Unlucky Charms by Linda O. Johnston

comfort I could from him. Never mind that I couldn’t define our relationship. We were more than friends, certainly, but was there more to come?
    Did I want more?
    In any case, a hug from him right now would go a long way toward helping me deal with this situation …
    Hey, he must have read my mind, I thought a moment later as he reached where I was standing and threw his arms around me. I snuggled against him, aware that Detective Choye was there and watching us. Well, so what?
    â€œDamn that bad luck edict,” Justin growled. “We shouldn’t have kept any of what happened quiet. This shouldn’t be happening anywhere in Destiny, and most especially not here. And I intend to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Six
    â€œJustin. You’re here.” Martha’s voice shrilled out from the doorway to the storeroom.
    â€œYes, I am.” He released me and pulled back a little.
    Martha was dressed in a beige Lucky Dog Boutique T-shirt over a calf-length brown skirt and yellow athletic shoes. Pluckie immediately navigated over the piles of things on the floor to reach her.
    I refused to allow myself to feel anything but glad that Justin had given me that reassuring little hug, the way friends did with one another. We weren’t touching now, and I reminded myself that the embrace hadn’t meant anything more than that he was one nice cop.
    Even though it was far from the first time we’d been in each other’s arms … but that hadn’t happened often with other people around. And whatever Martha might suspect about us—well, no sense giving Justin’s subordinate, Choye, reason to gossip about the chief back at the station.
    This time Justin headed over the tossed merchandise toward Martha, who was like a mother to him. It was no surprise that she got a hug, too. And maybe if Detective Choye had reason to be upset about what had happened here, he might get an embrace as well—or at least a masculine handshake.
    Okay, my emotions were overwrought. But under the circumstances, that was allowed.
    â€œI’ve got a crime scene team coming here, due to arrive anytime,” Justin said. “They’ll look for prints and other evidence we can use to determine who did this.”
    Too bad he was across the room. I’d have whispered a question about whether they’d found anything at the other break-ins.
    Surprisingly, I didn’t have to. “Now, I’ve already warned you, Rory—and I’m telling you not to talk about what I’m going to say, Martha, because it could be bad luck for you and for Destiny—but this is part of a crime wave. Problem is, we haven’t gotten much in the way of evidence yet to go after whoever’s doing it and prevent it from happening again.”
    â€œEr … sir,” Choye began. He was still standing not far from me.
    â€œYes, I know, Detective.” Justin stepped away from Martha but remained near the door to the storeroom. “We’re under orders, and bad omens appear to be threatening Destiny. But we have a job to do, and if doing it means that we tempt fate against us—well, that’s just the way it is.”
    â€œBut what if it brings bad luck to the entire town, sir? And—”
    â€œWe’ll warn people. And considering what’s been going on, I’d say that bad luck has already arrived. Don’t you think?”
    Interesting that he was soliciting his subordinate’s opinion. Or maybe that was just his way of daring Choye to disagree with him.
    â€œYes, sir,” Choye said.
    â€œRight now, I think you’d better lock the front door, Rory, to prevent any customers from coming in. I can help you come up with a sign that says you’re taking inventory or something, so the store will be closed for a couple of hours.”
    A couple of hours. That would never be a good thing, but on the day after I gave a presentation introducing all