Knight Casefiles Book 1: Revelations

Revelations [Chapter 10]

Chapter 10

After the distressing event Elaine had had, I brought her back to her room. All she gave me was a goodnight kiss since she claims she was a bit shaken. No, I’m not bitter at all. I thought about heading back to my room and decided against it. I wanted to find out what Elaine had seen. As a journalist, she was observant, far more than I was, and it was worth looking into.

I made my way back down to the lobby and found David, Brendan and Glory still down there. David was interviewing the two of them about something or other while they gulped down an entire bottle of champagne. I tried to make myself unnoticeable but evidently David was pretty observant as well.

“Ah, Mr. Pierce!” he shouted. “I didn’t expect you to be up.”

“No rest for the wicked, David,” I said, putting on my best smile. “You’re up, aren’t you?”

David’s eyes narrowed the smallest fraction. The other two just laughed.

“That was pretty good, kid,” Brendan said. “You know, you really remind me a lot of my son?”

“You mean your shit of a son?” I asked. “I’m not sure if I should be flattered or not.”

“Not,” he assured me, sipping more of his champagne. “He was a wisecracking empty shell of a man as well.”

I nodded, already making my way to the door. “Good to know. I’m just gonna step out for a bit. Get some fresh air.”

“Oh, please stay, Mr. Pierce!” Glory squealed, standing up and sidling over to me. I had to hand it to her – for someone who was bound to be over fifty, she had curves and knew how to use them. She grabbed my wrist and pressed up against me. It was a bit uncomfortable since compared to men, women were less, ah, vertical.

“Yes, please stay, Chris,” David repeated. “Have some champagne.”

“No, really,” I said, working out of Glory’s grip. “I’m fine.”

“Let him go, Glory,” Brendan said. “The kid’s not interested.”

“Oh, poo,” she said, trailing her fingers over my lips and sucking on them. I shuddered and I think I felt my gonads recede.

I straightened out the wrinkles she left on my clothes and nodded at Brendan. “Thanks.”

“No need. I enjoy charity work,” he said.

“Lucky me.”

“Seriously,” he started, gulping another glass of champagne. “All you kids are alike. At least your sister had the decency to grow out of that hippie phase of hers. Look at you – just like my son, you’re still floundering about, looking for your purpose.” He poured another glass. “Tell me, you’ve stopped partying right? You’re sober? What’s your new favorite form of escapism? Drugs?”

That brought me pause, and I looked back at him. He was grinning at me, challenging me to answer, and boy did I have a few answers for him. My gaze flicked to David, who was enjoying the exchange, pen at the ready. I thought better of it.

“Spelunking,” I told them, before heading out the door.

I walked down the stairs and into the parking lot, ignoring the chill in the air that made me want to curl up in a refrigerator for warmth. It took me a while to realize that I was seething, my hands gripped into fists, my cheeks warm.

It became a lot easier to appreciate the night on the mountain outside. The snow was falling lightly on me, draping me in a curtain of white. The ground, covered in slush, glowed iridescence from the ambient light that came from the Lodge. It provided a stark contrast to the darkness that surrounded me. For all that beauty, I couldn’t ignore what Brendan had just said.