Don’t you know who that is?
I shrugged. “His name is Jo. That’s all I know. Do you know him?”
A low rumble sounded in her throat, almost like a growl, as she stared at me. I wondered for a moment if she’d even heard me, until she broke eye contact and shook her head.
He’s bad news. That’s all you need to know.
I sighed, sitting down cross-legged right there on the hall floor. How had things gone so horribly wrong? Theresa was missing, and I was the number one suspect to this P.I. dude on the case.
Why was he here?
I turned my gaze to Jade. “He thinks I kidnapped Theresa, which is insane. She’s one of my two friends in town. Why would I want to do that?”
Jade stood and began pacing back and forth, that same grumbly growl sounding again.
He’s up to something. He has to be. Just stay away from him.
I held up my hands in mock surrender. “You don’t have to tell me twice. He’s a jerk.”
I stood up, desperate for some kind of distraction. I remembered that I’d planned to head over to the shop and put the final finishing touches on it before opening on the weekend. The meeting with Sheriff Dane and Jo had driven the thought completely from my mind.
“I’m going to the shop. Want to come?”
Jade leapt lithely up onto the small table in the front entry where I kept my keys.
I suppose. It’s not like I have anything better to do.
The cat followed me as I walked down the sidewalk to the shop, her soft paws making no sound on the pavement.
I see you’ve learned some magic.
“Yes. Only a little bit.”
The protection around the house is strong.
I grimaced, thinking of the unprotected basement. I made a mental note to reinforce the spell when I got home. “Not strong enough, apparently. I forgot to include the basement in my protection, and someone broke in last night.”
Jade gave one short, sharp meow.
Who?
“I don’t know. They were gone by the time I got downstairs to investigate.”
Jade stayed silent the rest of the way to the shop. Her words bothered me more than I wanted to admit. I wondered vaguely if it was a bad idea to concentrate on the shop just now, but it was broad daylight. If I wanted to be able to eat, I had to get the shop running.
The bell over the door rang as I slipped inside, holding it open long enough for Jade to come through.
A sense of calm settled over me as I surveyed the shop. It felt good to have something to occupy my mind.
The shelves were fairly well-stocked, but some items were running low. I made a note of them and put in an order to replenish the stock. I also ordered a few other things that Grandma hadn’t sold in the shop, like essential oils, diffusers, face masks, and bath beads.
Next, I turned my attention to the rafters. I felt a stab of guilt as I grabbed the duster that I’d forgotten to take back to Maria. In fact, I hadn’t even written her a thank you note for the basket of goodies. I decided to finish the dusting, then take it directly over to her.
Just as I finished, the bell over the door rang. I looked down from my position on the ladder to see a tall, angular man entering the shop. He looked up at me, giving a dimply smile.
“Are you Sage?”
I smiled back. “Yeah. Can I help you?”
He extended his hand as I stepped down from the ladder. I gave it a firm shake.
“I’m Tim. My wife is Maria. She said you guys met the other day. She sent me over to see if she could get her duster back.”
“Yes, I’m so sorry! I finally got time to use it. Let me clean it up a bit, and I’ll bring it back.”
He gave an amiable shrug. “It’s all right. She only thought about it because she does the dusting every Thursday and realized she didn’t have it.”
I gave a wave of acknowledgement before bustling through the swinging doors leading to the back. I clawed the clumps of dust from the duster with sharp, rapid movements. I offered it to him when I came back out to the front, handle first, and he took it.
“Here you go. Please tell her thank you so much for her patience and for the basket of goodies.”
He gave a cheeky wink. “I sure will. Maria is a fantastic baker, isn’t she? She mentioned that your last name is Black, that we might be related.”
“Possibly. It sounds like we both have roots here.”
Tim’s expression grew shrewd. “The Blacks did a lot more than just have roots here. Even just fifty years ago, they had a finger in every type of industry in Woods Crossing. Someone in almost every generation of the Black family has been a mayor or other prominent figure here.”
I bit my lip, unsure of what to say. “That’s pretty neat. I didn’t realize the family used to be so influential.”
