20: Chapter 20 Fiona Gallagher

Shaun hung up the phone and tucked his cell phone into his pocket.

He walked down the steps, crossed the path shaded by oak trees in front of the White house, and headed toward the police car parked on the side of the road.

His mind was still on Linda's words from just now.

“He was somewhere, watching me. Then that feeling disappeared.”

That feeling...

Shaun's footsteps paused for a moment.

He suddenly felt something was wrong.

It wasn't something seen or heard, but a subtle perception brought by [Primary Magic], like a ripple suddenly appearing in the air, like a pair of eyes staring at him from behind.

He instinctively wanted to turn around.

But it was too late.

A gust of wind rushed at him from the back of his head.

Shaun's body moved before his brain did.

[Elementary Combat · Passive Trigger: Facing a sudden attack, physical reaction speed is increased!]

He didn't even have time to think about what it was before his body moved on its own.

His center of gravity sank, his left foot acted as a pivot, and his right arm slammed backward to block.

“Bang!”

His arm collided with another arm.

The force was fierce, but Shaun's block deflected part of the impact.

Using the momentum, he turned around, his right hand already balled into a fist, swinging hard toward the attacker...

The fist landed solidly on the opponent's stomach.

“Ow!”

A miserable cry rang out.

The attacker clutched their stomach and bent over, staggering back two steps, nearly falling to the ground.

Shaun panted heavily, assuming a fighting stance, ready for the next wave of attacks...

Then he saw the face clearly.

Messy reddish-brown hair, facial features twisted in pain, and a pair of eyes that still showed shrewdness even while grimacing in agony.

Fiona Gallagher.

Shaun's fist froze in mid-air.

“...Fiona?”

The woman clutched her stomach and slowly straightened her back, gasping from the pain.

“What the fuck!” she panted, “You hit way too hard!”

Shaun stood frozen on the spot.

Of course he recognized this face.

The Fiona Gallagher from shameless.

Frank's eldest daughter, the pillar of the entire gallagher family, the woman who took over a household in her early twenties.

What was she doing here?

And...

Why did she sneak up and attack him from behind?

Fiona rubbed her stomach and looked up, her blue eyes—exactly like Frank's—filled with anger.

“I just wanted to tap your shoulder to ask for directions!” she roared, “Was that really necessary?”

Shaun suddenly felt speechless.

He slowly lowered his fist.

“You... were planning to tap my shoulder?”

“Yes! Tap your shoulder!” Fiona pointed at her stomach, “Are the police in New Orleans all this violent?”

Shaun was silent for a second.

Approaching a police officer so casually in America?

And tapping their shoulder?

He didn't know what Fiona was thinking...

As expected, the Gallaghers were all a bit abnormal.

Fiona glared at him, her expression looking as if she wanted to twist his head off.

But Shaun naturally didn't care about her angry gaze; instead, he sized her up carefully.

Fiona was wearing a grey knit sweater with a black short jacket over it, jeans, and sneakers—clearly dressed for travel.

Her hair was a bit messy, there were dark circles under her eyes, and her lips were dry and peeling; she looked like someone who hadn't slept well for at least two days.

But the way she stood there was still the Fiona from Shaun's memory.

Back straight, chin slightly raised, with a 'don't even think about messing with me' expression.

Shaun suddenly remembered something.

Frank.

Frank Gallagher.

That old bastard was lying under a tree yesterday, and today...

“Where's your dad?” he asked.

Fiona's expression changed.

In that instant, all the anger on her face vanished, replaced by a sudden sense of deflation.

“That's what I'm here for.”

Fiona took a deep breath and continued, “Frank is missing.”

Shaun was stunned and couldn't help asking, “What?”

He just saw him yesterday, and he's missing today?

Does that make sense?

But Fiona was firm: “He's missing. Three days ago, he called me and said he was in New Orleans, that he'd run into some trouble and told me not to worry, and then I couldn't reach him anymore.”

Her voice was trembling.

Fiona actually cared this much about her old man?

This was quite a rarity...

Shaun had seen many sides of Fiona Gallagher; in shameless, she had been angry, broken down, cried, laughed, and been drunk, but she had seemingly never been like this.

Showing such concern for her old man...

Fiona didn't even know Shaun was criticizing her in his heart, she just continued: “I arrived yesterday, went to the last hotel he stayed at, asked everyone, and no one has seen him.”

“I went to the police station to report it, and they said for an adult disappearance you have to wait forty-eight hours, but I feel like something's wrong with Frank.”

She took a step forward, very close to Shaun.

“You're a cop, right?”

“You were talking to him yesterday, right?”

Shaun was taken aback: “How do you know?”

Fiona didn't hold anything back: “I've been asking around. Someone said Frank met two cops, and one of them even gave him twenty dollars.”

“Since you know me, you must be one of those cops, right?”

Shaun had nothing to hide about this, so he nodded and said, “It was me.”

A flicker of hope flashed in Fiona's eyes, and she asked urgently, “Then do you know where he went?”

“Did he say anything to you?”

“Did he mention anyone he was going to see?”

Fiona's triple-barreled questions made Shaun's head buzz, so he quickly interrupted her: “Fiona...”

Fiona stopped and looked at him.

Seeing that the woman had quieted down, Shaun recalled the scene of seeing Frank.

When he saw Frank yesterday, besides asking for money, what else did that old bastard say?

Oh... right!

Shaun recalled, “He said he came to New Orleans for tourism, budget travel... to experience the local life.”

Fiona rolled her eyes.

She said, “Tourism my ass. He came to New Orleans because he heard there was a money-making opportunity here.”

“When he called me, he said some old guy wanted to partner with him on a business deal.”

Shaun frowned as he listened.

He had been wondering why Frank would come to New Orleans; it seemed he would find out soon.

So he immediately asked, “What business?”

“I don't know,” Fiona shook her head.

“He didn't explain clearly, just said some nonsense about an 'Old witch's inheritance' or something. I thought he was just drunk and bragging again, so I didn't take it seriously.”

Hearing this, Shaun's frown deepened!

Old witch's inheritance!

In a place like New Orleans... this term couldn't refer to anything else but the witches.

Could it be... that Frank came to New Orleans for the witches too?