Page 1 of The Little Shop of Curiosities, The Music Box Part 2

1

I’ve got a really bad feeling.

My heart pounds and my palms are sweaty as I pause at the entrance of the back street where Viv’s shop is tucked away. I know what I’m going to find in her shop, but it’s not Viv’s murder that has me hesitating.

I glance up at the sky as the dark clouds shift and reveal the pale moon. Its sickly glow is the only thing lighting the alley. The streetlights are always switched off during the off-peak hours of the night, and it doesn’t bother me usually. I’ve never been afraid of the dark.

Until now.

It feels like something is lurking in the darkness, wreathed in shadow. The air smells wrong somehow, carrying the scent of something…other.

Magic, if I had to guess, and not the friendly Mary Poppins kind.

Swallowing hard, I force myself to move forward into the darkness. Every inch of my skin is crawling, and something presses down on me, heavier and heavier, with every step. Part of me wishes Harrison was here with me. Magic, after all, is his area of expertise. But another, much more insistent part of me, is glad he’s not.

Whatever this is, it feels dangerous, and I don’t want him anywhere near it.

I freeze at a sudden movement and quiet scuffling sound from further down the alley. Hitting the flashlight function on my phone, I hold it up so that the beam of bright light lands on a tumble of wild red curls beneath a black knitted cap.

“Maddie.” I relax a fraction.

“It’s Detective fucking Wilkes when you get me up at four in the morning to meet you down a dark alley in the middle of Whitechapel.” She scowls. “This better be a fucking emergency.”

“It’s for Danny.”

“Oh, for Danny?” Her eyes narrow. “Why didn’t you say? Great, I can be pissed at him too. He’s cosied up in some cute hotel in Yorkshire with his adorable boyfriend, and I’m out here waiting to be murdered while my wife is snuggled warm in our bed. I’m so cold my fucking toenails hurt.”

“You should try warmer socks.”

“Do you want to be arrested for wasting police time?”

“You’re really not a morning person, are you, Detective Wilkes?”

“It’s not morning, it’s the middle of the bloody night,” she grumbles. “And it’s my day off. Sonia was going to make me breakfast in bed. Do you know how often I actually get to eat breakfast with my wife? Let alone in bed?”

“I’m really sorry, Maddie.” I know how she feels. I’d much rather be in Harrison’s bed than freezing my balls off in a creepy-ass alley in the early hours of the morning. “I wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t urgent. No one’s been able to get hold of Viv, and we’re all getting a bit worried.”

As excuses go, it’s weak, but it’s the best I can come up with on short notice. I couldn’t really say Tristan’s dead drag queen bestie dropped in to tell me she found Viv murdered in her shop.

Maddie frowns. “And it couldn’t have waited until actual morning?”

“Sorry. Tris says he can’t sleep until he knows she’s okay. She’s…had a rough time of it lately.”

I wish I could tell Maddie the truth, that Viv’s shop has a magical portal into the spirit world and a chaos monster traumatised her while trying to escape into our world. But it’s not my secret to tell, and also, I’m really not sure how she’d react. I really don’t know Maddie as well as Danny does.

“Fine.” Maddie sighs loudly and rolls her eyes. “I like Tristan more than I like you and Danny right now, so let’s just get this over with.”

I fall into step beside her as she heads towards Viv’s shop.

“Shutters are open,” she mutters as we near the door. “It doesn’t mean anything. She could’ve just forgotten.” But despite her words, the tension radiates from Maddie.

“Maybe I should go first?” I reach for the handle, then stop when she stares at me. “Okay.” I lift my hands.

Maddie reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small flashlight, then reaches for the door handle. It turns easily, and she pauses, glancing over her shoulder at me.

“That’s not a good sign.”

“No,” I murmur as my stomach roils.