Calvin shook his head as he took a bite of rice pilaf. “No. She went inside the convenience store because she paid cash for the gas and bought a bottle of water, but she didn’t say much. The attendant remembered her because he thought she seemed young to be driving out there by herself, and also because you don’t see many red BMW convertibles around here.”
No, that particular part of the world was pretty short on fancy German cars, my own Beetle notwithstanding. It was definitely the land of the pickup — Ford, Chevy, or Dodge — or the SUV, in those same flavors but with some Jeeps thrown in for variety. You’d think a bright blonde nineteen-year-old in a red convertible would stick out like a sore thumb.
If it had been someone else, I might have thought she was headed out to meet up with relatives or friends, but I knew Violet was from Southern California, just like me…or Lucien.
“So…what’s next?”
Calvin lifted an eyebrow. “I’ll see what the lab has to say about the medallion — and your knives. They should be released to me by the end of the day tomorrow.”
Well, that was something. Not that I’d planned any rituals where I needed the athame, but I didn’t like having it and its companion missing from my altar. I had a particular order to the items I placed there, and with two of them gone, it felt like there was a huge hole in that part of my life.
“That’s good to hear,” I said, and figured I might as well leave it there. “Any other leads?”
“Dinner’s great,” he said distinctly, and I grinned. Not subtle at all, but I got the point.
“Thanks,” I said. “The pilaf’s an old family recipe.”
“It’s delicious.” He ate some more, then went on, “I wasn’t expecting you to cook for me, but thanks for this.”
Oh, I’d love to do a lot more than just cook for him. For the moment, though, I was happy enough to see the way he enjoyed the food. “I like to cook. Usually what I do is make a big batch of something so I can sort of live off that for the week and supplement it with salads or takeout or whatever. Do you cook?”
“Not really. Cops tend to live on takeout. Once a week, my mother sends a care package home with me so I don’t starve.”
His comment made me wonder why he had that gourmet kitchen if he never really used it. Asking seemed a bit too personal, though, so I decided to let it go for the moment. Anyway, considering how his biceps bulged against his shirt sleeves every time he lifted his fork or reached for his glass of wine, he didn’t look as though he was too in danger of starving. And I didn’t know why his comment about his mother startled me. After all, I guessed he was probably no more than five years or so older than I, which meant his parents were most likely still around.
“Does your mother live in San Ramon?”
He nodded. “The whole family does. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins…my brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews.”
Growing up with just my mother as my family, I’d always wondered what it would be like to be part of such a big clan. “How many brothers and sisters?”
He grinned with a flash of white teeth. “Four. I’m the middle one of five.”
Five kids. It was hard for me to imagine being one of so many siblings. I’d had friends in high school who were one of three, and that had seemed like a lot to me. “That must have been fun.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Well, I suppose that depends on your definition of ‘fun.’ There was always something going on, that’s for sure. My mother might have a different word for it.”
“And no one felt like leaving San Ramon?”
For some reason, his expression darkened. However, his tone was light enough as he said, “No, we’re tied to this land. It’s part of us.” He paused, then went on, “I suppose that might be hard for a city girl like you to understand.”
I wanted to protest that epithet — I didn’t really feel like a city girl — but I knew he was right. Coming from Southern California, I didn’t have any real connection to the land…what there was of it, buried under miles and miles of concrete and asphalt. That might have been part of the reason why I hadn’t fought too hard against this destiny-driven move to Globe. So much of magical practice had a lot to do with nature, and it was far more difficult to pursue that part of the craft when you had to drive miles to get to any kind of open land. I couldn’t even count the beach, since it was always swarming with people and didn’t allow any kind of opportunity for quietly communing with nature.
“It sounds nice, actually,” I said. “There’s not much sense of history in L.A. Everyone seems to be from someplace else.”
“And now you’re the one from someplace else,” he commented, although now he looked slightly amused, as though he wondered what I thought of my current situation.
“I’m not the only one, though,” I told him. “I mean, Hazel’s from Iowa.”
“But she’s been here for years.”
True. Maybe after you passed some sort of imaginary milestone, you were granted true resident status in Globe. I hoped it wouldn’t take seven years, though.
We were both quiet for a little while as we ate our way through our first helpings of food. Calvin asked if I’d like him to carve me another piece of breast, and I said I would. He snagged one of the drumsticks for himself, then said, “How’s the shop going?”
“Fine,” I replied. “I mean, I’ve only been open one day, but I got more customers than I thought I would. I might actually break even on this whole gig.”
The look he gave me then was deadly serious. “Are you going to be okay?”
Was that actual concern I saw in his expression? I thought it might be. Maybe Archie wasn’t the only person in Globe who would be upset if I couldn’t stay around.
“Oh, sure,” I said lightly. “I can operate in the red for a while since I have a pretty big cushion.”
“Even after paying cash for this place?”
I reflected that there didn’t seem to be too many people Josie hadn’t blabbed to. But that was all right; while I might have some secrets, my finances weren’t one of them. “Even then. I won the lottery back in California.”
He’d just swallowed some wine, and seemed to choke a bit as I relayed that piece of information, although he recovered himself quickly enough. “You won the lottery?”
“Yes,” I replied. “Not a huge one. I mean, I can’t afford a yacht or anything…not that I’d want one. But it’s enough to keep me going for a long time even if this shop doesn’t make a cent — although obviously, I don’t want that to happen. So far, I think it’s going to be all right.”
For a moment, Calvin was silent, appearing to absorb those latest bits of data. “Do you think that’s part of the reason why Lucien came after you?”
“My money?”
“Yes.”
“I doubt it,” I said frankly. “My little nest egg is peanuts compared to his net worth. His house alone is probably worth at least five or six million.”
Surprise flickered in Calvin’s eyes. Not for the first time, I noticed the lashes that shaded them, straight and silky and inky black as his hair. That magnificent mane of his was still severely confined to a ponytail, and I had to wonder what it would look like when freed of the leather cord that held it back away from his face.