Dark Moon Magic (3 page)

“Like this?” He pointed at a shade that wasn’t too light, but more of a darker tan.

“Perfect. I’ll need a roller with a long handle, some brushes, a paint pan, tape, and a drop cloth.” Regina listed her needs aloud.

He smiled politely and strolled down an aisle to gather the supplies, leaving her to glance around the shop.

Above the counter was a photograph of the guy helping her, an older woman with a lovely smile, and Becky. This man must be her father. Regina didn’t get a strange vibe from him, but then, maybe she’d imagined Becky Riverside’s hatred. Perhaps she’d only felt threatened by her. After all, Regina had been talking to
her
man. Jealousy might’ve been at the heart of it all, and if that was the case, Becky had no reason to worry. Regina had zero interest in Trace Langston beyond the fact he was nice to look at. She’d learned her lesson with Rod. No more men. Ever. They were too controlling and didn’t want to let go when the relationship ended.

“Okay. Do you need anything else?” he asked as he toted an armful of supplies to the counter and dumped them on top.

Regina looked over the items. “I think that’s it.”

He nodded. “I’ll ring this up for you and carry it to your vehicle.”

“I didn’t bring my car. I’m just down the block.”

One of his eyebrows shot up. “Are you our new business owner?”

“Yes. Regina Moon.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Becky told me she talked to you the other night at Bingo.”

“Yes.”

“Welcome to our community.”

Regina smiled again. “Thank you.”

He rang up her purchases and bagged everything but the paint. “That’ll be eighty-six dollars and twenty-three cents. Do you need this right away?

“No. I plan to paint after I close up shop for the day.” She handed him five twenties.

He gave her the change. “Okay, then, I’ll deliver these around five-thirty.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

He raised a hand to shrug off her resistance. “I insist. So, I’ll see you later.”

“All right. If you’re sure?”

“Have a good day.”

“You, too.” She headed for the door. The elder Riverside seemed nothing like his daughter. He was kind and thoughtful. Regina didn’t sense either of those qualities in Becky.

She left the hardware store and started across the street toward her shop. She’d closed for lunch, and needed to get back. Not that business had been booming. She’d barely made enough that morning to pay for the electricity, let alone the rent. Hopefully things would pick up over the weekend. Thank heavens her Internet sales had been steady. That helped to offset her slow opening week.

Regina stepped onto the sidewalk and turned, catching a glimpse of the sheriff walking her way. If talking to him upset Becky Riverside, she intended to avoid him. She didn’t need an enemy. Not when she had a new business to get up and running.

She unlocked the door, walked inside, and flipped the sign to OPEN. When she’d reached the counter to put her purse away, the doorbell jingled. She looked up, and her heart stopped.
Curses
. He’d followed her.

“Can I help you, Sheriff?” Why couldn’t he just stay away?

“I wanted to warn you before you stepped out your side door not to freak out.”

Regina stared at him, confused. “Why? What’s going on?”

“There are a bunch of dead birds there. I called someone to take care of them, but he might be a while.”

“Dead birds. What happened?” Did something hazardous cause their deaths? Was she in danger of being exposed?

“I don’t know,” the sheriff said, drawing her attention back to him. “But one of your neighbors spotted them about an hour ago.”

“And you have no idea what killed them?”

“No, but we’ll send a few off to the lab to see if the Centers of Disease Control can tell us.”

“What kind of birds were they?”

He rubbed at his clean-shaven jaw. “Ravens.”

Regina’s heartbeat took off at breakneck speed. The bird symbolized travel between life and death in Wiccan belief. Finding dead ravens in her path wasn’t a good sign and a cause for concern, unless it’d been something environmental that killed them. In her gut Regina didn’t think that was the case. She sensed it was something more sinister, and she’d need to pay close attention to
everything
from now on.

* * *

Trace noticed how nervous Regina became when she learned the dead birds were ravens. Why should it matter what kind they were?

“Thanks for letting me know.” She bit her bottom lip. A plump and downright kissable bottom lip. Regina Moon did crazy things to Trace, and in this instance, that wasn’t good.

“Okay, so I’ll let you know when they’re all removed.”

“I’d appreciate that. Thanks, Sheriff.”

He inhaled a breath and took off for the door. Since his attraction for her was clearly undeniable, Trace needed to keep his distance from Ms. Moon. Unless he wanted to go completely against his mantra of not dating any woman from Groves.

As he rounded the side of the building, he ran into Keith Walsh, the man he’d called to dispose of the birds.

“So, how many and what do you think killed them?” Trace asked, looking over Keith’s shoulder at what appeared to be a half a dozen or more bird carcasses.

“I counted seven, and I don’t know how they died,” Keith said, frowning. “I didn’t see any notable trauma to their bodies and nothing oozing from their mouths. They still could have been poisoned, but you’d have to check with the CDC about that.”

“Bag two or three so we can send them off. I want to know what killed these birds.”

“Sure thing, Trace. Hey, how about we get a few of the guys together tonight and play cards?”

“Sounds like a good idea. I’ll bring Garrett after I do rounds. About eight? At your house?”

“Yep. I’ll see you tonight. Oh, and bring some beer.”

Trace narrowed his gaze on his friend. “I’ll bring beer if you promise there will be no chugging games. The last time we did that, I woke up on my front porch with neck pain that took me a month to get over.

He raised a hand. “On my honor. No chugging beer.”

“Bring those ravens by to send off later, and could you stop into Healthy Glow and tell the owner the birds have been taken care of when you’re done?”

“I haven’t met the new business owner. What’s she like?”

Trace contemplated his friend’s question. What was she like? Definitely intriguing. More than simply beautiful, and different from any of the other women in Groves, since she didn’t seem to have even an inkling of interest in him. Something that should have pleased Trace, but for some unforeseen reason it didn’t.

“Go see for yourself. Maybe you can tell me.”

Trace turned and walked around the building. This whole dead bird thing had him wondering. They’d never had anything like this happen in Groves before, which seemed strange and too much of a coincidence with Regina Moon’s coming to town.

He headed toward the police station. Trace planned to do a little background check on their new resident and see what came up. Maybe there was more to her than what she let on, and if that was the case, he intended to find out what she was hiding.

CHAPTER FOUR

Regina wiped the paint splatters off her cheek with her index finger, then continued to roll the sage color onto the living room wall. Already, she felt much calmer than she had that afternoon. The whole dead raven incident had her on edge. Someone was trying to send a warning.

But why?

And who? Becky Riverside? Or was it someone else?

When the roller ran out of paint, she plopped it into the pan and rotated it back and forth. Maybe by the time she finished all four walls, she’d have a renewed sense of serenity.

Her cell buzzed. She discarded the roller altogether and raced for the phone. “Regina,” she spoke into the mouthpiece.

“Reggie.” Her best friend sounded upset.

What was wrong? Had Rod somehow found out where she was? The thought had her heart thumping hard. “What’s the matter, Tiah?”

“I had to call. I got a bad feeling. Are you all right?”

Relief washed over her as Regina shifted her balance from one foot to the other. “Yes, but something odd happened today.”

“Odd?”

“A flock of dead ravens were found next to my place.”

On the other end, she heard a gasp. Clearly Regina hadn’t exaggerated the significance of the birds. It meant trouble. What kind, though, she wasn’t sure.

“I don’t like this, Regina. Let me come stay with you for a while. Just until we know what’s going on.”

Regina inhaled, then let out a shaky breath. “I don’t think that’d be wise. Rod is probably watching you. I can’t chance him finding me.”

“I’m worried, Reggie. With me there, we could at least perform a protection spell.”

“Let me think about it. Right now I’m trying to get my business off the ground, and I wish this hadn’t happened. What if they find out I’m Wiccan and think I killed those birds with some kind of dark magic? It’d be Salem all over again.”

“You know how I felt about you choosing such a small town to move to. Everyone is so close-minded. They think Wiccan and assume something bad. Most don’t understand the difference between white and black magic.”

A loud crash had Regina whirling around just in time to see a rock skid across the hardwood floor. She looked up and found a gaping hole in the picture window and glass scattered all over everything. “I have to go, Tiah. I’ll call you as soon as I can.” She tossed her phone onto the table, wondering what to do.

Her focus fell on the large stone. Something was written on it … in red paint.

She moved closer, and the words she made out stopped her heart.

You’re next
.

Regina trembled uncontrollably. This was a nightmare.

Dazed and on the verge of tears, she stumbled into the kitchen and tore through a pile of clutter on the counter to find the phone book. When she laid her hands on the big yellow book, she opened it and ran her trembling fingers down the pages until she found Trace Langston’s number. She punched it into her land line, holding her breath as it rang on the other end. On the sixth ring, he picked up. “Hello.” His voice sounded different to her.

“Sheriff?”she asked

“Yes. Who’s this?”

“Regina Moon. Someone just threw a rock through my window.”

“A rock?”

Why was he repeating what she said? Was he having a hard time understanding her? Did they have a bad connection?

“Yes. A rock,” she said louder.

“Okay. I’ll come by and take a look around.”

Regina hung up and went back to the living room. She started toward the window, then thought better of it and instead, stepped away, a chill of apprehension causing goose bumps to erupt on her arms. She ran her shaky hands over them as tears slid down her cheeks.

Angry with herself, she swiped them away. Crying was not going to help. But how was she going to voice her concerns to the sheriff without telling him what she was worried about? No way was she ready to come out and confess to anyone she was Wiccan and dead ravens were a warning sign for her. They’d either have her run out of town or burn her at the stake like they’d done in Salem all those years ago. Neither sounded especially appealing since she had her whole life savings tied up in Healthy Glow, and she was way too young to die.

A loud knock sent her heart racing again. No way could he be here already. Unless he lived a block away.

Regina walked to the door, her knees knocking against each other. She pulled the shade away from the side window and peeked out, surprised to see it was, indeed, the sheriff. Quickly, she unlocked and opened it to him.

He stepped forward and frowned. “You okay?”

She nodded, taking a step back to let him into the house. “How did you get here so fast?”

“I was at a friend’s just across the street. Your call was forwarded to his line. So, where’s this rock?”

“It’s over there.” She pointed to the stone on the floor. “I didn’t touch it.”

Trace walked past, and Regina caught a subtle hint of alcohol. She hated drinkers. Her father was an alcoholic and a bad drunk at that. But then, just because Trace smelled of liquor, didn’t mean he’d had too much to drink. He could have had one beer, for all she knew.

As she closed the door, he squatted next to the rock, then turned back to her, his blue eyes now a shade darker. “Why didn’t you tell me it had something written on it?”

Regina crossed her arms over her chest, trying to keep them from shaking. “I didn’t want to tell you over the phone.”

“Do you have any idea why someone would write this?”

“No … no idea.” She took in a shuddering breath. “I’ve only met a few people in town.”

He rose and made his way to the window, glass crunching under his feet. He examined the hole where the rock had come through. “I’m going to take a walk around outside. See if I can’t find some footprints. Stay here.”

He didn’t have to ask her twice. Regina had no intention of going outside. She was too frightened. If someone wanted to scare the bejesus out of her, they’d succeeded.

* * *

Trace exited the back door of Regina’s home and unclipped the flashlight from his belt. He shined the beam on the ground and searched the gravel driveway.

Nothing.

Next, he lined himself up to the spot that looked to be at the angle of the rock’s trajectory and slanted the beam down again. A mark caught his attention.

He walked toward it and found a tread impression. He’d guess it was from a tennis shoe. A bit smaller than his size thirteen. So it had to be a man. He didn’t know any woman with a foot that big. He glanced around the print and found three cigarette butts smashed into the pebbles. How long had this guy hung around before throwing the rock?

Trace didn’t like this. Not one bit.

He headed back to the house. He found Regina pacing the living room floor. “You wouldn’t happen to have a digital camera with a flash?” he asked.

“Yeah. Did you find something?”