“They took a bunch of cash and small appliances they could pawn. Am I correct in assuming you have both cash and small appliances in this shop?” he asked, looking at the cash register and espresso machine pointedly.
“The sheriff caught the kids who robbed Rose. They won’t be robbing me any time soon.”
“They’re not the only bored teens in the valley looking to get their hands on some quick cash,” he replied.
He made a good point. Again. She gave up trying to argue him out of being worried about her or her store.
With a glance at Lily coloring away at the other end of the counter, he asked quietly, for adult ears only, “Does Clint Wheeler know about the fake utility man?”
“I’m not going to bother the sheriff with something that small. Nothing happened, after all. Some guy walked in and talked briefly with my employee. Yes, he lied about who he was, but he caused no trouble, did no harm, and left. What is there to report?”
“Documenting activities before they escalate to the level of a crime is a great way to prevent crime from happening in the first place. Plus, it lets the police know to patrol a little more often past your store for a couple of weeks, keep a closer eye on this place after hours. If something were to happen, they’d be aware of the situation and be able to respond quickly. Also, they would have a better idea of what they were walking into if they had some background information about what’s been going on.”
“You make several good points,” she conceded.
“Thank you,” he replied.
He didn’t push. Which she reluctantly appreciated. She thought about it for a moment longer, then sighed, and pulled out her cell phone.
She called the sheriff’s office. Told the dispatcher she wasn’t reporting a crime, exactly, just some odd events at the bakery she wanted on the record. Could a deputy come by when one was free? The dispatcher asked her to hold. Then a different voice came on the line. Sheriff Wheeler’s. He said he’d be over in ten minutes.
She blinked, startled. “Umm, thanks. I’ll see you then.”
She ended the call and looked up at Reno, who was staring at her expectantly. ‘Clint’s coming over here. Now.”
“Great. If you don’t mind, I’d like to stick around until he gets here,” Reno said evenly.
“I don’t mind.”
Clint arrived in eight minutes. He was a big man, going gray at the temples, and one of the genuinely kind people she had the privilege to know.
Grace had watched him sit at this counter and eat a slice of pie and gripe about the mayor’s stingy budget dozens of times. He always asked after Lily, as well. She would never forget him telling her, very quietly in the weeks after the fire that he was so sorry. He told her if there was anything she needed, anything at all, his department would make happen.
He took off his hat and set it on the counter the way he always did.
“Hello, Grace. Reno.” He glanced at Lily, seated beside him. “Hey there, Lily.”
“Hi, Sheriff,” Lily replied without looking up from her drawing.
Wheeler turned back to Grace. “Tell me what’s going on.”
She started with the email complaining about a fly in hot chocolate, and how she’d gone back and checked, and every customer on the day of the supposed event was someone she’d known for years and who wouldn’t hesitate to tell her about it in person.
Reno’s eyebrows shot up at this new information, but he made no comment.
Grace told Wheeler about the rosemary and Mary’s encounter with the fake utility man, along with her own call to the water company. Wheeler took notes on a small spiral pad and asked a few questions for clarification as she spoke.
When she finished, he said, “I’ll put it on the books. I’d have my deputies cruise by here regularly, after dark especially. We’re a little short-handed at the moment. Cooper Lawton’s in Arizona on department business and won’t be back for at least a week or else I’d park a man out front at night. But I can send patrols by here, no problem.”
Reno had been leaning against the counter with his arms folded. At the mention of Cooper being in Arizona, Grace saw his expression change. His eyes went hard for a single blink of the eye and then went back to usual observant calm.
“What kind of department business?” Reno asked, in a tone that wasn’t quite as casual as he probably meant it to be.
Wheeler studied him for a moment. “I’ll let Cooper decide what he wants to put in the wider conversation when he gets back.”
Reno nodded and let it go.
Wheeler looked back at Grace. “Any reason someone might want to make a particular point at your shop, Mrs. O’Donnell? Anyone been bothering you or got mad at you recently?”
