“Of course. It’s not every day I get to employ a tarot card reader like my late mother. You remind me of her.”
This was highly weird. And yet I had to go with it. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
He waved a hand. “It was some time ago now. Anyway, to business. You said you have some information for me?”
“I’m not sure if it’s information, as such, but I thought it might be useful to know...”
“We’ll see. I’ll pay it’s worth, don’t worry. I’m not short of cash.”
I swallowed, then spat out the news. “We slept together.”
Apollo froze for a moment, as if his brain was ticking over. And then he laughed in delight. “Youdid? How on earth did that happen? I thought my brother was a prude, or celibate.”
“I can confirm he isn’t.”
“And you thought this would be useful to me?”
“I wasn’t sure. But you said if I had anything.”
“Ooh. Yes. You were right to be in contact with me. Tell me, how did this occur?”
“After the initial session you sent me to, he got in contact and wanted to arrange further sessions.”
Apollo frowned. “Then why weren’t you in contact sooner?”
“I wasn’t sure it would go ahead. He ghosted me the first time. I wanted to be sure that I had something, so I didn’t waste your time.”
He touched the fingers of both hands together in thought. “You need the money, correct?”
I swallowed and nodded. “I do.” Then I continued. “He did turn up for the second session. We chatted, and I read his cards again. Then... it happened.”
I gave him all the details he asked for, feeling dirty. He went into the corner to think, by a terrifying painted portrait of his late father. He appeared to be muttering under his breath to the picture. This was just comically villainous.
After some time he returned, pulled out his cheque book, and wrote a cheque and handed it to me. Upon seeing the numbers there, my eyes glazed over again.
“What would you say to continuing your rendezvous with my brother? For his own good health, of course.”
Before I had a chance to answer, he appeared to think of something else. “Do you like him, Ms Moon?”
“In what way?”
“Do you have feelings for him?”
I couldn’t lie completely here. I needed to tell a half-truth. “I could, if I let myself. I need the money, but it’s not my usual way...”
He nodded. “I understand. Well, if you like him, you’ll sell it even better, won’t you? He’s quite handsome, is he not, my brother? Well, we all are. My father wasn’t the best looker, but he chose his companions well.”
This was a disgusting line of questioning. I nodded in lieu of having to say anything. Though Apollo was objectively handsome in photos, his slimy demeanor in person made him seem anything but.
Apollo was twirling his old-fashioned corded phone line around his index finger. “I will of course require proof that you aren’t lying to me... before we can proceed.”
My heart sped up. “Lying?” Had he caught onto our plan so soon? How could I prove that I wasn’t a double agent?
“That you have in fact slept with him.”
Oh. So he didn’t suspect my agenda – he just thought I might be lying to him in exchange for money. “How would I even prove that?”
“I don’t know. That’s up to you.”