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As I hung up, I realized that I felt better. Grams had become a safety net for me. She had entered my life and just the right time, and carved out a niche where she fit perfectly. She was a powerful ally. When she had first shown up on my doorstep, I had been hesitant, but within a few days, I couldn’t imagine not having her in my life.
“Grams is coming down this afternoon,” I told Fancypants.
He perked up. “Wonderful! I’ll help you clean.” He immediately picked up one of the dishtowels and flew to the top of the hutch and began dusting.
I snorted. “Thank you, little dude. I guess you’re right. Grams likes tidiness.”
“Are you going to open the shop today?” Fancypants asked. “If you aren’t, you should put a note up.”
“I guess I’ll open and see how it goes for an hour or so. I can finish cleaning after that.” I heaved myself off of the sofa and, grabbing my keys, I headed out into the cool autumn morning.
As I neared the shop, I hesitated. Once again, my inner alarms were ringing. I glanced around, trying to pinpoint what was off. Then, I saw—the door to my shop was cracked open, and the window on it had been shattered.
Immediately, I pulled out my phone and called 9-1-1. “Hey, can you send the sheriff to my house? I have a shop on my land and the door’s open. I have a security system, so I’m not sure why it didn’t go off. I locked it last night.”
“Have you gone inside, Ma’am?”
“No. I decided to wait when I noticed that door’s open and the window’s broken.”
“You say your shop is on your land? Are you near your house?”
“Yes, I can get there in under a minute.”
“Then go inside and lock your door. I’ve dispatched a unit. Stay on the phone with me until they get there, please.” She sounded concerned, and it dawned on me that whoever had broken in, might still be there.
I backed away, then turned and sprinted toward the house, taking the steps two at a time and slamming the door behind me. “I’m in the house,” I said, trying to calm my breathing.
“Lock the door.”
“I did.” I turned the locks. Fancypants spiraled down to sit on my shoulder. He glanced at the phone, then at me, but kept quiet. I edged my way to the side of the door, sneaking a peek out the window. My shop sat there, just as silent as it had been when I was outside.
“Ma’am, are you still with me?”
“Yes, sorry. The door is locked. So’s my backdoor. How long till the cops get here?” I watched the shop, then glanced at the driveway. I could see the beginning of the drive, but the road was long and a thicket of woodland obscured my view of the main road.
“They’re turning into your driveway now. Wait till they knock on your door?—”
“I see them,” I said, as the sheriff’s car pulled into view. “I’ll wait for them.”
“All right, I’m going to let you go. Follow their instructions.” The woman ended the call and I stuck my phone in the pocket of my jeans and sat in a chair near the front door, wondering what was going on. But I’d play by the rules because I had no intention of putting myself in danger.
Fancypants still sat on my shoulder. I was used to his weight by now—he was light, and he balanced without digging his talons into me. “What’s wrong?”
“When I went out to the shop, I saw that the door was open. We didn’t hear the security alarm during the night, and I know I locked and set it. So I called the police.”
“Good,” he said. “I hope that—” he stopped as someone knocked on the door.
I answered, Fancypants flying off my shoulder to sit atop one of the hutches.
Daisy was standing there as I opened the door. I was grateful she came out herself. “Hey, Daisy. Did you find anybody?”
“No, we didn’t. But…did you take a look inside?” Daisy sounded hesitant. That made me even more nervous. Fancypants followed us out to the porch.
“No. The minute I saw that the door had been opened, I decided to call 9-1-1.” I took a deep breath. “So…is it bad?”
Daisy grimaced and met my gaze. “I’m not going to cushion it, Elphyra. Whoever broke into your shop last night…well…come with me and take a look.”
“I need to find out why my security alarm didn’t go off,” I said, but Daisy had an answer for that as I followed her down the steps and toward my shop.
