Mariah Stewart - Coming Home

“Why don’t you just call her? She’ll know the name, right?”

“I’d rather not do that over the phone.”

“If you get the pictures, I’ll take them up. She’s at the shop.”

“By herself?” Hal looked up, his eyebrows raised.

Grady nodded. “With the doors locked and Grace Sinclair sitting at the front table at Cuppachino.”

“No one’s likely to get past Gracie, but still…” Hal got up and poked his head out the door. “Gus? How’re we doing with that picture we’re waiting on?”

“It’s just starting to come through now. You’ll have it in a minute,” the officer called back.

“You have anything you can arm yourself with?” Hal asked, and Grady shook his head no. “You licensed to carry in Maryland?”

“Not anymore.”

Hal rubbed his chin and thought it over. “You a decent shot?”

“I’ve qualified as a sharpshooter. The only person in my family who’s better is Connor.” Grady smiled. “Maybe.”

Hal left the room and came back a few minutes later with a Glock in one hand and a clip in the other. “How ’bout we swear you in as a part-time, temporary officer of St. Dennis?”

Grady raised an eyebrow.

“I know you’re… well, spending a lot of time with my girl, son. I’d like to know you’re watching her back with something more than your eyes and ears. Unless I’m way off base, this Dent is going to want to push on her a little more before he’s through. I’d like you to be able to push back.”

Grady nodded. “All right.”

“Come on into Beck’s office and we’ll fill out the forms and make it nice and legal…”

When the paperwork had been completed, Hal handed over the Glock and got Grady a holster to clip onto his belt.

“I hope I don’t need this,” Grady remarked.

“I hope you don’t, either. But I’d rather you had it and didn’t need it than need it and not have it.”

Gus came in with the photocopy of Edmund Dent. Both Hal and Grady studied it.

“I feel I might have seen him somewhere,” Grady said. “Maybe passed him on the street one day last week.”

“It’s sure possible. I imagine he took his time, watching her. Figuring out her routine, where she went, where she lived…”

“Hal, you don’t spend all that time studying someone just to break into their shop and steal a dress that you’re going to destroy and leave in their house.”

“I know. And that’s what’s worrying me…”

“I think you’re right to be worried,” Grady told him. “I’ve seen this type of pattern before. The first attack is on property, but it escalates. He’s already shown her that he can get to her, at her shop or at her house. I think when Vanessa completes her inventory, she’s going to find that nothing was taken except that dress and the cash receipts.”

Hal nodded. “That’s how I’m seeing it, too. And the woman-you think she was involved?”

“Not really. I think he only brought her along to go into the shop and see what’s what. But I’m betting she wasn’t in on the break-in. She wouldn’t have ripped up that dress. But an arrogant man who wanted to take a poke at Vanessa, though, yeah, he’d do that. Especially if he wanted to take a poke at the woman-Jackie-too.”

Hal sighed heavily. “If he tries to take another poke at her, take him down, Grady. Don’t let him get close enough to touch her.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Hal slapped Grady on the shoulder. “Thank you. I’m real glad you decided to stay awhile in St. Dennis. Real glad.”

“Thanks.”

Grady left the station wondering what he’d gotten himself into. When he agreed to come to his sister’s wed ding, he had no idea he’d end up playing small-town cop. Then again, he hadn’t counted on Vanessa, either. He still wasn’t sure what was going on between them, but he didn’t want to examine it too closely yet. It was enough to know that whatever it was, it made him happier then he’d been in a long time.

If things had gone differently, he’d be hiking on the Bull Run Mountains right about now. But the mountains would be there when this was all over, and he was pretty sure it would be over soon enough. Men like Dent didn’t bother with finesse or restraint. He’d strike fast and he’d strike soon-and Grady would be there when he did.

It had taken her awhile to decide where to begin, until finally she told herself, Oh, hell, just pick a spot. She opted for the office, thinking she might as well start at the back of the shop since the glass man would be coming later that day to take the measurements to replace the cracked window and the glass counter. After she finished with the office, she picked up all the merchandise that had been tossed on the floor. She refolded everything, looking over each garment to assess its condition. Except for having been tossed onto the floor-which had been relatively clean, because it had been vacuumed on Saturday-nothing seemed to be damaged. Still, they had been tossed around and spent the past two days on the floor, so maybe she couldn’t sell any of them as perfect and new. Maybe I should have an after-the-break-in sale. “All merchandise tossed around by the burglar-thirty percent off!”

She made a mental note to ask Stef if she thought thirty percent was enough of a discount.

The mannequins were still in the front window dressed up for the wedding. Vanessa stood, hands on her hips, looking them over.

“Oh, hell, the wedding is over anyway,” she said aloud. “Time to move it all out. I wonder if it’s too early to move all those cute golf and tennis things to center stage.”

She needed music and wanted something upbeat, so she brought her CD player from the office and plugged it in on the counter. Odd he didn’t take this, she thought, since it was right there on the desk in plain sight. She put in a few CDs and turned it on loud enough to drown out her own singing. The music lightened her mood, and before too long, she had the windows stripped and ready for the glass people to do their thing.

She turned her attention to the jewelry case, and was surprised to see that very little, if anything, appeared to be disturbed, other than the glass counter and shelves. She checked the sales slips for Wednesday through Saturday, and when she finished, she could account for every piece of jewelry she’d had in that case. As far as she could tell, the only things missing were pieces that had been sold. She was wondering why someone would take the time to break the glass but not steal anything from the case, when she heard a tap on the door.

Vanessa unlocked the door. “Hi, Miss Grace. Come to view the carnage?”

“No, I came to bring you some coffee. I figured you would be needing a break right around now.” Grace handed her a cardboard cup with the Cuppachino logo on it.

“That’s so thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

“Thank Carlo. When I told him who it was for, he wouldn’t take a dime for it.” Grace looked around the interior of the shop. “Well, this doesn’t look too bad…”

“I’ve been picking up in here for the past two hours, but for the most part, it really isn’t too bad. The glass will be replaced and the contents are insured. I called my insurance agent, and surprise, surprise, she’d already heard about the break-in.”

“You use the Radell Agency?”

Vanessa nodded.

“So do we at the paper and the Inn. That Alice Radell is the best insurance agent I ever worked with.”

“She’s been very helpful. But speaking of Alices… I’ve been meaning to ask you about Alice Ridgeway.”

“What about her, dear?”

“I heard that you knew her fairly well.”

“Oh, yes. I grew up in that neighborhood, you know.”