Free Dark Moon Magic by Jerri Drennen

young man continue to check the perimeter. She was a few feet from the car when he saw her and smiled.
    He opened the door, got out, and started around the front to meet her. “Hey, Miss Moon. How are you this evening?”
    “I’m fine. My friend saw you from the window. I was just wondering why you’re parked outside my place.”
    “Hello,” Tiah said from behind them.
    Regina shook her head at her friend.
    Garrett cleared his throat, then said, “Hello.”
    “Garrett, this is my friend Tiah. Tiah, this is the deputy of Groves, Garrett Sherwood.”
    “Nice to meet you, Garrett.”
    Regina couldn’t help but notice the interest the guy had in her friend. Then again, who wouldn’t? Tiah was a striking beauty. Tall and blonde, with crystal-blue eyes and a friendly smile, revealing perfectly straight pearly-white teeth.
    “So, why are you here, Garrett?” Regina’s question forced him to look at her.
    “Trace was concerned there could be trouble.”
    “Trouble? What kind?”
    Instead of answering, he started to fidget.
    What was Trace so worried about? Something weird was happening here. “What is going on, Garrett?”
    He looked from her to Tiah. “With the murder and all, he thought it’d be best if we kept an eye on you. People tend to get irrational when something out of the ordinary happens. You’re new here, and …”
    “They’ll all assume I killed Keith, right?”
    Garrett shuffled from one foot to the other.
    “I want to talk to Trace.” Regina lost her patience. This was crazy but hardly unexpected. She was new to town, and they’d need someone to blame, and that would be her. She knew that. Trace knew it, too.
    “I’ll call him on the two-way, but he’s probably sleeping. He’d been up almost a day and a half.”
    “Forget it. Just tell him in the morning I’ll be by the office on my lunch hour.”
    “All right, ma’am.”
    “Have a good night,” Regina said then turned and headed back inside. She should have known this would happen—that she’d be the town’s patsy for a murder that could be a setup to get her out of Groves for good.
    Why though? Who was threatened by her? Becky? No . This went beyond mere jealousy. This had to be about her spiritual beliefs—someone didn’t like them, and to Regina, that meant she could be in real danger.
     
    * * *
     
    Trace walked down the aisle of Caulders’ Café and slid into the black booth where Nathan Horn was waiting for him. “Morning. Sorry I’m late. I needed to check in with Darla to see if any of the forensics work came back.”
    “And?” the dark-haired man across from him asked.
    “Nothing yet. I was hoping they’d get a hit on the print we found on the knife.”
    “What about that stone? Anything there?” Nathan asked.
    “No.” Trace hoped the man couldn’t tell he was lying. He’d seen that type of polished rock before in Regina’s shop. But until he talked to her, he didn’t plan to say anything. He wanted to give her a chance to explain how one could have been found under Keith’s body. Then again, she’d had the break-in. The stone could have been stolen at that time. This rock was just another thing conveniently pointing to her. Too bad he didn’t believe her capable of murder. Seemed like a setup to him. His gut felt it.
    But why railroad Regina? Because she was new to Groves? That made no sense, unless there was something she was keeping from him.
    The café’s doorbell jingled, and Trace looked up to find Garrett entering. His deputy spotted him and trudged toward them, definitely in need of coffee, if the dark circles under his eyes and the stride of his step were any indication.
    Garrett dropped down in the seat next to Trace just as Millie Caulders brought the pot of high test to fill all their cups.
    “Are you ready to order?” the middle-aged woman asked, smiling at them.
    Trace returned Millie’s smile. “Give us three of your specials and keep the coffee flowing.”
    She nodded and left