It worked…
No, it didn’t,I argued with myself.It’s complete bullshit.
The stall seemed to materialize in front of me, a void that swallowed up the rest of the lights in the Christmas market.
This wasn’t where the stall was yesterday,my mind unhelpfully told me. I walked toward it as if I was being reeled in.
It was just because I was distracted by Emmie—the sweet, homey Christmas smell of her, the soft curves, the way she fit perfectly in my arms.
“A happy voodoo-doll customer,” the black-haired woman said.
I whirled around. I could have sworn she hadn’t been there a minute ago.
Chimes sounded faintly, and smoke from incense hung hazily around us. In Lilith’s arms was a black cat with yellow eyes.
“Have you come for another?” she asked.
“I don’t believe in voodoo.”
“And yet you spent quite a lot of money for that doll.”
“I didn’t kill Brooks.”
“Then where is the doll?” Black eyes bored into mine. “I’ll give you a refund.”
“I don’t have it.”
I didn’t have it because I had hidden it in the grocery sack of stuff Aunt Frances had asked me to get from Costco… including the toxic-mildew cleaner she’d wanted me to buy that had spilled in the bag, ruining the doll.
I’d discovered it late that night after getting Emmie out of jail.
“Then why don’t I make you a new one,” Lilith offered with a sharp smile. “On the house. Maybe for Brooks’s friend—Theo, was it? Or maybe Oakley, who broke your heart?”
“No, I’m not a murderer.” I stepped back.
“Everyone is a murderer when they’re pushed far enough.”
The black cat hissed at me, baring sharp fangs as I stumbled out of the stall.
I stood in the middle of the bright, cheery Christmas market as the pounding in my ears subsided. A witchy cackling under the tinny sound of Christmas carols made me involuntarily shiver.
I am eating too much rich holiday food,I decided, blotting at my sweating forehead.
I didn’t kill Brooks. I know I didn’t, right?
Then why was it temping to go back and slap down hundreds of dollars for two more dolls?
I needed grounding. My nerves were too fried to go back to the senior center, even though I was behind on work.
I needed Emmie—Emmie with her pretty face with its soft, kissable mouth, her cozy sweaters, and her warm hands so small in mine.
Emmie was closingup the café when I pulled my car up in front of her store.
“Marius!” she exclaimed when I gathered her in my arms. “What’s wrong?” She squeezed me tight like it was the most natural thing in the world.
I buried my face in her hair, never wanting to let her go. “Nothing,” I mumbled. “I just missed you.”
“You only just met me,” she said with a breathy laugh.
