“Excuse me,” he said, his footsteps heavy as he walked away.
Franco leaned toward her. “Okay. Take a deep breath, Serenity. Let’s figure this out.”
Her phone dinged, and she drew it from her purse to see a text marked URGENT from Verna. “I need to get this.” She called the woman.
A video chat came up, showing both Verna and Vance with a fireplace behind them. “Serenity?” Verna leaned in closer to the camera, her eyes wide.
“Yes. Hi. What’s going on?” Serenity’s throat clogged.
Vance blinked and edged his sister out of the way. “Rumor has it you’re at the police station. We were worried. Is everything okay?”
Oh, for goodness sakes. “Yes, it’s fine. I’ve only been here for about fifteen minutes. How did you hear?” This was crazy.
Vance’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “Bernadette Butterasky was driving by after bingo and saw you enter. She called Larraina Jones, who called us.”
Wonderful. Now, the entire situation would be all over town. “I’m perfectly safe right now. Verna? I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” She clicked off and focused on the sheriff. “Sorry about that.”
His eyes twinkled. “No worries. Let’s get back to the situation at hand.”
Serenity’s phone rang, and she sighed at seeing the caller ID. “Sorry, Sheriff.” She lifted the cell to her ear. “Hi, Mom.”
“Are you okay? I heard you’re in jail,” her mother said, the TV droning in the background.
Serenity sighed. “I’m fine, and I’m not in jail. I’m just meeting with the sheriff because somebody has been leaving me flowers, and it’s gotten a little unsettling. But don’t worry. Neither the sheriff nor I are worried.”
“I’m worried,” Sheriff Franco whispered.
Serenity shushed him with a wave of her hand. “I can’t believe you already heard, even though you’re over the pass.” The gossip mill was clearly competent to have reached Timber City so quickly.
Her mom chuckled. “Could the flowers be from Rory?”
“Definitely not. He’s here, and he isn’t happy about them.”
Her mother hummed for a moment. “Serves him right. Although, I do think it’s time to forgive him. He’s not like my jackass of a second husband, and it’s not fair for you to treat him like he is.”
Serenity pinched the bridge of her nose. “That’s not the problem.” She’d told her mom enough of the story that she understood the situation but had no real knowledge of Rory’s true job. “I don’t think I can trust him.”
“I totally understand. It took me a long time to trust again. But you know how happy I am with Roger now.” Her tone turned flirty. “In fact, he’s right here and would love to give you dating advice. He wants you to be happy as much as I do, if you ask me.”
Serenity ground a palm into her left eye. The headache was coming fast. “Tell Roger hi and that I’ll talk to him later. I need to go, Mom.” She ended the call. Roger owned several ice cream store franchises and treated her mom like a queen. It was lovely to see them together.
Sheriff Franco nudged a bottle of ibuprofen across his desk. “Is it possible Rory left those gross flowers?”
“No.” She snorted, her shoulders finally relaxing as she opened the bottle and swallowed two pills dry. “He’s a pain in the butt sometimes, but he wouldn’t do something like that.” There was no doubt Rory Albertini was as direct as they came…when he wasn’t lying his ass off.
“I don’t think so either,” Sheriff Franco said. “I’m a better judge of character than that, I think. But I have to pursue all avenues. You did break up with him, correct?”
“I did,” she murmured.
The sheriff cocked his head to the side, his thick white hair needing a cut. “Why did you end your relationship? Nobody in town has a complete answer.”
One of the things she’d always liked about Sheriff Franco was that he was as good a gossip as anybody she’d ever met. Oh, he was lean and mean and definitely a tough guy, but boy, he liked to be on the inside of all the happenings in Silverville.
“He’s not who I thought he was,” she answered quietly.
“Hmm. You mean because he’s an operative with the CIA?”
Her jaw dropped open, and she quickly shut it, casting a guilty look over her shoulder at the empty doorway. “How did you know?” she whispered.
