Couture and Curses

by Danielle Garrett

  “At this point, the investigation’s at something of a standstill,” Caleb said, pushing aside his cleared plate. “We’d originally ruled out a robbery gone bad, but this missing sapphire throws a wrench in that. But without knowing more about the stone, it’s near impossible to figure out who else might have known of its existence and whether or not that was the motive behind the attack.”

  Caleb paused and ran his hand over his jaw. “Every time my phone rings, I jump, hoping it’s someone from the hospital, giving me the all clear to come and talk to Aurelia. If she’d just wake up, this whole thing could be solved.”

  “I know.” I set my fork down, no longer hungry.

  “Bloom wants to talk to your client tomorrow, to see who else she might have told about the jewel and Aurelia’s possession of it.” He shrugged. “I think it’s a waste of time, but I can’t point us in a more productive direction, so that’s the plan for now.”

  I offered a half-hearted smile. “Maybe it will shake up something.”

  Caleb didn’t reply.

  He helped me clean up the dishes and then suggested we take our minds off everything with a movie and wandered into the living room to select one from the drawers on my entertainment center. We both worked in fields that required a lot of conversation and interaction with the public, and found that at the end of the night, especially one following a kick-in-the-teeth day like today, a movie and shared bowl of popcorn was the best remedy.

  Harmony got back from work a few hours later, apparently having worked the early bird shift instead of her usual late-night stretch at Luna, the posh downtown haven eatery. She came into the living room and kicked out of her—correction, my black pumps—talking a mile a minute about some celebrity that had dined there during her shift.

  “Harmony,” I scolded, “we’re kind of in the middle of something here.”

  She turned and looked at the TV screen. “I’ve seen it twice but still can’t believe that guy’s the killer,” she said, gesturing absently at the screen as the lead actor’s face came into view.

  I tossed my hands in the air. “Harmony! You just ruined the ending!”

  Caleb sighed and clicked away to a different channel. Something sports.

  How romantic.

  I glared at Harmony as she climbed onto the other end of the couch, kneeling on it as she faced the wall. A large mirror hung over the back of the couch and she often used it to arrange her hair or makeup.

  “Sorry,” she said, pouting as she applied a fresh layer of lipstick. “I figured you were re-watching it. That DVD’s been hanging around here for months.”

  The TV erupted with cheers and Caleb pumped his fist. “Yes!”

  I rolled my eyes. So much for date night.

  “Hey, since you’re not watching the movie anymore, you guys wanna go to this club opening with me?” Harmony asked, moving on to fixing her hair. She released her locks from the silver clip she usually wore to work and tossed her head back and forth a few times, loosening the waves. “I went to the soft open last weekend and it’s amazing! They’re having a DJ tonight and the whole thing is catered, free drinks and everything. There’s a guest list, but I could get you in if you want to go.”

  “Hard pass,” I replied. I looked to Caleb, waiting for him to back me up, but I’d lost him to whatever game he was watching. “You’re not even blinking,” I snapped at him.

  He stirred and glanced at me as if somehow surprised to find me beside him. “Huh? What was that? Yeah, I could go for a beer, if you’ve got one.”

  Harmony snort-giggled.

  I rolled my eyes but pushed off the couch and marched to the kitchen to get Caleb a beer.

  “Thanks, baby!” he called after me.

  When I came back out with the beer and a sparkling water for myself, Harmony scoffed. “I swear, you two are the oldest young people I know. Is this all prep for living in a retirement home some day? Caleb, you just need slightly shorter pant legs and a golf habit. And Stace, you need to pump up the makeup and perfume and start collecting more cats. You’ll be all set.”

  If I knew any hexes, I’d shoot one over, planting it right between her amused eyes.

  “Maybe so, but at least we’re not trying to run around like nineteen year olds forever,” I told her, planting myself back on the sofa. Caleb took the beer bottle and thanked me. “When are you going to grow up, Harmony? You can’t work in a restaurant forever and spend your nights running around clubbing until three in the morning.”

  Harmony’s smile slid off her face, a twinge of red showing at the apples of her cheeks. “Really? This again? Stars, Anastasia, all I did was invite you to go out and have some fun and now you’re going to use that against me, as some kind of springboard into lecturing me about my life choices?”

  Caleb cleared his throat and got up from the couch. “I’m gonna let you two duke it out while I use the facilities.”

  He rounded the couch and slipped into the bathroom. When he closed the door, I reached over and grabbed the remote and slammed my thumb against the power button, killing the sound of the sports announcer’s droning.

  “Caleb and I were having a nice night together and then you come barging in here, completely ignoring the fact that we were in the middle of watching something, and then you go off and spoil the ending and wreck the whole thing. I’m sorry that you feel like I’m attacking you, but this isn’t the first time you’ve pulled this, and to be honest, it’s getting old.”

  “So, why don’t you go to his place?” Harmony retorted. “He has an apartment, too. Right?”

  “That’s not the point! If I want to have my boyfriend over, I should be able to do that without worrying about you coming home and wrecking it.”

  Harmony planted her hands on her hips, her stance wide as she glared at me from across the room. “What do you want me to do, Stace? Call first? Ask if it’s okay to come home?”

  I shook my head. “That’s not what I’m saying.”

  “That’s what it seems like!”

  I paused and forced myself to take in a deep breath. “I don’t want to fight with you. Let’s just drop it, okay?”

  “Fine.” Harmony whirled away and grabbed her purse from the chair where she’d dropped it on her way into the room. “I’m leaving anyway.”

  The front door slammed and Caleb poked his head out of the bathroom. I sighed and sagged against the back of the couch. “Coast is clear,” I muttered.

  He came back to sit beside me and pulled me against his side, tucking one arm around me. “You okay?”

  I relaxed into him and let out a sigh. “I don’t know why I let her get under my skin.”

  Caleb chuckled. “Because she’s your sister?”

  “For better or worse,” I agreed.

  “She means well,” Caleb said.

  Begrudgingly, I nodded. “I know.”

  “Cut yourself some slack, though. It’s been a stressful couple of weeks. Tensions are running high and that’s always bound to cause some kinks in the works.”

  I smiled and looked up at him, mentally tracing the hard lines of his jaw. “How’d you get to be so wise?”

  He laughed. “I don’t know if I’d go that far. Mostly, I spend a lot of time watching people, gauging their reactions. By now, I think I’ve got a pretty good read on most folks.”

  It was a skillset we shared. Our respective careers revolved around observing people and moving pieces accordingly. His, in order to find the truth and lock away bad guys. Mine, to keep the wheels greased and make sure my clients’ big day went off without a drop of drama.

  However, when it came to my own sister, I was at a loss. She baffled me more often than not, and it was all I could do to keep from shaking some sense into her. Or, at least, trying.

  “I will say,” Caleb continued, “I’m not sure what possessed you two to try to share a one-bedroom apartment. Have you thought about looking for a bigger place?”

  “Well,” I said, lifting a shoulder, “
in theory, this is all just temporary. Granted, that’s what we said six months ago when she first moved in here. Now a good third of my closet has been overtaken and at least half of my shoe collection spends more time on her feet than on mine.”

  Caleb laughed. “Makes me think I dodged a bullet, being an only child.”

  “You’re a guy. You would have gotten off easy. As far as I know, brothers don’t steal each other’s clothes.”

  “No, but they might have stolen my truck or … even a girlfriend.” He winked at me.

  I laughed. “Perhaps. Does your fictional brother have a private island and a yacht? Because, if so, I’d have a hard choice to make.”

  Caleb dropped his head back and roared with laughter. “Good to know your price!”

  “Hey, honesty is what makes relationships work, right?” I teased, needling him in the side with my elbow.

  “I’m hoping so,” he replied, still laughing. “Although, I’ve never found a woman willing to stick around very long. I guess now I know why. Dudes with private islands and yachts are stealing them away. I’ll have to speak with my boss and see if he can swing a raise.”

  I giggled. “In the meantime, have your brother give me a call.”

  “You sure about that?” he asked, leaning in. “I’d like to think I have other advantages,” he said, his voice suddenly low and serious. His eyes dropped to my lips and a flicker of heat washed over me. Caleb leaned in and kissed me, driving out any lingering thoughts of fictitious brothers.

  There was only one man I wanted, and by some wild stroke of luck, I had him all to myself.

  Chapter 11

  Kelsey Sierra came to my office the following morning to discuss her options for completing her wedding gown. We made small talk for a few minutes, each dancing around the unfortunate circumstances that made the meeting necessary in the first place. Eventually, I brought up the missing jewel and fished out the photograph Caleb had found the day before. I handed it to her. “Is this the sapphire?” I asked.

  She took the photo, carefully pinching only a tiny corner. After a moment, she nodded. “That’s right. Where did you get this picture?”

  “The SPA gave it to me,” I explained, not delving into the details of my connection to the agency. “The agent I spoke to told me this stone is called the Heart of Poseidon. Does that name sound familiar?”

  “Something like that,” she said, laying the photo down before her.

  “We’re not quite sure how it ended up at the estate sale you attended, but the SPA is looking into it as a possible angle, since it was the only thing taken from Aurelia’s shop the night of the attack.”

  “The whole thing is so strange,” Kelsey said. “Why would they have taken the stone but then left behind all the other valuables? You said there were tiaras and other jewels. Not to mention the dresses! If someone wanted to make a buck, why wouldn’t they have taken those too? There’s gotta be some kinda supernatural Say Yes to the Dress black market, right?”

  “I don’t know. Trying to find a place to sell something like a wedding gown might be a little harder than something like a sapphire, but you’re right, there were diamond tiaras and other jewelry left untouched. Those would have been easy, if not easier, to sell that the Heart of Poseidon. But then, maybe the thief didn’t realize just how well known the stone was. Maybe they panicked after cursing Aurelia. Although …” I paused and shook my head, “that doesn’t make sense because she would have had to have told them where to find the stone. Even her own assistant didn’t know where she kept it.”

  Kelsey scoffed, still looking at the photograph. “Maybe I should have just sold it to that woman. At least then I’d have the money. Now, I’ve got nothing.”

  “Wait? Back up. Someone tried to buy the stone from you?”

  Kelsey nodded and tucked a strand of her honey-blonde hair behind her ear. “A few days after I bought it, actually. I guess she got my name from that woman that ran the sale, because she found me at work and asked about it. At first, I was a little creeped out, but I was probably just being paranoid. There were at least a hundred people at the sale. She could have seen me buying it.” She paused and considered her manicured nails. “Anyway, I told her it wasn’t for sale. She tried to argue with me, but I threatened to call security and she left me alone.”

  “What did she look like?” I asked, leaning forward in my seat, mentally already dialing Caleb’s number. “Do you think you could give the SPA enough for them to create a sketch of the woman?”

  Kelsey glanced up, her brows knitted together. “Wait, you don’t think she’s the one who attacked Aurelia, do you?”

  I tried to remain calm, but inside, I wanted to scream. The woman was seriously giving blondes a bad name.

  “I don’t know, Kelsey.” I drew in a breath and concentrated on keeping my expression neutral. “But, if she went through all that to track it down, I’d say there’s a chance she was willing to go to extremes to get the stone when you refused to sell it.”

  The young bride reared back, her face puckered. “So this is my fault?”

  What?

  “No, no. No,” I replied, holding my hands out. “I’m not saying that. Not at all.”

  “It’s my sapphire. I bought it fair and square. If she was at the sale, she had every opportunity that I did!”

  I bobbed my head, even as my teeth bit into the insides of my cheeks. “I agree. No one is saying it’s not your stone. I just think it might be a good idea to see if we can find out who this woman was and if there’s any connection to the case. That’s all.”

  Kelsey sat back in her chair. “I could tell them what she looked like. She had trashy bleached hair, with at least two months of roots showing. I remember thinking ‘hello, lady, we have magic for a reason! Maybe you should use it to fix your weave!’”

  I wanted to point out that our magical gifts were likely better spent on things other than concealing grow out, but resisted. “I can make an appointment for you with the SPA agent in charge of the investigation. If you give him the information, maybe they can make a sketch and they can track down whoever it was that approached you.”

  “I guess,” Kelsey said, picking a piece of lint from the sleeve of her sweater.

  I leaned in. “If we work quickly, maybe they can find the sapphire in time for the wedding. It might be too late to incorporate it into your gown, but I’m sure we can find another way for you to wear it as your something blue.”

  That did the trick. Kelsey perked up, her eyes a little brighter. “It could be set as a pendant. That was my second idea.”

  “Exactly.” I smiled.

  Caleb would probably scold me for dangling such a far-fetched promise over the young woman’s head, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and right now, Kelsey’s information was the only lead, at least as far as I could see. Besides, returning the sapphire to its rightful owner would make a great feel-good piece for the Haven Herald and give the agency some positive press, which, they could always use.

  So, really, I was doing him a favor.

  The SPA was many things; luckily, one of those things was efficient. Caleb had some kind of magic sketch artist sent to Kelsey’s apartment that afternoon, and by the time we were on our way to dinner, he got a call letting him know the sketch was complete and agents were being sent out to circulate the neighborhood near Aurelia’s shop to see if anyone had seen the woman.

  “Check the glove box,” he directed as we climbed into his SPA-issued SUV.

  I arched an eyebrow and he gestured toward the compartment. Opening it, I found a single page. The sketch. “What in the Otherworld?” I marveled, pulling it out. “How did this get here so fast? They just finished the sketch back at headquarters, right?”

  “SPA secret,” he teased, flashing a half-cocked smile before snatching the drawing from my hands. “I could tell you, but then, I’d have to kill you.”

  He winked and I groaned. “Yeah, yeah.”

  I leane
d over the center console and studied the picture. It was a startlingly lifelike picture of a woman with an angular face, shoulder-length blonde hair, and hazel eyes. There weren’t any distinguishing marks on her face, but it was as close to a picture as we were going to get.

  “So, they’ll take it to Aurelia’s neighborhood and see if anyone saw this woman?”

  Caleb nodded. “I’ll make sure her assistant, Felicia, gets a look too. If your client told this woman she’d given the sapphire to Aurelia, it doesn’t seem far-fetched that she might have tried to strike a deal with Aurelia to get it back.”

  “Or been skulking around, casing the joint,” I added under my breath.

  Caleb chuckled. “You’re getting pretty good at this, huh? I guess I’m rubbing off on you.”

  I cocked my head, a slow smile spreading over my face. “Don’t flatter yourself too much. I watch a lot of true crime documentaries, remember?”

  “Oof!” Caleb exhaled, grasping at his chest. “And she goes in for the kill, ladies and gentlemen!”

  I laughed and waved a hand at him. “Somehow, I think you’ll survive.”

  Considering the sketch, I felt a renewed sense of urgency and anticipation. Perhaps it was just that we had something solid and tangible, but it seemed the wheels of the investigation were back in some semblance of forward motion.

  “What do you say we take a little detour?” I asked, placing the sketch back in the glove box while I buckled my seatbelt.

  Caleb lifted a brow, his lips quirked to one side. “What did you have in mind?”

  I laughed. “Not that.”

  His smile fell.

  “At least, not now,” I said, squeezing his hand. “I actually meant swinging by the estate sale office and showing the unpleasant lady at the counter the sketch.”

  Caleb chuckled. “I can send an agent out with the sketch tomorrow. Unless there’s some ulterior motive behind this suggestion.”

  I narrowed my eyes but couldn’t hold back a smile. “All right, fine. There might be a teensy part of me that wants to be there when you question her. She was so rude and dismissive when I tried to talk to her, it would be vindicating to stand there and stare her down when she finally spills.”