“He’s an Albertini.” Serenity shook her head again and then grinned. “Run, run now.”
Hana laughed, and the sound was musical.
Knox and Rory emerged from the kitchen, and Rory handed Serenity a bowl of the stew.
“Is it okay if we eat in the living room?” he asked.
Knox didn’t wait. Instead, he walked over to drop into the chair by the Christmas tree. It was light blue, just like the sofa. “So, you’re Rory’s partner,” he mumbled around a spoonful.
Serenity’s phone buzzed, and she yanked it from her back pocket, careful of the bowl in her other hand. As she read the screen, her body chilled. “Somebody broke into the hardware store.”
The wind tossedice across the parking lot of the hardware store, which stood like a quiet witness on the deserted street. The Christmas lights around the metal building still illuminated the area as snow gently cascaded down, while the glass entrance doors lay shattered in a multitude of fragments scattered inside the entryway.
Sheriff Franco waited outside the store, his SUV angled to the side, and a pissed-off expression on his enduring face beneath his cowboy hat.
Serenity stepped down from Rory’s truck and hustled through the newly accumulated snow to reach the door. “What happened?” she asked, her gaze wide on the entrance.
The sheriff pushed up the rim of his cowboy hat, looking tall and lean and more like Sam Elliott than ever. “Marsha Bennington was headin’ home from a meeting of the Lady Elks and saw the damaged doorway,” he said without preamble. “She called in the crime and then went home to feed Henry.”
Henry was Mrs. Bennington’s barnyard cat, who often accompanied her about town. The woman was around a hundred years old and kept an eye on the neighborhood, considering she lived two blocks down.
“Is she okay?” Serenity asked instantly.
The sheriff’s weathered lips ticked up in a smile. “She’s fine. Quite thrilled to have caught a case, as she put it.” He surveyed the man next to Serenity. “Hey, Rory.”
“Hi.” Rory examined the storefront. “Did they make it inside?”
“They sure did,” the sheriff said. “Come on.” He motioned them through the damaged doorway and flicked on the lights near the door.
Serenity followed and then gasped. Someone had overturned the nearest shelves, their contents a chaotic jumble scattered across the floor. Supplies, tools, nails, hammers, and bolts were scattered between the doorway and the checkout area to the left. “What in the world?” she asked.
The sheriff shook his head. “I walked around and didn’t see anything other than this damage right here. You really need to get an alarm, Serenity.”
“Did they take anything?”
“You tell me.”
That was a good point. Her heart beat in her throat, but she took a deep breath and walked the many aisles, seeing a little bit of destruction near the door, but not far out. “It’s almost like they burst in, did some damage, then got out before they could get caught.” She reached the glass case at the far end. “Oh,” she called back. “Sheriff?”
“I’m coming,” he said.
Rory appeared at her side. “I checked the office. It looks fine,” he told her.
She pointed at the glass display case. “Several knives are gone.”
The sheriff nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.” He started taking notes.
“Those were simple pocket knives, though. Why would anybody take them?” she asked.
Rory’s imposing body felt reassuring between her and the door. His eyes had gone flat, and his shoulders were back. “They’re still worth some money,” he said, putting his arm over her shoulders. “You’re shivering.”
“I can’t believe somebody just broke in and stole my knives.” Serenity walked with him toward the entranceway.
There was smooshed snow along the way, but she couldn’t make out any footprints. “I don’t suppose you can dust for prints,” she murmured.
“I’ll get a deputy on it,” the sheriff said. “But it’s the dead of winter, and most people are wearing gloves regardless.”
“I know,” she said. “I guess maybe it’s time to get an alarm system and CCTV. It’s just...”
