Page 31 of Stormswept Colorado (Hart County #3)

TWENTY-NINE

Teller

Two. Weeks.

Fourteen days.

No, make that fifteen days since I’d last seen Ayla. Today was a new day.

Work had been keeping me busy, at least physically. But that was no blessing. Another vandalism had occurred last night, this one on the outskirts of Silver Ridge.

I was sitting at a kitchen table across from Donna Zanetti, a young mother whose husband had gone to visit his sick father out of town. She had a baby carrier strapped to her chest with her six-month-old asleep inside.

“Take your time,” I said. “Tell me what happened.”

“I heard the noise at 2:15 in the morning. Breaking glass. I grabbed my phone first thing. Called 911.”

I reached across the table to place my hand on Donna’s arm, but that didn’t stop her trembling.

Susan had been on duty, and she’d made it here within ten minutes of the call. She’d called me after she confirmed that the suspect was gone and the scene was secure.

Donna rubbed her daughter’s back. “I stayed in my bedroom with the baby. She must’ve known something was wrong. She was crying. And then I saw the shadow moving outside the bedroom door. I knew he was out there.”

Shit. This was much worse than any of the previous vandalisms around the county. No one else had reported that the culprit went inside an occupied house.

“Did he try to open the bedroom door?”

“I don’t think so. I had it locked anyway, since my husband is gone.”

“Was it one person? Could it have been more than one?”

“Definitely just one. I heard his footsteps.”

The vandal had left red graffiti in the shape of a flower on the outside of the house, exactly like the previous incidents. He’d broken windows and smashed some toys and equipment the family had left outside. Nothing was missing, either outside or inside the house. This hadn’t been a robbery.

This behavior was designed to scare the homeowners. Always women alone.

But actually going inside the home? That was new and extremely concerning.

“I never thought…” Donna shook her head. “I’ve heard about those other incidents lately, but I never…”

I patted her arm gently. “I know. That must’ve been terrifying.

But we’re going to find who did this. We’ll have someone check for fingerprints and other forensic evidence.

The sheriff’s office and the other departments around the county are involved in the investigation. We’re taking this very seriously.”

I finished interviewing Donna. Susan and our other officers wrapped up their photos and notes, and I had someone stay behind to wait for the crime scene techs.

As a rural county, we didn’t employ any of our own.

The forensics techs worked for the state and traveled to scenes in the region whenever they were needed.

Susan and I headed back to the station. When we arrived, I waved her into my office.

She sat heavily in the chair across from my desk. “ Well, that was awful. I’ve known Donna since she was a baby herself, and I was there at her daughter’s christening. Chief, we have to figure out who’s doing this. It’s just mean and nasty.”

“You’re preaching to the choir.”

“I already got a text from Dixie. She’s setting up a meal train to help out Donna, along with volunteers to stay with her and the baby.

Donna’s husband will probably head back sooner after what happened.

But people are going to be talking about this.

They’ll want to know what we’re doing to catch this creep. ”

“Yes, Susan,” I said calmly. “I know.” I was well used to receiving calls daily from my citizens.

“And that red spray paint nonsense?”

“It’s his signature.” I was assuming the suspect’s gender was male, but would a woman do this? I doubted it. “He’s doing us a favor. We know for sure it’s the same person, even though we haven’t gotten any physical evidence or camera footage yet to confirm it.”

“What’s that design supposed to be, anyway?” Susan took out her work phone. She had some pictures from the scene today on it. “Those swirls.” She held it up. “A flower?”

I nodded, my sense of unease growing. “Yes. It’s a flower.”

“Creepy as all get-out.”

“The escalation…” I drummed my fingers on my desk. “It’s a bad sign.”

She put her phone away. “Madness. I swear there’s something in the air. It’s the pollen spores in spring, I swear. They mess with the noggin.”

I almost smiled. “It’s March. It’ll be a while until pollen season really hits.

” It would be spring soon, and we had a few more months of chaotic weather ahead of us before the relative calm of summer.

Though I’d seen snow here in June and July.

At least the Colorado sun melted the snowfall from the roads and trees between storms year round.

But thinking of snow just brought Ayla to mind, and that was a bad idea. I’d already spent plenty of sleepless nights lately obsessing over her.

“Yes, I realize it’s not spring just yet,” Susan said. “But people have been acting strange. Like Seth being out sick today for the third or fourth time in a couple months.”

I’d noticed that. I’d had so much on my mind that I hadn’t checked up on him, but I should have.

“And you .” Susan pointed a finger at me. “I’m not the only one who’s noticed your surly moods lately, mister.”

“I’m not surly .”

“You’re in a funk. Have been ever since the wedding. And I’ve heard a few rumors about what went on in Hartley. Don’t think I haven’t.”

I gripped the skin between my eyes. “No idea what you mean.”

Of course, I knew exactly what she meant. And Susan’s smirk said she knew that too.

Everyone seemed to know about that goodbye kiss with Ayla in the parking lot. Granted, I hadn’t been discreet about it. I’d lingered with our lips together, trying to imprint her taste in my memory. The feel of her under my hands. The way she’d worn my scent on her skin…

Hell, I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about that.

“I heard you got very cozy with a celebrity who shall remain nameless. I suppose that’s only natural, since you two had to snuggle up when you were trapped in that snowstorm.”

“Susan…”

“ But ,” she went on, “those pollen spores must be going to your head if you’re this distraught over a little weekend rendezvous.” Her eyes narrowed. “Unless it’s more than that?”

I put my hands flat on my desk. “We’re at work. I’m not going to indulge your need for gossip. But regardless, I have nothing to say about any celebrity or otherwise. You have reports to file. You may exit my office, Officer Nichols.”

“ See ?” she muttered to herself on her way out. “ Surly .”

Fuck me. I needed a drink.

Around midday, I pulled up a stool at the end of the bar at Hearthstone. Callum walked toward me, draping a bar towel over his shoulder. His brown hair stuck out haphazardly from beneath his backward baseball cap.

“Chief, you’re in here early.”

“Just for lunch.”

“You sure? You look like a guy who could use a drink.”

Geez, he had it right. Same exact thought I’d had earlier. But I couldn’t. “A beer would be nice, but I’m on duty.”

Yet I’d still come here to a bar, as if I wanted to torture myself over what I couldn’t have.

He winked. “I won’t tell.”

I really hoped Callum wasn’t that irresponsible. I decided to assume he was kidding. “I’ll have a root beer and a burger. Hold the onions.”

“You got it.” He went to enter my order.

Callum usually worked all day on Wednesdays. I knew way too much about people’s schedules around town, but that was my habit. Making sure things in Silver Ridge worked like clockwork and, when they didn’t, stepping in to help fix the problem.

At this current moment, though, I was the one who was messed up.

It was long past the lunch rush, and Hearthstone was nearly deserted. Callum brought over my soda. “I heard a rumor,” he said.

I tensed. “What about?”

“Another vandalism last night. That true?”

I exhaled, not even sure what I’d been bracing myself for. “Yeah, unfortunately. We’re devoting a lot of resources to finding the culprit. ”

“I’m sure. They’ve all been outside of the town centers, right? More isolated areas?”

I nodded. Otherwise, I’d be worried about Piper living alone with Ollie. But they were close to Main Street.

There wasn’t much more I could say about the vandalism case. We were keeping the details as confidential as possible.

“I’ve hardly seen you since the wedding,” I said, changing the subject.

Callum’s brow creased. “Yeah. But trivia night with the Lonely Harts club isn’t really your scene.”

Okay, fair. Callum and I didn’t usually hang out much. I had my long hours at the station, and he had his bartending gig and volunteer firefighting duties.

Yet we’d known each other our entire lives. He went through life more flippantly than I did, but he was a good egg. A doting uncle to Maisie, brother to Grace, friend to Piper.

Maybe he could help, because I couldn’t go on like this.

“I need some advice,” I spit out.

“From me ? What about?”

“A woman.”

“ Ah .” He drew that one syllable out like a full sentence. “I heard some interesting things about you and Ayla at the wedding.”

“Careful,” I growled.

“Ease up, killer. I wasn’t going to say more than that. Ashford might. She’s important to him. But I think the gossip skipped him and Emma because they were off on their honeymoon until last week.”

I took a long sip of soda, frowning. This felt ridiculous.

Asking anyone for dating advice, much less Callum O’Neal.

But Callum dated constantly. Always seemed to have a different tourist on his arm.

I wouldn’t go to him for tips on long-term relationships, but surely he could interpret the basics of female communication.

Right? Ayla was twenty-seven, and Callum was far closer to that age than I was .

Yes, I was really this desperate.

Cal pulled off his ball cap and combed his fingers through his hair. Pushed the hat back into place. “I’ll just assume this is a hypothetical woman you need advice about. Okay? Tell me what’s going on. The love doctor is in.”