Page 104 of Blue Moon Mistress

Unlike the one at the boardwalk, this one feels… sinister.

And unlike the one at the boardwalk, I’m not going to let this one stay as it is.

Tearing it would be best, but I can’t leave a mess.

I pull a tiny pair of scissors from my pocket.

The doll was made by banding the grass at the top to create a bulbous head and banding parts of what would technically be considered a skirt to form arms.

I snipped all three without touching the thing.

The relief I felt might have been my own ill-ease leaving now that it was just a pile of dead grass… or it could have been something more pervasive.

Only time had a chance of telling.

Resettling the curtain, I go back through the house as quickly as I can without disturbing anything. The less Mrs. Miller suspects the better.

But when I close her door, tapping the lock to turn the deadbolt, the house feels just as unwelcoming as when I first touched this door.

Sneaking back across the gap between their houses, I rejoin Chase in their kitchen.

“Find anything?”

“Only what I already knew was there.”

His brows quirk, but he doesn’t ask me what I meant. “You are a very popular woman. I think you’ve gotten twenty texts.”

He nods toward my bag as it gives a muted buzz to prove him right.

“Another man might have snooped.”

“Yes, but I’m not foolish enough to think you need even more than what you’ve currently taken on.”

He closes up the dishwasher and sets it to run as I dig the phone from my purse.

There are only five texts, but the name on them isn’t one I want to see.

Groaning, I consider ignoring her.

But she isn’t going to go away.

Hey Scar!

We should totally get together today.

The weather is perfect!

I glance out the window to the drizzle. It is the perfect type of day to get cozy and chat with a friend. But we’re not friends. I just don’t know what she wants from me.

I know this great little coffee shop.

It’s super chill. One of those places we can talk freely.

No one cares in there.

The fact that she hasn’t named the place gives me even more pause.

Let me know if you’re available today. I’d love to see you!

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