Page 78 of Secrets Hidden In The Glass

He turned the jewelry over, examining the piece much like she had. “Which store?”

“Everything Antiques. It was just there, Nate,” she repeated, not sure how to convey the moment of fascinated terror when her eyes landed on the dull gold.

“Jesus.” He glanced to the sky as the rain came down again. “Let’s go inside.” He gripped her icy hand in the warmth of his and walked with her up the path and through the door.

Kay turned in her seat and beamed. “Well, aren’t you two a vision.”

“Hi, Kay.” Callie smiled, liking Nate’s jovial dispatcher very much. “I couldn’t wait to see him.”

Kay pressed a hand to her heart. “Isn’t that just the sweetest thing?”

“Kay, we need a couple of minutes.” Nate pulled Callie down the hall and shut them in his office.

They stared at each other in the humming silence.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around this,” he said. “You found this at Bess’s shop?”

She nodded. “I was buying some items for the wedding. When she was ringing up the sale, it caught my eye.”

“Have you been in there before? Maybe you saw it and didn’t remember?”

She shook her head adamantly. “No. Today was my first visit to Everything Antiques. I never saw that locket until I had my dreams—or I don’t remember where else I’ve seen it.”

His gaze intensified on hers. “What does that mean?”

She shrugged. “After I drew it that first night…I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. There’s something about it that’s familiar. When I held it at the store, I knew I’d touched it before, but that doesn’t make any sense because I haven’t.”

“You must have.”

“No.” She shook her head again, needing him to believe her. “I would remember.”

Nate sat on the edge of the desk, turning the locket in his hand.

“Bess said Captain Bob asked her to sell it. I talked to him before the ferry left. He said he found it in the woods.”

“When?”

She shrugged. “He had no idea. I asked him if it could have been five or even ten years ago, looking for some sort of time frame, and he didn’t give me much of an answer.”

Nate’s frown returned. “Huh.”

“What do you think this means?”

“It means…I don’t know what it means, but I’ll talk to Captain Bob myself. Maybe we can worm a few more answers out of him—jog his memory a little bit, and we’ll be able to solve our little mystery.”

“That would be great because it’s driving me crazy.”

“We’ll see what we can do.” He took her hand and pulled her closer. “Do you mind if I hold on to this?”

“No, that’s fine.”

Nate’s office line started ringing. “Kay, can you get that and take a message, please?”

“Sure thing,” Kay called down the hall.

Callie knew she was interrupting Nate’s day—that he had so much more to worry about than her latest crisis. “I should go. I’ll see you at home.”

Nate kissed her. “Be careful on the roads.”