The Deadly Diadem: A Paranormal Artifacts Cozy Mystery (Paranormal Artifacts Cozy Mysteries Book 2), Tegan Maher [read this if .txt] 📗

“And your relationship with Sybil?” That was a question I was dying to hear the answer to, though I didn’t want to examine the whys of it too closely.

“Is my own,” he said. “She’s a lot of things to me: friend, teacher, family.”

“But are you romantically involved?” I knew he’d just politely told me it was none of my business, but in for a penny, in for a pound, right?

“Not for a long time,” he said. “And while we’re clearing the air, I have something else to confess.”

“I’m almost afraid to hear,” I said, raising my brows at him and giving him the side-eye over my sunglasses.

He rubbed his jaw and for the first time since I’d met him, I got the feeling that he was uncomfortable. “You know the crow that knocked your coffee over when you were talking to James at the coffee shop a couple weeks ago?”

“Yeah,” I said, “but how do you know—oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” he replied with a pained expression. “That was me. I’m sorry. Well, not for doing it, but for not telling you about it.”

I glowered at him and slammed the brakes on to avoid running a red light. “You were eavesdropping on our conversation! Why would you do that?”

He sighed. “Honestly? I was being nosy. I wanted to know what he was going to say to you. I don’t know what I feel for you, but you intrigue me. I wanted to know what’s going on between you two, and I wanted to make sure that whatever he said, he didn’t hurt you any more than he already has. I didn’t expect the conversation to take such a personal twist.”

I shook my head, unable to be too mad at him even though I knew I probably should have been. It helped some that I hadn’t detected so much as a hint of dishonesty so far. “You and me both. He blindsided me with that. It’s been five years, though Jake did warn me that he’s still hung up on me.”

He shrugged. “You looked like you needed an out, but if I overstepped, I’m sorry.”

I hated to admit it, but at the time, I’d seen it as a blessing that got me out of answering an uncomfortable question.

“It’s fine,” I said, a little surprised to find that I meant it. “Had I known at the time what you are, I would have put two and two together. I would have been annoyed, but probably still grateful for the save, so thanks, I guess.”

“What are you going to do about him?” he asked. “He does still carry a torch for you. And before you ask, no, I didn’t intentionally dig into his brain, even though I might have if his thoughts weren’t already even louder than yours are.” His mouth curled up into a wicked smile. “Though I do have to say it was an ego boost to hear him pining after you all those times while you were wondering about me.”

“That’s mean,” I said, and I meant it. “James got a raw deal. I should have been honest with him from the get-go, or at least as soon as I realized things were getting serious. Maybe then we’d still be together. Maybe we still can be.”

He gave a noncommittal hum. “Maybe. But take it from me, a person who has centuries of experience with these things. He’s known for five years now and hasn’t bothered to get far enough past his fear and his prejudice to come back to you. Think about that before you make any life-altering decisions.”

I pulled in a deep, troubled breath and released it. Those were the same thoughts going through my head, and I wasn’t sure what to do with them.

Chapter 10

Luther’s car was at the Clam, so I decided while I was there to grab a tea and maybe a bite to eat. It had been a long time since lunch, and my stomach was growling. Rather than invite Luther in, I decided I needed some breathing room and opted to go in alone.

Rather than take up a whole booth, I climbed up onto a stool at the bar. Maris was standing at the register counting money, a frown on her face. For the first time maybe ever, she didn’t turn to greet me.

“Hey, Maris,” I said, greeting her in case she hadn’t heard me come in.

She jumped and spun around. “Oh, Sage, dear. I’m so sorry! Goodness, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“No problem at all,” I said, smiling at her. Her feathers were ruffled over something, and I didn’t want to add to that. “May I get a tea when you get a chance?”

“Of course, sweetie,” she replied, tucking a stack of cash and a little slip of paper back into the drawer before she closed it.

“Are you okay?” I asked when she set my glass in front of me. She was pale and still distracted, and at first, I didn’t think she was going to share what was bothering her.

“No, I’m really not,” she said after a few moments, tears shimmering in the corners of her periwinkle eyes. “It rips my heart out to say this, but I think somebody’s dippin’ in the till. I just love everybody so much that I don’t want to point the finger at any of them, but there’s money missing for sure.”

I furrowed my brow. I knew everybody that worked there, too, and couldn’t imagine any of them stealing from her. “Are you sure it’s not just a miscount? Or maybe a couple new twenties stuck together or something. They do that to me all the time. I hate new money.”

She shook her head. “No, this isn’t a one-off thing. I’ve been comin’ up short for a few weeks now. Maybe longer because it might have just taken me that long to realize somethin’s up.”

“What do you mean? If the count’s off, it’s off. How else would somebody do it?”