by Jane Hinchey
The box slipped from my fingers, hitting the floor. The block of foam fell out, revealing a folded piece of paper tucked in the box's bottom.
Quickly unfolding the note, I scanned the words written there in my dad’s handwriting. A love note from Dad to Mom, telling her that the alexandrite gemstone in the setting was as precious as his love for her.
Ah, it made more sense now. Dad had given Mom the gemstone ring for their anniversary. I'd have to research just how valuable an alexandrite gemstone is, because it was definitely missing and considering my mom doesn't even wear her wedding ring, I doubted she was wearing the ring now. Tucking the note back into the ring box, I snapped it closed. I'd give it to Mick when he took my statement, but I’d also ask Jenna, with her investigative skills, to see if she could trace where Dad had bought it.
Before I left the trailer, I had one more thing to do. Tamir was dead, meaning the spell hiding my parents was broken. I could end this here and now astral-walking.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, I focused my energy, closed my eyes and prepared for the whooshing sensation of traveling down the magical power lines like a roller coaster on steroids. Only instead of the heart-pounding, nausea-inducing ride, I got nothing. Zip. My eyes snapped open and my brows furrowed. That was not the result I'd been expecting! Tamir was dead, it should break the spell.
Unless he hadn't cast the spell. Disappointment weighed heavy on my shoulders as I made my way up to the house, pausing to watch a white van pull up next to Mick’s police vehicle. Here to collect the body I assumed.
Hearing voices from the rear of the house, I took the side staircase to the deck out back where the others had gathered. Omar and Nigel had come up from the swimming hole and were sitting with Kaylee, who was no longer crying, although her eye makeup was a total mess. Omar kept patting her knee while Nigel sat back with his arms crossed over his chest, a blank expression on his face. Jenna, Gran, Remy and Blake sat at a wooden table further down the deck.
Jenna saw me first and jumped up. “There you are! What's going on? Why did he let you stay and send the rest of us up here?”
“He thinks this involves my parents.” I told them about the compass we'd found in Tamir's pocket and, lowering my voice to a whisper, I filled them in on the geospiral pebble found in his chest and the one painted on the wall in his blood.
Remy was frowning. “This doesn't sound good,” she muttered darkly.
“Anything using blood magic isn't good,” Gran said, uncharacteristically subdued. “What else, Harper?”
Gran could see right through me; she'd always been able to. “I thought Tamir must have cast the spell to hide my parents, so I figured with him dead, it would break the spell. So, I tried to astral-walk, only I got nothing. A big fat zero like before.”
“So Tamir wasn’t behind the spell,” Jenna whispered, whipping out her phone and madly typing in notes.
Blake eyed me. “Tamir could hardly have cast the spell and then killed himself,” he pointed out.
“Yes, well.” I cleared my throat. “I figured it was worth a shot. But Tamir was involved somehow. He had Dad’s compass. And photos of them on his phone.”
“The question is why?” Jenna asked.
Remy was tapping her chin with her finger. “Tamir and Omar are treasure hunters, so we have to assume they're here for the copper pyramid. Most people think it's in the ABC range. Only your parents figured it out, Harper. It's here. Has to be.”
“So what? Tamir and Omar followed them here?” My eyes zeroed in on Omar who had given up on consoling Kaylee and was now sitting back dragging on a cigarette. “And what about him?” I nodded in Omar’s direction. “Did he find the scroll and then kill Tamir so he wouldn't have to share?”
“Sloppy of him if he did,” Blake said. “If it were me, I would have taken the compass, and either deleted those photos off the phone or got rid of the phone altogether.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Mick appeared at the top of the stairs, his face grim. “I will take a brief statement from each of you and then I'll need you to come into the station tomorrow to be fingerprinted.”
“What?” Nigel grumbled, not looking happy at this turn of events.
“To rule you out as suspects,” Mick added.
“Oh yes, of course, that makes sense.” Andi nodded, cradling Joey in her arms.
Mick's eyes zeroed in on Kaylee. “I'll start with you, Kaylee. Tell me what happened.”
Kaylee's hands shook, but her voice was calm as she said, “I'd gone to Tamir's cabin to clean it. I knocked on the door. When there was no answer, I assumed he was still at the caves, so I used the master key to unlock the door and get the cleaning done while he was out. That's when I discovered his body.”
“Do you normally clean the cabins at midday?” Mick asked, glancing up from his notes.
Kaylee shrugged. “I do them when I can get to them. I worked at the hotel last night, so I slept in this morning.”
Mick nodded. “And you?” He nodded at Omar. “What's your name?”
“You know who I am,” Omar drawled, dragging on his cigarette.
“For the record.” Mick eyeballed him and Omar crushed out his cigarette in the ashtray in front of him, exhaling a plume of smoke he said, “Omar Ali.”
“And your relationship with the deceased?”
“Tamir and I were partners. Here on business.”
“What sort of business?”
“Relics and artifacts.”
“So, treasure hunters then.” Mick scribbled in his notepad.
Omar grinned. “That is what some people call us, yes.”
“And you're here from?”
“Croatia. We arrived last week.”
“To see the caves?”
“Exactly. There are rumors about a copper scroll being hidden in the Arrowstrand Caves. We decided to check it out for ourselves.”
Remy and I exchanged a look. So, they knew about the scroll.
“And where were you this morning?”
“Tamir and I went to the caves early. Dawn. Nigel took us. We came back just before lunch. Tamir was tired—said he didn't get much sleep last night, so he wanted a nap. I thought I'd spend a couple of hours at the water hole. Nigel joined me since he didn't have a tour this afternoon.”
I opened my mouth to argue that Nigel could have taken us to the caves if he'd let us know he was free, but Blake nudged me to keep my mouth shut. I snapped it closed.
“Nigel.” Mick turned his attention to the guide. “You corroborate Omar's story?”
“Yep.” Nigel nodded. “Took the two of them to the caves, came back around noon thereabouts. When Omar suggested a dip I figured why not? Was down there when this whole hullabaloo started. The old chick can vouch for us. She was there.”
“Hey!” Gran snapped her fingers. “Who you be calling old chick?”
“Gran,” I warned, placing my hand on her arm. “Let the sergeant do his job.”
Mick smiled briefly, turning his attention to Gran. “You were at the water hole too, ma'am?”
“Sure was, soaking up the Australian sun. These two turned up, but not together.”
Mick raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” he prompted.
“The old skinny twig arrived first. Couldn't tell you what the time was. Around midday I guess, but it was a good ten minutes if not longer before Omar turned up.”
“Thank you.” Mick nodded, not giving anything away. He glanced at Blake. “And you?”
“I was in my cabin. Taking a nap,” Blake said.
“Another tired one, eh?” Mick muttered. “And were you... alone?”
“Yes, I was alone. I was helping Harper this morning and then I wasn't feeling so good so went to lie down for a while.”
“And what were you helping Harper with?”
“I don't think that's relevant.” Blake stonewalled and Mick looked at him with narrowed eyes.
“That's right. You're a lawyer.”
“Intere
sting that you already knew that,” Blake shot back, and I looked from one to the other in surprise. Good point. Jenna's fingers were moving like wildfire across the screen of her phone as she typed up her own notes.
“Harper? Was Mr. Tennant with you earlier?” Mick asked.
“Yes, he was. We were trying to work out what had happened to my parents.”
“I see. And what did you discover?”
“Not much,” I lied.
There was a pause then Mick continued, “And what time did Mr. Tennant leave your caravan?”
I shrugged. “Mid-morning, I guess. I didn't notice the time.”
“And then what did you do?”
“Jenna and Remy joined me and we spent the rest of the morning going through my parents’ journals to see if we could find any clues to their disappearance.”
“Playing amateur detective?”
Gran snorted. “You have no idea. My granddaughter solved two murders in Whitefall Cove. I'd hardly call her amateur.”
“Gran. Shush.”
Mick looked at us for a moment before shrugging and turning his attention to Andi. “And you?”
“I've been in the house all morning doing laundry and looking after this little guy.” She nodded at the sleeping bundle in her arms.
He nodded, jotted down something in his notebook, then closed it and slid it into the breast pocket of his shirt. “I'm going to have to ask that none of you leave town. And if you think of anything else, remember anything, please let me know.” He glanced around again, frowning. “Where's Colin?”
“He had sunrise and sunset tours in Darana so he stayed overnight. I'm not expecting him home until tomorrow.”
Mick raised his eyebrows. “He stays overnight? Darana is only an hour’s drive away.”
“He says it's too risky to drive after a tour when he's tired. Roos on the road and all,” she said defensively, and I looked at her more closely. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes flashed. I cocked my head, thinking. An hour wasn't that much of a commute to a job. Hardly an excuse to not come home when your day was done. Andi twisted her wedding ring around and around on her finger and my eyes followed the movement. Something was up in the Webb's marriage. There was more behind Colin spending the night away. Maybe they were fighting. Or he was a snorer. Or she was. There were a multitude of reasons why he hadn't come home, but my mind, full of Simon's cheating betrayal, immediately zeroed in on the possibility that Colin was cheating on his wife. My heart went out to her and before I even realized I was moving, I'd crossed to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders in solidarity. She gave me a small, grateful smile.
By the time Mick left, the sun was low on the horizon. Omar had left as soon as Mick did. Nigel slung an arm around Andi's shoulders and gave her a squeeze before he too departed. Kaylee couldn't get inside fast enough and we all heard her bedroom door slam. Poor girl, it must have been traumatic to find Tamir's body like that.
“I'd better go check on her,” Andi whispered, tears in her eyes. We left as quietly as we could, automatically wandering toward my trailer where Bandit and Archie were stretched out under the awning dozing.
“What next?” I asked no one in particular.
“I say we get cleaned up and head into town for dinner. I'm starving. I totally missed lunch. Then we can regroup,” Jenna said.
“Good idea,” Blake agreed, swiveling on his heel and striding toward his cabin.
“Meet at mine in twenty minutes!” Remy called after him. He raised his hand showing he'd heard her but didn't turn around.
“Is it just me or is he acting weird?” Jenna asked.
“It's not just you. He's been out of sorts ever since he helped me astral-walk this morning,” I replied, watching as Blake's long strides ate up the dirt in no time.
“I'm going to take a shower,” Gran announced. “We're meeting at yours in twenty, right?” she said to Remy, having no interest in gossiping about Blake and his weird behavior.
“Affirmative.”
Calling Archie inside, I dished up his food and sat on the bed, watching him scarf it down without barfing, when I suddenly remembered I hadn't told Mick about the jewelry box and the missing ring. Presumed missing ring. I’d give it to him tomorrow when I signed my statement and gave my fingerprints.
With a sigh, I picked up the remote and switched on the TV, watching a mindless game show until it was time to leave.
Chapter Nine
Dressed in a full-length, figure-hugging, sequin-covered evening dress of canary yellow, Gran locked her cabin door and pulled up her skirt, revealing rainbow-colored converses, and made her way to Remy's Land Rover.
“What are you wearing?” I snorted, blinking from the dazzling glare of her dress.
“I dressed for dinner.” Gran huffed, heaving herself up onto the seat next to me. “You should do the same sometime. Maybe if you dressed in something a little more revealing, you'd get more action with Blake. Can't help but notice things have stalled there.”
“Gran!” I protested, feeling heat creep up my neck and into my face. The fact that she was right compounded my embarrassment. As per usual. Despite the almost kiss the other night, Blake had made no moves to progress our relationship—if it even was one.
“What's up?” Jenna asked, joining us. “You been friend zoned?” she asked.
“No.” I grumbled, but there wasn't much conviction in it. Maybe I had, and I hadn't noticed. Back in Whitefall Cove Blake had been flirty, and darkly moody at the same time. Here he was... I didn't know how to describe it. And ever since helping me astral-walk he was decidedly off. I'd put it down to the fact the super highway sensation of astral-walking turns your stomach inside out and I hadn't warned him. Maybe he was suffering motion sickness. It sounded lame, even to my own ears.
Remy came bursting out of her cabin. “Harper! Can I leave Bandit in your van again?”
“Oh sure. Here's the key.” I was already strapped in the car but the door stood open so I held the key out and she dashed past, scooping it out of my palm as she jogged across the trailer park to my trailer on the other side, Bandit happily bounding along by her side.
Gran, seated between Jenna and myself, grabbed each of our hands. “It will be a blood moon in two nights.”
I nodded. “Correct. And Kaylee’s twenty-first.”
“I fear today was just the beginning,” she continued on, ignoring my reference to Kaylee’s upcoming birthday. “I want you two to protect yourselves. No good will come from this.”
“It does seem ominous,” I agreed. “That reminds me, Gran, I need to ask you something. Dad gave Mom an alexandrite gemstone ring for their anniversary. Do you know anything about it? When he gave it to her? Does she wear it?”
Gran snorted. “Your father should have saved his money. Your mother doesn't wear jewelry. Not even her wedding ring.”
“I know, but I was wondering if she wore it as a necklace or something?”
“Have you ever seen your mother wear necklaces? Or bracelets? Or earrings? Nope. Why?”
“Because it's missing. I found an empty ring box.”
“How do you know what was inside if it was empty?” Jenna asked. I told her about the note.
Remy returned and climbed behind the wheel. “Ready?”
“What about Blake?” I asked, looking over to his cabin where the door remained closed.
“He's not coming,” Remy said, slamming her door and gunning the engine. “He wasn't feeling well, doesn't want to pass it around to you guys. He's hoping to sleep it off.”
“Oh.” I swallowed the hurt that Blake had turned to Remy instead of me.
Remy glanced at me over her shoulder. “Anyone want to ride up front?”
“I will!” Gran shouted, elbowing me madly to get out of her way.
“Okay, okay. Hang on.” Dodging her elbows, I unfastened my belt and hopped out, helping Gran down, then climbing back in, watching in resignation when Gran hiked her evening dress so high you
could practically see her underwear—I sincerely hoped she was wearing underwear, it wasn't always a given with my gran. Once everyone was strapped in and the doors closed, we were off.
“Remy, what do you know about the gemstone alexandrite?” Jenna asked, head buried in her phone once again.
“Oh, alexandrite is beautiful. And not very common. It's made up of a rare combination of minerals that includes titanium, iron and chromium, giving it color-changing abilities. Why's that?”
“Harper's mom had a ring with an alexandrite gemstone in it and now it's missing. So, it's valuable?”
“Well yes, it's valuable. But we're not talking diamonds here though,” Remy said. “Remind me when we get back and I'll look into it. I'm not sure alexandrite is used in jewelry that much.”
As soon as we stepped into the front bar of the hotel, my stomach grumbled. Loudly. I laughed self-consciously and pressed my hand to my protesting stomach. Jenna wasn't the only one who'd missed lunch.
Jenna headed to the bar for menus while the rest of us settled at a table by the window. Petrina gave us a wave. Given today's events I assumed Kaylee wouldn't be working tonight.
“Gran, what you said earlier about the blood moon…” It had been bothering me the entire car ride in. “What do you think it all means? And how do we protect ourselves?”
“I'll make some charms tonight. Wear them at all times,” Gran said, nodding sagely.
“What's this about the blood moon? What did I miss?” Remy looked at our faces, one brow arched.