Bruce growled softly, ears pricked, his gaze intent on the front door of the shop. That was not a reassuring sign, Luke thought.
“The storm is rattling the chimes,” he said. “That’s all I hear. What am I missing?”
“That’s Aunt Bea’s alarm system,” Sophy said quietly. “We’ve got a situation.”
“What kind of situation?”
“The chimes indicate that an intruder entered the shop while we were out.”
Six
“Stay here with Bruce,” Lukesaid. “I’ll go inside and take a look.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Sophy began. Her senses were still sparking in response to the warning of the chimes.
“I assume there’s a back door?”
She wasn’t going to talk him out of taking the risk, she realized. Credit where credit was due. He was a Wells. He might not have any impressive talent but he had grown up in the security business and he was slated to become CEO of the firm. He probably knew a lot more than she did about handling a situation like this. She could almost hear Aunt Bea whispering in her ear.Let the man do his job.
“Yes.” She hesitated and then decided that under the circumstances there was no need to protectallof the Harper family secrets. One or two could be sacrificed. Luke was risking his neck for her. “There’s also a concealed door in the storage shed attached to the side of the house. Electronic lock. The code is zero, zero, zero.”
“Seriously?”
“Aunt Bea believes in keeping things simple.”
“No offense, but that is beyond simple. The wordamateurishcomes to mind.”
“You’re kind of a hard-ass, aren’t you?”
“I’m in the security business, remember?” Luke looked at Bruce. “Guard.”
The hellhound immediately took up a position next to her. Once again, battle-ready tension shivered in the atmosphere around him.
She watched Luke melt into the night. He wasn’t even using the flashlight on his phone to navigate the darkness.
She waited with Bruce, aware of her tight breathing, until the front door opened and Luke appeared on the porch. He had a gun in his hand. She was very certain he had not had one on him when he went into the house.
“The chimes sent the right message,” he said. “There is someone inside but currently he’s not a threat.”
“Where did you get the gun?”
“Took it off your visitor.”
“He had a gun?” Shocked all over again, she hurried up the steps. Bruce bounded up beside her, no longer in guard mode. “What’s going on?”
“Damned if I know. Come in and take a look.”
Luke led the way across the main sales floor of the shop. Crystals of various shapes and colors, chimes, incense sticks, and boxes of Bea’s specially blended herbal teas were artfully arranged on the sparkling glass display shelves. Jewelry made with polished stones and small amulets glittered in a locked cabinet. Many of the pieces had been crafted by local artisans. Bea had used her talent to infuse them with faint currents ofpositive energy that most people could pick up intuitively, if unconsciously.
On one side of the room there was a floor-to-ceiling bookcase crammed with books and magazines focused on trendy metaphysical themes—dreams, meditation, astral travel.
Sophy knew the layout of the shop and its wares by heart. She and Chloe had grown up in it. They had taken turns behind the counter and they knew how to slip into the smooth patter Bea used to close a sale.
Luke had been right. Most of the objects on display in this room were aimed at the tourist crowd and curiosity seekers who showed up at the lake from May through late September. There was another pop of business in the week before Halloween. But winter and early spring were quiet. There were no ski resorts to attract visitors during that time of year, and the lake was too cold for swimming.
There was, however, another sales floor down in the basement, one that provided an excellent year-round income stream. Bea referred to it simply as “the office.” She called herself a psychic forensic consultant and she worked by referral only. She possessed a sensitivity to certain kinds of energy that had been infused into objects. She used crystals to help focus her talent.
Clients searching for missing persons brought jewelry or other personal possessions to her for analysis. Others wanted her to advise them on issues of inheritance, money, or trust.Is he lying to me?was a common question.
