"Wait." I step in front of Enzo and smile. "Hi. Sorry to bother you, sir. We're staying at the cabin up the road and we think someone might have been watching the area last night. Did you happen to see anything unusual? A car or an unknown person walking about?"
The man relaxes. Just slightly. "You with him?" He nods at Enzo.
"Unfortunately, yes." I keep my voice light and friendly. "He looks scary but I promise he's mostly harmless. He’s just worried now, so he completely forgot his manners."
Behind me, I hear Enzo make a sound. Might be a laugh. Might be annoyance.
The man considers, then shakes his head. "Didn't see nothing. Sorry."
"That's okay. Thank you anyway."
We move to the next house. Same routine. I do the talking. Enzo looms in the background looking like he's two seconds away from murder.
"You're terrible at this," I tell him after the third house.
"Terrible at what?"
"Talking to people. You look like you want to kill them. Stop!"
"I do want to kill them if they're lying."
"They're not lying. They're terrified. There's a difference." I stop walking and turn to face him. "Let me handle the talking. You just... stand there and try to look less homicidal. You’re getting in the way."
His mouth twitches. Almost a smile. "Less homicidal."
"Yes. Is that possible for you?"
"Probably not."
"Then just stay behind me and keep your murder face to yourself."
This time he does smile. Small. Brief. But real.
My stomach flips.
Stop it, Isabella. Stop reacting to him.
We reach the fourth house and a woman in her fifties answers, looking between us with curiosity.
I give her the same speech. Friendly. Harmless.
She thinks for a moment, and then looks around before coming closer to me. "There was a black SUV. Late last night. Maybe around two in the morning. Woke me up because the engine was loud."
Finally.
"Did you see where it went?"
"No. But..." She pauses. "You might want to check the town. Five minutes down the road if you take a car. If someone was scoping out the area, they might've stopped there. It’s the only town in the area, so most people pass by before hitting the road."
"Thank you." I smile and mean it this time. "Really. Thank you."
We walk back to the cabin and Enzo's already planning.
"So, we take the bike and go check the town as the woman suggested. See if anyone saw the SUV or if we’re lucky enough maybe they stayed behind for some reason,” he looks at me before he says the last part. “You can stay at the house if you want."
"Nope, not an option. I’m coming"
He stops. "You sure about this?"
