LITMIR.BIZ

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job to delve, and with a bit of luck, uncover.

      Had she been frowning? Talking to herself? Meg was watching her with speculative light in her dark-rimmed eyes. “In some sort of trouble?” she asked after a long silence.

      “Not really.” Even if she wanted to tell this old woman, where could she begin?

      “Something happened to you.” Meg sounded concerned, almost anxious. “Your aura,” she said after a pause, and shook her head.

      Heaven help her! A New Age grannie! A nosy, New Age grannie! But kind and thoughtful. “I had an accident and lost my memory.”

      Meg shook her head. “Lost your memory! More like someone tried to steal your mind and soul!”

      A chill settled in Angela’s bones. How could this old woman possibly suspect? “Just amnesia.” Meg’s eyebrows shot up. She said nothing, just waited, her body language expressing skepticism. That irked. “What’s wrong with my aura?”

      “You don’t have one. Not to speak of. Never seen anything like it in my life.” She paused. “You’ve nothing, not even gray or black. Just nothing. When you fingered your locket, I saw pink flashes near your heart. A little while back as you touched those cards, you had some faint flashes, but other than that…” Intent eyes met Angela’s. “You didn’t lose your memory; more like someone took it.”

      Meg was so darn close to the truth, Angela’s heart went tight. Who was this old woman? “It was an accident. That’s all.” Meg was as hard to convince as a judge. “Seeing the cards brought back a memory. My stepmother taught me to read them.” How did she know? Did she even have a stepmother? Yes, and she’d taught her to read cards, and other skills. Angela glanced at the deck still in her lap. “She used a plain deck.”

      Sounded like blathering to Angela, but it made sense to Meg. Putting down her cup with a soft clink, she stood up and went over to the shelf. “Here,” she said, “this what you’re talking about?”

      It was. Angela broke the seal and tapped the deck out of the box. The shiny, new cards fanned out easily. Just as she remembered, the numbers were only printed on one end. “Yes.” She snapped the fan shut. “I had a deck just like this”—she wasn’t sure how she knew but she was certain. “How much are they?”

      Meg shook her head. “You see what they tell you. If you can do nothing with them, just bring them back. If they let you read, then we’ll talk payment.”

      “You’re very trusting.”

      Meg shook her head. “You won’t cheat me. Maybe the cards can help you find what you’ve lost.”

      Angela wanted to race back the Royal Oak and lay out a spread and…and what? She had no idea but felt a burning need to find out. Her fingers tingled where she held the deck. There was power in them, and she needed to…

      “Finish your tea,” Meg said. “The rain’s eased off. Make sense for you to get back before it starts again.”

      Good advice. “I’ll be back in the morning.”

      “Take your time. I’ll be here when you need me.”

      Angela was so occupied with the promise of the cards in her hand, she was on her way out the door before she remembered why she’d entered the shop in the first place.

      “Meg,” she said, turning back. “Perhaps you can help. A friend told me there was a wonderful place in Totnes to buy leather things. I noticed the slippers in your window.”

      Meg smiled. “They come from Bangladesh, not local at all.”

      “What about a leather shop called Mariposa?”

      Meg frowned, as if thinking. “Can’t say I know one, not here. Ask old Mr. Lee up the High Street. He does shoe and leather repairs. Been here forever. He might know.”

      It was grasping at straws, but a straw was more than thin air.

      “Where is his shop?”

      “Up to the top of the road, turn right at the corner and you’ll find him on the right, along a little ways. But he’ll be closed by now.”

      Darn. Morning seemed a long time away. But Mr. Lee would still be there. If he’d been in business for as long as Meg claimed, he was unlikely to disappear overnight. “I’ll ask him. Thanks for the tea, and the cards.”

      “My pleasure. I enjoyed the company. Take care of yourself. Wear that locket of yours.”

      Angela caught the shiny black stone between her thumb and finger. “I will.”

      Meg smiled. “Someone gave you that for protection. Jet, right?”

      “Yes.” And that was all she was saying. “It was a gift from a vampire” might be a bit much, even here among the crystals and the element bowls.

      “Take care!” Meg said as Angela closed the door.

      Angela was halfway down Fore Street before she wondered what element bowls were for and how she recognized them.

      “You let her leave! Just like that!” Justin couldn’t credit it. Thank Abel, he’d come back a day early! Three days in Reykijavik for a medical conference and Angela absconds, with Stella’s blessing and connivance. Did they have no understanding?

      Apparently not. Stella looked unconcerned. “Did you have a good conference?”

      “Hang the conference! Angela’s gone off, Abel only knows where, and…”

      “I know exactly where she is. She’s at the Royal Oak in Totnes, checking on that coat of hers.”

      Devon! Abel help them all! The pair of them had no idea!

      “I have her hotel and phone number. She’ll be back in a couple of days.”

      He wished he shared Stella’s optimism. But the West Country! “I can’t believe you abetted her! Didn’t you think?”

      “Hey!” Sam ran in from the kitchen and pushed between them. “Don’t you dare yell at my mom!” He was nose to Justin’s enameled tiepin, but ready to take him on. Even his little fists were clenched and raised.

      “It’s okay, Sam.” Stella rested a hand on her son’s tense shoulder. “Justin and I are discussing something. That’s all.”

      “He was yelling at you.” Sam frowned up at Justin with all the machismo of his nine years. “He’d better not try it again.”

      Justin fought back the smile that Sam would take as an insult. “Sam, your mother’s right. We’re just discussing. I’m not going to hurt her.”

      Sam gave no quarter. “You were yelling at her.”

      “I wasn’t, Sam. Not really.”

      “You were.” Stella folded her arms across her breasts and gave him a half smile. “That was yelling.”

      He’d take her word for it. “Apologies, my love.” He bent down so Sam was eye, rather than tie, level. “Sorry, Sam. How about I promise not to yell at your mother, and you go back and finish your homework? Stella and I need to talk.”

      “About Angela going away?”

      “Angela—has—not—gone—away.” Stella enunciated each word deliberately. “She went on a trip for a few days. She’ll be back. Soon.”

      Justin restrained the urge to shake her. She had no idea of the dangers that lurked once they left their own territory. “Stella, we have to talk.”

      “Just a minute.” She watched as Sam walked back into the kitchen, glancing over his shoulder as he went, obviously keeping an eye on both of them.

      Once Sam was out of sight, Justin looked at Stella. He loved her to the point of insanity and she’d have him right there if she pulled many stunts like this. And when

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