“Who told you that?” I asked, going on the defensive.
“It was an anonymous tip,” Chief Thomas said. A muscle jumped in his cheek and I knew he was lying. Feeling no shame, I reached out and scanned his mind.
“Prudie?” I screeched, almost jumping out of my chair. Chief Thomas sighed and ran his hands over his face, shaking his head slightly.
“I keep forgetting you’re psychic.”
“How could you forget? I literally just brought it up moments ago, at the wharf,” I pointed out, internally seething about that nasty gossip Prudie. I was already planning what I would do to ruin her life.
“Listen, it’s been a long morning,” Chief Thomas began, and I really looked at his face for the first time.Dark smudges hung under his puffy eyes and I realized that he’d been up for a long time already this morning. Deciding to cut him some slack, since he had so recently helped rescue me from being held captive, I took pity on him.
“Sorry, but what the hell has that old bat been feeding you?”
“She reported seeing Luna’s car driving away from that beach. Since it’s an undeveloped area, not a lot of cars go down that road. I’m sorry, but I have to follow up every lead.”
“How do you knowIwas in the car?” I asked.
“She said there were two people. You and Luna are always together; it was just a hunch,” Chief Thomas sighed.
“Why am I here and Luna isn’t, then?” I asked, pointedly.
The Chief hesitated. “I can’t find her,” he admitted and I felt my stomach drop.
“What do you mean you can’t find her?” I asked, enunciating each word precisely as alarm bells went off in my head.
“Nobody is answering at her condo. Her car’s there. Your store is locked. Nobody has seen her. She’s not answering her phone.”
“Did you knock on her door for a long time? Sometimes she sleeps in.”
Chief Thomas leveled a look at me and I shrugged.
“Okay, okay. You knocked for a long time. I don’t like this,” I said, biting my lip. “Do you mind if I try to text her?”
“Go ahead,” Chief Thomas said and I dug in my bag.
Hey, it’s Thea. Text me immediately.
Then, feeling even more suspicious, I called her; the call went straight to voicemail.
“Now that’s even more strange,” I admitted, fear creeping up my spine.
“What?” Cash asked.
“Her phone never goes to voicemail. Never. She keeps it on in case her grandmother out at Seashores Living needs her. It’s never, ever, off.”
“I think it’s time to tell me what’s going on,” Chief Thomas said gently.
I turned to see Cash watching me carefully, his eyes curious, but I read no judgment coming from him. Still, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to tell him I’d been doing a magickal ritual naked on the beach with my white-witch best friend.
See, there’s this point in new relationships where your significant other finds out who you really are. You know what I’m talking about –whether it’s your secret addiction to the Bachelorette, your love of all things Disney, or that you close your eyes every time you go over a bridge –there’s always this turning point where they pull that exterior flap away and take a peek at what’s really going on inside. And it can be terrifying.
I wanted the high to last a little longer with Cash. I just didn’t have faith that he would stick around once he really knew how weird my world was. I’m not apologizing for who I am – I’m just saying that I’m a realist. Not a lot of guys are going to stick around psychics and witches, and that’s just a fact.
Could I hide it just a little bit longer? If I asked Cash to leave now, he’d be even more curious about what was going on, and I’d probably hurt his feelings as well. Not seeing a way out of this, I sighed and turned to Chief Thomas.
“We were at the beach that night,” I said softly, looking down at the table.
“Jesus, Althea,” Chief Thomas swore.
