Lara’s sister Jenny is determined to help her find true love. The only problem - Jenny died ten years ago!
“Let me get this straight, Lara. You think your ex-husband wrote a letter in your departed sister’s handwriting, then broke into your shop and vandalized the place?”
Well, when you put it that way, it sounded rather foolish. But Lara refused to let Michael get away with harassment. It was time for him to move on.
She nodded with conviction, green eyes shining.
“Yes, Jack. That’s what I think.”
Of course, it was difficult to think much of anything when Private Investigator Jack Donegan was around. The man was gorgeous! He had the chiseled good looks Lara considered worthy of a Hollywood Hunk.
“Can I see the letter?” he asked.
Lara handed it to him. Postmarked in Los Angeles without a date, it was very curious indeed. Her sister had been living in LA when the accident happened, so it was possible Jenny had written the letter before her death and it had been lost in the mail. Yet the letter encouraged Lara to find a new love. It was as though Jenny knew of Lara’s divorce. But that was impossible, since Lara and Michael had been married happily at the time of Jenny’s death.
“Michael is denying any involvement in this, Lara. What makes you think it’s him?” Jack asked.
Lara took a deep breath, hoping he would believe her.
“I’ve seen him driving by the house lately. He drove by the day before the letter came. The next morning, the tapestries had been ripped from the wall in Madam Lara’s House of Fortunes. The crystal ball was in pieces on the floor. I had to order a new one.”
Jack’s eyes were sympathetic, and she was glad he was there. He was the only person in town who took the time to listen to her side of the story. Michael worked at the local high school and had a gleaming reputation. No one wanted to believe he could threaten his ex-wife. Jack didn’t want to believe it either, but he wasn’t going to take any chances on Lara’s safety. He was a good man.
He reached for her hand and offered her a smile.
“I’ll talk to Michael again tomorrow and see if he’s willing to take a lie detector test. Don’t worry, Lara. We’ll solve this, one way or another.”
***
Lara’s first doubt about Michael’s guilt came a week later when another letter arrived. Surely Michael didn’t have the nerve to continue his twisted game after Jack had confronted him! And the handwriting was unmistakably Jenny’s. What if Jenny had written the first letter after all? What if her sister was trying to contact her?
Dearest Lara,
Forgive me for shattering the crystal ball. I only meant to show you that your future isn’t certain. Forget Michael and reach toward a new love. You know who I mean.
Your Loving Sister, Jenny
The sound of the telephone startled Lara and she dropped the letter in her haste to answer it.
“Lara, it’s Jack. I just got the results of Michael’s lie detector test. He was telling the truth about everything. He never wrote the letter, and he didn’t break into your shop. He just wants both of you to move on.”
“I believe that now,” she admitted, glancing at the letter on the floor. “Jack, I think Jenny wrote the letter. I think she’s trying to tell me something.”
Jack was silent on the other end of the line.
“Listen, Lara, my grandmother just passed away. I know how hard it can be to lose someone, but . . .”
“Don’t patronize me, Jack. I’m right about this.”
It was just a feeling she had.
***
Jack came to Lara’s shop on the same day her new crystal ball arrived. She was polishing it when he walked inside.
“Do me a favor,” he asked. “Read my future.”
“What?”
“Please, Lara. Just do it.”
They sat down together and Lara focused on the crystal ball. The clarity of what she saw was startling.
“I see us . . . together,” she told him.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
He reached into the back pocket of his jeans and retrieved a letter. The envelope bore no date. Lara caught her breath when she read it. It was written by Jack’s departed grandmother. She urged him to listen to what Jenny said and, most importantly, to follow his heart.
“I’m sorry I doubted you.”
To his surprise, she laughed.
“What’s so funny?” he smiled down at her.
“If Jenny wanted us together, she could have saved a lot of trouble by leaving the first crystal ball in tact!”
I wrote this novel several years ago, I self published and never had it to sell. I have decided to rewrite it and hope to get it published within a few months for people to be able to buy. I had a few copies and gave them to a few family members and
“Let me get this straight, Lara. You think your ex-husband wrote a letter in your departed sister’s handwriting, then broke into your shop and vandalized the place?”
