AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That wasn’t any of my business, though. I picked up the twenties and counted out the change for him. He took it without comment, and also picked up the gift box and stuck it in the pocket of his jacket. Why he was still wearing it when the day promised to be just as mild as the one before, I had no idea.
Again, none of my business.
“You still need to stay out of the Dumond case,” he said next. Clearly, even if I’d thought the matter was dropped, he hadn’t.
Count to three,I told myself. The number three had a myriad of magical meanings, although in this context, its significance mostly lay in its ability to keep me from tearing the police chief a new one.
“I’d say that was up to Chief Standingbear,” I replied, figuring I might as well not antagonize Lewis even more by referring to Calvin by his first name. “The case is in his jurisdiction, isn’t it?”
“Theoriginalmurder,” Chief Lewis allowed, although he didn’t look very happy about having to admit even that much. “But Floyd’s accident happened in Globe’s town limits, which means it happened on my beat.”
“Have you found out anything from inspecting the vehicle?”
The frown returned, and I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to distract him with a gift for his wife this time. “Like I said, Ms. Marx…stay out of it.”
“No worries,” I said sweetly. “I’m sure Calvin will tell me when he has a chance.”
So much for trying to maintain our fragile truce.
Chief Lewis didn’t take the bait. His hand touched the pocket that held his wife’s present, as though to reassure himself it was still there. Voice even, he said, “Have a good day, Ms. Marx.”
He headed out, spine as straight as if he was on review back in the Marines. I watched him go, smiling faintly.
If nothing else, I’d made another sale.
The rest of the day was fairly quiet. A few more tourists wandered through, and bought some small crystals and a couple of books. Nothing huge, but it was a very good day for a Monday.
Still, the image of the Tarot card I’d pulled that morning still danced in my brain. The two of wands signified forward movement, which meant I needed to come up with a plan of action. Making a couple of good sales didn’t seem quite significant enough.
Then what?
I saw sunlight dancing off the surface of the San Ramon River. Green leaves rustling in the breeze.
Was I supposed to go back there?
Possibly. After all, I hadn’t gotten very far with my investigations before Calvin appeared and I went straight into the drink. Everything had been so crazy busy since then, I hadn’t really thought about returning.
But if Lucien’s spirit lingered there…if there was even a chance I could get him to talk, to tell me who had done this to him…then I needed to go.
I glanced up at the clock I’d hung on the wall above the counter. Ten minutes after four. Since I’d opened early, I figured it couldn’t hurt if I closed a little early. No one had been in for the past half hour, so I doubted I’d be disappointing any last-minute shoppers.
Before I even realized what they were doing, my feet propelled me over to the door so I could shut it and lock it, and then hang up the little “Be Back at” sign. Afterward, I hurried upstairs to get into jeans and my hiking boots — now at last completely dry — and then just as quickly went back down to get into my car.
Because it was such a gorgeous day, I put the top down. I kept a collection of scrunchies in the glove compartment for just these sorts of occasions, and I reached in and grabbed a teal blue one to go with my top.
As I drove, I wondered if I should text Calvin and let him know what I was doing. He’d been pretty radio-silent all day, and I didn’t quite know what to make of that. I supposed he could have simply been extremely busy, and since I hadn’t reached out to him with any problems or concerns, he’d decided to allow some space between us.
This scenario seemed plausible enough, even if I didn’t much like it.Anyway,I told myself,he interrupted you last time. Maybe his energy isn’t the best thing to have around when you’re trying to reach out to Lucien.
Especially since I would never have allowed Lucien in my pants, whereas I’d be more than happy to grant Calvin that same access…after we’d gotten to know each other a bit better, of course.
Having rationalized away any reason to reach out to him, I continued to the parking area where I’d first left the Volkswagen. Yes, maybe it would have been better to keep going on the Forest Service road that went a lot closer to the actual spot where Lucien had died, but my instincts were telling me that wasn’t such a good idea. I supposed it was possible that impulse stemmed from a desire to avoid doing any more damage to my car’s suspension rather than any concrete reasons for heading there, although I told myself that I’d sensed the residue of Lucien’s death after making my way along the river bank, so I might as well follow the same path now.
I parked my car and got out, then headed down to the river. It was maybe a bit warmer than it had been the first time I’d come this way, but otherwise, I might have been experiencing a very extended, very vividdéjà vu.The same cottonwood trees cast dappled patterns of light and shadows on the ground, and the San Ramon made the same rustling sounds as its water flowed over the rocks that made up its bed.
This time, though, I’d remembered to bring a bottle of water with me. I broke the seal on the lid and swallowed some before I began walking along the bank, following the path the river cut through the landscape. From overhead came a keening cry, and I flinched for a moment before I realized the sound had probably come from a red-tail hawk and not Lucien Dumond’s disembodied spirit.
My heart still beat a little faster than it should as I picked my way over the stony ground. I’d brought my pendulum with me, although it remained in my jeans pocket for the moment, since I already knew where I was going. Shoved in another pocket were a couple of chunks of black tourmaline, my go-to for protecting myself from bad energy. Its presence might keep Lucien’s spirit away entirely, but I had to hope that his desire to be heard would overcome the stones’ repelling properties.
