Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
After a very disgruntled night of sleep – even Hank got annoyed with my tossing and turning and eventually hopped from my bed to go sleep on his own – I glared at my phone when it blared the alarm.
Cash hadn’t called last night, which had annoyed me even more. I’d been studiously working on not being a clingy girlfriend, so I hadn’t texted him either. Let him wonder just what I was up to.
Hank seemed to sense my crankiness, and he tilted his head at me as he pawed to get up on the bed.
“Sorry, buddy,” I said, reaching down to pull him up onto the bed for a quick snuggle.
Nothing makes you feel better in the morning than sweet puppy snuggles.
Feeling marginally better, I got up and took a quick rinse in the shower to clear my head, and shaved all the pertinent spots.
The thought of Sienna in her neon bikini stopped my hand when I went to pull my usual dive swimsuit out of the drawer.
Typically I wore a pretty skimpy swimsuit that fit easily under my skin wetsuit for diving.
My hand hovered over my bikini as doubts flooded in about being directly compared to Sienna’s svelte figure.
Annoyed with myself for feeling insecure, I grabbed my bikini anyway. Just because I had a few extra pounds on my body didn’t mean I wasn’t gorgeous. Wondering why I couldn’t channel Miss Elva’s confidence, I slipped the suit on and pulled a simple tank dress cover-up over it.
“Let’s get you breakfast,” I said to Hank and he snorted in agreement as he raced down the steps in front of me, his little body wriggling in joy for his most favorite part of the day.
“Sit,” I ordered, standing above his bowl with a scoop of food in my hand. Hank sat obediently.
“Good boy. Now, moonwalk.”
Hank crouched and then lifting one paw high, he began to move backwards slowly, alternating which paw he lifted high.
“Yes!” I shouted and Hank responded to my excitement with a howl as he whipped his little body in circles.
Okay, we might have been a little over-excited, but we’d been working on moonwalk for a while.
Upon further reflection, maybe it’s better that I stay single, I thought as I poured myself a quick cup of coffee from the pot I’d set on timer the night before.
Sliding the back door open, I packed my dive bag as Hank did his business.
I was still feeling somewhat cranky from lack of sleep, but I was also worried about what was going to happen next with the murderer.
My thoughts flashed back to the scene at the festival last night.
I wondered what had happened to Horace, and whether the crowd of people had kicked him out last night or if the crowd had welcomed him back into the fold?
My phone buzzed with an incoming text.
“I checked on Miss Elva. Nothing eventful through the night. Rafe stayed up and watched. I’m safe too. You?”
I loved Luna. She was so pragmatic, always thinking ahead.
“All good. Will text you after diving. You know. To let you know that I didn’t kill Sienna.”
“Please don’t. I wanted to get a pedicure today, not deal with you and the cops.”
“Fine, fine, fiiiiine.” I texted back, laughing as I locked up my house and reached in the drawer for a squeaky toy for Hank.
“Ohh, a lobster today. Rock lobsta!” I sang, like the dork that I am, then threw the lobster across the room as I made my way out the front door.
Hopping on my beach cruiser, I pedaled my way through the streets, which were quiet this early in the morning. Deciding to cruise past Miss Elva’s house, I turned on her street, biking slowly as I approached her house, enjoying the light breeze on my face.
I saw Rafe sitting on the front porch, almost as if he was waiting for me.
“Hey Rafe,” I said quietly, looking around to make sure nobody else was on their front porches. I didn’t want to look like a crazy person talking to myself.
“Miss Elva wanted me to wait for you,” Rafe said by way of greeting.
“Oh great. What now, and where is she?”
“My queen needs her beauty sleep,” Rafe explained.
“Go on,” I gestured to Rafe.
“She wanted me to give you this,” Rafe said, pointing at a small pouch that sat next to him on the railing. I immediately raised my hands and shook my head, as fear crept down my spine.
“Last time she had me carry a pouch, I got kidnapped.”
“From what I understand, the pouch is what saved you,” Rafe argued back.
Well, shit. The ghost had a point.
“I don’t like this, Rafe,” I said, leaving my bike and going up the railing to pick up the small leather pouch. I could feel the power humming from it and could only imagine what Miss Elva had put in it.
“She was up late working on this. She said wait until dark to use it. You’ll know when,” Rafe shrugged.
“This just made my day a whole lot worse,” I grumbled, picking up the pouch and carefully putting it into the pocket of my dive bag.
“At least you have protection,” Rafe pointed out.
“Yeah, but from what? That’s what I’m worried about.”
“Maybe from a shark,” Rafe said, and I slid a glance at him as I got on my bike.
“Nice to see your sense of humor is intact,” I said, waving goodbye as I continued on my way to the wharf.
A shark was the last thing I was worried about.