A moment settled between us.
“You know…” Hazel scanned the shop with squinted eyes. “Doesn’t it strike you as odd that the only thing stolen from my shop that night was the Cedonia scroll? I have a few pieces of jewelry in this shop worth a thousand bucks. The Black Bandit didn’t want it. That scroll was all they wanted.”
“Meaning—not Seagrave. Is that where you’re going with this?”
“Exactly. Just my two cents, son. I don’t think the Cedonia thief shot your lieutenant. Just sayin’.”
I felt a headache settling between my temples. It was way too early for a headache.
“Has anyone else asked you about the Cedonia scroll?” I asked.
“Yes. Yesterday. A busty little blonde came in asking some questions.”
“Who?”
Hazel held up her index finger, then sauntered back to the cash register and dug out a card.
“Briana Morgan, with Harold and Associates.”
I took the card, my brows arching. “An art investigator.”
Hazel nodded. “I got the vibe that whoever the scrolls were originally stolen from hired her firm to get them back.”
Speaking with Morgan just jumped to the top of my to-do list.
The phone rang.
“Nope. No sir,” she said, addressing the phone like it were a living breathing thing. “Not eight o’clock yet.” She refocused on me. “I do need to get moving, though. Need to put out a few new pieces before I open.”
She let the call go to voicemail.
“Thank you for your time,” I lifted my mug. “And the coffee.”
“Thank you in advance for doing whatever you can to keep the Moon Magic festival running this year.”
I nodded. “Before I leave. Is there anything else you remember from that night?”
She shook her head. “Wish I did, son. I’ll let you know if I do.”
“Let me know if the busty art investigator stops by again.”
She grinned. “Will do.”
My hand was on the doorknob, when?—
“Detective?”
I paused and turned.
“Leave the scrolls alone.”
“No stone unturned, Ms. De Ville. That’s how it works.”
“Even when the scrolls are said to be cursed?”
“Especially with cursed scrolls.”
She shifted her gaze to the painting on the wall. “Just be careful you’re not barking up the wrong tree.”
