Page 45 of A Dream of Stars and Curses

I get the officer is just doing her job, but I’m with Bonnie on this one: there’s no way she just forgot where she put her grandma’s heirloom necklace.

My stomach sinks further. It doesn’t sound like they’ll be able to get it back. I’m gutted for Bonnie. Her grandma’s death still feels recent, and the necklace was the only thing she cared to keep. And now it’s gone. I squeeze Bonnie again.

‘Do what you need to,’ I say to the police officer, though I’m sure she already thought of that. ‘If there’s anything else we can tell you, we’ll be happy to help.’

She nods. ‘May I ask where you were tonight?’

I’m all too aware of Leverett in the room and wonder what he’s making of all this. Would he be able to find the thief? The human—I’m assuming—officer didn’t find any clues, but maybe his vampire senses could pick up on something subtle they missed.

‘I attended a social event with my—’ My face burns. What exactly are we to each other now? I decide to play it safe and hope he won’t be offended. ‘With my friend. He drove. We just got back.’

The officer nods again. ‘I will leave you for now, but if we have a lead or find the stolen item, we will be in touch. Likewise, if you find that anything else was taken, please let us know.’ She hands me a card. ‘My contact details, and the case number. If you call and ask for me or cite this number, you’ll be put through.’

The officer sees herself out, and goosebumps race up my arms and back. What are the odds of something like this happening the one night I’m not home? Bonnie prefers quiet nights in with me, too. This was one of the few nights a year where just one of us was home.

I kiss her hair, rub her shoulder, and extract myself to speak with Leverett. I feel bad that I left him as soon as we arrived, but my sister needed me.

‘This isn’t the end to our evening I was expecting,’ I say with a sad smile. Just the thought that some criminal was in our house makes my skin crawl. This is a safe neighbourhood. Sure, you hear things about drug deals or someone being attacked, but those things are rare. Like, once-in-a-year rare, if that. And it’s never on our end of the road.

Leverett smiles at me, but there’s an uncertain edge to it. ‘I’ll search the house and the perimeter, if you don’t mind. There’s a strange smell in here.’

I go cold. Sunitha said something like that, too.

‘Any chance it was the officer?’

She could be a werewolf, or some other Veiled I can’t identify just by looking. What do I know? Maybe she farted or ate a big curry before coming here. But I can tell by the tone in Leverett’s voice that it’s nothing so mundane.

He shakes his head. ‘No, she’s human.’ He moves closer and whispers, ‘If it were just you, I would ask you to stay with me tonight. Will you two be alright? I can stay if you like.’

As much as I want to take him up on that, I don’t want to stress Bonnie out more. What she needs now is a bit of normality. I hate that some asshole stole her grandma’s heirloom necklace, but none of the locks were broken. No money or bank cards were taken. My sister is safe and unharmed and never even saw the thief. It could have been worse.

And that’s one of the many things about this that doesn’t add up. It feels more like someone just wanted to scare us, but who and why? Is it possible that we discussed the Veiled too loudly one day and someone got scared? But then, wouldn’t they have left some indication that this is related?

I inwardly sigh. I need sleep. If I’m missing something obvious, hopefully I’ll see it in the morning.

‘While I really want to accept,’ I say, ‘I think we’ll be fine. Thank you, though.’

Leverett nods. ‘I’ll search the area just in case. Give me a moment.’

He turns into fog and disappears. I sink back down next to Bonnie.

‘They’ll find your necklace,’ I say, though I have zero business promising that. I just want to give her hope, make her feel better.

She nods, but it lacks energy. ‘I shouldn’t have gone out tonight. Maybe someone was just waiting for us both to leave.’

I back away a little so I can look at her properly. ‘Where were you off to?’

Despite everything, her cheeks colour a little. ‘Sunny asked me out for drinks. I told her you had your thing, so she invited me out, too. We could only stay for a few hours because she needs to be up early tomorrow, but yeah.’ She gives me a tired smirk. ‘I went on a date, too.’

I silence the voice that’s wondering if Sunitha is behind this. It seems like an awfully big coincidence, but I won’t even entertain the idea. Bonnie is happy dating her. I won’t ruin it by accusing her girlfriend of breaking and entering and theft.

Although, Sunitha could have known about the necklace and decided it’s worth something. Sunitha knew I’d be out tonight, and apparently she couldn’t stay long. Just long enough for this theft to happen? They went out for drinks, but could she have passed our address and the necklace’s location to an associate? Bonnie would have no reason to suspect her.

I hate that my head even went there.

So instead, I smile at Bonnie. ‘Sunny, huh?’

Some light finds its way back into her eyes. ‘Yeah. I guess that means it’s going well, hm?’

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