Page 19 of Throne of Secrets

Star gave an exasperated sigh. “I’d opened my dictation app and was leaving myself a note about the caulk, as I said. You know, the ones I’d seen and the ones I wanted to check out later. I was talking about the needed characteristics—flexibility, weather resistance, non-toxic, environmentally sound—stuff like that.” She lifted her hands as if her explanation was the most obvious thing in the world.

Ethan blinked and nodded slowly, hoping the story would eventually come together. “Okay … and?”

Star took another sip of her coffee, licking a bit of whipped cream from her lip. “Anyway, I rounded the corner and ran into Kyle. Which was … well, never mind. Just something I deal with.”

“Kyle?” Ethan’s brows lowered. “Who's Kyle?”

She sighed dramatically. “The clerk at the hardware store. He’s … um … interested in me. I think he’d call it attracted.”

Ethan felt his back stiffen. His grip on the coffee cup tightened slightly. “Right. And you return this attraction?”

Star’s eyes went wide, pupils practically doubling in size. “Not at all! I mean, he’s not awful or anything, but he’s not …” She hesitated and then glanced up at Ethan, her lips curling into a sly smile. “Let's just say he's not my ideal. And I don't want to settle for less than my ideal.”

Ethan's pulse stuttered. Who in the hell was her ideal? He gave a short nod and cleared his throat. “Okay. So … the conversation was with Kyle, then?”

“No, no, no,” she said, waving her hands so wildly she nearly sloshed her coffee onto the floor. “Kyle was telling me about some new stain colors. One of them was exactly what I needed! It was this light reddish tint that matched the color under the old varnish. You saw it when you helped me clean up the mess. I really, really wanted that one. But, of course, it was on the top of the display.”

“Display?” Ethan’s eyes narrowed, a twinge of unease running through him.

“Yep. A big ol’ pyramid display of gallon cans. I mean, who thought stacking twelve feet of cans was a good idea?” Star shrugged.

Ethan rubbed his temple, starting to see daylight at the end of this conversational tunnel. “Okay, so … your dictation app was running, and the phone was at the end of the aisle while you were climbing the display?”

“Exactly!” Star pointed at him with enthusiasm. “See? You're keeping up!”

“Just barely,” Ethan muttered. “So, you were climbing the display …”

Star sighed dramatically. “Yep. And twelve feet of paint cans came tumbling down around me. Wham, boom, thunk—everywhere.”

Ethan blinked owlishly. “Of course, they did. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she said with a shrug. “My pride took a hit. But you know I don’t have much left. Honestly, I usually don't get hurt when stuff like that happens. I told you that, right?”

“Yeah. You mentioned it yesterday when you fell off the ladder. And at least three times before that.”

Star bobbed her head. “Right. Anyway, so after the cans came crashing down, these two guys peeked around the end of the aisle. I think they were standing back there the whole time. Just sort of … hanging out. I remember thinking they looked at me like I was either insane or some kind of paint-can monster that had spawned in the middle of the aisle.”

Ethan sat up straighter. “Wait. What exactly did they say?”

“It is on the transcribed recording. One of them asked me what I was doing. And how long I'd been there.” Star frowned, her lips pursing. “I mean, at the time, I didn’t think anything about it. I was busy being mortified about the whole stain-can debacle.”

Ethan was finally getting the entire story pieced together. “And how did they react?”

“They kinda looked at each other. Like I’d said something interesting when all I'd said was 'stain colors.'” Her frown deepened. “Then Kyle showed up, and the two guys left. But … I don't know. Something just felt off.”

Ethan nodded slowly; all the dots were connected now. “And you think your dictation app recorded what they were saying while you were climbing the display?”

Star’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Exactly! My phone was sitting right there, recording the whole time. I didn’t even realize it until I got to the checkout. And honestly, I was just hoping it didn't capture me yelling when the cans came crashing down.”

Ethan rubbed his jaw, thoughts racing. “These two guys. … did you get a good look at them?”

“Sure … well, I noticed some things,” she admitted. “I was too busy figuring out how to extricate myself from the paint can apocalypse. But one guy had a tattoo on his hand. I think it was a spade. Maybe a club? Something black like that. The other one was wearing a ratty baseball cap. I think it said 'Benny’s Auto'.”

Ethan tapped the screen, and the note filled the display.

“Start from the top,” Star said, leaning in to watch him read as she took a sip of her coffee.

Ethan scanned the first paragraphs, then looked up. “Do you want me to take care of this Kyle fellow? I can make sure he never bothers you again.”

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