Her tone sounded nonchalant, as if all she’d done was forget to flush the toilet. I dropped the tall, tapered candle I was holding. It snapped in half as it hit the floor.
“You what?”
She got up and sauntered along the countertop, looking almost indignant.
“But…but what does that have to do with this Chandra person?” I spluttered.
She thought they handled my punishment wrong, apparently. Like I said, I ran off for a while after my transformation. I don’t know all the details afterward. There was more than that. Trifling witch drama that got me into trouble caring about in the first place.
My jaw dropped open as I watched her pace the counter. “How can you be so…callous about it?”
My heart pounded at the thought of being in the same house as a murderer. I’d fed her, let her hang out, I’d even contemplated letting her live there! Was she going to murder me in my sleep?
Once my rational mind reasserted itself, my breathing slowed. Jade had said she was cursed, so she probably couldn’t turn back into a human and murder me. I’d never come across any stories of murder by cat, either, but I couldn’t help wondering who the man had been and the story behind the murder.
One look at Jade, however, made it clear that prying would be a bad idea.
I was just trying to protect your grandmother and her sisters. Looks like I got rid of the wrong threat, though.
I’d opened my mouth to start telling Jade off again, but her comment stopped me. “What do you mean, sisters? I thought Grandma only had one sister.”
She had two. Willa and Faith.
For a moment, I stood there, completely dumbfounded. Grandma had two sisters? Jade hadn’t mentioned that before. Neither had my father.
Shaking myself, I focused on the more pressing issue. “What do you mean you got the wrong threat?”
Jade leapt down to the floor once more.
When your grandma took me in, I promised to help them in any way I could. The man I killed was a threat, but I should have realized that Chandra was the bigger problem. But I suppose nobody knew. Not then.
She trotted over to the door and began pawing it softly.
“Where are you going?”
Out. Don’t wait up.
I let out a chuckle as I opened the door. Jade had to be several years older than me, but she acted a lot like a teenager. Maybe she had been a cat far too long.
The moment the door was open, she streaked out and headed for the woods behind the shop.
Jade’s revelations made little sense to me. I had no idea who this Chandra person was, but she sounded like a terrible person. What family did she belong to? It had to be one of the families that hated the Blacks, obviously, but which one was it? Did all the other magical families hate us?
As I walked slowly back into the shop, I felt more frustrated than ever with my ignorance. Nobody had any useful information except Jade, but she kept running off. The only person who had tried to help me had disappeared, and could possibly be…
I pushed the thought firmly away. Theresa was a witch. She must have some way to defend herself.
Sheriff Dane wasn’t interested in solving the case. Jo the P.I. had more of a head on his shoulders than Sheriff Dane did, but he seemed too angry at me to actually get anywhere.
I was the main suspect, having been the last person in Theresa’s company before she disappeared, and it looked like I was the only one who could advocate for myself. I had to find her, both to help her and to clear my name.
But where to start?
Chapter Seven
For the moment, I had to put off searching for Theresa in order to get the shop running the next day. My shipment had come in, and it felt like Christmas as I opened all the products and arranged them on the shelves.
As I was setting up the essential oils display, the door opened. I turned to see Maria coming through, wearing a warm smile. “Hi!” She greeted me with a hug, then stood back and looked around. “Sage, this looks incredible! I’m so excited for you!”
I beamed, hooking my thumbs through the belt loops of my jeans as I looked around. “Thanks! I finally got the last of my shipments in so I can open tomorrow.”
Maria glanced down at the essential oils on the small table, raising her eyebrow in interest. “Mind if I set some things back on layaway? I want to be your first customer.”
I laughed. “You can set aside anything you like. I’ll even give you ten percent off for all your help getting the place in shape.”
Excitedly, Maria looked through the oils, then moved on to the soaps and tiny jars of herbs. She looked back at me briefly before turning to the herbal shampoos. “I actually came to see if you’d like to have dinner with me and Tim. I know you’ve got a lot going on with the shop, but I’d love to have you come tonight or tomorrow night if you can.”
I rubbed a hand along my jaw, considering. “Tonight would probably be better. I’m not sure what the opening is going to be like tomorrow.”
She gave a nod. “It’s settled, then. Do you have any food allergies?”
“Nope. Is there anything I can bring?”
Maria shook her head. “Just yourself! You’re sure it’s all right if I set these things in the back?”
She held out a lavender scented shampoo and conditioner set, some lemon and peppermint essential oils, a curvy diffuser, and some jars of rosemary and thyme.
“Absolutely. I’ll have them packaged and ready when you come in.”
