Page 47 of Oohs, Ahhhs, and Orbs

My mind turned to the way that she’d said she had spoken to Logan that morning. I thought of the possibility that he might leave because he would think he was doing the right thing if he went back to her, even if it was just for the sake of the baby she was carrying. Even though I had no intention of breaking up with him, there was a good possibility that I had already lost.

I looked down into the glass case where the athame rested, wrapped in a cloth. I knew what I had to do.

I turned to head into the back of the shop. I needed to locate some bandages and apply some salve to my wound.

Chapter

Twenty-Five

LOGAN

Iwas sitting at my desk, going over paperwork and staring at files. My anger still hadn’t cooled since the meeting with my Captain that morning. I was tired, and my stomach was gnawing at me after having nothing in it but stale police department coffee. I rubbed at my temples, a headache beginning to throb painfully there.

A knock sounded at the open door to my office, and I glanced up to see a uniformed officer standing there holding a package. “Detective Storm. This came for you a few minutes ago downstairs. It was dropped off via courier.” I waved him in, and he set down the package on the desktop in front of me. I waved him off with thanks, and he walked out with a quick nod.

The package was wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine. It wasn’t large, perhaps about 12 inches long and just a few inches wide. Curious, I pulled on the string and pulled back the paper to reveal a slim, plain white box. Lifting the lid, it took me a few seconds as I blinked down at what I was seeing to realize what it was. The small dagger was what Bridgette had said was an athame, and I recognized it as the same one thathad been inside the glass case of her shop. She’d been cleaning all of them when I showed up last night. I noticed a piece of paper underneath the gleaming metal. I carefully withdrew it and unfolded it to reveal a note with only a few words on it.

This is your murder weapon.

I closed my eyes and blew out a breath. It was probably what Bridgette was trying to call me about earlier when I had to tell her that she was no longer allowed to be a part of my investigation.

“Fuck,” I snarled as I stared down at the metal blade. The dark red stones glittered up at me ominously. The fact that she had the murder weapon all along wasn’t going to help her case if anybody found out about it. I couldn’t find myself doubting her words. If Bridgette thought the athame to be the murder weapon, then I believed her. It was also becoming clearer why her hair had been found at the scene of the murder. A strand must have been caught on one of the stones or the metal.

“Fuck,” I repeated.

I stood to my feet and picked up the brown paper and twin before folding them together and stuffing them into my pocket along with the note. I placed the lid back onto the box. After picking the box and my phone up, I strode out of my office. On my way to the elevator, I dialed Mac.

“Hey, Mac. Something just came up. Can you meet me at the lead crime scene’s office?”

“I would saythat the probability that this is the murder weapon is greater than 90%.” I watched as Shauna turned the weapon over in her hands. She’d already taken several measurements and compared them to the notes from the coroner’s report. “I’massuming you need me to log this into the evidence report for the witch case?”

Internally, I grimaced. I was going against policy, but knowing that the entire investigation was of supernatural origin and would never make it to a human court, I bit back my hesitation. “If you don’t mind. Thanks, Shauna.”

She gave a brisk nod as she turned back to her computer and began typing. “Do you want to share with me how you got your hands on it?” she asked as she turned to look over her shoulder at me with one eyebrow raised.

“It was dropped off by courier just a few minutes ago,” I admitted.

“And you immediately thought that it might be the weapon?” she pushed.

“Shauna,” I began, “you know I am meticulous in my investigations. I knew the details of what to look for in a weapon. I don’t know where it had been hiding all this time, but since it fell into my lap by some mysterious means, I didn’t hesitate to have it tested and logged.”

“Mysterious,” Shauna hummed. “Righty. Okay then. I will log it, then send it in for residue testing. It might be a few weeks before we find out if there is any DNA remaining that can be used later for court.”

“You know we appreciate you, Shauna,” Mac said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll get out of your hair so you can get back to it. “Tell your wife that we said hello. She should be due soon, right?”

Shauna turned in her chair, and her usual no-nonsense demeanor that made her a great team lead faded into a soft smile. “The baby is due in two more weeks. Carrie Anne is ready to explode with equal parts impatience and excitement.”

Mac chuckled. “As if you aren’t the same.”

“Oh, I am worse,” she laughed. “Alright, you boys have already taken up way too much of my valuable time. Get the hell out of here.” I gave her a wink and a nod of thanks.

Once we walked back out into the gloomy day, I turned to Mac. “I can’t say where I got it from, so don’t ask.”

He nodded knowingly. “Alright, man. You know I trust you with my life.”

“I appreciate it.” I stuck my hand out for a shake but was pulled into a half-hug, half back slap.

“I don’t suppose this case is going to be closed with a murderer behind bars?”

---