‘Unfortunately, they won’t sit outside in case he strikes again.’ He grinned, then headed for the door. ‘And I know just the thing that will lure this dimwit out.’
Alice followed him to the foyer. ‘What?’
‘I saw it at the supermarket yesterday. Won’t be a sec.’ And with that he was off.
Alice frowned as she went back to the destroyed wreath. All she wanted was a peaceful life. She hoped that if Jamie did somehow manage to grab the harasser, none of the trouble was connected to Shannon. She was sure it would sting Jamie, even if they weren’t the best of friends.
Demi came in, losing her smile as soon as she saw the wreath. ‘What happened to that?’
Alice explained the situation, including Jamie’s cunning plan to capture the criminal.
Demi’s mouth gaped for a moment. ‘And I only popped in to double-check we had no guests till after Christmas. Now I feel like I’m part of a detective ring.’
‘It would make more sense if he was stealing our things, but all he seems to do is break stuff. I’m not sure what he’s gaining from doing that, but it’s starting to make me feel a bit ill, Demi.’ She reached across the desk. ‘Please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want my mum worrying or Jamie.’
‘I won’t say a word, but you need to talk to the police again. Let them know how badly this is affecting you. We can do it together now if you like?’
‘Okay, let’s give them a call.’ Alice closed the front door, then went out back with Demi to speak to the police.
Luckily enough, the nice officer who had helped before was available to talk, and Alice gave her as much information as possible, including how the whole thing was starting to rattle her nerves.
After the conversation, Demi suggested a coffee in Ginny’s Tearoom as a little treat, which was nice, as Ginny was inside working a shift.
The three women happily chatted away about Sophie’s wedding and how much they were looking forward to the bigday, and Alice started to relax, forgetting about her worries for a while.
Demi stayed behind in the tea shop to help Ginny because a staff member had just called in sick, so Alice headed back to the B&B alone. She came to an abrupt halt when she saw the new Christmas decoration Jamie had purchased for the front.
‘Who’s your friend?’ she quipped, pointing at the six-foot inflatable snowman swaying in the cool breeze.
Jamie grinned. ‘I’m calling him Buffy.’
Alice laughed. ‘A vampire slayer?’
‘I reckon he’ll do the job.’
She walked up the pathway to stand by its side. ‘Its face looks a bit creepy.’
‘I thought that, but I still think this dude will be like a flame for our moth boy.’
Alice wasn’t so sure. ‘Can’t see him legging it down the road with this under his arm.’
Jamie raised an index finger. ‘Let’s think about this logically. We know he doesn’t steal, just wreck, and we know he waits till dark, and if you check the footage, he only strikes between the hours of four and ten in the evening. He’s given us a time slot. We haven’t got any guests to think about, so we can keep the front door closed, and I’ll sit behind it on stake-out with the laptop.’
‘You make it sound so simple.’
‘It is.’
‘A million things could go wrong, Jamie.’
Jamie headed back inside. ‘Nothing will go wrong. I’ll have the element of surprise on my side, and he’ll get a stern warning when I unmask him.’
‘This isn’t Scooby Doo. Someone could get hurt.’
‘Well, it won’t be you, because you’ll be safe and snug back there.’ He gestured to her quarters.
‘I spoke to the police earlier, so if you do catch him, I want you to just try and get a picture of his face. I want them to be the one to give him a warning, if they don’t arrest him that is. Just getting caught might scare him enough to stop him being stupid.’
‘Okay. I’ll do it your way.’
