Dead Man Talking
Page 18
“I’m sure. She’s probably going to feel bad now. I’ll have to go talk to her about that. You know, I feel sorry for Prescott, despite what he did. I don’t think he meant for Sapphire to get hurt.”
“I don’t either, but he had a choice. He could have asked Sapphire to help him find the emerald.”
“I don’t think she would have,” Zoe said. “Not for the reasons he wanted it. Sapphire believes the emerald is what created the magic in Everlasting and that if it’s removed, the magic might disappear along with it. She would never let an individual with his own agenda gain possession of the stone.”
“True.”
“I’m afraid now that all this is big news, more people will try to find the stone, and we have nothing to give them to keep them away.”
“That’s not exactly true. Based on my statement last night, the state police had a chat with Harriet Wilson about their concern that she and Sapphire could be targets for people looking for the stone.”
“I bet that went over well.”
Dane grinned. “She called them a bunch of damned fools and said no one could find the emerald because it doesn’t exist anymore. Apparently, in another one of her journals, one of her ancestors wrote about how they cast a spell to crush the emerald into powder and sprinkled it on the ground all over the area.”
“Why didn’t she tell me that when I was there?”
“The state police asked the same thing. She said because you didn’t ask and it wasn’t any of your damned business anyway.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“The good news is, she’s agreed to let the local newspaper make copies of the journals and write up the story of the emerald. So hopefully, everyone will get the word that it’s dust that disappeared in the soil of Everlasting many, many years ago.”
“And you believe all of that?”
Dane shook his head. “It’s as good a theory as anything else in this town. There’s always been odd things…stuff I couldn’t explain but knew to exist. I tried not to dwell on it because I knew there weren’t any answers other than blind acceptance of something that isn’t supposed to exist. Then I come face-to-face, so to speak, with a ghost and see you force lightning from the sky.”
Zoe looked down at the sand. “You caught that, huh?”
“It was hard to miss with Sapphire telling you to use your gift, then lightning appearing out of nowhere and striking February’s gun. That’s either deliberate or the biggest coincidence that has ever occurred.”
“I haven’t wrapped my head around it yet,” Zoe said. “I mean, I believe there’s something not normal at play. I felt something inside when that lightning came and somehow I knew I was the cause. But that’s all I am sure about. Everything else, well, I guess it’s as big an unknown as the rest of my life.”
“What are you talking about?”
She turned to look at him so that she could gauge his reaction. “I resigned from my job. I’m going to move back to Everlasting and live with Sapphire and try to figure it all out, hopefully without injuring someone else with lightning or hail or a random hurricane.”
“You’re moving home?” His tone was a mixture of hope and disbelief.
“Yes. I suppose this is where you get to tell me ‘I told you so.’”
He frowned. “There’s no victory in being right when it hurts you. I know how badly you wanted that job. It’s everything you ever dreamed of. What happened?”
“A lot of things. And all of them made it clear that I’d been pursuing the wrong thing all along. That promotion wasn’t going to make me happy. Living in LA was boring at best, but mostly miserable. It wasn’t my place. Everlasting is.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m not sure yet, but there’s an idea rolling around in my head.”
“What’s that?”
“The corporation that owns the local radio station is looking to sell.”
“The station with the weather forecaster who is wrong more than he’s right?”
“Well, in his defense, everything he learned about meteorology is out of books from Noah’s ark. The corporation said he’s making noise about retiring. Maybe a new owner would give him that final push.”
Dane’s eyes widened. “You’re thinking about buying the radio station?”
“Why not? I have some savings, and the corporation said they’d finance the rest. This is all very loose talk over a thirty-minute phone call, but it could turn into something.”
“I think that would be incredible. I think you would be incredible.”
“It wouldn’t be cheating?”
“What do you mean?”
She smiled. “Well, it’s not exactly forecasting if I can change the weather when I’m wrong.”
“I have a feeling it won’t be that easy.”
“Probably not.”
“Is the job the only reason you changed your mind about living here?”
She shrugged. “There’s this guy. He’s stubborn and never admits when he’s wrong, but he’s got an eye for custom finishes and a big heart. I guess I was hoping there was still room in it for me.”
Dane put his hands on both sides of her face and looked her directly in her eyes. “That room has been empty and waiting for you all this time.”
“Then maybe it’s time to redecorate it and move back in.”
THE END
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About the Author
Jana DeLeon was raised in southwest Louisiana among the bayous and gators. Her hometown is Carlyss, but you probably won’t find it on a map. Jana has never stumbled across a mystery or a ghost like her heroines, but she’s still hopeful. She now resides in Dallas, Texas with her husband and the most spoiled Sheltie in the world.
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To learn more, check out Jana’s website.
www.janadeleon.com
Featured Titles from Jana Deleon
Reading order for humorous series books:
The Miss Fortune Series
Louisiana Longshot
Lethal Bayou Beauty
Swamp Sniper
Swamp Team 3
Gator Bait
Soldiers of Fortune
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Shaye Archer Series
Malevolent
* * *
The Ghost-in-Law Series
Trouble in Mudbug
Mischief in Mudbug
Showdown in Mudbug
Resurrection in Mudbug
Missing in Mudbug
Chaos in Mudbug
Rose and Helena Save Christmas (novella)
The Helena Diaries: Trouble in Mudbug (companion novella to Trouble in Mudbug)
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Note: You should read Trouble in Mudbug before reading The Helena Diaries as it contains spoilers.
* * *
Standalone Books
Rumble on the Bayou
Unlucky