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He made a few calls — including one to Ben Ironhorse, a San Ramon tribal police deputy with a knack for hacking databases, just to see if he could discover anything about Bryce Arsenault — while I petted Sadie and pretended to watch TV, and a little while after that, my phone rang.
“Oh, God, Selena, I just heard!” Chloe said, sounding a little breathless and a lot worried. “Josie said you were fine, but — ”
“I am,” I assured her. “However, Calvin and I think it’s better if I stay home until the baby arrives. Are you okay with taking over the store tomorrow?”
“Sure,” my sister said stoutly. “Absolutely.”
I’d been expecting her to respond just that way, but still, it was good to hear that she didn’t sound at all worried about beginning her solo run at the shop a bit earlier than she’d expected. “How did it go with Alec?” I asked.
Although I couldn’t see her face, I had to believe her expression shifted at that question. “Oh, great,” she said, sounding much more upbeat. “He was very confident that the police don’t have much of a case. He’s going to file a motion to dismiss tomorrow.”
Just the kind of news I’d been hoping to hear. “Still no evidence?”
“None at all,” Chloe said cheerfully. “Sure, they found that garrote in my trunk, but it didn’t have any fingerprints on it, and they couldn’t find any DNA evidence that couldn’t have gotten on the thing because of the way it was just dumped in there with my other stuff. So, Alec is pretty sure that when he presents all the evidence to the judge, they’ll drop the charges — and you’ll get the bail money back.”
The cash bond I’d put up for my sister’s freedom was the least of my worries right then. However, I could tell she was concerned about it…or maybe it was more that Heather and Jordan didn’t like the idea of being so beholden to me. Either way, I wouldn’t be sad to have the money returned, even while it meant much more that Chloe had been exonerated.
Unfortunately, I knew some people wouldn’t look at the situation the same way. Having the charges dropped wasn’t the same thing as being proven innocent openly in court. Would people whisper behind her back, saying she’d gotten away with murder?
That wasn’t a very good way to start a new life in a new town.
I was getting way ahead of myself, though. Alec might have been hopeful that the judge would drop the charges, but until it actually happened, there wasn’t much point in wasting time on speculation.
“That’s great news,” I told her. “And your parents are still planning to head back to California on Saturday?”
“Or maybe Sunday,” Chloe replied. “It all depends on what happens with the judge tomorrow. If Alec can get the charges dropped, then they won’t have as much reason to stick around.” She paused there, as if weighing whether she should say anything else. However, she seemed to decide she should be frank with me, because she added, “Honestly, they’re not super-thrilled about me staying here in Globe, even though they know I’m doing it to help you out.”
“And I appreciate it,” I said at once. If Chloe hadn’t come to town, I would have had no choice except to close my store. Now I could take my leave without worrying about what would happen to Once in a Blue Moon.
“I know you do,” Chloe said. “But I’m glad to work there. It’s a very cool place, and Globe is super-cute.”
Part of me had to wonder whether she’d remain so enamored of my adopted hometown after a few months of living here with hardly anything to do other than go to the movies or hike, and whether it would be quite so “cool” after she realized she couldn’t just pop down the street to go to Ulta or the mall or wherever else it was that she liked to hang out.
Well, life was all about collecting new experiences. If, after the first six months, she decided she couldn’t hack it here any longer, I’d completely understand. While I wouldn’t have wanted to live anywhere else, I also understood that life in a small town wasn’t exactly what all those Hallmark movies made it out to be.
“I’m glad you think so,” I said. “And I’m glad you’re okay with watching the shop on your own. Since you already have a set of keys, there probably isn’t too much else you’ll need, but you know I’m always a phone call away, just in case.”
“And I’ll have Victoria upstairs and Archie next door,” she replied. “Everything is going to be fine, but I still like knowing your friends are so close by. I’m sure they can help me with anything that might pop up.”
If these had been normal circumstances, I would have thought the same thing. But with strange sigils appearing on my car and young men getting murdered for no apparent reason, I knew the current situation was anything but normal. Still, Archie would look out for Chloe because she was my younger sister, and Victoria would always be willing to help because that’s just the kind of person she was. I might have been far more worried about my sister if it weren’t for knowing my friends would be there to assist her if necessary.
“Oh, they absolutely will,” I agreed. “But I’m pretty sure things should be fairly quiet, even with tomorrow being the last day of the big sale. Just don’t let anyone push you into giving them a bigger discount than they’re already getting.”
“As if,” Chloe responded, and I had to smile.
She might have left California, but I guessed my little sister would always be a Valley girl at heart.
Despite telling myself more than once that Chloe would be fine, I couldn’t quite stop fretting about her being alone in the Airbnb tonight. Yes, it had been cleansed and she’d cast what felt like a very effective protection spell, but would it be enough?
“It’s fine,” Calvin told me during dinner, and I couldn’t help startling a little.
“Was I being that obvious?”
“Sort of,” he said, his mouth quirking at the corners. “But I understand. It’s hard to go back into a place where something like that has happened.”
“She was fine when we cleansed the house, though,” I replied. “She’s tougher than she looks. I suppose I’m just letting twenty years of not getting to be a big sister pile up on me all at once.”
My husband looked thoughtful as he spooned some chicken cacciatore onto my plate. Even though it had been reheated from frozen, it was still damn good, and I was doing my best to savor every bite.
