An amateur's guide to conning a conman

Chapter 11

We were still sitting on the piano bench and I moved so that our legs weren't touching anymore.

" He's heading to Astor." His answer was brief and there was something in his voice that I couldn't recognize.

" The city has the biggest sweetliar's court in the state, lots of customers, and easy transactions." He continued.

Titus turned to look at me, " After what happened at the auction, I don't know if you should come sweetheart."

A large portion of myself agreed but a small part was suspicious. Why did Titus want to go alone? Was he planning on disappearing on me?

Well, it was kind of him to inform me at least. But I didn't trust him, at least not enough.

" I want to come." I said, " Two sets of eyes, two sets of ears. It'll be better."

" Okay. If you want to spend so much time with me, who am I to refuse?" Titus said.

The same smirk, the same easy playful tone. But I saw it. The one tell that Titus always gave away, either it was because he didn't think about it or didn't think I was smart enough to realize it.

His smirk was to mask his disappointment. Which begged the question, why didn't you want me to come, Titus?

" How did you even figure that out?" I kept my voice light.

" I have my ways, a sweetliar never gives away his secrets." He pressed a finger to the center of his lips.

Titus clearly didn't want to continue the conversation because he turned and began to play again. It was a heavier song this time. When it became clear that he wasn't stopping any time soon, I rose to my feet and just watched.

**

By the time Jack returned, Titus had been gone for hours and I was patiently waiting on the couch, a cup of tea in hand.

" Gods Sia, you scared the crap out of me." Jack held a hand to his chest and shook his head. He reached down to pull the shoes off his feet.

" You're home late."

" I told you that I was going on a date." He said.

" I didn't realize dates ended at one in the morning."

" You know I wasn't planning on being out this long. Grace treated me to dinner and then she wanted to check the new play down the street, and then I had to save her again from getting scammed." He sighed and dropped to the seat next to me.

Jack's eyes widened and he quickly sat up. He touched his waistline and pockets than his coat and back to his pockets.

" What?" I asked.

But it was like he didn't hear me and I repeated myself.

He finally met my gaze, fear was written plainly on his face and it was enough for anxiety to set in me.

" My knife is missing."

" What! No, you probably just misplaced it." I said.

" It was on me when I left the house." Jack was increasingly growing more stressed.

The knife wasn't just an ordinary knife that anyone could purchase in the market, it was a Krill's family heirloom and last I heard it was worth over twenty thousand pines.

I place a hand on my temples, " Okay did you leave it at the restaurant or the play or did you get conned?"

Jack shook his head, " No one even got close to me-" He stopped.

" Gods, Grace took it." He said finally.

I was fully gawking at him, Grace was harmless. Maybe a spoiled princess but she wasn't a thief, she couldn't. She had been so genuine.

" Maybe if you had been thinking with your head instead of what's between your-"

" Sia!" His tone was sharp, " She kissed me, that was all."

Grace was pampered, by the bangles she had the other day, she didn't need the money. Which meant she probably didn't need to sell it.

" Well good news is she probably took it as a souvenir-"

Grace did this for fun, it made sense. She had always been well off, stuck in her probably large mansion all her life and what does one do when in a new city? Do what the city is known for and Xia was the epicenter for thieves.

" Grace wants to be a sweetliar for the time she is in the city," I said slowly.

" She said she leaving the day after tomorrow." He said he wiped a hand across his face.

" Gods." I muttered, " Tell me you know where she is staying."

He made a face, " I don't the name of the hotel but I know what it looks like."

Everything happened so fast after that, Jack went to wake Lin up and informed him that we were leaving, I grabbed my coat and we were out of the door.

I didn't like being out late. There was a peaceful chill in the air, the type of chill only late nights could produce. But I was more worried about the people hiding in the dark.

Sweetliars and thieves ruled the day, but muggers and brutes thrived in the dark.

Jack kept me close to him and we arrived ten minutes later at a very elegant hotel. The St. Marcins were the best money could afford in the city. I shouldn't have been surprised but I was.

I was hit with a wave of warmth as we made it inside. The lobby was beautiful, polished to the point that even the walls seemed to gleam.

There was an array of reading chairs scattered meticulously in the large room, potted plants placed in every corner of the room, and there was even a waterfall wall behind the front desk. Even the water seemed too rich for us.

Jack approached the front desk, a woman with slick back hair, and red lipstick greeted us. The lights made her skin as fair as snow.

" Welcome to the St. Marcins, do you have a reservation with us?"

" I'm looking for Grace."

The women frowned, " Sir, we don't reveal information about our guest. If you want to meet her, you will have to call her."

" I was just here half an hour ago. You saw me walking her inside. You saw her kiss me by the elevator." Jack said, his voice getting desperate by the second.

The women flushed a light red, " Sir, that is not appropriate to accuse me of such a thing. Now I'm going to have to ask you to leave, or would you like security to escort you out?"

" Wait, what he's trying to say-" I started.

She cut me off by pressing a button,
" Hello Ivan, yes we have some kids here-"

" We're leaving, we're leaving," Jack said quickly.

The women smiled tightly, " Have a nice night." She called after us.

I turned my head as we left and sure enough, she was on a phone, probably warning Grace that we had come to see her.

We probably just lost our chance at ever getting the knife back.