Krist entered the bar and looked around at the familiar scene. John in the corner never seemed to leave and the usual mix of townsfolk. Walking right up to the counter he struck up a conversation with the barkeep, Jenna.
"Hiya K," she said in her normal singsong voice, "can I get ya your usual?"
"Sure thing Sweetheart," Krist smirked back at her, mocking her voice. They were good friends who knew each other better than most. That led to the joking that was common between them. When Jenna smiled and turned to go grab Krist his scotch, Krist couldn't help but watch her go. There had been a little something between them a while ago but they had decided that since she was more or less tied to Glowater and he was only "passing through" that they should just be friends. that didn't mean that they didn't still flirt once in a while. She was worth thinking of as well. Shorter with just enough curves to be a head-turner, with short brown hair and browner eyes, she was the object of affection for several guys.
As she walked back with his drink she caught him staring and chuckled, "don't you have better things to do than watch me?"
Krist laughed back, "Not really, unless you want to see how drunk we can get."
She laughed but shook her head and went back to washing the glasses and tumblers that were sitting by the nearby sink. After a few minutes of Jenna washing and Krist sipping his scotch looking around the room, Jenna brought him another round.
"Somethings on your mind isn't there?" she asked him while holding his drink out to him.
"Ya, you," Krist tried to wave the comment away.
"Kristan," she said in a low voice, "I know you well enough to know that you have a problem. You need some help?"
She almost never called him by his full first name, hardly anybody even knew it. He knew she knew and he let out a deep sigh.
"Well seeing as how I'm the closest thing this place has to a celebrity, you probably know what it is that's on my mind," Krist said leaning forward towards her.
"I guess it might have to do with your mad dash into town yesterday after you disappeared," she said slowly, feigning thinking. "Ooh, I know. something to do with you sending my brother and his friends off on some errand just a few minutes ago."
"Well you're right on the money aren't ya," Krist said, an idea popping into his head. "You don't happen to know anything about my 'disappearance,' do ya? Maybe someone who does know?"
She leaned closer and grinned mischievously, "What's it worth to ya?" And at that he knew that she knew something. He grabbed her wrist and looked into her eyes.
"Please," he said softly, "I need to know."
"I don't know everything but I think that I can help you."
"Anything helps."
"Come to my house after my shift. We can talk there."
As he stepped out into the street, he decided that there was one more person he could ask. He wasn't sure where he was but Krist knew he could trust him.
As if on cue, Krist heard his name being shouted from the direction of the general store. Turning to look, he saw a short, thin man jogging towards him.
"Hey Steven!" Krist called back to the man, turning to face him. Steven was small, full head shorter than Krist and about 100 pounds with all his clothing. He had a shock of dirty blond hair and bright eyes.
"Crisp!" Steven came to a stop by landing a heavy hand on Krist's shoulder.
"How ya doing Stinkin'?" Krist's first friend in Glowater was Steven and they had met when they were both drunk and couldn't speak straight, this led to thier nicknames that they had for eachother.
"Hey Crisp, I gotta talk to ya," Steven said in a lower voice, "let's go to my place."
"Hold on minute, lets just go find an out-of-the-way spot and talk, I'm waiting for someone."
"Jenna or the pack of teenagers you sent out?" Steven asked? Krist stopped, taken aback. He always wondered how Steven always seemed to know his every move. "The kids told me everything they found out, it was pretty easy to convince them."
"Steven, I have a better idea, let's wait for Jenna and the three of us can talk at her place."
"Okay then," Steven sighed, "how long do we have to wait?"
"Not long, let's go get something to eat and by the time we finish she'll be ready."
"Awesome, I'll buy the grub."
Krist let her go. "Ok. I'll be there," he drained his scotch, smiled at her, and turned to leave a grin on his face too.
