing. âIf I tweet that Iâm at this gym, a bunch of minions will show up soon enough and they can help.â
Adam frowned as she typed away on her phone, and he was a little afraid of the power she held over her fans. Would a bunch of them really show up? He didnât doubt it. And what would he look like being here with her, one of her minions? He didnât want that, but he also reminded himself not to care. âCool,â was all he said at first. âAre you sure your fans even play Pokemon Go. That Kim Kardashian app seems more their style.â
1. Please state your full name and current residence for the record.
Adam eyed the police warily, as if at any moment they might handcuff him and shove him into their cruiser. He hated police officers and trusted them even less than politicians. âAdam Knight. I live here in Vero Beach. In the Ragnatela.â
2. What was your relationship with Mackenzie Frank Buchanan? How well did you know her?
âWell, I had no idea who she was until you showed me her picture. Iâve run into her a couple times, but I donât know her.â
3. How would you characterize her presence at The Ragnatela?
âI donât know. I didnât know she lived here.â
4. When was the last time you saw Ms Buchanan?
He paused to think. As much as he didnât have any attachment to Mackenzie, he didnât want her missing or hurt or dead. âThe last time I saw her was outside of 21 Red, the casino. She was looking for some guy. She called him a business partner.â
5. To your knowledge, did Ms Buchanan have any enemies? Anyone who would wish to hurt her?
âLike I already said, I didnât know her.â
6. Is there anything youâd like to add? Perhaps something youâve seen or overheard?
âNo. And if youâre done questioning me, Iâm leaving.â
Kennedy looked down at the mention of Samson leaving. âYeah, Iâm going to miss him.â She sighed. She smiled at the complement. âWell theyâre officially done!â She said and got out two plates and handed Adam one. âTake as many as you want.â She told him with a smile.
âSorry,â he said. He thought it must be hard to have a friend move away. Adam took the plate and placed two empanadas on it. âShould probably wait for these to cool off,â he murmured, shaking his fingers.