He nodded and disappeared.
There were some other people she needed for this rendezvous. Hope pulled her phone out of her pocket and sent a text to her mother. Then she sent a group text to her coven. If Lucas really was involved, she was going to need her girls. The only person she didn’t text was Lucas. She just couldn’t wrap her head around the idea that he was the one they’d been looking for this whole time. How was that even possible? She’d told him about the person wanting to use his business to move drugs, and he’d dismissed that idea so easily and with so much conviction that she’d never believed that he would be involved.
There was also the fact that she’d never heard one thought from him about drugs. But then, she rarely heard his thoughts at all. Was he that good at concealing what was going on in his head? Her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. She pressed her palm over her breastbone and prayed she wasn’t having a heart attack.
* * *
Hope waited with Ethan out in front of Pointe of View Café while Jackson clocked out from his shift. She was still feeling nauseated, but whatever was going on with her was nothing compared to Ethan. The poor man was sweating up a storm while complaining of being cold as if he had a fever.
“Hey, do we need to take you to the urgent care?” Hope asked him. “You don’t look well.”
“I’m fine,” he said, closing his eyes and giving her a pained look. “This always happens. It will pass.”
“Always? How many times have you overdosed on that stuff?” She couldn’t help asking, even though she knew she should wait until she had backup.
“This is the third time.” He coughed, and Hope was ready to stuff him in her car and take him home where she could tuck him under a blanket and ply him with tea and cinnamon toast until he felt better.
“Were all of them forced on you?” she asked.
He nodded.
“That’s horrific, Ethan. You have to stop delivering for… this person.”
“I can’t,” he said in a whisper so low that she barely heard him. “She’ll kill me.”
“Ready?” Jackson asked as he walked out the door.
“I guess so.” Ethan shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders.
They started to walk the two blocks to the Beachside Beer Garden where they were meeting Riley, Jackson’s contact. They were all quiet, lost in their own thoughts. Hope heard Ethan praying that he was doing the right thing, and she heard Jackson praying that he never had to witness another overdose. Hope prayed that her mother and her coven would get to the Beer Garden before she did so that they’d be around if she needed them. Her mother was the most important. She wanted her mom to listen in. Her friends were needed for when they were ready to go kick some ass.
The Beer Garden wasn’t busy. Considering it was still early in the afternoon, that wasn’t a surprise, and it made it the perfect place to meet. They could sit outside and have a certain amount of privacy. But not much considering Angela was there.
Hope spotted her mom sitting at a table with Grace out on the patio. It looked as if Gigi and Joy hadn’t arrived yet. That was okay. As long as Angela was there.
Jackson led the way to a table closest to the beach where a petite blonde sat, picking at a bucket of French fries. “Hey, Riley,” he said. “How are you doing? Better?”
She stared at Ethan, her expression a little panicked.
“It’s okay. This is Ethan. Remember I told you I was bringing someone who went through the same thing,” Jackson said.
“I remember.” She swallowed and glanced away so that she wasn’t looking at him. “That’s how I looked for days after I… Well, the recovery was awful. I still get the shakes.”
Ethan nodded. “Yeah. That happens.”
Both of the young people were quiet as the waiter came to take their orders. They all requested water, so Grace put in an order of nachos just so the waiter wasn’t wasting his time. When he was gone, Hope turned to Riley and introduced herself. “I’m really glad to meet you, Riley.”
The young woman let out a grunt that Hope didn’t know how to interpret.
“Um, okay. So, can you tell us where you got your ashe? Or more specifically from who?” Hope asked.
“Why? Do you need a hookup?” she barked back, narrowing her eyes at Hope.
“Riley,” Jackson said with a sigh. “I thought you wanted to help us bring down the people who did this to you.”
“Not people. Person,” she said and stared at Hope with a look of disgust. “Like she doesn’t know already. Right, Hope?”
Hope frowned, trying to read the woman’s thoughts, but the only thing that came through was the word bitch. Okay, then, Hope thought. How had she possibly rubbed this woman the wrong way already? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do. Are you and your boyfriend in on this together? Is this your way of reminding me to keep my mouth shut?”
“I really don’t know—”
Ethan jerked in the seat next to her and sucked in a sharp breath.
Hope followed his gaze and spotted Yasmeen and Peggy Pitsman being seated on the other side of the patio.
“Ethan,” Riley hissed. “Keep it together.”
He shook his head and stood up. “I can’t do this. I have to go.” Before anyone could stop him, he ran out onto the beach, heading in the direction of the pier.
“What the heck was that all about?” Hope asked.
“He’s afraid if he talks you’re going to end him,” Riley said.
“Me?” Hope jerked back, shocked. “Why would I do something like that? I’m trying to help him.”
“Stop playing dumb. Everyone knows you’re the lady supplying ashe,” she yelled as she stood, and then she turned and snarled at Jackson. “I don’t know what game you’re playing here, but I’m out. I don’t want anything to do with your dangerous drug. You hear me? Now stay the hell away from me and my friends.” She turned and started to stride toward the door that led inside.
“What the hell was that—” Hope started, but then she abruptly stopped when she saw Yasmeen give Riley the tiniest nod.
Suddenly she felt an eerie calm settle over her. She’d been set up. Clearly, Riley was trying to pin the drugs on her, but what she didn’t understand was why? Hope glanced at Peggy and Yasmeen. Both of them had their eyes narrowed in her direction. Then Peggy jumped out of her chair and came charging toward Hope.
Hope stood, holding her hands up in a stop motion, but Peggy used both hands and pushed her back, sending her stumbling into their table. It crashed to the ground and beer splattered everywhere.
“You! It’s your fault my daughter almost died.” Peggy pushed her again. “I knew you were trouble. Just knew it. And then you dared to tell me to print a retraction about your business practices, all while promising to find out who supplied my daughter with drugs. You’re despicable. Pure trash. Someone call the cops. This bitch needs to be locked up before I bury her.”
“Hey,” Jackson said, trying to squeeze between them. “That’s enough. Peggy calm down. Hope doesn’t have anything to do with those drugs, and you know it.”
“No. You heard that girl. She called her out right in front of everyone, and Hope didn’t even deny it. She’s still not denying it even though I’m screaming at her.”
Hope was too busy watching Yasmeen. The woman was tapping furiously on her phone and thinking, One down. One more to go.
Was that a calculated take down? Was Yasmeen behind all of this? Or was she just trying to make Hope’s life hell? She glanced at her mother, who was also staring at Yasmeen, her expression intense as if she were concentrating.
She turned her attention back to Peggy, who was crying now and still accusing Hope of trying to kill her daughter.
“Peggy, there are no circumstances that I would ever even use a drug like ashe, much less produce and sell it. I don’t know why Riley thought that about me, but I can assure you, it’s one hundred percent untrue
.”
“I don’t believe you,” she snapped.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Hope started to move toward Yasmeen, intent on confronting her, but stopped in her tracks when she heard Joy frantically call her name.
“Hope!” Joy appeared on the patio with Gigi in tow. “We have to go. Now. It’s Lucas. He’s being arrested.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Hope’s heart stopped when she heard Joy’s words. “Arrested?” she breathed. “Why?”
“He’s being charged with possession with intent to distribute ashe. The cops just picked him up and have a warrant to search his premises.” Joy tugged on her arm. “We have to go get him a lawyer. Come on.”
Hope was frozen in her tracks. She hadn’t really believed it when she’d learned he might be involved. She’d thought that there had to be some mistake. Lucas was not a person who broke the law or did drugs.
But it’s been fifteen years since you knew him that well, she told herself. Her stomach rolled again.
“Just as I thought,” Yasmeen said. “Looks like you and your boyfriend both deserve to be locked up. Thank the gods I didn’t hire you. Who knows what kind of trash you’d have invited to my opening?” She shoved her phone into her back pocket and said, “Peggy, let’s go. We have better things to do than share space with this criminal.”
Yasmeen shoved past Hope, nearly knocking her down, but was stopped in her tracks when Angela stepped in front of her.
“You have some nerve,” Angela growled at her. “How dare you try to pin this on my daughter and Lucas? You thought you’d masterminded this whole thing by setting up someone else to take the fall for your deadly drugs. You even targeted the mayor’s husband and blackmailed him to help you after you set him up, making it that much easier to take her job and then turn Premonition Pointe into your own drug capital. Well, guess what, bitch. I’m the one who’s standing in your way now. You won’t get away with this.”
Yasmeen glared at her. “Crazy, just like your daughter. Maybe you two can get a buy one, get one free at the mental health clinic.”
Hope kept her steady gaze on her mother. She knew all the way down to her bones that Angela had heard Yasmeen thinking about everything she’d done to wreak havoc on the town. It was all true. Which meant Lucas wasn’t involved. Relief rushed through her, and the tension freezing her in place started to dissipate.
“Hope?” Joy tried again. “We need to go. Lucas has been arrested.”
Hope started to move toward her but was nearly knocked down as Peggy Pitsman suddenly shot by her and tackled Yasmeen, who was trying to leave the Beer Garden.
“You bitch!” Peggy screamed as she yanked at Yasmeen’s hair. “You did this to my daughter, and you’re going to pay!”
Yasmeen let out a cry and elbowed Peggy in the ribs. When Peggy’s hold loosened, Yasmeen rolled and scrambled to her feet. “Peggy! You don’t really believe these lies, do you? I’m your friend. I would never—”
Peggy hauled off and slapped her. Hard. “Angela is telepathic. A powerful one. I guess you didn’t know that. Now we all know how awful you are. A person who makes money by giving drugs to kids—oomph!”
Yasmeen gut-punched her, and the pair of them crashed to the ground again, rolling around, knocking tables and chairs over.
Hope stared at them with disgust and then walked over to Joy. “Let’s go. We need to figure out what to do about Lucas.”
“I’m coming. I have the details that should clear his name,” Angela said, clutching Hope’s arm.
Hope gave her mother a grateful smile and nodded. “Thanks, Mom. Without you here…” She shook her head. “I don’t even want to think about it.”
“You don’t have to. I’ve got your back, bunny.” She squeezed Hope’s hand. “Now come on. Let’s go get your man.”
“I’ll stay here and make sure the police get statements from everyone. I’ve already called them,” Grace said.
Gigi nodded. “I’ll stay, too.”
“Thank you,” Hope said and glanced at Jackson. “What about you? Do you want to come with us or…?”
He shook his head. “I’m going to go find Ethan. I think he genuinely wanted to tell us what was happening but lost his nerve when Riley was spewing her crap.”
“Yeah. I think so too.” Hope turned to Angela. “Yasmeen put her up to that, didn’t she?”
Her mom nodded. “Yes. Yasmeen got wind that you and Jackson were investigating, and she decided to have a couple of people on her payroll help to set you up. The plan was to have Lucas arrested and then pin you as his co-conspirator. Riley was all in. Ethan doesn’t want anything to do with any of it. He was only here because Yasmeen threatened him and his family.”
That’s what Hope suspected. She met Jackson’s gaze. “Go find him. He obviously needs a friend right now. If you can get him to come make a statement, I’m sure it will go a long way to keep him from getting swept up in the fallout of this.”
“I’m on it.” Jackson took off down the beach toward the pier.
Hope glanced one more time at the two women still wrestling on the patio and then strode out of the Beer Garden, intent on freeing her man.
* * *
Hope sat with Angela in an interrogation room, fuming. They’d been at the police station for no less than five hours, and still, no one had taken the time to talk to them. In fact, it had damned near taken a miracle to even get into the room. When they arrived, they’d inquired about bailing Lucas out. But his bail hadn’t been set yet, and they had to wait. Then they’d tried to give a statement about everything they knew and were brushed off.
Hope had been pacing the police station, anxious about not being able to do something, while Joy kept them supplied with vending machine snacks. Angela had a much better plan. She started reciting everything the cop at the front desk was thinking. Even when he was thinking about how much he wanted to go home and give himself a home pedicure.
By the time Angela revealed that he had a crush on one of his coworkers and desperately wanted to paint her toenails, he’d been bright red and frantic to get rid of them. That’s when Hope and Angela been moved to the interrogation room. Joy was left to wait for them out front. Hope just didn’t know if the lead investigator was ever going to talk to them.
“Maybe I should start telling all their secrets,” Angela said. “That one over there dyes his hair.”
“I don’t really think that’s an embarrassing thing that anyone will care about, Mom,” Hope said.
“His pubic hair, Hope.”
Hope couldn’t help it. She snorted and gasped out, “But why?”
“He doesn’t want to look old when he drops his drawers. Everyone loves a silver fox until his snake is laying in the gray patch.”
Hope just stared at her and rolled her eyes. “That was bad.”
Angela laughed. “So? You were distracted for a few moments, right?”
There was a knock on the window, startling them, and then the mayor walked in and took a seat. “Hello, Hope. Angela. I hear you’re waiting to give a statement about what went down today at the Beachside Beer Garden.”
Hope sat up straight and placed her hands on the table. “Lucas had no idea he was involved with ashe. He was set up.”
Iris Hartsen sat across from them and nodded. “I know.”
“You do?” Hope asked. “Then why was he arrested?”
“The detectives weren’t privy to all the information we’ve been collecting over these last few weeks. It was a… sensitive matter,” Iris said.
Hope turned to her mother and was surprised to see her lips curve into a grin. “Mom, what aren’t you two telling me?”
“You’re a sneaky one, Mayor,” Angela said.
Iris smiled back at Angela. “By now, Tom should’ve known that I was three steps ahead of him this whole time. My only regret is that we didn’t have the evidence sooner to bring down the drug ring. Far too many people were hurt because ashe was distributed around
town.”
“Okay, someone needs to fill me in here,” Hope exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. “You knew that Yasmeen was the drug boss and that your husband was involved?”
The mayor nodded. “When Tom started working with her, I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but I knew something was up.”
Hope raised her eyebrows. “You didn’t just suspect an affair?”
“Oh, sure,” she said, waving her hand as if that weren’t important. “But when large sums of unaccounted for cash started showing up in Tom’s bank account, that’s when I knew something was off. And I had an officer I trust discreetly investigate for me. I can’t say much about it, as it’s an ongoing investigation, but I can tell you that Lucas King is being released with no charges against him. His shop will be off-limits for a week or two while we collect evidence, but other than that, he should be fine.”
Hope nearly collapsed onto the table in sheer relief. But there were things she still didn’t understand. “Can you at least tell me how Lucas’s shop ended up being the supplier of the drug?”
“I think that would be okay since you’re likely to piece it together once you see Lucas anyway,” she said with a smile. “Tom stopped by one day to buy a side table—”
“Right,” Hope said with a nod. “Lucas said Tom’s company could deal with his sawdust. They were going to make something out of it.” Hope’s eyes went wide. “Ashe?”
She nodded. “Only the sawdust needed to be treated with the magically enhanced solution and dried for a few days before they picked it up. So Tom arranged to have the drug delivered to Lucas’s shop in liquid form. Lucas then ‘treated’ his sawdust, and one of Tom’s drivers showed up to haul it away and turn it into little pellets for people to smoke. It was quite ingenious except that he was too stupid to hide his antics from me. Now here we are.”
“That’s… wow,” Hope said, sitting back in her chair. “And Yasmeen is the ringleader?”
Witching For Hope: Premonition Pointe, Book 2 Page 19
