High Hopes by S.E. Biglow

Author:S.E. Biglow [Biglow, S.E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Biglow Mystery Reads

I expected to find Chief Hayes in his office at the station, but it was empty. The bullpen was quiet, too, but I heard rummaging sounds from deeper in the space. I cleared my throat.

“Hello? Chief Hayes?”

A door closed and Vinnie appeared, looking strung out on too much caffeine to keep himself going. “The chief isn’t here right now. Is there something I can help you with, Darcy?”

“I hope so.” I pointed to Piper. “Well actually, I think it’s Piper you ought to talk to. She’s got some information you might find helpful in your investigation.”

“I’m sure the chief told you about Levi, Janice’s stalker,” Piper began, taking out her own phone and pulling up Levi’s profile online. “I found this post he made the other day and thought it seemed kind of suspicious.”

Vinnie barely stifled a yawn as he looked at her phone. “You’re concerned about a photo of a guy with flowers?”

I gestured for Piper to keep talking and mimed pulling on gloves. She double tapped the screen to enlarge the photo. “Look at this. He’s wearing gloves. That’s unusual. And he’s got a history of stalking Janice. Everyone in the troupe knew about it.”

“I’ll take a report and add it to the file.”

With Vinnie momentarily occupied, I slipped back to the hallway leading to the interview room and the evidence lock up. The door sat ajar, and I held my breath as I eased it open further. Vinnie had left the box of evidence open sitting on a shelf. I could see the prop sword in an plastic bag sticking out.

I didn’t need to touch it to sense there was definitely something off about the object. A wave of anxiety crashed over me before I’d even tried to move the box’s lid out of the way. For a split second, my magic sputtered within me, as if the seed of my power was withering by the second.

I backed out of the closet and eased the door shut again. The anxiety clung to me like stress sweat and I shivered as I returned to the bullpen. With any luck, our next stop would provide some much-needed answers.

“I know I don’t really need to remind you, Miss Hennessey, but you can’t leave town until this is all wrapped up,” Vinnie said.

“I understand. Thank you for listening, Officer.” She stowed her phone. “And obviously, you know I’m at the B&B if you have any more questions.”

I waited until we were half a block away from the station to exhale. The anxiety ebbed with more distance from the prop. “There is definitely something magical about that sword, but I don’t understand it.”

“You got that anxious feeling, too?”

“So, did Maggie when she was near it on stage.”

“But why would it make us anxious and lead to Janice dying?”

“I have no idea. That’s what we need to find out.”

I led Piper to the edge of town to find a shop set away from the rest of the shops in Brookhaven. Tyson’s Treasures was the only pawn shop in town.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.