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“I honestly don’t know,” she replied. “As I said, Calvin wasn’t exactly forthcoming, although this sort of thing affects all of us. Do you have any idea what a murder does to property values? Part of Globe’s appeal is its public safety record.”
Trust Josie to be concerned about that particular detail. Part of me wanted to be horrified at her lack of compassion for a crime victim, but then, she hadn’t known Lucien. It made sense for her to focus on an aspect of the crime that would affect the town she loved so much.
“It sounded like they found Lucien somewhere on the reservation,” I told her. “So, it’s not exactly Globe that would be affected.”
Her expression brightened a little. “Oh, well, if that’s the case….” The words trailed off, and she focused back on me, now looking concerned. “Are you all right, Selena? This Lucien was a friend of yours, wasn’t he?”
“I think ‘friend’ is stretching it a bit far,” I replied. “We knew each other, but I wouldn’t say we were friendly. It was more a business relationship than anything else…if you could even call it that.”
“Well, it’s still shocking. But I’m sure Calvin will get to the bottom of it soon enough. He’s a very smart man, although this is the first time he’s had to solve a murder.”
Those words did nothing to relieve the worry that had tensed up the muscles in my neck and shoulders. I mean, it was one thing to know you were innocent. But when the circumstantial evidence pointed in your direction…evidence that would be analyzed by an inexperienced country police chief…well, let’s just say it wasn’t exactly confidence inspiring.
Still, I had to trust that my innocence would be proven once more evidence came to light. I didn’t have any idea what Athene had told Calvin — if he’d spoken to her at all. Maybe she knew exactly what had happened to Lucien, and she’d bugged out before the authorities could catch up with her. The lack of a vehicle might not have been as big an impediment as I thought. Globe had one guy — Travis Cox — who drove for both Uber and Lyft…when he felt like it. Although I’d never availed myself of his services, since I had my own wheels, he’d dropped into the store a few times to buy some incense…probably in a vain attempt to hide the scent of marijuana that seemed to perpetually hang around him. What if Athene had contacted Travis via her app and let him know that if he drove her to Mesa…or maybe all the way to Phoenix International Airport…she’d make it worth his while?
All right, I knew I was manufacturing worst-case scenarios. But considering Lucien Dumond had turned up dead within twelve hours of his arrival in Globe, I didn’t think conjuring thoughts of gloom and doom was all that out of line.
“Yes, he seems very capable.” And that was all I felt safe to say about Calvin Standingbear. The guy definitely had an overwhelming physical presence…one I couldn’t seem to stop thinking about.
However, it seemed that Josie had picked up something in my tone, even though I’d tried my best to sound completely neutral. Her eyes twinkled, and she said, “Maybe he’ll need to question you again.”
“I doubt it,” I replied quickly. Better to nip any speculation in the bud as fast as possible. “I really didn’t have much to tell him.”
The door to the shop opened, and a couple who looked like they were probably in their late fifties or early sixties walked in. Motorcycle enthusiasts, I guessed, judging by the bandanna that covered the man’s gray ponytail and the leather jacket the woman wore over her “Durango, Colorado” T-shirt.
I’d never seen either of them before, and guessed they must be tourists. And thank the Goddess for that — if they were just passing through Globe on their way to Phoenix…or maybe to Payson, depending on which way they were traveling…then they couldn’t have heard anything about Lucien Dumond’s murder, and couldn’t possibly know that the owner of the quaint store where they were shopping was one of the prime suspects in the case.
Josie could clearly see that their arrival meant an end to our conversation. A look of disappointment passed over her face, but then she smiled and said, “I’ll check back in later. I’m sure everything is going to be fine.”
I had to hope she was right.
The biker couple bought some jewelry and a couple of books on crystals, so I had more than one reason to be glad they’d dropped in. After they left, my stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten anything so far that day. Events had tumbled along ever since the moment Calvin Standingbear had turned up so unexpectedly at The Flatiron, but now my body was letting me know that, murder investigations notwithstanding, it needed to eat.
A sandwich from Cloud Coffee was probably my best bet, but I hesitated, wondering whether it was a good idea to show my face in public like that when I’d just been taken away for questioning in a murder investigation. Then again,Iknew I was innocent. If I began acting like I wasn’t, then people would start looking at me as though I had to be guilty.
Also, my cupboards were nearly bare. I needed to do another shopping run, but getting ready for the store opening had kept me busy day and night.
You can do this,I told myself as I got my purse out from under the counter.Just act natural.
Sure.
I set the little “Be Back At” sign in the window to two o’clock, then locked the shop door. Cloud Coffee was only two blocks down and across the street from my store, so it didn’t take me very long to get there. Since it was past one-thirty, the lunch crowd had mostly come and gone, although a couple of people lingered at tables with their laptops.
Bryan looked a little surprised to see me, although he recovered quickly enough, sending me a smile that seemed almost genuine. “Hi, Selena. What can I get you?”
“A chicken salad wrap and a decaf iced green tea,” I replied. Their chicken salad was legendary. Also, it was the sort of thing that I could eat back at the store without worrying about making a mess.
“Coming right up.”
I didn’t see Bryan’s husband Kris anywhere, but maybe he’d gone off to run an errand or something, since clearly, the lunch rush had ended. None of the people preoccupied with their laptops seemed to pay any attention to me, which had to be a good thing. Maybe Josie knew exactly what was going on, but she was the nexus of Globe’s gossip circuit. Otherwise, it didn’t seem as if the news had made the rounds yet.
Well, except for Bryan’s odd reaction when I walked in. I had a feeling he’d heard something, or maybe Josie had stopped in for yet another latte on the way back to her office and had filled him in. I preferred to think that he’d heard the story directly from her, because at least that way, I could let myself believe not too many people knew about Lucien’s murder.
As Bryan handed me the bag with my sandwich, I got a quick flash of his aura — its usual smoky blue, but with little sparks of orange and red around the edges. That could have been edginess from being in such close proximity to a murder suspect…or it could have been something else completely. My ability to see auras came and went, although if I concentrated hard enough, I could sometimes view them at will. For me to catch a glimpse like that when I wasn’t even trying meant whatever emotion he was feeling, it was strong enough for me to pick up.
I just wished I knew what it was. Unfortunately, my psychic abilities didn’t extend to mind reading.
I thanked him and headed back to Blue Moon. For the first time, I realized it really was a gorgeous day, the sun warm but the breeze cool, little white clouds chasing each other across the sky like a flock of celestial sheep.
