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Sheriff Daniel Praeger parked his Model T in front of the yellow and gray bungalow with the small sign “Baile’s Clinic” hanging from the portico overhead. He looked over at his companion and said, “You sure you’re up for this?”
Cephea Collins smiled at him. “I seen the living, the dying and everything in-between. Don’t you be worrying about me. Let’s go take a gander at this mystery man of yours.”
He’d had second thoughts on the way over, wondering if he was insane for dragging the young woman into yet another criminal case. Or at least, he guessed it was a criminal case, since most people didn’t end up with arrows in them.
Daniel hopped out of the car and helped Cephea out of the passenger side. She’d wanted to bring along some of the herbal potions from her cabin, but he’d advised against it. Doc Baile was a competent and hardworking physician, but Daniel felt sure he’d be none too pleased to have the Melungeon healer treading in his medical sandbox.
Daniel was getting more and more irritated at the prejudice he’d encountered since meeting Cephea. Yes, the Melungeons had almost mystical origins, so mystical no one knew exactly where they’d come from. The olive skin and dark hair with the bright blue eyes was enough to start up the whispers, but Cephea’s legendary ability to heal people just added more fodder for those whispers.
He shook off his disgust long enough to guide Cephea through the door to the back room where the Doc kept a room for his sickest patients. He almost wanted to hold his nose at the smell, a mixture of sulphur, bleach, and vinegar. The sight that greeted them was about what Daniel had expected, but he gave Cephea a quick glance to make sure she was okay.
Cephea had that little ridge above her brow she got when looking at someone with sympathy. She clucked her tongue and went to the unconscious patient’s side. The man was lying on his back, his exposed skin yellowish and pale. Doc Baile didn’t look up as he prepared to change the bandage on the man’s chest.
Daniel asked, “How’s he doing?”
Doc Baile, never a man for niceties, grumbled out, “Great, for a man who’s got one foot in the grave. I’m surprised he’s still here, quite frankly. Must be as stubborn as you are, Daniel.”
“I’m not stubborn. I’m dogged.”
Baile shook his head. “Well then, use some of that doggedness and hand me that jar of salve.”
Daniel grabbed the jar the Doc had indicated and passed it over as he said, “Wouldn’t think one arrow could cause a man to be at death’s door.”
“Not much blood, either. Even before I removed the arrow.”
Cephea moved closer to the bed and pointed to a spot on the man’s abdomen. “That where it went in? That arrow?”
Doc Baile seemed to notice her for the first time and frowned. “I guess the wound gave it away, hmm?”
Cephea didn’t seem to notice the sarcasm. “Did you touch that arrow when you was taking it out of him, Doctor?”
Baile’s frown turned to a look of surprise. “With gloves, to avoid contaminating the wound.”
Cephea turned to Daniel, “You see that dark black scar there? I seed those on animals who got too close to Indian Plant.”
It was Daniel’s turn to be confused. “Indian Plant?”
She nodded. “Some folk call it Bloodroot.”
Daniel blinked, “So . . . it’s a poisonous plant?” He stared at the black scar. “You telling me the arrow was poisoned with this Bloodroot?”
Doc Baile butted in, excitedly. “That would explain why he’s in such a bad way. It didn’t occur to me the arrow was poisoned. I mean, who does such a thing these days? It’s 1920, for God’s sake, not Pagan times.”
Cephea added, “I use Indian Plant in my potions. Just a teensie bit for hooping cough. Something like that arrow, now that would take a lot. Boiled down, I reckon.”
Baile said, “Yes, yes, that would do it. Concentrate the poison, then the arrow delivers it to the bloodstream. Very effective.”
Cephea bit her lip. “Can’t get a tonic into him while he’s out like that. I got a balm for that sore, though.”
Baile picked up the jar of salve Daniel had handed him. “A balm, you say? I’ve been using this on his wound, and you can see the results.”
Daniel piped up, “I must be missing something. I’m not seeing any signs of healing.”
“Exactly. This,” Baile indicated the jar, “Works for normal skin lesions. Minor burns and rashes. But it doesn’t seem to be doing much for our poisoned friend here.” He peered at Cephea. “What’s in this potion of yours, Miss Collins?”
“A pinch of ground pumpkin seeds, a pinch of witch hazel, a pinch of honey, and some black tea.”
Daniel half-expected the physician to laugh, but he didn’t. He just scratched his head. “My granny used pumpkin for burns and witch hazel for insect bites. I suppose this balm of yours couldn’t do any worse than my mercurochrome.”
Cephea said, “I’ll mix some up and bring it by later.”
“I’d be mighty obliged. I haven’t forgotten how helpful you were during that viral outbreak last spring. I was sick as a dog, myself. You were a lifesaver.”
Cephea beamed at the unusual praise, which made Daniel want to pump Baile’s hand in thanks. But he was here on business, and this patient wasn’t the only part of that. “Doc, you said there was something else strange about this man.”
“Oh, I almost forgot, Daniel.” Baile reached under the bed and pulled out a cloth bag that clinked when he lifted it. “This was lying underneath him when he was found.”
Daniel opened the bag and whistled. He’d never seen anything like that before, like something out of a fairy tale. The leprechaun and his rainbow.
Cephea asked, “What is it, Daniel?”
“Gold. Lots of it. Coins, and not just Double Eagles. Some of ’em look much older. I’ll have to put those in the safe back at my office, Doc. I have a feeling those little beauties may be why our mystery man was skewered like a wild boar.”
He shifted the bag of gold from one hand to another. That thing was heavy. Must be thousands of dollars’ worth. “Who found our victim?”
“Wade Pritchett, a farmer who happened upon the scene with his hunting dogs. Thought he saw someone running into the woods. Maybe scared him off.”
“I know Wade. Good man, not prone to lying or fancy. But I’ll check with him later. Did you find any ID on your patient, Doc?”
“No ID.” Baile walked over to a table and held up a rectangular metal object. “Just this pocket flask.”
Daniel was firmly in the camp of folks who weren’t fans of Prohibition, still only a few months old. He knew he had to uphold the law, but also had to admit he inwardly cheered at these little acts of defiance.
Just as he was trying to decide how to juggle the heavy bag and take the flask, Cephea seemed to read his mind. She took the flask from Baile and brought it to Daniel as she noted, “It got letters on it.”
Daniel noted the “C” and “H,” and turned the flask around, but those were the only markings. “His initials, no doubt. Might help in tracking him down.”
After making sure Doc Baile would call if there was any change in the patient—the Doc recently got a telephone installed in his clinic like the one in Daniel’s office—Daniel carried the gold to the Model T. Cephea had carefully guarded the flask, and now both items were promptly stored in the wooden trunk at the rear.
He caught the troubled expression on her face as she touched her throat. He also noticed she wasn’t wearing the crystal necklace he’d given her. She followed his gaze and shook her head. “I didn’t forget it.”
“Is it too heavy? Does it scratch your skin?”
“Nothing like that. I be almost afraid to wear it.”
“Afraid? Why?”
“Folks have called me a witch so long, I reckon I should be used to it. And your Gramma, she knew. Knew about those things cain’t be explained so easy.”
“Like the visions?” As if he could ever forget how that crystal seemed to have a strange “power” that induced visions for him and Cephea.
She nodded. “I let a friend take a-holt of the necklace and she saw nothing. Felt nothing. So why do you and I see things when we be around it? What does it all mean? Even you said it were agin the laws of nature.”
He started to tease her about taking the whole “witch” thing too seriously, but when he saw the hand at her throat start to tremble, he gently reached up to grab that hand and hold it in his own, cursing himself for scaring her. “I’m not sure what it all means, Cephea. But those visions have been good things. Well, at least things that helped other people. And that’s not anything to fear, now, is it?”
“Not as long as you’re with me,” she said with a smile.
“Well, then, I’ll just have to make sure I’m with you more often.” And this time, he most definitely wasn’t teasing.
* * *
After Daniel dropped her off at her cabin, Cephea gathered together the ingredients for the balm she’d promised to take to Doc Baile’s. She’d made a fresh batch of dried pumpkin seeds just the other day, and now she was especially grateful it was pumpkin season. The wind whipped against the windows and sent swirls of colorful leaves dancing around the garden.
She loved her cabin, up here on the mountainside. Daniel was worried she’d be lonely here all by herself, but she didn’t feel alone at all. Sometimes, she even thought she heard the voices of her parents on those winds and the spirits of the forests singing songs of life and living.
If she were honest with herself, it wasn’t entirely true she didn’t feel lonely. Because being up here meant being without him. His words had thrilled her, to “make sure I’m with you more often.” But was he just being kind? Was she misreading the signs he cared for her as much as she did for him?
She’d never been courted before. Maybe this was his way of courting her? She was so confused. She knew a dozen different ways to heal a cough, but when it came to divining the nature of a man’s heart, she was as helpless as a mouse in a barnful of cats.
When Daniel returned to pick her up, he told her he’d chatted with the farmer, Wade Pritchett, but hadn’t learned anything else useful. She tried to cheer him up, “You still got that flask. With the ‘C’ and ‘H’ on it, don’cha?”
“Yeah, there is that. If you don’t mind, I’d like to stop by my office first to check if anyone’s reported a missing person. If not, I’ll have to call around to neighboring counties, see if they know anything about Mr. CH.”
Cephea knew Daniel was right proud of that telephone of his, almost as proud as he was of his Model T. There were only a couple dozen phones in town so far, so he considered himself lucky to have one. Said it was a lot easier to use than a telegraph.
She didn’t like phones, herself. Too noisy and that tinny voice on the other end didn’t even sound like a real person. She still didn’t know how someone could say something and have it travel down a small wire where it came out the other end. And they called her a witch!
She decided to come inside with him, but then wished she hadn’t. For the first sight that greeted them was Adelynn Hull, seated behind Daniel’s desk. “I wondered where you’d gone off to,” she smiled up at Daniel, ignoring Cephea altogether, as usual.
Cephea knew she didn’t have a claim on Daniel. And Adelynn had been his girlfriend, so if anyone had a claim, it was her. Then why did the image of the two of them back together make Cephea’s stomach hurt so much?
Daniel removed his hat and tossed it on the desk. “There’s been an attack on a man. Shot with a bow and arrow. So I don’t have time for any socializing, Adelynn.”
Adelynn’s ruby lips formed into a pout like a shriveled rosebud. “Looks like you’re doing some right now.” Adelynn still didn’t look at Cephea, but tilted her head in Cephea’s direction.
“Cephea’s made up a poultice for our victim to help tend his wounds. I’m getting ready to drive her over to Doc Baile’s.”
“I’m sure Doc Baile needs the help. Maybe even a replacement. He certainly didn’t do much for my brother.”
“Your brother was murdered, Adelynn. There’s not a doctor on this wide Earth who could’ve helped Andrew. You know that.”
Cephea felt a little sorry for Adelynn. Beneath all that powder and paint and perfect honey hair, she was naked to the core right then. Her words were sharp, but her eyes were like those of a lost, little girl. And now, with both her brother and father gone, she was an orphan just like Cephea.
The other woman quickly regrouped and batted her spidery eyelashes at Daniel. “You work so hard, you really should take a breather more often. And we never got to catch that moving-picture show. I know what we should do—let’s you and me drive up to Knoxville and catch a Vaudeville revue at the Bijou. We can have dinner at the new French restaurant.”
Daniel rubbed his eyes. “That’s a little out of my budget right now.”
“Not mine. With what Daddy left me.”
“Adelynn . . .”
She hastened to add, “Or we could just stay here. You can come over, and I’ll cook a nice French meal for you.”
“You can cook?” He blinked at her. Cephea knew he was probably thinking of those awful apple stack cakes of hers, the ones she liked to make him that he hated so much.
“Well, I can have Sissy cook it. Why don’t we make it tomorrow night, at eight?”
“Adelynn . . .”
“Then it’s all settled. I’ll give Sissy a list of what to buy. Maybe some vichyssoise and escargot.”
Adelynn whirled out of her seat so fast, it reminded Cephea of the leaves at her cabin earlier. Then she stalked up to Daniel and kissed him, not on the cheek, but on his lips, making Cephea avert her eyes.
After Adelynn left, there was an awkward pause between Daniel and Cephea. Finally, Cephea said, “She’s like a living doll, that Adelynn. Painted and pretty.”
“Copperheads are pretty, too. But you’re better off if you keep your distance.” Daniel rescued his hat from his desk, adding, “Know what? I’ll check on the missing person reports later. Let’s head on over to Doc Baile’s.”
They climbed into the Model T and had just pulled out into the street, when Daniel had to swerve suddenly to avoid hitting a man and woman who appeared out of nowhere. Cephea bit back a scream, and Daniel stopped the car.
He hopped out and went over to help the man up, while Cephea made her way over to the woman. Both of them appeared to be unhurt, with just a little dust on their clothing. Daniel apologized, then said, “You must have been in a big hurry.”
The man introduced himself and his companion as Greg Lewison and his wife, Gertrude. “We’re searching for a man who was heading this way. But we never heard back from him.”
Cephea looked at Daniel, and it didn’t take any mind-reading to know what he was thinking. He asked, “Can you tell me more about this man?”
Lewison proceeded to describe someone who sounded a lot like the mystery man patient, a man he called Carl Hamlen—Mr. CH. Lewison’s wife said to Cephea, “He’s a scoundrel, that man is. He’s a thief who stole our gold coins. Although he’s probably long gone by now. And spent the gold or stashed it away somewhere.”
Daniel replied, “This Hamlen fellow was injured, but he had the gold with him when found.”
Gertude hugged her husband. “This is wonderful news. But Sheriff, you must arrest Hamlen right away.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. The man’s ill and questioning will have to wait. But don’t worry, he’s not going anywhere.”
Lewison asked, “Can’t you at least return the gold to us? It’s very important, you see. It’s not for us . . . it’s for someone else.”
Daniel shook his head. “Not until the man wakes up, and I have more info. Are you going to be staying in town a while?”
“Why yes, we’re staying in the small motel down the street, the Winchester. If we can be of help—”
“I’ll come find you. Can I give you a lift?”
The Lewisons politely declined, saying they thought the walk would do them so good after their little “incident,” and Daniel and Cephea continued their interrupted journey to the clinic. Cephea asked, “What if Mr. Hamlen dies, Daniel? Will the Lewisons get their gold then?”
“If it’s their gold, you mean. Right now, all I have is their word. And the timing of their visit is a bit suspicious. But if they check out, then yes. I’ll return the gold to them.”
“Whether this Mr. Hamlen is a thief makes no never mind to me. I be a healer, no matter who needs the healing.”
Daniel smiled at her. “And that’s what sets you apart from all those judgmental townsfolk I’ve run into. And all the pretty copperheads.”
She laughed, and he joined right in.
* * *
After Cephea took her balm to Doc Baile and showed him how she used it, Daniel suggested they let the good doctor handle it from there. Then he decided they should go over to the Winchester Motel to check on the Lewisons.
He noticed she was reluctant to leave the patient, but he thought having her along would be helpful in questioning Gertrude Lewison. Cephea had a way of getting people to open up to her, especially women. With the notable exception of Adelynn.
When they arrived at the motel, Lewison had sponged his suit coat and slacks, and Gertrude had changed dresses. Daniel apologized again for almost running them down, but Lewison waved his hand in the air. “It was our fault. You were right, we were in a hurry. Should have watched where we were going.”
Gertrude jumped in, “It’s the orphanage, you see. We have deadlines.”
The chair Daniel had picked out in the couple’s room was poking him in the back, but that wasn’t what made him sit up straighter. “Orphanage? What deadlines?”
Lewison explained, “My wife and I met while we were working for a wealthy, childless man. Me as a butler, my wife as a cook. We had a lot in common, including the fact we’re both orphans. So when our employer died and left us the gold, we knew what we had to do with it.”
His wife spoke up, “We want to build an orphanage. But we have to give the builders money up front before they’ll break ground. That awful, awful Carl Hamlen. You see what he’s done?” She chewed on her nails. “Maybe the gold is cursed, after all. Just like they said.”
Cephea was sitting next to Gertrude on the bed and patted her hand. “I heard tell of curses afore. Never on gold, though. Whatever would cause such a thing?”
Gertrude said, “Some say that gold came from a sunken ship. A pirate ship. And anyone who touches it suffers misfortune. I never believed it until Hamlen stole the gold and got an arrow for his troubles.”
Daniel fiddled with his hat he was holding, not having seen a place to lay it down. “So why hasn’t it affected you, this curse?”
“Because we’re God-fearing folk. And we want to use the gold for good.”
Daniel hadn’t heard any tales of gold coins with a moral ethic, but he let that pass. “So did you know Hamlen before this?”
Lewison jumped up from his perch on a windowsill. “We knew him, all right. Considered him a friend. He worked as a groundskeeper for another homeowner down the street. We had a lot of good times together. Then he up and does something like this. Now I regret the day I first shared a drink with him.” He hastened to add, “That was before Prohibition, you see.”
“So how did he steal the gold from you?”
“Tricked us, he did. Switched the bag of gold for a bag of rocks and took off. We found out too late to catch him. So that’s why we’re here, asking for your help.”
Cephea voiced the question Daniel was going to, making him wonder if she really had added mind-reader to her many talents. “So how’d he get an arrow in him? Was they someone else found out about that gold?”
Lewison hesitated. “I don’t know. They say there’s honor among thieves, but maybe he had a partner who didn’t feel so honorable.”
Daniel said, “We’ll be checking into all possibilities, I can assure you. The farmer who found him thinks he saw someone run off. So we know that arrow didn’t get into Hamlen all by itself.”
Lewison asked, “Can we see Hamlen? Maybe his guilty conscience will make him confess.”
“He’s still unconscious. Quite frankly, the Doc isn’t sure he’ll make it. But I’ll keep you posted.”
Daniel thanked the Lewisons for their time and motioned for Cephea to follow him outside, beside the Model T. She turned those big, blue eyes of hers at him, and he almost lost his train of thought.
But then she asked, “You think they be telling the truth, Daniel?”
“About the orphanage, the curse, or the accomplice?”
“All of it, I reckon.”
“Ah. Well, I try not to form personal opinions until I have all the facts. And right now, my main source for those facts is lying half-dead in Doc Baile’s clinic.”
He pointed to her throat. “You’re wearing the necklace again.”
She fingered it and lifted it up so she could see the teardrop-shaped blue crystal. “I feel better with it on.”
“Well, visions or no visions, witchcraft or no witchcraft, the necklace sure looks pretty on you. Like it belongs there. I know my grandmother would be proud to have you wearing it.”
“You really think so?”
“I do. You remind me a little of her. Strong, kind, talented.”
“And a witch.”
He laughed. “I don’t pay attention to any of that. Besides, that kind of thing would never stand up in a court of law.”
Cephea blinked those eyes at him again. “She ever call you a warlock?”
He stopped laughing. “Why would she? It doesn’t seem likely.”
“Then why do you never fall sick? And what about the visions when you touch this here crystal?”
“Maybe I’m just lucky. Maybe it was that five-leaf clover I found as a child. Or maybe it’s all hogwash. I’m just a simple, hard-working man who has his hands full trying to keep the peace around here.”
“Does keeping the peace mean keeping that date with Adelynn?”
Daniel sighed. “I don’t know. Adelynn is a force of nature. Trying to say no to her is like telling the wind to stop blowing.”
“She’s got a lot of her own gold now. You reckon the feller who shot Mr. Hamlen would go after her?”
“I hadn’t thought of that. There might be thieves out there who’d target her house. Maybe I should keep that dinner date. To suss out the place and see about getting her one of those new-fangled emergency call boxes.”
“Seems like it might be a tad easier just to get her a dog.”
Daniel laughed again. That was another of the things he loved about this woman. She always told it like it is.
* * *
Cephea sat beside the still-unconscious form of Carl Hamlen. Daniel had dropped her off while he finally went back to his office, and poor, harried Doc Baile had been called away to attend to a woman about ready to give birth. So it was just her and her patient, who was silent except for the slow rising and falling of his chest.
She put a cool compress on Hamlen’s forehead and sang to him quietly, “Down in the valley, valley so low. Hang your head over, hear the wind blow. Roses love sunshine, violets love dew, angels in heaven know I love you.” Then she stopped, realizing it wasn’t Carl Hamlen she was thinking about.
She got up to wring out the cloth and dip it in the basin of cool water, when she heard a low moaning on the bed. She turned around so quickly, she half-tripped over a chair leg. But when she reached the man’s side, his eyes were open.
Leaning over him, she patted his face. “You be in Doc Baile’s clinic, Mr. Hamlen. Welcome back to the land of the living.”
He muttered something, as his eyes swung around the room. She guessed he must be trying to get his bearings, and after a few moments, he turned his gaze on her. He said a little louder, “Who . . .?”
“I’m Cephea, Mr. Hamlen. You want I should get you some water?”
He licked his lips, which she took as a yes, and brought him over a glass, helping him raise up a bit so he could take a few sips. He thanked her, then croaked out, “What happened to me?”
“A farmer hereabouts found you in his field. You had a poison arrow in you. Doc Baile said we pert near lost you, but he’ll be tickled pink to see you awake.”
“A poisoned arrow?”
“Reckon someone wanted to snare that bag of gold t’was found with you.”
Hamlen’s eyes widened. “Did they . . . did they take it?”
“Don’t you be worrying your head about that gold none. It’s safe and sound.” She plumped up his pillow for him. “So how is it you come to have so much gold on you?”
He slumped back into the pillow. “Guess you could say I stole it. But that’s not the whole story.”
She pulled up a chair and reached out to hold his hand. “I think I’d like to hear that story.”
Hamlen closed his eyes briefly. “Stole it from a dead man. A rich dead man. He didn’t have any heirs, you see. So we thought nobody would know it went missing. But then I found out what the old man was planning on doing with that money.”
“An orphanage?”
“How . . . how in the world did you know that?”
Cephea smiled at him. “So you had a touch of the guilt fever, I reckon?”
He nodded. “I’m an orphan. My parents died when I was a small boy. Cholera got them. I just couldn’t stomach the thought some small boy like me wouldn’t have a place to go. But my partners in crime didn’t like my change of heart.”
“And you stole it back from them.”
He nodded.
“Were those partners in crime of yours the Lewisons?”
His eyes grew wide. “They’ve been here?”
“Looking for you. Told a different story. Said they was the orphans and the money was left to them by that rich dead man of yours.”
“No, no, no. They’re lying. I swear on my mother’s grave, so help me God.”
“Well, now, that’ll be for Sheriff Praeger to decide.”
“At least put my mind at ease—you said the gold is safe? Where they can’t get at it?”
“Yes, it’s safe. Now you just lay back there and get some rest.”
A male voice piped up from inside the doorway, “Just where exactly might that gold be, Miss Collins?”
Cephea looked up to see Greg and Gertrude Lewison as they entered the room. Gertrude stepped aside as her husband held up three arrows in his hand. “I’ve used one of these before, and I’ll use them again, if I have to. That is, if you don’t hand over that gold right here and now.”
Cephea let go of Hamlen’s hand and faced Lewison square on. “I could no more hand over that gold than I could a wild boar. It be at the Sheriff’s office. In his wall safe.”
Lewison narrowed his eyes and took a step closer. “I don’t believe you. I believe you’re in league with Hamlen here. Conspiring to keep that gold for yourself. I’ll bet he sweet-talked you with that cockeyed story about an orphanage.”
“That be a right popular story these days. Seems like you told me the very same fairy tale.”
Lewison’s laugh was like the bark of a wolf circling his prey. “All right, I’ll come clean. Hamlen lost sight of the prize. Got all soft and sentimental about that orphanage of his. But those brats don’t need that money half as much as I do.”
Cephea touched the teardrop crystal on her necklace, which brought it to Lewison’s attention. “That’s a pretty bauble you got there, missy. Looks like it might fetch a pretty penny.” His voice hardened. “Hand it over.”
She needed to buy some time, to think of what to do. “Might not be a good idea, Mister Lewison. ’Cause it be cursed. Like that there gold of yours.” She touched the crystal again and called out in her mind to Daniel, Come quick, we need you, oh please hurry.
She wasn’t just fearful for herself—she knew just one of those poisoned arrows would be enough to kill her or Hamlen if Lewison got close enough to jab it in. And he had three of them.
He scoffed at her words. “Cursed? You bought that balderdash? It’s no more cursed than my shoes are.”
“That old man died, did he not? And Mr. Hamlen here got hisself shot. Better not be so hasty to cast off that curse. Some folks in these parts call me a witch.”
Gertrude moved to the other side of her husband and tugged on his sleeve. “What if she’s telling the truth, Greg?”
Lewison shrugged her off and moved another step closer to Cephea. “If she’s a witch, then this poison won’t hurt her, will it? Why don’t we do a little test?”
He moved two of the arrows to his left hand and held up the third in his right as he started toward her. Just then, Hamlen launched a pillow at Lewison, which made him drop the arrow in his right hand. Cursing, he fumbled for a second arrow, but a tall figure jumped him from behind and knocked him to the ground.
Cephea’s relief upon seeing Daniel turned to horror when she thought he’d fallen on one of those arrows of Lewison’s. She started breathing again when she saw all three arrows still on the floor as Daniel hauled Lewison up and slapped a pair of handcuffs on him.
Doc Baile took that moment to walk into the room, but stopped in mid-stride. Putting his hands on his hips, he yelled out, “Will someone please tell me what in the world has happened here?”
To which Cephea replied, “I think that balm did the trick, Doc.”
* * *
With the Lewisons locked away in jail, Cephea recounted to Daniel everything that had happened before he raced in to save the day. He must have seen the question in her eyes, for he said, “You want to know if I had a vision of the Lewisons threatening you, don’t you?”
Cephea took a sip of the black coffee Daniel had made for her. “I touched the necklace. Next thing I knowed, there you were.”
“Maybe we do have a special link, you and I. Maybe that crystal is like a key to a doorway between us.”
She smiled at him. “I liketa think so.” The coffee was bitter, but she decided she preferred it that way. “What’s going to happen to Mr. Hamlen?”
“That’s for the courts to decide.”
Cephea considered that for a moment. The law was the law, and Mr. Hamlen had indeed stolen that gold. But his intentions were good, if his actions weren’t. “I think he should be set free. Poor man’s done suffered enough.”
“How do you know he’s telling the truth?”
“I seen an aura around Hamlen, that’s how I know he was telling the truth.”
He drew close to her and tipped his head to one side. “Do you see an aura around me?”
“You don’t have no aura, but you don’t need one. I can tell your character just by looking in your eyes.”
“Do you have a potion for truth-telling, too?”
She started to get indignant he was making fun of her until she saw the way his eyes were dancing. “No, but I been getting a lot of requests for love potions these days. I’m surprised Adelynn haint been by to get one.”
Daniel laughed. “Maybe Adelynn needs one, but I sure don’t.”
Cephea’s heart almost stopped right there. “Because you never been in love?”
“Because I already am.” And he kissed her tenderly on the cheek.
That got Cephea’s heart started again, beating so fast she was surprised the whole world didn’t hear it. Then she hoped they did. Because for the first time in her life, she was certain there was magic in the universe, and it had found her in the form of Sheriff Daniel Praeger.
