Saints & Sinners Ball Read online

  Harper had a split second of wondering just how close Jackson came to death when he was deployed. The thought was quickly replaced by the distraction of the flashing lights of the police cars coming towards them. They had their sirens off, but they were rapidly approaching.

  Jackson and Harper watched and the cops came to a screeching halt and jumped out of their vehicles. Harper counted at least eight officers on the scene. Det. Granger arrived a few seconds later. Harper and Jackson stepped out from the trees into the road. Granger waved to them and they started to approach. At that point, many of the neighbors were also coming out of their homes, probably wondering what was disturbing their normally quiet neighborhood this late at night.

  As they got to where Det. Granger was standing, two uniformed cops had Drew in handcuffs and were walking him to the car. He looked over at Harper and spat, “I warned you. Should have killed you when I had the chance, but those damn barking dogs.”

  Granger looked at Harper. “Well that answers who was trying to break in the other night.” He walked off and said something to the officers and then came back to Harper and Jackson. “You’ll need to follow me to the station. We will need your statements.”

  Granger started walking back towards his car as Jackson and Harper turned to walk back to her Land Rover. Det. Granger called to them over his shoulder, “I don’t know how you caught him, and I almost don’t want to know, but thanks.”

  Chapter Fifty

  Harper blinked herself awake. The sun was shining through the closed blinds and the air was warm. She and Jackson had been at the police station until close to two in the morning. They came back to Hattie’s and went right to sleep, separately. Harper had left a note in the kitchen for Hattie that there had been a break in the jewelry case, but that she’d have to wait for an update. Harper had been exhausted. Never one to sleep late, Harper knew her body needed rest.

  Once fully awake, Harper reached over to the nightstand and picked up her cellphone. It was nearly eleven in the morning. Harper had already missed two calls from her father and one from the prison where Nick was. She wasn’t calling anyone back. Harper scrolled through the news, catching a brief story about the missing jewelry case and Drew’s arrest. Then she noticed a text from Jackson. It read: Went for a run, then back to my place. I want to talk about last night.

  Harper didn’t want to talk about last night. She knew if she had to talk about it, she’d end up admitting how much she liked kissing Jackson. He was so different from Nick, everything about him. He felt solid, warm, and comfortable. Actually, it was way too comfortable with Jackson, and instead of feeling good, it was unnerving. Harper ignored the text for now and headed for a shower. As she stepped into the hallway, Sparkle and Shine were sitting at attention at the end of the hall, looking like they were listening intently to the air.

  Harper muttered, “Crazy dogs.” She walked into the bathroom, dropped her clothes, and stepped into the shower. She let the hot water run over her, washing away the stress of the night before. Thoughts of Jackson kept invading. She pushed them aside, scolding herself. Harper couldn’t get involved with him. They just met. She was going over the list of reasons why it was all a bad idea when she heard her phone ring again. She let it go to voicemail.

  Harper wrapped herself in a towel and went to check her phone. It was Matthew Inslee. He left a quick message that he needed to speak to her immediately and to call him. She would not be calling him back.

  After getting ready and blowing out her hair into soft waves, Harper went to the kitchen. She fished around in the cabinet for a bowl and poured herself some cereal. Sitting down at the table, it was then Harper noticed a note from Hattie. The note reminded her to please call her father and provided a phone number to a Fr. Borger in Austin. Hattie indicated that he was an old school friend of hers, and he might be able to give some direction into how best to look into Fr. McNally’s past. The note also asked Harper to come to the shop when she finally got up and around.

  Harper took another hour to savor her alone time and then headed to Hattie’s. Like Hattie, Harper enjoyed the walk. But as she approached the four-way stop at Country

  Club Boulevard, an SUV came screeching to a stop in front of her. Harper jumped back out of its way. Her startled heart was racing. Matthew Inslee got out of the SUV and was in Harper’s face in seconds.

  He stood toe to toe with her, pointing in her face and screaming, “How dare you tell Detective Granger that I was missing from that party! It’s none of your business when I was there or where I went! You are nothing but a no-good trouble maker, and I’m going to see you are run out of this city if it’s the last thing I do.”

  Inslee’s finger was so close to Harper’s face that it made her step back. She bumped into the curb and nearly fell on her behind. Inslee’s face was red, his eyes like saucers, and he was practically foaming at the mouth. Harper was trying to regain her composure to respond, but Inslee kept yelling the same thing over and over again.

  From her right, Harper noticed a shadow cross her vision. Before she could even register what was happening, Jackson had grabbed Inslee by the shirt and twisted his arm in an unnatural position around his back. Jackson slammed Inslee face down on the hood of his car. Jackson growled low and deep, “If you ever, and I mean ever, lay a hand on Harper again, I will ensure it will be the last thing you ever do.”

  The way that Jackson was holding him, there was no way for Inslee to move or fight back. He struggled against Jackson’s hold, but Inslee was no match for him. “Get off me,” Inslee squeaked.

  “Not yet. Apologize to Harper for your ignorant behavior.”

  “Screw that,” Inslee spat. “I’m not apologizing.”

  Jackson twisted the man’s arm again. Inslee winced in pain. He grumbled, “I’m sorry.”

  Jackson let him go and stood back. Inslee got up, spun around and had his fist raised like he was going to hit Jackson, who was squared off waiting for the punch. Jackson laughed. “Thirty years in the Army, four tours in the Middle East, I’m the last person you want to go hand to hand with. But please, try me. Nothing would give me more satisfaction.”

  The two men stood ready for a fight. Finally, Inslee dropped his fist, adjusted his clothes. He looked over at Harper. He bellowed, “This is the last time I’m telling you. Stay out of my way.” With that, he turned and got back into his SUV and sped away.

  Harper reached for Jackson, and he jumped when her hand touched his shoulder. Then he softened his posture. “Thank you,” Harper said sheepishly. “You okay?”

  Jackson searched her face. He calmed down. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about. I was just getting back from my run and saw you. I figured you were walking to Hattie’s, but then I saw Inslee roll up on you like that.”

  “He called me this morning, but I was in the shower. He left me an angry message and told me to call him, which I hadn’t planned on doing. I was on my way to Hattie’s. She left me a note that she wanted to talk to me.” Harper reached for Jackson and put her arms around him. She hugged him tightly.

  He wrapped his arms around her but said, “I’m all sweaty. I’m going to make you a mess.”

  “It’s okay,” Harper whispered into his neck. “Thank you for rescuing me. I really don’t know what I’d do without you here.”

  They parted and locked eyes. Jackson smiled and brushed a strand of hair from Harper’s face. “Why don’t you head on to Hattie’s, and I’ll be there after I shower and change.”

  Harper agreed. She continued on with her walk, but turned back to watch Jackson as he jogged back to his house.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  By noon, Hattie had already run through eight pots of coffee, been completely cleaned out of Danish and muffins, and had sold more cups of tea than she had sold the previous three days total. The store was filled with people. She had Harper and Jackson to thank.

  Apparently, Det. Granger had let it slip that it was thanks to a tip from them that the
police were able to arrest Drew for jewelry burglaries. The people in the community were so relieved and happy that they were coming in to thank Hattie.

  Many of them asked Hattie if it was her psychic gifts that enabled Harper and Jackson to figure out it was Drew. Hattie laughed and explained that it was just good old-fashioned investigative work, but that she didn’t even really know the whole story because Harper had come in so late.

  Several of the women who had never been in the shop before were impressed with how cozy it was. They told Hattie over and over again how much they loved it, and that they’d definitely be back. Two of the women had pulled Hattie aside and asked what she recommended to put a little spice back in their marriage. Hattie put together some simple lust spells with rosewater, pink tapered candles and honey. She explained how to write the name of their husband on the candle with a pin, rub the candle with rosewater and a little honey and burn the candle late in the evening for nine nights while envisioning passion in their marriages.

  After giving the very grateful women the spells, Hattie also added, “Never discount how good you’ll feel after pampering yourselves, too. Go get a massage, get your hair done, spoil yourselves.” Then Hattie added with a laugh, “It’s easier to seduce when you’re feeling like a seductress.”

  “You’re terrible,” Lottie laughed, calling over to her from one of the tables. “You give great advice but when was the last time you felt like a seductress?”

  Hattie threw her hands up. “Who am I seducing? Better question, who’d want an old gal like me?” She gave a little twirl in the middle of the room.

  “I know the feeling,” Lottie said. “My husband is asleep on the couch at four-thirty.”

  “It happens,” Hattie sympathized. “Where’s Judy?”

  “She was meeting with her friends that had been robbed. They had to go down to the police station. Do you really think it’s Drew? I had been sort of kidding the day I said maybe he had killed Tucker. I never thought he’d be robbing houses.”

  “Speak of the devil,” Hattie said, hitching her jaw in the direction of the front door. “Harper’s here. She can fill us in.” Turning to her niece, she yelled over the crowd of people, “Grab a seat here with Lottie, and I’ll get you some coffee.”

  Harper came over and joined Lottie. She was barely in her seat when Lottie pounced. “Well, tell us what happened. How did you catch Drew?”

  Harper looked at the older woman surprised. “How did you hear already?” Looking around the crowded shop, Harper asked, “Why is it so crowded in here?”

  “Det. Granger told some people that you and Jackson helped catch Drew, and it spread around the neighborhood the way all gossip does here,” Hattie told her. She set the coffee down in front of Harper and kissed her on the head. “People are proud of you as am I. Now what the heck happened last night?”

  Harper went through the whole story about what they saw in Murray Park. She explained they had parked in the neighborhood and followed Drew to a house. “There are still so many questions I have though. Drew clearly met someone in the park last night, but we couldn’t see who it was. And really, why was Drew stealing jewelry when the Reeses are so rich?”

  “I know that one,” Lottie interjected proudly. “Judy had lunch with Lizzie yesterday. She cut him off and was going to kick him out of the house. It had been a long time coming. Apparently, Tucker had been threatening it for years. Drew had no job. He was probably doing it as a way to earn money.”

  “You can’t just sell jewelry like that easily though,” Harper commented, taking a sip of her coffee.

  “What do you mean?” Hattie asked. She looked up the counter to make sure Beatrix was not too overwhelmed with customers. The shop finally seemed to be clearing out some. The din of noise that had permeated the place was finally dulling and you could hear yourself think again, which was good because Hattie had been waiting for hours to hear the story from Harper.

  “Well,” Harper started. “That kind of high-end jewelry can’t just be sold at a pawn shop. Some of those pieces were worth millions of dollars. Drew would need to connect to a fence to sell it. Then the fence would move it out of the state probably, maybe even out of the country. Sometimes they even cut it up, take the stones and put it in other settings or sell the stones separately.”

  Hattie looked at her quizzically. “How do you know all this?”

  “We covered a story on jewelry heists for an edition of Charlotte a few years back. You’d be amazed at the complex network.”

  “Do you think this means he killed Tucker?” Lottie asked. She was picking apart a cheese Danish in front of her and taking sips of tea.

  “I have no idea,” Harper admitted. “I was hoping that Det. Granger would have given me a call. He said he’d let me know when he knew more. Maybe he doesn’t know anything else yet.”

  Harper excused herself to go to the bathroom. When she did Lottie said, “The poor dear looks exhausted.”

  Hattie agreed. She’d never seen Harper so tired. This was definitely not the life Hattie had envisioned for her when she suggested Harper move to Little Rock. She was picturing that Harper would have found some friends her own age. She’d take long lunches, maybe pick up some freelance work, be lazy around the house, and learn the magic she needed to learn before the entire Ryan family legacy went down the drain. Crime fighting wasn’t high on the list.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Hattie followed Harper to the bathroom. She waited outside and then asked her niece to join her in the back room. Harper yawned and sat down in Hattie’s chair. She snuggled into it and rested a pillow on her lap. “What’s up?”

  “You look exhausted,” Hattie started. “I’m so sorry you got so involved in all this.”

  “You don’t know the half of it. Matthew Inslee screamed at me in the street on my walk over.”

  “He did what?” Hattie barked. Hattie did not do dark magic, but she was coming close to pulling out the family grimoire and finding the nastiest spell imaginable she could perform on him.

  “It’s fine,” Harper assured her, snuggling farther into the chair. “Jackson took care of it. He’s really strong. It’s funny. I know he’s a retired Army Colonel, and I know he’s been to war, but he’s so mild-mannered and unassuming. You kind of forget he’s probably got some ninja skills.”

  “Ninja skills?” Hattie asked, her face breaking into a wide grin.

  “He threw Inslee on his car face down and did this twisty thing with his arm so he couldn’t move. I think we have our own personal superhero.”

  “You’ve got a little crush, don’t you?” Hattie asked.

  Harper just stared back at her aunt but didn’t actually answer her.

  Hattie waved it off. “Never mind. I won’t give you a hard time today. I really called you back here because I have a present for you.”

  “You do?”

  “It’s not a big deal, just a little something that I think you are ready for,” Hattie said and handed Harper a tiny, clear pouch.

  “What’s this?” Harper asked, as she unsealed the opening and pulled out a pointed amethyst stone attached to a chain.

  “It’s a pendulum. I know you aren’t into this whole psychic witch thing, but it is our family legacy. Whether you want to practice or not, it would at least make me feel better if I could start teaching you so it’s not all lost when I’m gone.”

  Harper was looking at the pendulum with a mix of curiosity and fear. “What do I do with it?”

  “It’s not going to bite you,” Hattie teased. She pulled out her own pendulum. Hattie’s was made of calligraphy stone. She held the top of the chain with one hand and placed her other under the stone.

  Hattie explained, “You can use it to tap into your intuition. You can ask it yes or no questions, and it will swing on its own, giving you an answer. You have to take some time to get to know your stone though and learn which way means yes and which way means no.”

  Harper looked at Hattie with a p
uzzled expression on her face. “Show me what you mean.”

  Hattie explained that with her pendulum side to side meant no and front to back meant yes. When it spun in a circle, it meant maybe or something needed more clarity before a real answer was given. Hattie asked if her niece’s name was Harper, and the pendulum swung yes. Hattie then asked if her own eyes were brown. It said no, which was true, they were green.

  “It takes time,” Hattie assured her. “Just something for you to practice with. It may not answer questions accurately if you have an emotional investment in the answer. For instance, I’ve not been able to ask who murdered Tucker because I’m so close to the situation. I care about the outcome. Plus, spirit doesn’t always answer us when we want. It’s not one hundred percent, but it’s a good tool to start tapping into your intuition. Clean the stone with water, put it on your windowsill to charge it under the moon, and keep it with you to absorb your energy. Just practice. That’s all I ask.”

  Harper got up and hugged her aunt. She promised, “I will and thank you. Thank you for being patient with me, too. I know I’m not so quick to believe.”

  Hattie smiled. At least Harper didn’t outwardly fight her on it, which was what Hattie had been expecting. Excited, Hattie said, “I nearly forgot to tell you, I put a call into Fr. Greg Borger. I’m just waiting for him to call back. I think he can probably help you with Fr. McNally if you want to continue. If you want to stop, I understand.”

  “We aren’t stopping,” Harper said determinedly. “There’s no way I’m giving up on this now.”

  Hattie nodded towards the door. “I’m going back out there. Beatrix probably needs help.”

  “I’m going to sit here and rest. Let me know when Jackson gets here.” Harper held up the pendulum. “I might even practice this for a bit. Maybe it can tell me if Jackson likes me.”