So I did just that, performing another degrading game of shuffle-stepping across what used to be my store. Every time something shifted beneath my foot, I felt the insistent urge to sob. I didn’t, thank God, but it was a near thing. But I also didn’t want to exit the store in clear distress. It was an overcast day, which meant Wanda could wander into her shop without raising eyebrows, since everyone believed her to be a vampire these days. To keep that charade going, she normally worked the night shift, but on days like these, she could come in, just to oversee Maverick’s work. And if Wanda was in, she might spy me from her front door and immediately assume the worst had happened. Then she’d rampage down Main Street looking for the culprit instead of staying put in her store, where I needed her so I could soothe the emotions currently rampaging through me.
Yes, the last thing I needed was Wanda going ape-shit.
“Someone wrecked my store,” I mumbled, more to myself than to anyone or anything that might have been listening. Before I could stop myself, I dropped down onto the front stoop, dabbing at my cheeks with my sleeve. It all just was suddenly… overwhelming. And my knees were suffering—barely able to keep me upright.
I’d seen the evidence with my own eyes, but it was still hard to believe someone could have entered the shop, wrecked it, and waltzed right back out without ever being seen. Haven Hollow was a small town, but despite that, there was a significant police presence, in no small part due to our local winter princess.
Taliyah Morgan had started her life as the adoptive daughter of a police detective. She’d honored that legacy by becoming one herself, ranking among one of the best in Portland’s homicide division. She’d been forced to move here to take care of her brother’s department after his untimely death. And a good thing too, because she wasn’t human. No, she was Princess Olwen ofthe Winter Court of the Sidhe. Now she was both ruler and Chief of Police, overseeing her kingdom from the safety of the Hollow.
Or perhaps not so safe, judging by the state of my shop. Which brought me right back to the troubling question—what had happened here and why? Who was responsible for it? And how the hell hadn’t anyone spotted the culprit? The wax was still warm and runny in places, which meant I’d missed the attack by only a small margin. And that meant this had happened in broad daylight! Probably within the last hour! So why hadn’t anyone called it in?
Magic was the only explanation I could come up with. Without it, someone would surely have seen or heard something and reported it to the police.
Which reminded me…
I pulled out my cellphone, fumbling with it for a second before I could get a grip on it. My fingers were tingling and my head felt disconnected from my body. I stared at the screen uncomprehendingly for a few seconds until I remembered to pull up my frequent contacts and scan the list until I found Taliyah’s name. I must have been more shocked than I realized. I was aware, distantly, that I probably shouldn’t have been alone here—at the scene of a crime, but I couldn’t force my legs to carry me anywhere. I wasn’t even sure I could stand at this point. Most of my attention was focused on the waft of herbs and spices still filtering through my front window. The one that had been smashed to bits by some unseen and unheard hand.
It took a few rings for Taliyah to pick up, and her first terse word was, “Morgan.”
“Hi,” I said, a little embarrassed at how thick my voice sounded. Maybe it was a good thing to feel anything as human as embarrassment. It meant I wasn’t totally tuned out. That could be dangerous with a vandal on the loose.
“Hi,” Taliyah ventured cautiously. “Poppy?”
“Um, yeah, it’s me.”
“Are you okay? You sound… off.”
Ifeltoff. It felt like someone had upended my entire world with a couple of swings of a baseball bat. Until now, my shop had been a refuge. Somewhere I went and felt proud. Now it lay in ruins, and for what? Who would want to inflict such destruction on what basically amounted to an apothecary?
“Someone vandalized my store,” I said quietly.
“Vandalized as in—“
“—as in the window has been bashed in and everything inside is destroyed.”
“Fuck.”
My sentiments exactly.
“Do you know who would,” Taliyah started but I interrupted her.
“No, I don’t know who did it or how long ago. I just know there’s not much that’s left unbroken. I think the cash wrap is only intact because it was too heavy to overturn. The shelves are in pieces, all my potions are broken and lying in puddles on the floor, and…”
My voice broke. Fresh tears welled in my eyes. I tried to sniff them back. I didn’t want to go to pieces on Taliyah. I knew it was stupid to cry. I hadn’t lost anything I couldn’t replace. Profits had been good in the past quarter. It was just… such awaste.Most of the furniture inside had belonged to Betanya Tayir. How disappointed would she be to see it all in shambles now? I felt like the custodian of precious items—items that had been destroyed under my watch.
No, Poppy,I argued.You didn’t do this. Betanya can curse whoever broke in and messed the place up.
Me, myself, and I weren’t convinced by that line of thinking though. The sense of guilt that had settled like a weight in my gut wasn’t leaving much room for rational thought. Ifeltresponsible. If I hadn’t had agreed to take the shelves and such, they would still be in Henner’s basement—dusty sure, but still whole.
“Are you alright?” Taliyah asked, her terse tone startling me out of my miserable reverie.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just… a little shaken up.”
“Was there anyone in the store when you entered?”
The question was blunt and to the point, but I still caught the undercurrent of concern. Taliyah might seem like the ice queen she actually was, but there was a nice person hiding under all the bluster.
“I don’t think so,” I said, unable to raise my voice above a whisper. The knot in my throat was trying to choke off my air.
