Dark Moon Magic (8 page)

“Forever is a long time to go without sex, Reggie.”

Regina shrugged. “So be it.”

“You expect me to believe you plan to stay celibate with Sheriff Hottie around? I wanted to jump him myself, and I only just met him.”

“You’d jump a log if it was in a pair of pants.”

Tiah grinned. “True, but this man has a thing for you. You could see it.”

Something rubbed Regina’s ankle, and she looked down to find Isis at her feet. “You want to be fed, don’t you?” She reached down, picked up the black ball of fur, and smiled.

“Do you think he came to your door to protect you?” Tiah asked.

Regina didn’t know, but in the short time she’d had the kitten, she’d become quite attached to it. “I hope so, since we couldn’t finish the spell of protection. I need all the help I can get.” She nuzzled Isis against her cheek and walked to the pantry to grab a can of food for him.

Once the cat sat on the floor eating, Regina returned her attention to Tiah, who was watching something out the window.

“What are you looking at?”

“A police car.”

“What?” Regina raced to her friend’s side.

Indeed, it was Groves’s one and only cruiser, but it wasn’t Trace sitting inside; it was Garrett. What was he doing there?

For the first time, Regina noticed it was starting to get dark. Where had the day gone?

“You want me to go out and see what’s going on?” Tiah stared at the man in the car.

“I’ll go. It’s the sheriff’s deputy. Maybe he came by to find out why I didn’t stop in and have
that talk
with Trace.”

Regina walked to the door. Hopefully she wasn’t in trouble for not complying with the sheriff’s orders, but Tiah arrived in town and they’d spent the day talking about what was happening in Little Rock. It was nice to forget everything for a short time, even if the feeling hadn’t lasted.

She stepped onto the front porch and watched Garrett for a moment. He hadn’t noticed her yet, but he seemed to be looking around and appeared in no hurry to get out of the car.

Regina descended the steps and headed for the cruiser, watching the young man continue to check the perimeter. She was a few feet from the car when he saw her and smiled.

He opened the door, got out, and started around the front to meet her. “Hey, Miss Moon. How are you this evening?”

“I’m fine. My friend saw you from the window. I was just wondering why you’re parked outside my place.”

“Hello,” Tiah said from behind them.

Regina shook her head at her friend.

Garrett cleared his throat, then said, “Hello.”

“Garrett, this is my friend Tiah. Tiah, this is the deputy of Groves, Garrett Sherwood.”

“Nice to meet you, Garrett.”

Regina couldn’t help but notice the interest the guy had in her friend. Then again, who wouldn’t? Tiah was a striking beauty. Tall and blonde, with crystal-blue eyes and a friendly smile, revealing perfectly straight pearly-white teeth.

“So, why are you here, Garrett?” Regina’s question forced him to look at her.

“Trace was concerned there could be trouble.”

“Trouble? What kind?”

Instead of answering, he started to fidget.

What was Trace so worried about? Something weird was happening here. “What is going on, Garrett?”

He looked from her to Tiah. “With the murder and all, he thought it’d be best if we kept an eye on you. People tend to get irrational when something out of the ordinary happens. You’re new here, and …”

“They’ll all assume I killed Keith, right?”

Garrett shuffled from one foot to the other.

“I want to talk to Trace.” Regina lost her patience. This was crazy but hardly unexpected. She was
new
to town, and they’d need someone to blame, and that would be her. She knew that. Trace knew it, too.

“I’ll call him on the two-way, but he’s probably sleeping. He’d been up almost a day and a half.”

“Forget it. Just tell him in the morning I’ll be by the office on my lunch hour.”

“All right, ma’am.”

“Have a good night,” Regina said then turned and headed back inside. She should have known this would happen—that she’d be the town’s patsy for a murder that could be a setup to get her out of Groves for good.

Why though? Who was threatened by her? Becky?
No
. This went beyond mere jealousy. This had to be about her spiritual beliefs—someone didn’t like them, and to Regina, that meant she could be in real danger.

* * *

Trace walked down the aisle of Caulders’ Café and slid into the black booth where Nathan Horn was waiting for him. “Morning. Sorry I’m late. I needed to check in with Darla to see if any of the forensics work came back.”

“And?” the dark-haired man across from him asked.

“Nothing yet. I was hoping they’d get a hit on the print we found on the knife.”

“What about that stone? Anything there?” Nathan asked.

“No.” Trace hoped the man couldn’t tell he was lying. He’d seen that type of polished rock before in Regina’s shop. But until he talked to her, he didn’t plan to say anything. He wanted to give her a chance to explain how one could have been found under Keith’s body. Then again, she’d had the break-in. The stone could have been stolen at that time. This rock was just another thing conveniently pointing to her. Too bad he didn’t believe her capable of murder. Seemed like a setup to him. His gut felt it.

But why railroad Regina? Because she was new to Groves? That made no sense, unless there was something she was keeping from him.

The café’s doorbell jingled, and Trace looked up to find Garrett entering. His deputy spotted him and trudged toward them, definitely in need of coffee, if the dark circles under his eyes and the stride of his step were any indication.

Garrett dropped down in the seat next to Trace just as Millie Caulders brought the pot of high test to fill all their cups.

“Are you ready to order?” the middle-aged woman asked, smiling at them.

Trace returned Millie’s smile. “Give us three of your specials and keep the coffee flowing.”

She nodded and left them.

“How did your night go?” he asked Garrett, who poured a generous amount of cream into his cup and spooned in some sugar.

“Nothing eventful. Regina and her friend, who is hot, by the way, saw me and came out to chat.”

“You didn’t tell her why you were there, did you?”

Garrett squirmed in the seat. “Sort of. She really guessed.”

“Guessed?” Trace looked at him intently.

“Okay … okay, I told her you were concerned for her welfare. She wants to talk to you. She said she’d come by on her lunch hour.”

Perfect
. He needed to speak to her anyway, and the office was best—much less intimate. He’d about lost it when she’d touched him the day before.

“Who is Regina?” Nathan asked before taking a sip of coffee.

“She’s our new resident business woman. She moved here a few weeks ago.”

“Don’t tell me.” Nathan looked from Garrett to Trace. “You’re worried everyone in town will think she killed Keith Walsh?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“I forgot what small town mentality could be like.”

“Not everyone in Groves will jump to such a ridiculous conclusion,” Trace said, smiling at Garrett, who he could see took offence to the man’s statement.

But Nathan was right about small towns and the way they thought. True, not all would conclude the new girl did it, but a good majority would, and he’d have his hands full trying to keep them from extracting their own justice on her.

“So, you’re watching her place?” Furrow lines deepened on Nathan’s forehead. “Around the clock?”

“Just overnight.”

“When do you two plan to sleep? We do have a murder to solve.”

“You let us worry about Regina Moon. Protecting her is not going to get in the way of me finding Keith’s killer.”

Millie arrived with their food.

“You’re going to love this.” Trace savored the smell of the heaping plate of buttermilk biscuits smothered in thick sausage gravy with ripe red tomato slices on the side.

Nathan stared at the plate with wide eyes, then looked at him strangely. “What the hell is it?”

“Trust me. You’ve never tasted anything like it.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Regina and Tiah strolled down the street to the police station, the two drawing odd looks from people along the way. Were their suspicions already forming?

She glanced at her best friend, who was frowning. Clearly it wasn’t her imagination. Tiah had noticed, too.

Regina quickened her stride. This unwanted attention made her nervous. Now she knew why Garrett had sat outside her place all night. Trace had the people of Groves pegged about how they’d react once news of Keith Walsh’s murder got out. Their first thought—blame the new resident.

At the station, she sighed, then shouldered the door open. Inside, they were greeted with a huge smile from the woman sitting behind the desk—a petite blonde Regina assumed was Trace’s dispatcher.

“Good afternoon,” the woman said. “Can I help you?”

“We’re here to see the sheriff.”

“He’s in a meeting right now. Let me check to see if they’re finished. Who should I say is here?”

“Regina Moon”

“Right. He told me to watch for you.” She stood. “I’ll see if he’s free.”

She returned a moment later. “He’ll be right out. You both can take a seat if you like.”

“We’ll stand. Thanks.”

Trace stepped out from behind a door. Garrett and a dark-haired man followed. All three guys were handsome, but Trace caused a commotion in Regina’s belly every time she saw him, a strange tingling sensation that moved lower when he spoke. She could no longer deny their chemistry—it sizzled between them, and when he touched her, she wanted to forget the past and allow herself to feel again. But she couldn’t. Especially now that most of the townspeople thought she had something to do with Keith’s murder.

“Sher … iff,” she said, embarrassed that her voice cracked.

“Miss Moon.” His gaze met hers.

Silence fell around them, and Regina forced down the lump in her throat. All she could distinguish was the tick-tocking of the clock on the wall in front of her and her pounding heart.

Tiah shoved her from behind. “I wanted to talk to you about Garrett’s surveillance.” Regina recovered from her muteness. “Do you really think that’s necessary?”

“Yes, I do.” The look he gave her matched his to-the-point tone. He was worried someone would try something stupid.

“But …”

He raised his hands. “Trust that I know what I’m doing.”

She sighed. Trace would do what he thought best no matter what she said. She might as well resign herself to having a shadow.

“Have you learned anything about Keith’s killer, yet?” Regina prayed this nightmare would be over soon.

“I can’t discuss that, but I am glad you came in. I need to talk to you in private. It’s about the case.” Trace pointed toward his office.

Regina studied his face. Nothing in his expression gave anything away. Did he intend to arrest her for murdering Keith?

She turned to Tiah and smiled weakly, then trailed after Trace.

He closed the door behind them and gestured to a chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat, Regina.”

“What if I want to stand?”

“I think it’s best you sit down.” He gave her another look that suggested she’d better listen. This wasn’t good.

She eased into the chair. Trace did the same across from her.

“What’s going on?”

He opened the top drawer of his desk, pulled out a small baggie, and held it out to her.

She took hold of the top edge and peered through to the content inside, her breath catching in her chest. It was an amethyst stone, a symbol of a higher mind, wisdom, and understanding. She carried them in her shop. “Where’d you find this?” Like she didn’t know the answer to that question. He’d found it at Keith’s.

“It was at the murder scene.”

The break-in at her place came rushing back. Regina hadn’t thought to take inventory of her stones. After all, why would anyone choose to steal
one
?

To set me up
.

“I didn’t kill Keith, Trace. You have to believe me.”

“I do, but you and I both know someone has gone to a lot of trouble to make it appear as if you did.”

“Why? Because I’m new to Groves?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. Can you think of any other reason?”

Regina squirmed under his appraisal. She wasn’t going to tell him about her Wiccan beliefs. He’d look at her as if she were some evil entity.

“Not that I can think of.” She hated to lie, but right now she had no choice.

“All right, then. That’s all for now.”

Regina rose. “I guess I’ll expect Garrett around dark.”

He shook his head again. “I’ll be there tonight. Garrett is going to get some much needed rest.”

Great
. Trace would be the one parked outside her place. Alone and lonely. In need of some company to keep him awake.

Curses
. Now she’d never get any sleep.

* * *

Trace pulled into the alley and parked the cruiser. Tonight was going to be a long night, outside Regina’s place, the woman on his mind the whole time.

Funny how she’d looked downright unhappy to learn he’d be taking the shift. Did she think he’d try something like he had at the hall? He’d learned his lesson that night. Never assume anything.

He flipped the top of the disposable coffee cup he’d gotten at Caulders’ and took a sip just as a figure walked by the picture window in Regina’s apartment. Was it her or her friend? The blonde was certainly pretty enough but not stunning like Regina.
She
had him transfixed, beguiled, and bewitched, and he hated it. No woman had ever made him feel this way—not even his ex-wife. All he could think about were the kisses they’d shared, the feel of her soft breasts under his palms. Even now they burned at the memory.

He shook his head and shifted, his body humming to life.