The man in the freeze frame had the stereotypical look of a burglar, only he’d operated in broad daylight wearing a silicone horse mask on his head, a black leather jacket, gloves, dark jeans, and motorcycle boots. They’d swept the place for clues and evidence but turned up nothing, not even a few out of place fingerprints that didn’t belong to the bakery staff.
“Strange,” Howard said, a deep wrinkle creasing his brow. He was the youngest member of the force, only one year out of the academy, and popular with the ladies in town. “How the fuck did he do that?”
“Hell if I know. Now watch.”
Griff resumed the video. After the masked man dragged Grace out of sight, he gazed at the camera and tilted his head. About thirty seconds after he stepped from frame, the camera footage ended.
“And that’s it. Somehow, he made it to Ellie’s office without being seen again on either of the two cameras along the way.”
“Damn shame there’s no camera in her office. That motherfucker did some serious Houdini shit right there. He must have gotten there in what, twenty seconds?” said Connelly, an overweight cop with a thick, bushy mustache. Despite his size, he had some get-up-and-go during a conflict.
“Thirty-two,” Griffin replied. “I checked the timestamps already. Thirty-two seconds after he lays an old lady out on the floor, these cameras turn off.”
“Can we rule out any kind of digital manipulation?” Sergeant Frederick asked.
“It’s possible but highly unlikely. Dawson left the bakery around a quarter after eleven to deliver a large order to Calvary Baptist Church. According to the timestamp on his phone logs, he discovered Mrs. Robinson at eleven forty-seven. Hardly enough time to doctor digital recordings. And on what?”
“Damn,” Frederick growled.
“Even so, I’ve sent a copy off to a friend who works with digital surveillance. He’ll let me know when he’s had a chance to view it. In the meantime, we have a criminal on the streets. It wasn’t easy to get, but the city is growing, and with that comes crime. I now have authorization to hire on two more men. One part-time and one full. We’re going to patrol the shopping strips twice an hour when we’re not on an active call.”
“Every half hour?” Howard blinked at him. “This man isn’t going back there.”
“We don’t know that. Not until we can determine a motive.”
Connelly grunted. ”Anything missing?”
“Anything of value within the bakery is too heavy to escape with on foot. He left two hundred in the register, and Mrs. Robinson wore the key on her person at the time of the attack.”
“Damn. So he just left the cash in there like that?” Howard asked, shaking his head. “I just can’t figure out why some lowlife would go and attack a granny like this. Rotten shit to do, man.”
“Agreed. That’s why we’re going to remain extra vigilant, guys. No parking alongside Main Street and playing Candy Crush.”
One of them groaned.
“I hope we find the fucker. Mrs. Robinson never hurt nobody,” a quieter officer grumbled.
Whoever had harmed Grace, they’d gotten in and out in seconds, even disabling the security system.
“What the fuck is with that mask though, Chief?” Howard crossed his arms. “You know, one of my kids begged for a mask like that, only it was a unicorn. Wanted me to order it online.”
“Yeah. Because it most likely came from an online vendor, we can’t trace it to a local store. It’s too early to know if this incident is connected with the burglary at the Pryor residence. Just the same. I want two of you on duty at night from now on. And if you know anyone in search of work, direct him—”
“What if they’re a her?” Howard asked suddenly.
“I don’t discriminate,” Griffin replied. In the years since he’d worked at the department, there hadn’t been a single female applicant to come through their doors. Most of them went to the county with their resumes. And he couldn’t blame them. The pay was better.
“Anything else for us, Chief?” Howard asked.
“Yeah. Sign this.” Griffin tossed a Get Well card onto his desk and set a pen on top of it.
* * *
Ellie hesitated outside of the hospital room, a flower arrangement in her hands and dread bubbling in her chest. Because of her and her business, one of the kindest old women in Crisis was lying in the hospital bed with a serious concussion and a mess of stitches on the back of her head.
By the time she arrived at the bakery, EMS had already rushed away with Grace, leaving nothing for Ellie to do but to pull her file and call the emergency contacts. Now that both were present, and she suspected they were going to blame her for what happened to their beloved family matriarch.
Steeling herself for the worst, Ellie rapped on the open hospital door and stepped inside, big smile on her face. “Hello. Is it okay to visit?” She aimed her smile at Grace and the two women seated at her bedside. Three generations of Robinson women glanced at her, but Grace was the first to greet her with a big smile.
“Ellie! Come sit down. Oh, those flowers are just so lovely. Are they for me?”
“They sure are.”
“Come on and set them here on this table so I can look at them.” Grace patted the small stand beside her hospital bed.
Grace’s daughter looked the most like her, a dark-skinned woman wearing her hair in dozens of dark braids. “So you’re Ellie.” She rose and offered her right hand. “I’m Patricia, and this is my daughter, Sofia. Mama has had nothing but wonderful things to say about you.”
Sofia rose too, shaking Ellie’s hand in turn. She was fairer, much lighter of complexion than her mother and grandmother, her big brown eyes set in an oval face surrounded by wild cinnamon-brown curls. At first, she studied Ellie hawkishly, too shrewdly, then a shy smile touched her lips. “Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” She had a slight accent, the kind Ellie picked up on sometimes in the bilingual kids who learned both English and Spanish growing up but spent more time speaking the latter.
“Here,” the girl said, gesturing to her chair. “You can have my seat.”
Ellie managed not to sag under the crushing weight of her relief. Her smile felt plastic, molded on her face. “Oh, no! That’s not necessary. I didn’t mean to intrude on your visit.”
“You’re not. Trust me. Just a minute ago, Granny was going on about how boring it is to lie in this bed,” Sofia replied.
“Well, it’s true. Why keep me in bed over a little bump? It’s such a waste of time. I want to go back to work. What good am I here laying in this bed, racking up a medical bill?” The older woman shook her head sorrowfully and sighed. “I’m so sorry, Ellie. Ruining your nice weekend with Chief Montgomery the way I did.”
Ellie’s smile diminished. “What?”
“I should have been paying closer attention to what was going on. If I’d been listening, I would have—”
“You are not responsible for what happened.”
“I must have left the back door open.”
“You didn’t,” Ellie cut in. “The security cameras would have picked that up. Griffin must have reviewed the surveillance footage about a dozen times, and you know what he saw? He saw this guy coming from the camera’s blind spot like a damned ninja. It could have been anyone he took down. It could have been me if I was there in the shop instead. We sure don’t have him arriving; I watched the recorded footage of you locking the door behind you when you took out the trash. Then Luke left and somehow, this asshole got in there.”
“I just feel awful. You were supposed to come back and tell me all about how well your weekend went with Chief Good-Looking.” Grace’s deepening frown tugged the corners off her mouth down, intensifying the network of wrinkles around her mouth. She’d never looked so old before, but hospitals had a way of adding fragility to all persons within.
“It is, but don’t you worry about my bakery. You rest and recover.”
“We’ve been trying to tell her that,” Patricia said. “
But my mama has never been the sort to lie around in bed while there’s hard work to be done.”
“Enough about my bakery. How are you, Grace?”
“Stitches.” The old woman sniffed in disdain. “Nothing I haven’t ever had before. These people nowadays want you to stay in bed over a few bumps and little cuts. It’s just outrageous.”
Patricia laughed. “You see what we have to deal with here? Her scans were good, so it’s likely the doctor will release her tomorrow.”
“Good.” Ellie moved to the edge of her chair. “I should probably leave you so she’ll rest.”
“You know what’ll make me rest?” Grace asked.
“What?” Ellie blinked at her.
“You tellin’ me all about that fine spa Chief Montgomery took you to. I overheard him mentioning it to Luke, and it sure sounded nice.”
Ellie flushed.
“I don’t want to know about the nookie, girl. Tell me about the foot rubs.”
Then they all laughed. And since Ellie figured it couldn’t hurt, she settled back in her chair and told Grace all about it.
15
The weather turned, and spring heralded in a sudden dank and rainy day, laying down sheets of water on Crisis. Griff spent most of the morning in his patrol vehicle, sometimes tucked beside the interstate that wound through the middle of the town, at other times, cruising up and down the streets and checking out the quiet parking spaces and loading areas behind the town’s three main shopping strips.
Not only had they been unsuccessful picking up any new leads about Ellie’s home burglary, but they’d also failed to track down the mysterious prick who attacked Grace. Thankfully, the old woman was doing well at home and recuperating from the traumatic event, even talking about returning to work.
Around two, he checked in on Ellie and they chatted on and off until the closing time rush really hit her. Despite the incident at the bakery, life hadn’t been half bad between them. Almost two months had passed since their first date, and he couldn’t remember what it was like to be happy without her in his life. He really looked forward to those moments with her and Emma.
That little girl wasn’t his child by blood, but he felt nothing but affection for her.
A text came from Ellie around a quarter to three.
Ellie: Hey handsome.
Griffin: Welcome back, sweetheart. Rush wasn’t that bad?
Ellie: Oh, it was bad. You mind doing a favor for me?
Griffin: Sure.
Ellie: I’m heading home early to shower. Had an accident at the bakery and I’ll probably be blowing flour out of my nose for a week.
Griffin glanced twice at the message then hit the call button.
Ellie answered on the first ring. “Hi.”
“Say what? Why is there flour in your nose?”
“We uh, had an incident that may have resulted in twenty pounds of flour covering Sam and me. Now I’m heading home for a shower. Could you get Emma from daycare? Dean is working, and Maddie’s phone isn’t on.”
“Sure thing. I’m gonna need a photograph though.”
“Griff.”
“El,” he mocked. “I need photographic evidence of why I’m budging from this highway. Otherwise, I might have to take a certain little miss over to DQ for a large Oreo Blizzard. How much of that do you think she can shovel into her belly without dinner in there to buffer all that sugar?”
“You wouldn’t!”
“I sure would.”
“Fine. Incoming.”
Ellie’s end of the line fell silent then he heard Luke laughing. The picture came through in text message a minute later of her with her hair dusted with flour, her face chalky, her pink shirt heavily coated.
He cracked up laughing. “I’m on my way to get her. Uh, are you sure I can get her from the daycare? I’m not…”
Her father. Or one of her legal guardians. Though he’d been over at their house enough evenings for Disney movie nights and taken both mother and daughter out for afternoons at the Sonic Drive-In, he wasn’t the man who fathered her.
But he really wanted to be.
For the first time since they’d started dating, he realized that.
“I had your name added to the list of persons able to pick her up. Um, I hope that was okay. I… It just…”
“It’s okay, baby. Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you did.”
Ellie exhaled a relived breath, the sound shuddering through her into the phone. “It seemed like the natural progression of things, and I figured one day maybe it’d be necessary.”
“And it is today. We’ll be there in about thirty, maybe longer. I’ll feed her, get her a mini Blizzard, all right? Give you plenty of time to soak and relax.”
“Thank you.”
“Want a movie from the Redbox?”
“Would you? I heard that new Spider-Man is good. I’m taking off now, but I’ll leave her carseat here for you.”
* * *
Griffin hated putting a kid in the back seat of the cruiser, but she wasn’t old enough to ride in the front. The back was clean, however, the seats shampooed two weeks prior. And thankfully, he hadn’t needed to put anyone back there recently.
He pulled in front of the school and parked to the side to join the throng of parents picking up their children from the daycare center, returning greetings as he got them. When he stepped into Emma’s classroom, her eyes lit up and she ran to him.
“Griff!”
“How ya doin’ sweetheart?”
“Fiiiine,” she drawled, peeking up at him shyly. “Where’s Mommy?”
A teacher directed Griffin to a clipboard with the sign-out sheet. He wrote in his name before carrying Emma out. “She had a rough day at the bakery, so I’m here to get you instead.”
“Ohhh.”
“You know what that means?”
“What?!”
“Dairy Queen. You down for tacos or steak fingers this time?”
“Chicken fingers not steak!” she shouted, kicking her feet gleefully.
“Ahhh okay, okay. Chicken then.”
They sat inside for their meal, ordering a chicken strip basket and cookie dough Blizzard to go for her.
Griffin felt eyes on him, the back of his neck warm from a stare. He casually glanced over his shoulder and saw Chad Brunswick eyeballing him from the edge of the restaurant. Deliberately, he didn’t break eye contact.
Asshole.
He tried to convey the sentiment with his stare, channeling the unblinking and intimidating presence of his avian side. Eventually, the other guy backed down and looked away first.
“That’s the man who bothers Mommy,” Emma told him helpfully.
“Huh?”
“Two days ago he came over and asked Mommy if she wanted to sell the bakery yet.”
“Did he?” Griff said, refusing to twist around and look again. “Isn’t that something? Thank you for telling me, sweet pea.”
And somehow, he managed not to lose his smile.
* * *
Sometimes Ellie wondered how the hell she’d ever gotten so lucky. Three years ago, she’d felt the exact opposite, like life could never get worse, like she could never, ever find happiness again. Then she spent a day with her best friend, peeked in on Emma sleeping soundly in bed, or spent hours behind the counter of her own bakery, and she truly understood that her life hadn’t ended with Greg’s.
“Earth to Elliiiiiiie,” Sam drawled as she arrived with fresh coffee for them both. “You daydreaming about the chief again?”
Ellie chuckled. ”Not him this time. Was just thinking about how damn lucky I am to have all of you guys. And this place. I made a dream come true here somehow.”
In addition to making a reality out of her own dream, she’d filled three of the other storefronts, one of them a flourishing Thai restaurant. Sometimes Steven and Kohsoom were so busy their customers had to place orders an hour ahead. Then a seamstress had also moved in, and somehow, Charlotte Montgomery had made ma
gic. The girl became Instagram-famous overnight and buyers visited from as far as Austin for custom-designed dresses.
“You really did. I’m so happy for you. Now what about that raise?”
Ellie almost choked on the sip of sweet hazelnut brew. “If I choke to death on coffee, you’re out of a job on top of getting no raise, I want you to know.”
Sam grinned impishly. “But?”
“But you and Luke are long overdue. Let’s take it up to nine-fifty.”
Sam pumped a fist. “Yas!”
“What’s this I hear about a raise?” Luke called, voice booming from the ovens.
“You’re both getting a dollar-fifty raise.”
“Oh, hell yeah. I need that.”
The bell chimed with the arrival of another patron. A cluster of high school students entered fresh from the campus. At the rear of them, she saw her most irritating, most vexing nemesis.
Chad Brunswick.
Ellie sighed.
One by one, they took care of the lunch rush of hungry teens, then handled a few stragglers who entered afterward. By the time it was over, the other side of the shop was full of customers enjoying their lunches, and Ellie’s coffee was cold. Sam brought her another just as Chad approached.
After sipping the steaming brew, Ellie put on a smile. Caffeine is sanity, my zen, my safe place, she thought. She would not let this man badger her today.
“Good afternoon, Ellie. Wondered if you and I could have a chat.”
“If it’s about the same subject matter as before, I think not, Chad.”
Luke and Sam lingered nearby. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sam taking a photo with her cell phone.
“You know, you really should consider listening to me, Ellie. I have your best interest at heart, and honestly, this business you got going on here is way too much for you to handle. You can’t run this place on top of managing the entire strip’s safety. That poor old woman got injured in this place because of your poor security.” He shook his head. “Opens you up to a lawsuit.”
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