by Renee George
“Then we’ll have to do it again.” I scooted over and put my head in the crook of his shoulder. “What did Mason say?”
“Not a lot. He asked if you were okay.”
“He’s not mad I’m here?”
“Nah. I think he was impressed with the quick way you acted at the restaurant when you found Fiona. By the way, what were you doing under the dock?”
I chuckled, my breath ruffling the hairs on his chest.
Ezra squirmed. “That tickles.”
“I only found her because I was trying to stretch out these stupid muscles in my back. I’d wanted to find a place secluded enough to do it without an audience.”
“That makes so much more sense. I thought maybe the bathroom was full, since the women’s bathrooms sometimes have a line, so you went outside to find a place to pee.”
I laughed hard enough that I thought I might spasm again. “You thought I’d gone under the dock to pop a squat?”
“It crossed my mind.”
“I haven’t gone to the bathroom in an outdoor space since college, and only once then because I was at a house party, and some dick had stuffed the toilets with socks, and I really had to go.”
“Socks?”
“Yeah, like twenty pair. The two bathrooms were completely flooded.”
He pulled me in close and kissed me.
“Yuck,” I said. “I haven’t brushed my teeth.”
“I have extra toothbrushes in the top left drawer, along with travel-sized toothpaste.”
“Ready for company, huh?”
“It’s what they send home with me from my dental checkups.” He reached around and squeezed my butt. “You brush your teeth, I’ll brush mine, and then we’ll figure out a few ways to pass that hour before you need to go home.”
I giggled. “And here I thought I was going to have to wait until tonight for fireworks.”
I drove home feeling more relaxed than I had in weeks. Ezra was better than any Flexeril pill the doctor could prescribe. As I pulled up into my drive, I was sure there wasn’t anything that could spoil my excellent mood.
I was wrong.
The first thing I noticed was the big black X across my door in what I guessed was spray paint. My living room window was broken, with a big, jagged, gaping hole in the glass on the right side, and my row of potted poppies had been smashed to bits.
I backed out and drove until I couldn’t see my house. I pulled off to the side of the road, shaking like crazy as I searched for my phone. I called Ezra.
“Hey, sexy,” he said. “Missing me already?”
“Ezra,” I said, my voice trembling.
His tone sobered. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain again? Do you want me to come get you?”
“My house,” I said. “Someone broke into my house.”
“Are they still there?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t stick around to find out.”
“Smart.” I heard him opening and closing drawers. “You call 9-1-1. I’m on my way.”
Chapter 15
Nausea and fear roiled inside me as I waited for Ezra, Jeanna Treece and her partner, Levi Walters, to clear my house. The intruder, whoever he or she was, had thrown one of my flowerpots through the living room window. The downside of living without neighbors was that it had given the burglar free rein to trash my place.
I rubbed my arms. What if I’d been home? The thought chilled me to the bone. What would I have done if I’d been here alone? I had a gun, and I’m sure I would have used it. After all, I had a strong sense of self-preservation. Just ask Carl Grigsby.
Ezra stepped outside. His lips thinned as rage simmered in his narrowed gaze. “It’s pretty bad in there, but it’s okay to come in now.”
Officer Treece, who had cut her brown hair short recently, stood inside by my broken television and was taking a picture of the mess in my living room.
“I’m so sorry this happened, Ms. Black,” she said. “The thief did a pretty thorough job of trashing the place.”
I shook my head and thanked God I had good home owner’s insurance. “A thief would have stolen the television, not vandalize it.”
She nodded. “Still, you need to look around and see if anything’s missing.”
Levi Walters, a thin, young officer with jet-black hair and dark brown eyes, bounded down my staircase. “The bedroom is a mess. The bed has been sliced up, the curtains shredded. The perpetrator even tossed your drawers and yanked all the clothes out of your closet.”
Ezra put his arm around me. “Except for some of the more straightforward destruction, it seems like someone was searching for something.”
“But what?” I glanced at Ezra. “My gun. I keep it in the nightstand in a locked case.”
“I didn’t see a gun case,” Levi said.
“Maybe it was teenagers,” Jeanna said. “It’s Memorial weekend, and bad decisions are running rampant with the youth. I arrested two boys last night who got drunk and tried to knock each other out.”
I shook my head, but said, “Maybe.”
I went upstairs, my spirit crushed by what had been done to my home. Ezra followed. I was grateful for his company as I walked the short distance to my bedroom.
“Fu-udge,” I said on a hard exhale. “He destroyed everything. Damn it.” Angry tears burned my eyes. It looked like Wolverine had used his adamantium claws to slice and dice my mattress. Not an easy task, considering it was a high-end memory foam mattress. My feather pillows were mutilated, and my clothes scattered on the floor. This was malicious. “Why would someone do this? I don’t get it.”
“Do you think anyone knows you’re looking into Fiona’s death?”
“Why would that matter? There’s nothing in this house that relates to Fiona or her drowning.” I shook my head. “This feels angry and personal. I don’t know anyone who hates me this much.”
My thoughts went to Phil Williams. He had to know I was the one who’d taken down his lackey cop. And maybe Gio? Nah. He might be a class-A douchenozzle, but I didn’t believe he would do this. It had to be Phil, right? “You think Williams has been sending you threats? Do you think this was his doing as well? Would he come after me like this?”
“I don’t know. God, I hope not.”
I picked up a pillow with feathers poking out of a gaping wound. My lower lip jutted in a pout. “I loved that bed.”
He put his arms around me, the ripped-up pillow smooshed between us, and held me tight. “I loved it, too.”
A faint scent wafted up from the pillow. “What is that?”
Ezra let me go. “What? Do you see something?”
More like smell something. I put the pillow to my nose and inhaled. “Peppermint. A hint of tea tree.” I sniffed again. “Son-of-a-bitch.”
“Are you getting one of your visions?”
“Nope,” I said. “But I don’t need one. I know who did this.”
“How? I mean, if you didn’t see anything.”
“Because the bastard that did this has been in my shop several times this month. And yesterday, he bought my argan shampoo and coconut conditioner for men. I smell peppermint, tea tree, and coconut on this pillow. It has to be him.”
“Do you know his name?”
“No, but I can describe him. Tall, dark hair, graying sideburns, and he’s allergic to apple pectin.”
“That’s oddly specific,” Ezra said.
“He asked me if there was any in the shampoo. Do you think he’s been stalking me? His sideburns reminded me of a country singer my father loved.”
“Merle Haggard?”
“Yes!”
Ezra gave me a half smile. “Do you think you might have a receipt with his name on it or something?”
“Pippa rang him up. She’ll know.” I looked for my alarm clock. It was on the floor next to my empty dresser, and it looked like someone had tried to stomp a hole into it. “Do you know what time it is?”
Ezra looked at his watch. “Eleven-forty,” he said.<
br />
I had a surge of panic. “I need to call Pippa. I’m surprised she isn’t blowing up my phone.”
“She was at the hospital last night, remember? She probably thinks you’re still in bed.”
I scoffed. “She knows me better than that.” I reached over to grab my phone out of my purse and realized I didn’t have it. “I left my bag in the car.”
“You can use my phone if you want.”
“Unless you have Pippa’s number in your contact list, it’s not going to do me any good.”
He nodded toward the door. “Let’s go get your phone.”
Every step that I took in my house, my chest hurt. The place I’d loved yesterday had become something monstrous to me. It enraged me that Sideburns Guy had taken away my sense of safety in my own home. As I exited the front door, I blew out a breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding.
“Slow down, Nora,” Ezra said. “You don’t want to tweak your back again.”
“I’ve got to get away from that.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder without looking back at the house. I stumbled to the side of the drive and threw up near one of the shattered poppies.
Ezra’s hand was on my back, holding my hair away from my face. Gilly would have been proud of him for the doing just the right thing. “Are you okay? Maybe we should go back to the ER.”
I shook my head, my throat burning as I wretched again. A combination of nerves and medication. The nurse had warned me that stomach upset was a potential side effect.
“I’m okay,” I managed on a wheeze. I stood up and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “I feel better.”
“You sure?”
I took a steadying breath. “Yes.” The nausea was gone. “It’s passed. You happen to have any gum on you?” I asked.
“It just so happens I do,” he replied with a smile, handing me a piece.
“You might be perfect,” I teased, popping the gum into my mouth gratefully.
“I try,” Ezra said with a chuckle.
I went to the car and got into the driver’s seat. Ezra went around the other side, and joined me. He handed me my purse from the floor.
“Here you go.” He pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Headache?”
“Uh-huh,” he said. “It’s been a long two days.”
“I got you,” I began plucking through my purse, “I have some ibuprofen in here somewhere.” I pulled out the tissues, the Vicks, a hairbrush, and the small taped rectangle. I handed it to Ezra. “Can you tell me what this is?” I dug out my glasses next and put them on. I should have done that first, because I could finally see well enough to find the bottle of pain reliever. “Ah ha! Found them.” My mouth was still sour, so when I spied some mints, I grabbed those as well.
“Nora?” Ezra said.
“What?” I glanced over at him. He was holding up the taped object. I pushed my glasses up my nose and peered closer. “Is that a USB drive?”
“It is.”
“Does that say F. McKay on the tape?”
Ezra nodded. “It certainly does.”
“How in the world did that get in my purse?”
I flashed back to the pharmacy when Fiona had stumbled into me. Had it been a ploy to drop the drive into my purse? Had Phil Williams’ arrival prompted her to hide it?
“I think Fiona might have dropped this in my purse at the pharmacy. But why?”
Ezra’s shrewd gaze narrowed on the drive. “I guess we should get to a computer and find out.”
“I don’t want to go back in the house to see if my laptop survived. We can use the computer at Scents and Scentsability.”
“Oh my gosh, Nora. What are you doing here? You should be home in bed,” Pippa railed at me when I arrived. “And shame on you, Easy, for not giving her a reason to stay in bed.”
“It’s not Ezra’s fault,” I said in my guy’s defense. “I knew today would be busy. You shouldn’t have to handle it all by yourself.”
“And I’m not. Gilly’s in the back with a client right now, but she’s been on the floor with me a lot today helping with customers.”
The shelves were half empty. “It looks like business has been good.”
“It’s been completely manic since we opened. We’ve had a hundred customers in today, and I’m exhausted,” Pippa said. “I’m not one to complain about good business but thank heavens there’s only one more day of this coming. I’m not sure we have enough stock to last,” she added. She waved at Ezra. “Sorry I yelled at you.”
“I’ve got broad shoulders,” Ezra said.
Then she turned back to me. “I’m not sorry I yelled at you, though. You should be home. You really scared me last night. When Jordy called, I thought you were dying.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.” I wasn’t ready to talk about the ransacking of my house, yet.
“Not your fault.” She kissed my cheek. “I forgive you. You can make it up to me by seeing if you can pull some soap molds early.”
“Of course. I’m sure I have a dozen batches.”
I scanned the half-empty shelves. “And I’ll grab some lotions and oils as well.”
Pippa pointed to the shampoo and conditioner display. “Do you have any of that shampoo left? The men’s dandruff shampoo with argan and tea tree?”
“We’re out? I had a dozen bottles up there yesterday.”
“The man who’d come in the day before returned bright and early to purchase our entire shelf of stock.” She smiled triumphantly. “I guess he really liked them.”
“Wait? What? He came back here this morning?”
Ezra had caught what Pippa said as well. “What time was he here?”
“I don’t know…” Pippa’s nostrils flared. “Is something wrong?”
“Try to remember,” I said. “It’s important.”
“Maybe nine-ish.” She shrugged. “What’s the big deal? Please don’t tell me there’s something wrong with the shampoo.”
“Did he leave his name?” Ezra asked.
I gripped her arm, but not hard.
“Ow,” she said. She was wearing long sleeves, and I remembered the road rash.
“I’m sorry. We really need to know. Did the man leave his name or contact information?”
“No.” Pippa shook her head. “He paid cash.”
“Damn it,” I hissed.
“Okay. You’re starting to freak me out, Nora. What is going on? And don’t mince words. Shoot it to me straight.”
I gritted my teeth as my frustration reached a boiling point. “Well, Pippa, it looks like the guy who ransacked my house and vandalized it from top to bottom has become one of our best customers.”
Chapter 16
“Did you say ransacked and vandalized?” Pippa’s face drained of color. “Holy shite on buttermilk biscuits.” Pippa hugged herself, her shoulders rounding forward, and her eyes stark with disbelief.
Ezra got on his phone. “Hey, this is Detective Holden, special crimes. Can we get a team down to Scents and Scentsability on Main Street to lift some fingerprints?” Ezra strode to the door and flipped the hanging sign to closed. “Thanks,” he said into the phone. “I’ll be here when you arrive.”
“Tell me what happened,” Pippa said.
“I got home this morning, and someone had spray-painted my door, broke my flower pots, threw one through the living room window, then, presumably, crawled inside my house and proceeded to shred and smash everything they could get their hands on.”
“And…the shampoo guy did it?”
“I believe so. I’m ninety-seven percent certain it was him. I smelled a combination of the shampoo and conditioner he bought yesterday. And you know how he’s been coming in and out of the shop.” I clucked my tongue. “I think he was stalking me.”
“Whatever for?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.” The man had started coming into the shop before I’d even met Fiona, so it couldn’t have been about her. “I have to assume it has s
omething to do with my involvement in the Lloyd Briscoll case, but I have no idea if that’s it or not.”
“This is some next-level nasty,” Pippa said. “I never thought—” She shook her head. “I haven’t been to my house in a couple of days. What if…”
The fact that she hadn’t been home didn’t escape me. It reminded me that we still needed to have a chat about Jordy. I wasn’t sure if I’d gauged her reaction correctly when I’d been wacked out on morphine. Not to mention, we’d never addressed the road rash on her arm. “It’s scary bad,” I agreed.
“Cripes, Nora, this surpasses scary right into the terrifying range of bad.”
“I’m shook. Right to my core.” I shivered, and Ezra put his arm around me again.
“Oh my gosh, Nora, what if you had been home? Thank fate and all her ugly sisters that you injured your back and stayed with Ezra.”
“I’m not quite ready to feel grateful for that spasm.” The extreme pain was still fresh in my memory, not to mention the slight soreness in my back. “But I am thankful I wasn’t home.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “So, what are you doing here? You should go back to Easy’s and get some rest. Let the police do their job.”
“I plan to.” I pointed toward the workroom. “But first, we need to use the business computer.”
Ezra got off the phone. “There’s a team on the way. Can you let them in when they get here, Pippa? Just holler at us when they arrive.” On that note, he ushered me past my worried friend and through the door into the workroom.
Ezra and I made a beeline to the desk.
I gestured for Ezra to sit in the chair, then depressed the power button on the tower situated on the left side of the desktop. “It takes a second to wake up,” I said in way of explanation. “But it’s not that old, so unless the drive is encrypted, you shouldn’t have any problem opening it on here.”
“You know about encryption?” Ezra’s gaze was curious. “You don’t seem like someone who pays attention to technology.”
“You mean because I didn’t know what an eggplant and taco in a sext meant?”
