Strange Behavior

Chapter Three

 "I followed her."

Tyler was there, inside the store, his hands shoved inside his jeans' pockets, his shoulders hunched. He wore a dark gray sweatshirt, zipped up with the hood covering his head, no doubt to fight off the autumnal chill that permeated the night air.

"Why?" Hannah knew who Tyler was talking about. He had followed Aunt Vivian. She wasn't sure what she should say, how she should react. One part of her wanted to be mad for his seemingly quick judgment to peg her aunt as crazy.

The other part, the secret part, wanted to believe every single word he said. Wanted to ask him to take care of her, protect her from all the weirdness. Maybe he could put his arms around her and hold her close? Just for a little bit?

Wishful thinking...

"She went to the cemetery and only looked at the freshly covered graves." Tyler's face was like a mask of stone. "Some mourners came upon her, and she shot out of there quick. Went straight home."

Hannah rested her hands on her hips, contemplating him. He looked serious, but this was getting stranger by the second, and she needed to put a stop to it. "I can't believe you're following my aunt around and spying on her. Why do you care? What exactly do you think she's doing?"

Tyler strode toward her, stopping on the other side of the glass display counter, directly in front of her. Fury shone in his dark eyes, and she took a step back, surprised by the depth of emotion she saw there. He just looked so angry.

"I think she's digging up graves and stealing jewelry off people's dead bodies," he said, his voice tight. "Then she brings the jewelry back here to the store and sells it so she can make a profit."

Her mouth dropped open and she slowly shook her head. "N-no way. You have to be kidding."

"I'm not." He pushed the hood off his head, messing up his perfect dark hair. She wanted to smooth out the rumples and immediately chastised herself for thinking that way. "I bet if we go back to the cemetery tonight after you close, we'll see her. Digging up graves."

Icy cold dread wrapped its fingers around Hannah, making her shiver. "Now you're just talking crazy." She started to walk away, but he leaned across the counter, wrapping his fingers around her upper arm to stop her from leaving. Glancing down at his hand on her arm, she murmured, "Let go of me."

"No." His voice was firm, even a little scary. "Don't you feel it when you walk in here? It's creepy. The air is always extra cold, even in the summer, and it smells strange. This building and everything inside of it just gives off a weird vibe."

"The building is full of old junk. Of course it's going to smell weird." She pulled out of his gentling grip and discreetly sniffed the air. But she smelled nothing, figuring she'd grown used to it.

Tyler frowned as he glanced around. "Have you noticed anything—different about the place lately? Has your aunt been acting strange?"

"No stranger than she normally acts," Hannah answered with a shrug.

He started walking the length of the display counters, scanning the contents within with a sharp eye. "There's a lot of stuff here." Glancing up, his intense gaze met hers. "How successful is she?"

A chill moved down her spine and she came around the counter, trailing after him. The spotlights from above shone down on the jewels, making everything within the cases sparkle brightly. The jewelry was beautiful, some of it very old. Most of it she had no idea where it came from. That was Aunt Vivian's job, to catalog all of the new inventory.

"The store seems to do...well," she finally said, slowing her steps as she scanned a display of new items beneath the glass. All of it was gorgeous, even more intricate than the stuff her aunt usually picked up. She'd bet money each piece was extremely expensive. Her gaze lingered on a pearl necklace, constructed of three strands and with a pendant in the middle. It looked familiar...

"Oh my God," she gasped, covering her mouth with trembling fingers. She recognized that necklace. Crap, she'd just seen it. Without waiting for Tyler, she ran back into the office, rifling through the stack of articles on the desk until she found the one she was looking for.

It felt like her heart dropped into her stomach as she stared at the photo. There it was, the very same pearl necklace. Her fingers shook as she picked up the neatly folded section of newspaper and read the obituary once again, specifically looking for when exactly the woman died.

Two weeks ago.

"What's wrong?" Tyler entered the office, stopping in front of the desk. "Are you okay, Hannah? You look pale."

"Look at this." She held the article out, the thin paper trembling in her grasp.

He snatched the paper from her hand and scanned it before lifting his gaze to hers. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"That necklace the woman is wearing in the photo." Hannah took a deep breath, exhaling shakily. "I think it's in the display case."

His expression darkened. "Show me."