gone. My stomach sank. I shouldn’t have left it in there. I had been asking for someone to vandalize his car to get to it. Could I stop causing problems for Callahan already? It was like he had stepped into a perpetual Larue tornado the day that he’d met me. It was a never-ending whirlwind.
“I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you to put the bag in there.”
“Hey, it’s okay. It’s no big deal. The window can be fixed, but what about your purse? Did you have a lot of money in there?”
“Luckily, no. Oh, wait. The necklace. I left the necklace in the purse.”
I had meant to wear the necklace Karyn had given me, but the clasp wouldn’t stay fastened, so I’d put it in my bag. An action that I now regretted.
“What necklace?” Callahan asked.
I’d failed to mention this special necklace to Callahan… one crazy part of my life at a time.
“It was a necklace Karyn had given me.”
The necklace was special and meant for the coven leader. Even though I wasn’t the coven leader, Karyn and the coven had insisted I keep the necklace until I decided if I wanted to take the position. I’d already told them no, but apparently for some reason they thought I’d change my mind. Well, I guessed I hadn’t worded my answer strongly… I’d left an opening there in case for some strange reason I decided being a coven leader was something I wanted to add to my resumé.
“That’s a real bummer.” Candy Cherry smirked.
“It was a dumb move to leave valuables in the vehicle.” Mr. Fine tossed his cigarette on the ground and shook his head.
“Please don’t be upset, Larue, I’m sure the necklace will turn up.” Elvis offered a reassuring smile.
Within minutes the police had arrived and were filling out a report. They’d seen a lot of me lately. A few worried-looking strangers hurried by as if we were a part of some kind of organized crime bust. The noise from the day had disappeared and the empty streets amplified the desolate feeling taking over my thoughts.
After talking with the police, Callahan and I said our goodbyes and I watched in the rear-view mirror as he drove home with a busted-out window in his car. Our date hadn’t turned out as planned. But with any luck, it hadn’t completely ruined our relationship.
The more I drove away from town, the more I thought about the necklace. I had to get it back, but how? Where would I even begin to look? I needed to tell Karyn. As much as I wanted to hide it from her, I knew that wasn’t the right thing to do. Did this incident have anything to do with the black shadow I’d seen outside my house? The demon at Jennie Blake’s home? What about the damaged books in the store? That was when I remembered the letter. How could I have forgotten the letter? I hadn’t even mentioned it to Callahan.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
When I pulled into the driveway, I dialed Mindy’s number. She picked up on the first ring. I probably sounded like a crazy woman as I explained about the letter, the books, and the missing necklace. Needless to say, Mindy wasn’t happy that I’d taken so long to tell her about such important things in my life.
“Do you have any suspects who you think may have taken the necklace?” Mindy asked.
“Well, let’s see.” I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel. “Of course, there’s Jane Howe. The one who applied for the job and Cooper hired. She was in the restaurant right before it happened, so that puts her near the scene of the crime. But as far as I know, she doesn’t know what kind of car Callahan drives. Then there’s Callahan’s ex-girlfriend, since she sent the letter. She definitely knows what kind of car he drives, but why she’d break into the car, I don’t know.”
“Maybe she just wanted to vandalize it, but when she saw your purse that made her mad, so she decided to take it.”
“That’s a good thought. Definitely a possibility,” I said.
I ignored Mr. Fine’s annoying tapping of his fingers against the car seat. Candy Cherry was yammering on to Elvis about how tough her life had been. I overheard her say, “They expected me to actually get a job. Can you believe that?” Poor Elvis.
“Anyone else on your list?” Mindy asked.
I pointed at Mr. Fine, warning him to be quiet with the annoying