Page 14 of Honeycombs & Homecomings
She locked that. Double-checked it even, and sang to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb, “I locked the back door, back door, back door, I locked the back door before I went to work.” She stared at the knob, wondering if she should push in more or just back off and call the police.
But this was her shop. All she had left. So, she pushed, and the door swung open.
Someone had trashed the office. Papers had been flung right and left, several of the hives they’d had to store here due to lack of space now that they’d moved, were strewn, some broken across the floor, and a clear path had been made from the safe they kept in the corner to the back door. She rushed over and yanked on the handle of the safe. It didn’t open. She dropped to her knee and put in the code that only she and Allie had. The safe beeped and opened. All the cash from the last week of the fair, that’d she kept meaning to take to the bank but hadn’t had time for, sat safely stacked inside.
She took a deep breath and slammed the safe, then ran up front to the register. Many of the honey jars had been knocked off the shelves, the front counter pushed over, and the old-fashioned bronze register lay on its side on the floor, the drawer wide open and bent from where what looked like a crowbar had been inserted to yank it open. The money she had yet to collect from today’s sales was gone.
The thumping of steps alerted her to someone running in the back door. She spun around, grabbing a jar of honey off a shelf for show as a weapon.
“Jo!” Cash came tearing in.
She breathed a sigh of relief, clasping the honey to her chest. He rushed up to her, and cupped her face in hands for just a moment, before letting go and looking around. His touch left searing marks on her skin.
“You okay?”
She nodded.
“What’d they get?”
“How did you know—”
“I’m parked right out front. I saw the mess, and,” he pointed behind her, “and that.”
She turned and froze, taking in the message spray painted in sparkling purple across her back wall. “Next time, we’ll break you.”
Chapter 5
Cash hovered near Jo as she called the police. He hovered around her as they waited for them to arrive. Hovered as she went out to greet them and hovered as she led them inside. He couldn’t stop hovering and was glad Jo didn’t make him.
She was so calm, and he didn’t know how she could be. He was a seething mass of fury and nerves. Who would’ve done this? Why would they? It was so senseless. What if Jo had been here or Allie? What would’ve happened to them? If that message was anything to go by, it wouldn’t have been good.
Harold and the guys wandered over when the police pulled up outback. From the back door, Harold made eye contact with Cash and raised his brows, “everything all right?” the gesture asked.
He gave a little nod, before following the deputies and Jo back inside.
The old men came to the door, gathering around so they could see in. Jo moved a couple of her broken hives, clearing a path for the deputies, then led them into the store and showed them the message on the wall.
“Was there any damage upstairs?” one deputy asked. His name was Roger Lewis, and he’d graduated from their high school Cash’s sophomore year.
Jo cupped her cheeks in her hands. “I haven’t . . . I didn’t think to check.”
The other deputy, a man in his forties with a beard, stepped forward. His name tag read, E. Morrison. “Do you know anyone who’d want to do this? Anyone with a grudge? Someone you’ve butted heads with in the past?”
Jo glanced down and bit her lip.
Cash couldn’t imagine anyone having a beef with her. She was too polite, too quiet, too nice. Allie, on the other hand.
“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “I don’t think so. No one comes to mind.”
“What about with Allie?” Deputy Roger asked.
“Oh! Allie! I need to call her.” She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed, then turned her back on the deputies.
“It happened after seven,” Cash said. “I parked my car out front at about that time, and the shop was perfect.” And he meant that. He’d never seen anything like it. The care that they’d taken to make it look like it did was a skill that came from a true artist.
“Did you see anything suspicious? Anyone walking around that you didn’t recognize or someone acting weird?” The older deputy asked.
“No, but I don’t live here, I’m just visiting.” Cash’s gaze trailed to Jo as she pulled her phone back and punched in a few numbers before listening again. She must have a message.
