30. ~ Char ~
CHAPTER 30
~ Char ~
T he mess with the police, the museum’s stolen artifacts, and the stalled-out park were giving me a headache. And with my work hours abruptly cut back, thanks to Joan’s caution surrounding my property being part of an ongoing investigation, I had few distractions.
Along with the headaches was my guilt for pulling James into it all. Everyone else had been allowed to return to work after the police questioned them, except James.
Why? Because he’d been in the warehouse with me. He’d let me into the security room. He’d shown me pricey items in the gift shop, and I’d confirmed their value. And also because I’d mentioned the swapped-out items on display, and he hadn’t gone straight to Richard about it.
How was he supposed to know there were thefts happening? Yes, he was security, but he wasn’t the only one watching the place. And he wasn’t privy to the comings and goings of objects that were on display.
The guilty ache in my heart was more than I could handle, and so while sitting in Sally’s kitchen a few days ago, with James’ words about helping me with the park echoing in my head, and Tamara’s earlier warning about the ripple effects of my wishes, I’d made another one. I’d wished for James to be distanced from me. For him to be declared innocent, and for whatever was going on in my own life, to not interfere with his. In other words, I wished him completely free of me. I wished to undo any wishes that I’d ever made that had him bound to me.
I knew how badly my wishes could backfire on the people I cared about, and I’d made so many wishes over the past few months. So many. From wishing him to see me as a woman he might want to date, to wishing for him and others to help me with the park.
And so now, thanks to Estelle’s handiwork, he was caught in the crossfire and going down in flames. He deserved so much better than my selfishness. He deserved to be with someone who didn’t make wishes that caused him harm.
I’d given Estelle several days to set my latest wish in place, and now I was ready to put it to the test.