The man pulled out more, and I could see Enzo hesitate before once more shaking his noggin to the negative. Enzo then pointed to the door and the man left.
Follow him or find out why he tried to bribe Enzo?
The latter seemed more important and would put to rest my suspicion—or not.
I stepped out from behind the display and Enzo spotted me immediately.
“Back so soon?” Enzo asked with a forced smile.
“Yeah. All that fresh air makes a man hungry,” I lied.
“I’m glad you’re here actually, because I was going to call. We’ve had some people asking about you and that lizard you brought in.”
“Oh?” I tried to play it casual.
“Apparently when you came in with the reptile, one of my employees took a pic and posted it online. It’s led to some interest. In the last day, I’ve had both a man and a woman come in to ask about you and the lizard.”
“What did you tell them?” I asked.
“Me? Nothing, however, they already know who you are. You never told me you were a famous author,” Enzo accused.
“Bah, hardly famous.”
“You are here to write?”
I saw no harm in nodding. “Yeah. So did they say why they were interested in the lizard?” I now knew Percy wasn’t some lost pet so they weren’t owners searching.
“The woman claimed she was a journalist and wanted to do a piece on people with strange pets. She tried to get me to tell her where you were staying. I, of course, told her that was none of her business.”
Enzo might have, but someone else must have spilled since they ended up on my doorstep.
“What of the guy? What did he want?”
Enzo stiffened and his lip curled. “He tried to bribe me. Apparently, he’s aware you sometimes come into the store and he wanted to be notified the next time you visited.”
In other words, he wanted to know when the chalet would be empty.
Like now.
“I hope you told him to shove it.”
“But of course. The nerve of some people.”
“Appreciate it, Enzo,” I said and showed him my gratitude by sliding him twenty euros.
“Not necessary,” Enzo stated, trying to hand it back.
“Think of it as a tip for your excellent service. Also, should those people return, you can tell them the lizard took off. Probably for the best. I’m not a pet kind of guy. Now, I should grab some groceries and get back to the chalet. The book won’t write itself.” Spoken with false joviality. Meanwhile, my mind had already dropped into defense mode.
My gut proved right. Those two individuals were interested in me, or more specifically, Percy. Did they know I’d found a dragon?
At least they weren’t here for Nicky and Zaza. I’d been worried her ex had located them.
Much as I wanted to race back to the chalet, I couldn’t. Nicky would be done in the next half hour, but to save time, I fetched Zaza.
Soon as I entered the basement daycare, Zaza saw me and lit up.
“Bru. Bru. Bru,” she squealed, running for me, arms wide.
