Page 15 of Dark Moon Secrets

I’d already organized to meet with the woman currently running the shop, and I didn’t want to cancel on her. It was such a bizarre situation. Why did Maria even own a shop if she wasn’t there to manage it?

How did I not know this about her?

You didn’t listen as well as you should have.

I swallowed hard to stop myself from yelling for Maria to get out of my head. Mia would definitely drag me to the doctor if she thought I was hearing Maria’s voice.

“Tanjie?” Mia’s voice broke through my thoughts.

“I’m concentrating on driving,” I answered, not entirely a lie.

I slowed down to take the bends of the winding road carefully. Unfortunately, I was a bit out of practice driving since I didn’t own a car.

“You must be nearly there by now,” Mia’s voice crackled in my ear as the phone reception weakened for a moment.

Mia’s impatience began to send the butterflies fluttering in my belly completely out of control. It was bad enough having to deal with my nerves, let alone her excitement.

“Nearly,” I said, turning into the main street of Katoomba.

It should be a bit farther down past the Chinese takeout and the secondhand shop. I’d looked up the area on the internet, and oddly, there hadn’t been a clear image of the shop anywhere.

The internet hadn’t been one of Maria’s strong points, and while that was the most logical aspect, I couldn’t help thinking it wasn’t a coincidence. No matter how many searches I did online, I couldn’t find any recent images of the bookstore.

“Hurry up,” said Mia. “I want to know what it looks like.”

“I’m sure it’s going to be full of books,” I answered while focusing on my driving.

Shops on either side of the road—a general store, pharmacy, optometrist, even a post office—meant there was life here, even though it felt well away from the city’s hustle. Cars were parked in front of the shops, and people casually strolled along the sidewalks.

Seeing life on the street after driving on the highway for nearly two hours was a good sign. I’d need people coming into the bookstore if I wanted to sell it for a bit of money and not be stuck trying to sell it for months on end.

“Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean,” Mia chided.

The rain stopped, and I turned off the windshield wipers, making it easier to see. Finally, I spotted the Chinese takeout and slowed down.

The secondhand store was impressive. It had a wide frontage and heaps of wares outside, including old tables, a pedal sewing machine, wooden bookcases, and some outdated suitcases, which were now the in-thing to decorate your home.

The next shop would be the bookstore. I held my breath. Was it going to be a dump that I was stuck with and another burden in my life?

There wasn’t a bookstore.

I frowned as I drove on.

“Well?” asked Mia.

“I missed it.”

“How could you miss a bookstore?”

My thoughts exactly.

So I did a U-turn and went back. I wouldn’t miss it a second time. To be sure I didn’t, I parked in front of where the bookstore should have been.

I pulled out my phone and checked the address.

There was a big number six above the door.

This was it.

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