A Grave Mistake by Leighann Dobbs Read Free Book Online Page A

to join Celeste, who was helping Morgan get steady on her feet.
    “Yeah. What was that thing?” Morgan asked. “It felt like it drained all the energy out of me.”
    “I think that’s one of those geodes that Bly used on me before.” Jolene glanced down at the ground to make sure all the pieces were gone. “That’s exactly what it does.”
    “I’m glad he didn’t get a chance to use it on all of us,” Celeste said. “Who knows what might have happened if we were all incapacitated.”
    “Yeah,” Jolene frowned. “I guess they wanted something that was in that cornerstone, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the licorice.”
    “Good point. What were they after?” Celeste asked.
    “My guess is they were after the relic,” Morgan answered. “Which they thought was in the cornerstone.”
    Fiona’s brow creased. “But the cornerstone was empty.”
    “Right,” Morgan said. “Which brings up the question … if the attackers were Bly’s guys and they didn’t know the cornerstone was empty, then who took the relic?”

Chapter Eight

    “It’s simple.” Jolene slipped a k-cup into the coffee machine, then turned and leaned her backside against the counter. “The licorice killer must have taken the relic.”
    Morgan pressed her lips together. “But why would he leave a licorice in the cornerstone?”
    Celeste backed out of the fridge with an armful of leafy greens and headed toward the juicer. “Maybe he was taunting us.”
    “ Mew .” Belladonna appeared in the doorway to the butler’s pantry, and rubbed the side of her face against the corner of the door jamb before snaking her paw under the cabinet and batting a small object across the kitchen floor.
    “But if the licorice killer took the relic, then who broke into the museum?” Johanna asked, her eyes tracking the object as it skittered in front of her, then disappeared under the lip of the cabinet near the sink.
    “Maybe there are two different parties looking for the relic,” Morgan suggested. “One group broke into the museum and the other—the licorice killer—got into the cornerstone.”
    “That would make sense.” Celeste pulled spinach out of a bag and piled it into a bowl already loaded with wheat grass and kale. “Maybe the bearded guys were the ones that broke in. They realized the relic wasn’t among any of the items they stole, but they found a clue to look in the cornerstone and came back only to discover us looking in there first.”
    “That’s an interesting theory.” Morgan tapped a fingernail against her coffee mug. “But don’t you guys think it’s strange that they took several items? I mean, why not just take one item—the relic?”
    Jolene took her full coffee mug to the island and slid into one of the stools. “It’s obvious. They don’t know what the relic is, so they took everything they thought might be the relic.”
    Johanna nodded. “That could very well be. After all, we don’t know what it is, either.”
    “ Merow !” Belladonna scooted across the room and swiped her paw under the cabinet near the sink, extracting the object and batting it over toward the back door like a hockey player testing out his slap shot.
    Jolene watched the object shoot past her, a smile quirking her lips. Belladonna frequently amused herself by batting and chasing little items, like plastic milk bottle caps and elastic bands, and she was a lot of fun to watch.
    But Jolene was only momentarily distracted by the cat’s antics. She brought her attention back to the problem at hand, pressing her lips together as she considered their conversation. “If what you guys are saying is true, then the licorice killer and the beards are racing against each other—and us—for the relic.”
    “Right, but we don’t know if the licorice killer is one of Bly’s guys, or if he killed one of Bly’s guys,” Fiona said.
    “This licorice killer person scares me. He must be very powerful to take out one of Bly’s minions.” Celeste