Unlucky Charms by Linda O. Johnston Read Free Book Online Page A

the forbidden information Carolyn had imparted to me, possibly raining bad luck down on herself and the rest of Destiny? Or should I heed Justin’s warning?
    Heck, he’d be here soon and could scold me then if he wanted to. But maybe if more information was out there, this kind of thing wouldn’t be happening—notwithstanding our dear mayor’s edicts.
    â€œI haven’t had a chance to really check it out,” I told her, waving her back down to her seat. “I’ll go back down in a few minutes, since the cops should be arriving soon. Gemma is with me, and she called 911 and I called Justin. You can get dressed now if you want. I have to warn you, I’ve been told it’s bad luck to talk about it—but we’re the latest victims of an apparent serial crime spree in Destiny.”

    I was finally downstairs again, in the store. Martha was getting dressed. I’d told her I wasn’t sure of the severity of what had been done at the Lucky Dog; I’d only been in the shop long enough to see the way the merchandise had been thrown on the floor, and how those bad luck symbols—broken glass and salt—had been scattered about. Plus, I hadn’t seen the bag of my new toys.
    â€œBut the Lucky Dog isn’t the only place where this has happened?” Martha had demanded.
    â€œApparently not. Justin’s been acting a bit … well, concerned, despite admitting he’s under orders not to talk about something. Someone else”—I didn’t want to mention Carolyn and potentially get her in trouble—“told me about the thefts.”
    â€œWe’ll see about that,” Martha said. “I’ll talk to Justin.” And with that, Pluckie and I were virtually kicked out of her apartment and told to go downstairs to start dealing with whatever had happened.
    I’d heard voices on my way downstairs. I’d proceeded slowly nonetheless, Pluckie ahead of me. I even held on to the rail. No pain now, at least, but one stumble on the steps was plenty for the day. And I most certainly didn’t want to fall going down the stairs. I’d already had some pretty bad luck that day: what was done at the shop, most likely early that morning. I didn’t want to add to it.
    The door into the back storeroom was still open when I reached the bottom, but the voices were coming from the shop. I headed there, Pluckie at my feet, and opened that door.
    Gemma was still there, near the cash register counter covered in tangled leashes and collars, talking to two people in suits. One I recognized as Detective Richard Choye, who’d been the main investigator in the most recent Destiny murder. He was a fairly slim cop beneath his gray suit, although his shoulders were wide. His hair was short and black, and on the whole he was reasonably good-looking.
    I wondered how Gemma felt, talking to him now. He’d been sure she was guilty before I’d helped to find the real killer and absolve my good friend. I doubted that Detective Choye was overly fond of me, or of Gemma, either.
    The person with him was a woman. If Detective Choye was of moderate height, then she was one basketball-player-sized female—very tall and slender. Her suit was black, with a white shirt beneath. Her short hair was light brown, and the expression on her narrow face was intense as she focused on Gemma.
    Gemma soon focused on me. She must have seen me enter the room and most likely had been watching for me. “Hi, Rory.” Although her voice was calm, I sensed relief in it.
    â€œThanks for staying here,” I said to her. “Martha’s okay. She’s getting dressed and will be down in a few minutes.” That was as much for the cops as for Gemma. “Don’t you need to get to the Broken Mirror now?” That was solely for her.
    â€œYes. I need to open in a short while.”
    I was sure her thoughts were similar to mine. Surely the shop she