“And then,” Madge continued, “we had a guest from Philadelphia who asked if we had turn-down service. Turn-down service! I asked if she’d like a chocolate on her pillow as well, and she had the audacity to say how utterly charming for a backward area.’”
I bit the inside of my cheek, fighting to keep my grin in check. “And did you put a chocolate on her pillow?”
“I did,” Madge smiled proudly. “A big fat Hershey bar.” Her smile faded and she shook her head. “She thanked me profusely the next day, telling me she hadn’t had one of those since she was a kid and it brought back fond memories. Then she said they would definitely be back next year.”
Ian didn’t hide his chuckle.
I grinned. “Back to the men you saw.”
“Oh yes. They were whispering together, looking like they were plotting. Mark my words, they were casing that bank. Smooth, too smooth.”
“Professional criminals,” I said.
“Exactly. They didn’t fit in. You know me, Pepper, I notice everything.”
Before I could press for more, the front door opened. My dad stepped inside, hat in hand, uniform crisp. His gaze landed on me immediately.
“Pepper.” He shook his head, then gave Ian a short nod before turning to Madge. “I heard you saw strangers hanging around the bank days before the robbery. Why didn’t you come to me right after the bank was robbed?”
Madge drew herself up indignantly. “I figured you’d find out soon enough. Besides, I don’t gossip.”
My dad sighed and pulled out his notebook. “It’s not gossip if it helps an investigation. Now, Madge, let’s have it and from the top.”
Madge obliged, repeating her tale with even more flair. Mustache Man was now “built like a barrel.” Thin Man had “a voice that rasped like gravel,” though she admitted she hadn’t actually heard him speak. She even added that he kept glancing over his shoulder like someone in a spy movie.
Dad wrote steadily, finally snapping his notebook shut. “You should have come straight to me.”
“I just did,” Madge said primly.
“Can you come in and sit with our sketch artist?” my dad asked.
“I don’t trust those computer sketches,” Madge said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. “I’ll have the new mayor do it. Sally will get the drawings just right.”
My dad looked like he was about to argue, then shook his head, as if in surrender, and his eyes shifted to me.
“I’ll have a word with you and Ian outside.”
I knew an order when I heard one and turned to Madge. “Thanks for the talk, and the place looks lovely.”
Madge beamed. “Thank you, Pepper, and the whole town is looking lovely thanks to your mom’s beautification project. Business is booming. I am booked right through the holidays.”
“She will be glad to hear that, Madge, and thanks again.”
My dad was waiting by his squad car when we got outside.
“Don’t make me go bald with worry, Pepper,” my dad cautioned. “You need to stay out of this. Both of you.”
“I never poke my nose in where I shouldn’t,” I said playfully.
Ian laughed.
My dad’s brows rose. “Come again.” He turned to Ian, “Here I thought you might make a difference in her pursuit of solving crimes, but you’re no better getting involved along with her.”
“And who is the one who taught me the love of crime solving?” I asked, tapping his shoulder.
My dad shook his head. “The FBI has the lead on this, and I don’t mind. With Willow Lake’s population swelling for the summer, I don’t have the time or manpower to give this investigation what it needs. It’s in good hands with Stone. You need to stay out of this investigation, Pepper. Am I clear?”
“You are, but with what Stone suggested about these robbers possibly tracking down deposit box holders who already emptied their boxes, I’d say it is in my own best interest to find out what I can.”
