Ink and Shadows(Secret, Book, & Scone Society #4)(27)

She was right. A large, orange tabby was trotting across the parking lot. Other cats followed at a distance.

“Are you going to walk home?” Nora asked.

“Just a walk around the block. I need my car to visit Tyson tomorrow.” Her eyes softened. “Look, I know you’re worried about me because of the similarities between Celeste’s girl and my boy. But Tyson is getting the help he needs. I thank God for that every day. And I’m worried about you. You need to sleep late tomorrow, so you can recover a bit. I’ll tell Sheldon to open the store. Don’t you dare show up before noon, or you’ll get an earful from me at book club tomorrow night.”

Nora smiled. “I’ll try to sleep.”

“Do you have chamomile tea? Melatonin? Anything to help?”

There was a bottle of wine in the pantry, but Nora tried not to think about that.

The two women embraced, and Nora climbed up to her deck to watch June cross the parking lot with her tomcat escort. Once they were out of sight, Nora turned toward the hill. For a moment, she saw the dark shape of Bren’s body again.

She remembered Celeste’s pained questions.

Did she come to you tonight? What happened? Were you home?

The guilt Nora had felt when she’d heard those questions came flooding back. Yes, Bren had probably come looking for her. And no, she hadn’t been home.

If I hadn’t walked to the store first, could I have gotten back in time to help Bren? Nora wondered, her gaze falling on her welcome mat. If I hadn’t gone to look for devils, could I have saved her life?

Weary in body and spirit, Nora let herself into her house, dropped her keys on the kitchen counter, and fell into bed. She kicked off her shoes and waited for sleep to deliver her to a sweet state of oblivion, but it refused to obey.

Part of the problem was that her phone was still in her pocket, and it was digging into her side. Taking it out, she stared at the image of the book page until the symbols blurred. Finally, she closed her eyes.

Her dreams were haunted by a raven-haired woman and a man who wore a snake around his neck like a scarf. The woman cried as the man pressed a wooden cup into her hands.

The man’s fingers were covered in tattoos. His face was a shifting shadow. The snake—a horned viper—was terrifying. Black beads of venom dripped from its fangs, and it reared its head back, ready to strike.

Nora’s dream self knew that if she got too close, she wouldn’t survive the encounter. She tried to run, but her legs weren’t working. And when she looked down, she saw that her lower half was made of marble. She couldn’t move, and the man with the snake was coming for her.





Chapter 7


You want happy endings, read cookbooks.

—Dean Young





The next day, Nora’s whole body ached from lack of sleep. But after ibuprofen, coffee, and a long shower, she felt almost human. She dressed in her favorite jeans and a rust-colored blouse, spending more time than usual on her hair and makeup. Crowds of festivalgoers would be visiting Miracle Books today, and Nora was determined to make a good impression.

As she dabbed concealer under her eyes, she wondered how Celeste was doing. Was she at home? Was the social worker watching over her? Had she been questioned again?

There wasn’t much more for Fuentes to do until the ME submitted his report, and Sheriff McCabe would be back before then. The thought comforted Nora. Deputy Fuentes was a good man, but he’d been working extra shifts to cover for McCabe, and he needed some time off. The sheriff would look into Bren’s death with tact and sensitivity. And if Nora knew him as well as she thought, he wouldn’t be too happy about the Women of Lasting Values.

What will they do next? Paint a devil on Bren’s gravestone?

The possibility of those self-righteous women adding to Celeste’s grief reignited Nora’s anger. If they got wind of Bren’s drug use, they’d triumphantly shout, “We told you CBD was a gateway drug” to anyone who’d listen. But to what end? To drive a grieving mother out of town?

Nora pulled on a barn coat and went out to the deck. She gazed at the hill where a million dewdrops clung to a million blades of grass. They shimmered in the sunlight like clear crystals. Like the jewelry Bren made.

A breeze drifted through the grass, and the dewdrops danced and sparkled. In that moment, Nora felt like Bren was there. But when a cloud slid in front of the sun, the feeling disappeared.

A train whistled from somewhere down the line. Its hopeful, haunted note made Nora wish that Jed wasn’t so far away. She took out her phone and called him.

“Hey, stranger. How are you?”

“I’ve been better.” Jed’s voice was leaden. “Mom’s in the hospital. She has an infection. Nora, it’s in her lungs.”

Having spent months in a burn unit, Nora knew that patients with internal injuries were more prone to infection. It wasn’t something that went away after they left the burn unit either. Many survivors were plagued by a weakened immune system for the rest of their lives.

Though Jed’s mom had been hospitalized several times since the fire, he’d always been around to take care of her. This time, she’d been admitted to the hospital by someone else because Jed was six hours away in Miracle Springs.

“I’m so sorry,” Nora said. “I wish I could reach through the phone and hug you.”