Chapter 5
Fiona parked her Jeep in front of Sticks and Stones. The small cottage was spruced up for spring. She and Morgan had removed the dead leaves from winter and planted fresh pansies in the cheerful yellow window boxes. The pansies loved the cooler weather and were thriving.
Morgan”s car was in the small gravel parking lot along with a dark-green Prius. Fiona peered through the large front window as she approached, wondering if it was the woman in the emerald-green cloak again. But no, it was just Mr. Crawford buying his usual weekly basket of herbal teas.
The door chimed cheerily as Fiona entered the shop, just as Mr. Crawford was leaving with a brown paper bag in hand.
”Hello, Fiona.” Mr. Crawford nodded politely to her.
”Mr. C! Good to see you,” Fiona replied warmly. ”Tell your wife I almost have those amethyst earrings done for her.”
”I will. Thank you.” He nodded once more to Morgan, who stood behind the counter, and headed out to his sedan.
Fiona closed the heavy wooden door behind her.
”Meow!”
Fiona whirled around to see Belladonna perched primly on one of the wicker chairs near the window. ”What in the world? I just saw her lazing in the sun at home not ten minutes ago!”
Morgan shrugged, unperturbed. ”She seems to appear in the strangest places lately. I guess we need to accept that.”
”I guess so.” Fiona looked at the cat warily.
Belladonna licked a paw and wiped it behind her ear, the picture of innocence.
”Has anything happened with the…?” Fiona angled her head toward the desk.
”Not a peep,” Morgan said, shuffling through the receipts scattered on the long antique table she used as a workspace.
”I”ll take a peek,” Fiona replied, striding over to her cluttered desk in the corner. She slid into the creaky wooden chair.
Belladonna leapt gracefully onto the desk, fixing her unblinking ice-blue eyes on the carved wooden box. Her tail swished back and forth as she stared. Fiona lifted the lid. The stones inside jumped and jiggled, much to Belladonna”s delight.
Belladonna meowed as a few stones leapt out of the box and went pinging around the room. She batted them around the desk, playing with the enchanted objects. They bounced and rolled across the floor as she happily chased them.
”Belladonna, stop that!” Fiona scolded, slamming the lid back down.
But the cat just meowed defiantly and continued her game, pouncing on the stones and swatting them under the desk.
”Those aren”t cat toys!” Morgan crawled under the desk to collect the stones while Fiona shook her finger at the cat.
Belladonna flicked her tail and sat back on her haunches, fixing them both with an innocent stare.
The stones pinged at the window one by one then fell to the floor and lay there without further movement.
”What was that about?” Morgan asked, crouching to gather the ones scattered under the desk.
”I don”t know, but they seem to like the window,” Fiona said, staring down at the motionless stones. ”They pinged off it before.”
Morgan walked over and peered out the window. ”Do you think they could be part of this celestial thing and are trying to tell us something?”
”Maybe,” Fiona said. She scooped up the last few stones and dropped them into the box, slamming the lid shut before Belladonna could pounce again. ”I”ll keep these in the drawer until we go home and give them a safer hiding place.”
The cat trotted over to a blue-velvet chair instead, leapt up gracefully, and curled into a ball. She fixed them both with an innocent stare as if she hadn”t just been batting mystical stones around the room.
The bell over the door chimed, and Fiona looked up, her stomach plummeting when she saw Sheriff White.
”Afternoon, Sheriff,” Fiona said brightly. ”What brings you here? In need of an herbal remedy or maybe some jewelry? I assure you it”s not stolen.”
Sheriff White did not return the smile. She stood stiffly just inside the entrance, hands on her utility belt. ”I”m not here for earrings or tea, as you well know,” she said sharply. ”I”m here about some stolen gemstones.”
”Again?” Morgan gave an exaggerated frown. ”You came here about that yesterday. Maybe you do need some herbs. Ginkgo biloba or ashwagandha. They help with memory. I have some on hand.”
”We handed over all the stones to you yesterday.” Fiona waved the receipt in the air.
Sheriff White”s eyes narrowed. ”You handed over some stones. But Maynard Dove claims some are still missing.” She looked sharply from one sister to the other. ”Would you happen to know anything about that?”
Fiona shook her head, widening her eyes innocently. ”Oh no, we handed over everything we had.”
”We would never keep stolen goods,” Morgan added earnestly.
Sheriff White studied them both with suspicion. ”Well, if any more of those stones turn up, you”d better let me know quick. I”ll be keeping an eye on you two.” She turned abruptly and left, the door slamming behind her.
Fiona let out a breath as the door shut. She exchanged a worried glance with Morgan. Fiona sighed and leaned back against the counter. ”Sheriff White really needs to lighten up. She has no sense of humor.”
Morgan shook her head as she tidied up some incense bundles on a nearby shelf. ”Maybe if we didn”t antagonize her all the time, she”d be nicer to us.”
”You”re probably right,” Fiona admitted. She paused, furrowing her brow. ”But anyway, this is bad news. If Maynard Dove knew those stones were missing right away, he might also know they”re magical.”
Morgan turned to look at her sister, concern crossing her face. ”You”re right. And if he is magical, then he might know we have them.”
Fiona nodded, chewing her lip. ”All the more reason to get them home as soon as possible, where we can use some magic to hide their existence. I”ll message Celeste and see if she can come up with some sort of protective spell for them.”
Morgan agreed. ”We”ll have to be extra careful transporting them. Maybe I can come up with an herbal concoction and surround them with it to dampen their energy. That seemed to work yesterday.”
”Good idea,” said Fiona. She glanced around the shop warily. ”I don”t feel comfortable leaving them here, even in the locked drawer. As soon as we close up, let”s get them secured at the house. In the meantime, I”m going to look through my other stones and see if there is anything that can help us tamp down this alignment.”
Morgan nodded. They would have to be vigilant until the stones were safely hidden away. Who knew what Maynard Dove would do if he discovered the truth?