Dark Power by Stone Mary

Author:Stone, Mary [Stone, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, thriller
Amazon: B09MSMBZT6
Goodreads: 59779445
Publisher: Mary Stone Publishing
Published: 2021-12-23T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

The golden bell above the front door rang out as Charli pulled it open to enter Mami Watu’s shop. Nobody was in the front, but Charli’s name echoed from the back room.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Detective.” Mami Watu’s voice rang off the white walls of the empty shop.

Every nerve in Charli’s body willed her to walk out the door. She didn’t need to be here. It was time to leave.

But her feet continued moving forward until she reached the back room where Mami Watu sat with a large kettle of boiling water. An ornate blue teacup sat perched on the empty chair across from the voodoo priestess.

“Would you like another cup of tea?” Mami’s hollow cheekbones jutted out from her face.

“No.” But Charli sat down anyway. Her hands gripped the arms of the chair, nails digging so deep into the fabric she worried it would tear.

What was she doing here? She wanted to leave. It was like her hands were glued to the chair to keep her from escaping. Her body weighed her down like a hundred pounds of rocks tossed into the velvet seat. Charli couldn’t have risen even if she tried.

Her heart raced in her chest, and she gasped for air. “Why are you doing this? And how are you doing it? I don’t want to be here.”

“Then why did you come?” With an innocent tilt of her head, Mami’s curious eyes seemed to penetrate Charli’s soul.

“I…I don’t know.” Charli barely remembered the trip, actually. Why had she made the drive? Why did she decide to walk through the door? It was all a blur.

Somehow, the voodoo priestess was responsible for this. She’d cast a spell on Charli that forced her to come back to the shop.

Why would she do that, though? What did she have to gain from Charli returning?

“You brought me here.”

“Prove it.” The older woman’s smile vanished. Her flaming eyes shot daggers at Charli.

“Why do you want me here?” Charli’s voice roared loud enough for the entire neighborhood to hear. And she hoped they would. Someone had to come save her.

Her mind drifted to her partner. Was he aware she was here? Charli would have told him if she planned to go back to Mami Watu’s shop. Matthew would come for her, surely.

“He won’t save you.” Mami read her mind. “And why should he? Do you think you deserve it after you didn’t save…her?”

Her pulse began to pound in her throat. “Who…who are you talking about?”

But she knew. And she shouldn’t have asked. Now the priestess had another excuse to speak her name, and Charli didn’t want to hear it.

“Madeline, of course.”

Warm, salty tears dripped down Charli’s cheeks like drops of rain racing down a car window. “Don’t use her against me.”

Mami Watu’s face softened once again. Her voice oozed empathy. “Oh, we don’t need to go there right now. Let’s get back to what you came here for. How about another reading?”

The word no danced in Charli’s head, but it wouldn’t come out.

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