The Deadly Diadem: A Paranormal Artifacts Cozy Mystery (Paranormal Artifacts Cozy Mysteries Book 2) by Tegan Maher (paper ebook reader txt) 📗

don’t know how I would have answered. I still don’t, and I’d rather table it until we’ve sorted out at least some of this mess. We have to work together, and I don’t want it to be awkward every time we see each other. And I don’t want to dread seeing you because I think you’re going to want answers or have an uncomfortable conversation, okay?”

I knew that was probably at least a little hurtful, but it was better to just rip the Band-Aid off. I wasn’t built for that level of stress, and it was killing me.

He was quiet for a few moments. “That’s fair. I wouldn’t want you to answer one way or the other unless you were sure of it, and this isn’t an ideal time to be making life decisions. Can I ask one thing, though?”

I sighed, suspecting what was coming. “If it involves my relationship with Luther, no.”

“But you do have a relationship with him?” His look was a little agonized, but at that point, my irritation made me immune.

“Of course I do,” I snapped. “I have a relationship with everybody involved.”

That’s all I was going to say about it. Full stop.

His sense of self-preservation must have kicked in because he dropped it.

“Do you like being a witch?” he asked.

That was an unexpected question.

“I’ve never really thought about it one way or the other. It’s just who I am, so to me, that’s the same thing as asking me if I like having green eyes or size-nine feet. But yeah, I guess I do. I wouldn’t give up being me for anything in the world.”

“Good,” he said, then smiled over at me. “I have to admit, it seems pretty cool. I bet you can have some real fun with it.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” I said, smiling back as I thought of turning Luther into a pig.

He flipped on his blinker and pulled onto a brick-paved drive that led to a large stone house. I wouldn’t call it a mansion, but it wasn’t a slum, either. It was a solid five thousand square feet, and a large pool cage peeked over the top of the house.

“Nice digs,” I said.

“Not as nice as your place,” he responded with a raised brow.

I couldn’t argue with that. I loved our house, and it was definitely nicer than this one.

“You know, most of the time, I forget your family has money,” he said.

We pulled in beside a town car and I smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I meant it as one.” He shut off the car and we got out. The heat slammed me as soon as we did. It was close to five, so it hadn’t started to cool down yet, which didn’t bode well for the summer. It wasn’t usually this hot out this early in the year, at least not consistently like it had been.

“So who are these people?” I asked. “All I got was the first name.” I knew most of the big families from the charity events I was forced to attend, but I hadn’t recognized her.

“The Montgomerys. He’s an investment banker.”

“Ah,” I said, placing them. “Wealthy but not stinking rich.”

He glanced at me, his expression surprised. “I ran their financials. Your definition of stinking rich is different than mine.”

I lifted a shoulder. “Maybe so, but trust me—they’re downright poor compared to some folks in this town.”

When we hosted high-end auctions where it wasn’t unusual for bidding to start at half a million bucks, it was my job to vet the guests. My dad was well-connected, and finding out what people were worth wasn’t nearly as hard as everybody seemed to think it was.

“I called ahead, so she’ll be waiting for us,” he said as he pushed the doorbell.

Sure enough, Lindy answered the door herself. She’d changed from the red dress into a pair of white linen shorts and a silk blouse, which was pretty much what I’d expected her to be wearing.

“Sheriff,” she said, stepping back so we could enter. “And I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name.”

“Sage Parker,” I said, and she raised one elegant brow.

“As in from Parker’s Antiques?”

I smiled as we stepped into the foyer, my sandals squeaking on the marble tile. “The very same.”

“Oh,” she said, obviously not sure where to go from there. I got that reaction from people like her a lot. She knew my family could buy hers, but I dressed and behaved like I was just a regular middle-class girl. What she didn’t know was that my parents didn’t just give me money. I had to work for mine just like anybody else did. I had a generous salary from working at the shop, but I wasn’t rich in my own right.

I smiled at her discomfort. I loved it when people looked down on me before they realized who I was, though to be honest, I was happier being invisible. I had no desire to run in the fast crowd. I was, at heart, a homebody beach bum rather than a world traveler.

“Please, call me Sage.”

“Of course,” she said, shaking it off as she led us into the formal sitting room.

“I have to confess, Sheriff, I’m not sure why you wanted to talk to me again. I don’t have any more information about Jaime’s death than I did this morning.”

Lindy motioned to an overstuffed floral sofa, then took a seat in its matching armchair.

James took a seat. “I’m not here about Jaime, or at least not about her death. Her family called, and something has gone missing. I was hoping maybe you saw something or would be able to point us in the right direction.”

Unlike the girls at the hotel, she didn’t seem to catch on that we were feeling her out to see if she was the thief.

“Sure, Sheriff. I know most of the women who were there. Some have fewer scruples than others, and if you tell me what you’re looking for, I might be able to help.”

I sent out my feelers.