It had been five days since she’d confronted Brody at the Lone Creek Ranch. She’d been in a miserable mood. By yesterday morning, Norma, her baker extraordinaire, dropped off the baked goods bright and early and then hightailed out of the store to her next stop without any of the normal chitchat they normally shared. Even someone as bubbly as Dixie was starting to avoid her by finding reasons to run into the back storeroom when Tara started muttering obscenities about Brody Whitebear.
Only the customers who came into the store got a smile and some sunshine from her. Tara played the part well. She was sure her customers didn’t notice her underlying mood. But as soon as the bell rang and the door closed, her smile faded.
Well, no more. After going over the books last night and seeing a nice increase in sales that she had hoped Dixie’s little experiment would provide, she’d decided she’d had enough mopping and misery and gotten it out of her system. She was determined to enjoy her new good fortune despite seeing Brody again.
As she drove to work that morning, the sun was just peeking up over the mountains. Some people didn’t like this hour of the morning, especially on a cold snowy Montana morning. But Tara had never minded getting up early. She knew how to dress warm. She’d learned how to travel on snowy and icy roads throughout the years she’d lived in Montana. Her apartment was close enough to town where Sweet Sensations was located so she didn’t have to worry about driving too far.
Norma Calhoun was always awake and baking her goodies way before Tara was out of bed. Then she packed up her truck with the pies, muffins and pastries, still warm and smelling sweet, and delivered the baked goods to Tara’s shop at six o’clock sharp. Tara had learned early on that there was a lot of foot traffic on the main drag in town that early in the morning no matter what the weather. Cowboys were up getting supplies or eating breakfast at the diner across the street.
Sweet Sensations had experienced many starts and stops over the years since Tara had started it. But changing her hours and adding the bakery had made a lasting financial impact despite the competition with the breakfast diner across the street. Her shop was now known for its hot and cold specialty coffees and freshly baked sweets for those people in a hurry even on a cold or rainy morning.
But this morning wasn’t cold or rainy. It was sunny and bright and Tara decided that thoughts of Brody would not ruin such a perfect day. Soon the sun would be climbing high in the sky and it would be warm. All the tourists who had stayed away because of the freak blizzard a few weeks ago would now be coming back to town and ready to start hiking on one of the many trails that led into the mountains that Sweet and the surrounding towns had to offer.
As she drove down the road and headed to the store, she took a moment to glance at the dashboard for the time. She groaned. She was running ten minutes late, and Norma would probably be at the shop when she got there. And she’d be angry, not that Tara didn’t blame her. Norma had other places to deliver to, and she had her own catering schedule to keep up.
But as Tara pulled up onto Main Street, she saw flashing blue and white lights and a police cruiser parked in front of her store. Norma’s car was parked out on the street in front rather in the back where she normally pulled in for delivery. She was standing on the sidewalk with her body leaning against her truck as she spoke to Officer Lincoln.
Tara’s heartbeat kicked up a notch. Confusion and fear collided with her as she pulled her car up to the curb, shoved it into park, and then launched out to make sure Norma was okay. As soon as she approached the police cruiser, she saw the front window of Sweet Sensations completely smashed. Glass was sprayed on the sidewalk and inside the shop.
She ran over to Norma. The closer she got to the older woman, the more she saw how rattled Norma was by what she’d witnessed.
Guilt choked Tara as she took in Norma’s tear filled eyes. She was late and whatever had happened here, Norma had to deal with it herself.
“Are you okay?” she asked Norma, touching her arm.
“Oh, thank heavens!” Norma said as relief washed over her face when she saw it was Tara. “I’m fine. I wasn’t here when they were here. I was afraid you’d been inside when I saw this damage.”
Norma, a middle-aged woman with a thick stomach and hair she kept wrapped in the back of her head in a messy bun, swiped a hand across her forehead as if to push away hair.
“I was late,” Tara said. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.”
“Sorry? I’m not. What if you’d been here when this happened?”
Tara placed a hand over her chest to slow her rampant heartbeat. “What exactly happened?”
Norma shrugged. “I was about to pull in the back like I always do, but I saw the window. I mean, how can you not? And I thought the worst. I didn’t know what to think. Chuck and I had our house broken into about ten years ago and they did the same thing. They broke the window so that they could get inside. There was no way I was going in there. But I was afraid you were already inside, so I called the police.”
She turned and saw Officer Lincoln on the sidewalk across the street talking to a few cowboys in front of the diner. One of them pointed in their direction and continued telling his story.
“Did they see what happened?”
Norma shrugged. “I have no idea. I never saw anyone come out. So I think whoever it was who broke in is long gone.”
Tara glanced through the broken window and saw two other officers inside her shop. One was looking around and talking, pointing at things. He had a camera in his hand and was taking pictures. The other was on the phone talking to someone. She recognized the man as Officer Caleb Samuel and knew him well. He usually stopped into the shop every morning for a coffee and scone at the beginning of his shift.
Her shop was a mess. Someone had caused this destruction on purpose. It broke Tara’s heart to see it in such disarray. She’d worked so hard to build it up and make it part of the community. People liked it. She got good reviews from her customers. She’d even searched blogs from travel sites and had seen people comment about coming to Sweet and visiting Sweet Sensations. Her store had given her pride.
But now it looked broken. Invaded by someone who hadn’t cared about all the work and love that she’d put into the shop.
“Oh, I totally forgot about Dixie!” Norma said, her expression full of panic.
Tara shook her head. “She has today off for an examine at the college.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
Dixie was so young. She was very naïve in some ways. It would have been horrible if she’d been here during the break in.
If Tara had been on time this morning, she may have seen whoever had did this. But more than likely, it had happened hours ago. Why hadn’t her store alarm gone off? She didn’t have the most sophisticated system, but if someone had tried to escape through one of the doors, it should have gone off.
In her angst over Brody Whitebear being here in town, had she forgotten to set the alarm when she’d left last night? What were the chances someone would break in on the one night she hadn’t set the alarm?
And who would be so callous and so mean to destroy the beautiful work that some of the local artisans had put countless hours into creating? Every one of them will be paid. Tara would make sure of that. She knew that the insurance company would reimburse her for the items that were lost. But no one would get to enjoy the beautiful pieces that were now gone.
As she stood there lost in her fury and sadness, Tara noticed Officer Samuel coming toward her through the broken window. He stopped in front of the door.
“I assume you have your keys with you, Tara,” he said from the other side.
“Oh, of course.” Tara rummaged through her purse. She didn’t keep her car keys on the same key ring as she’d kept the store keys so she fumbled a bit until she found the right set. When she found them, she quickly unlocked the door and noticed the dust all over the handle.
“Is it okay if I touch the door?” she asked.
“Yes,” Caleb said. “We’ve already dusted the glass and handles.”
Tara walked into the shop and couldn’t hold back the tears. Someone had wanted to hurt her. That was the only thing she could think of. Why else would someone come inside and willy-nilly destroy beautiful things? It didn’t make any sense.
“You’re going to need to give us an inventory of the items that you lost and are broken,” he said. “I’ll need it for the report, but you’ll need a copy for the insurance company as well.”
She nodded. “How soon do you need it?”
“I know you’re still a little shaken,” Caleb said with sympathy. “Just get it to me as soon as you can. Chances are this was a random act. But I have to ask. Do you have any idea who might have wanted to hurt you in any way?”
“Hurt me?”
“It doesn’t seem like this was solely for the purposes of theft. There was some destruction as well. That usually suggests someone with a grudge. Have you had any trouble with a customer lately or someone who would be angry with you for some reason? Someone who’d be angry enough to want to cause this type of destruction?”
Anger surged through her. She slammed her foot into the sidewalk as she looked at all the beautiful pieces of pottery and glass that was now broken all over her shop floor. “As a matter of fact, I have a real good idea.”
* * *
Brody had fallen into a rhythm of working on the ranch as if he’d been there years. Trip was a hands on owner, unlike some of the other ranch owners he’d worked for. He helped him get the lay of the ranch and introduced him to most of the vendors they used to make it easier to order supplies when needed.
Brody learned that although the ranch had many functions, Trip’s real passion was investing in stock for rodeos and finding new talent. He taught rodeo skills to the locals and encouraged some of the more gifted riders to compete as he had when he’d made most of his money to purchase this ranch. The more Brody was there, the more it seemed like this job was a perfect fit for him.
He’d finished his morning rounds with the hands and gotten them settled into projects that needed fixing. He took some time after lunch to do inventory of the supplies in the arena and barn so he could stay on top of supplies and orders before they ran out of anything. He was just finishing up adding sponges and hand wipes to the long list of things needed in the tack room when he heard some voices at the far end of the barn.
“Good afternoon, Trip,” Brody heard someone say.
Brody tucked the pen he’d been writing with in his shirt pocket and closed the notebook he’d been writing in as he walked into the center aisle.
That’s when he saw the police officer. And the long face on Trip.
“What’s going on?” Brody asked, walking slowly toward the men as they moved toward him. They met somewhere in the middle by Tenterhook’s stall.
“I was just about to ask Caleb the same thing,” Trip said. “Not that I don’t love having visitors out to the ranch. But since you’re wearing your uniform and not riding clothes, I’m guessing you’re here on official business?”
Caleb nodded. “’Fraid so, Trip.”
“Does it have anything to do with Levon’s murder?” Trip asked. “I thought that was all wrapped up when Tanner confessed last winter.”
Caleb put his fists on his hips. “No, it’s not about Levon. There was a break in at a shop in town. The shop owner questioned whether your ranch hands had something to do with it.”
Brody’s stomach turned. He remained silent. He learned a long time ago it was best to only respond to questions when asked rather than offer up information.
“One of my ranch hands?” Trip asked, adjusting his cowboy hat. “I can’t imagine one of my hands doing anything like breaking into a shop. When did this break in happen?”
Caleb glanced at Brody. “Are you Brody Whitebear?”
“I am.” Brody stood up straight. “But I’m not a ranch hand.”
Caleb frowned and then pulled the small notepad out of his pocket and read the notes. “I was told you worked here at the Lone Creek Ranch.”
“He does,” Trip said. “He’s my ranch manager. He’s taken Levon’s position.”
Caleb looked at Brody directly. “Congratulations. I need to ask you a few questions about what happened in town this morning.”
His stomach lurched. “I don’t know anything about a break in in town. When did this break in happen?”
“There were no cameras in the building. But we believe the break in happened between three AM and six AM this morning.”
“That’s pretty specific timeline you’re working under for having no evidence,” Trip said.
Caleb nodded. “One of our officers drove by the shop around two-thirty or three o’clock this morning and didn’t see any disturbance. The front window was still in place. He would have seen it if it were in the condition it was in this morning given that there were no cars along the sidewalk. The baker for the shop arrived at six and the window was shattered.”
“I don’t mean to be telling you how to do your job,” Trip said. “There are a hundred and one ways to break a big pane window. A rock could have flown free off a dump truck and shattered the window. An elk or another animal might have wandered into town. It’s been known to happen before.”
“We thought of those things. We found a hammer inside the shop. It had been used to break the window. We were able to get some fingerprints off the hammer handle and a piece of broken pottery.”
“Pottery? Which shop was broken into?” Brody asked.
“I’m sorry. I thought I mentioned it,” Caleb said. “It was Sweet Sensations. Tara Mitchell’s shop.”
Brody’s stomach began to burn as nerves pushed through him. He had been down this road before. When trouble comes knocking somewhere, the law usually came knocking on his door first.
“Is Ms. Mitchell okay?” Brody asked.
“Yes. Shaken up a bit. There was quite a bit of damage.”
“Didn’t they take anything?” Trip asked.
“That’s the funny thing,” Caleb said. “They left a drawer full of money set up for the next day’s business. There wasn’t much there, but if they’d been after money, they walked right by it in exchange for tearing up the place. It was as if someone was hell-bent on revenge.”
“I don’t know that I could help you with any of this,” Brody said, smacking the notepad he’d been holding on the palm of his hand to keep his anger in check. “I haven’t left the ranch since yesterday afternoon.”
“We were up talking business until about eleven last night,” Trip said.
“Can anyone vouch that you were in the bunkhouse all night?” Caleb asked.
“No person. Unless you want to talk to the dam down at the end of the aisle here. She gave birth about four-thirty this morning to a fine foal.”
“That’s right,” Trip said. “I woke up to the news bright and early. Most of us were in and out of here all night making sure everything went smoothly. You can ask the other hands.”
“You’re not likely to get much out of the horse,” Brody said.
Caleb chuckled. “You had a busy first week.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did anyone see you leave the property?”
“I just told you that I was here birthing a foal, although I have to say her mama did that pretty well on her own.”
Trip chuckled. Then he slapped Caleb on the back lightly. “Come on, I’ll bring you to the ranch hands. You can question them to verify Brody’s alibi. Then if you want, we will come in to take a peek at the new addition to the ranch.”
“That’d be good. I’m afraid I’m still going to need to bring you in for fingerprints. You do realize it’s the quickest way to eliminate you as a suspect if you’re not a match.”
Brody’s back straightened. “The best way to eliminate me is to run the prints you have. If I don’t come up in your database as a match, then I’m not your man. My prints are already on file.”