Karma's Shift (Magical Midlife in Mystic Hollow Book 2) - Lacey Andersen (black female authors .TXT) 📗

Deva’s mouth flew open in shock. “No.”

“Yes.” I reached for a tiny piece of bacon. “She said the police have ruled it natural causes, but she doesn’t believe any of it. And she wants me to help her investigate it because…” Another surreptitious look around, another lowering of my voice. “She thinks Beth might be next since Beth is part owner of the business Roger owned.”

A few drops of tea sloshed out of the glass when Deva slammed it on the table. “No!”

“Yes!” I sat back and sighed. “What do I do?”

Deva shook her head slowly as her eyes blinked. She was thinking, rapidly, and I knew she would have a better read on Beth since she had never left town, unlike me, though for the record it was one of my bigger mistakes. I wouldn’t take back having my son, but everything else? It could go take a flying leap.

After a few moments Deva said, “You can’t tell Beth.”

Relief washed through me as she confirmed what I’d already been leaning toward. Plus, Deva didn’t seem to have any sway in her opinion, it was solid as a rock. “Okay, that’s what I was thinking. I’m so glad you agree. It would just freak Beth out, and I have no idea if she’s in any kind of danger yet.”

“Right. Why does Tiffany think Beth is a part of this, or that Roger was even murdered to begin with?” Deva picked up her tea again while I turned and pulled the file folder out of my bag.

“I haven’t looked at the file yet. I came straight here when she ambushed me, but she mentioned his dead business partner.” I opened the file and pushed my plate out of the way so I could spread out the papers.

Deva scooted her chair around to sit beside me. “Whoa,” she whispered.

“Yeah.” The file was full of articles about Roger’s missing business partner and where he was last seen. I skimmed through them until I came across a page of handwritten notes. “This must be Tiffany’s handwriting.”

We read through it, and it was a list of how Roger had been acting strangely. Fidgety. And he’d mentioned to her that he thought someone had been following him. “That’s it?” Deva asked. “That’s all she’s going off of?”

I shrugged. “Well, if my partner told me someone was following him and then he turned up dead the next day or a few days later, I’d be pretty freaked, too.”

Deva nodded thoughtfully. “Well, we’re not regular investigators, are we? Maybe if we go to the place where Roger’s business partner was last seen we can pick something up.”

“Good thinking.” I gulped down my tea and pushed to my feet. “Let’s go.”

Deva laughed as she looked up at me like I was a crazy person. “I can’t go now! I’ve got a dinner shift to prep. Meet me here at nine, the dinner rush will be over, and I can slip away.”

I sighed. She was right, of course, but I was impatient. “Okay, what about Carol?”

Deva pursed her lips. “Let’s get her to hang out with Beth. Just in case Tiffany was right about Beth being in danger. I don’t want to risk Beth’s life just because her sister’s a jerk ninety percent of the time.”

“Good plan.” I bent over and pulled her into a quick hug. “I knew you’d have my back.”

With my belly full of amazing food and my nerves calmed by Deva’s magic, I headed home. In the back of my mind, a tiny thought whispered that I should still tell Beth, but then I pictured the way she carried everything she’d been through with such grace.

No, she didn’t need any of this. I didn’t need to use Karma’s magic to give someone the karma they deserved. And tonight, Beth deserved to be having fun with her friend. Not worrying that she might be in danger. I’d take this on myself for as long as I could, protecting her in a way that her parents, sibling, and partner had failed to do.

I just hoped I was making the right decision.

7

Emma

I sighed and leaned back, burying my toes under Henry’s thigh. “This is the life,” I mused as Ginger and Fred danced across the TV screen.

This was how Henry and I spent many a night growing up, watching old movies, and eating terrible food. One of the hard things about having an autistic brother was that he wasn’t big on affection, or compliments, and sometimes his directness could hurt my feelings. But one of the wonderful things about having an autistic brother was that, when we could share a passion, like movies, it was incredible. He knew so much about everything we watched and noticed things in the films that escaped me. As a kid, I was so excited to watch movies with him, because he was nearly as exciting as the movie itself.

I’d missed it more than I realized. I’d missed him more than I realized.

Over the years we’d grown apart, and some of it was Rick’s fault, but a lot of it was just because I wasn’t there. Relationships can only stand so much silence and between Rick, having a child, and building our business, the silence had stretched awfully thin between us. Now the silence was gone, and we were rebuilding though. It made me almost grateful for everything that happened.

Henry gave a small smile, his gaze on the screen. “This was nominated for the best foreign film in 1986.”

I smiled. “I can see why.” The way Fred and Ginger were looking at each other as they twirled across the floor, her dress flying around her, the feathers that adorned it making it look like she was flying, reminded me of something that I wanted to ask. “How are you and Alice?”

Something shifted in his expression, though I couldn’t say what, showing me how happy he was when he thought of his girlfriend. “Good. We’re playing video games after our