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

I hardly ever saw him here.
    Had he heard what had happened, perhaps from Justin?
    Did he come to admonish Martha and me and whoever else was aware of last night’s episode, reminding us to keep it quiet? Especially now, with tourists visiting the shop in throngs, which could dissipate if they knew what was going on in Destiny stores: waves of bad luck.
    I didn’t know Bevin well, but I anticipated more of that from him than sympathy for what we’d been going through. Maybe he’d be kinder, though, to Martha.
    He glanced around, peering at and beyond the display shelves as if surveying whether all was well. Or perhaps preparing to do his welcome thing for our customers. His glance seemed to stop on Jeri, though, and then returned to me, then swung to Martha. “Good to see you, ladies,” his voice boomed. “There are a couple of things I want to talk to you about, so can we go into your back room? You can convey anything appropriate to Ms. Mardeer later.” That meant Jeri, whose family store had of course gone through something as well.
    I decided I wouldn’t necessarily mention to the mayor that she and Brad Nereida and I planned to meet later, and that we’d probably violate his command to keep the thefts quiet, at least as it applied to our own small group. Still, I’d learned that it didn’t usually make sense to deny Mayor Bevin anything—or at the least, I tried to make him believe that I was as much of an obedient townsperson as anyone else.
    â€œThat’s fine.” I nodded at Martha, whose return smile looked pasted on her senior face, but I knew she understood and agreed. She rubbed her hands along the hips of her baggy jeans beneath her Lucky Dog Boutique T-shirt, then motioned for us to follow her.
    I glanced at Pluckie, who looked just fine lying at the end of her leash attached to the counter, and Jeri stood nearby with several customers. Flora was still there, but she appeared to be studying the glass case filled with lucky amulets, mostly hematite.
    I headed in Jeri’s direction, briefly mentioned what Martha and I were up to, then followed Martha and the mayor through the door into the storeroom.
    Once we were there, near the card table and among the metal shelves and boxes, Mayor Bevin herded us together. He may have been dressed in his usual leprechaun-like suit of green jacket and dark trousers, but his expression was anything but cute or scheming or anything else I imagined a leprechaun to look like.
    â€œThank you, ladies,” he said solemnly, his hands clasped in front of his chubby middle, his back barely touching one of the depleted metal shelves. He looked again from Martha to me, enough of a quiver in his chin to cause his white beard to tremble. “The police told me what happened here last night.”
    Justin, I wondered? Or someone else?
    â€œNow, to keep Destiny’s luck moving in the most positive direction, you must not talk about it to anyone. It’s best to not even discuss it among yourselves.”
    â€œBut if no one knows about it,” I said, “what’s to prevent the perpetrator from doing it again?” I didn’t mention my awareness that our invasion hadn’t been the first. Would he mention it?
    â€œI understand,” he said evasively, “but what’s to prevent tourists from staying away from your shop if they hear about it?”
    â€œThey might be curious enough to come see us anyway,” Martha said. She appeared to be playing along, too. Her expression was bland, at least, as she regarded Bevin. “Maybe it would be a good thing.”
    â€œNot if they want to derive good luck from Destiny,” Bevin argued. “Why patronize a store that’s suffered bad luck?”
    â€œAnd if they enter stores that have suffered bad luck and don’t know about it, maybe their luck will remain good.” I hesitated, then blurted intentionally, “Hasn’t that