I nodded and stuffed my hands into my pockets. I could have told them about the second note then. I should have told them. Ishouldhave given it to them to analyze. But I didn’t.
This was personal.
Curious?
Damn right I was.
“I suggest having all of the locks changed,” Brigg said. “New keys, new code for the alarm—maybe have a technician come out and make sure it’s not malfunctioning.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I answered automatically.
I followed the officers back into the store, shutting and locking the door to the alley. I thanked them for their time, agreed to call if anything new came to light, and then saw them out. At the front door, I flicked off the overhead lights.
“Hey!” Max called from the darkness. “I can’t see shit.”
“You’re fine. Turn on the lamps,” I said back, watching the police get into their cruiser and pull away from the curb. Behind me, I heard the snap of an old bank lamp turning on, followed by the shifting sound of bricks under Max’s feet as he walked around the shop.
“So what now?” Max asked.
“I’m going next door.”
“Why?”
“To check in with Beth.”
“She does seem a likely suspect,” Max said in a thoughtful tone.
I snorted at the image of plump little Beth, with her big glasses and gray hair and wearing clothing with cats on them, busily covering the Emporium floor space in bricks. Yeah, she was at the top of my persons-of-interest list. I rolled my eyes, pushed up my sunglasses, and walked out the door.
I ducked under her awning and opened the door to the bookshop. It was much more brightly lit than my store, although crammed with enough second-hand books to make me feel right at home amongst the organized chaos. The radio overhead was playing sappy, poppy love songs in lieu of Valentine’s Day this coming Sunday.
Shit. Was it really this Sunday?
Standing on the welcome mat in Good Books wasn’t the best place for it to occur to me that I wasn’t entirely certain if Calvin and I would celebrate Valentine’s Day. I mean, sure we were dating, and it was a lovey-dovey, couples-centric holiday, but did Calvin like that sort of stuff?
DidI, for that matter?
Sort of.
Not that I’d admit it to anyone.
“What are you doing here so early, Sebby?”
I pushed the poorly timed thoughts out of mind and turned to the counter. Beth stood at the register with an expectant look, eyeing me through her thick glasses. What did we have today? I squinted. A sweater with a big cat face. The eyes were made of buttons and the cat had a bow on its head. It was actually kind of terrifying.
“Beth.” I looked around, spotting a few customers already perusing her aisles. I walked to the counter and leaned over. “Has anything strange happened over here in the past day or so?”
She quirked a brow. “Strange? I’ve sold all of my tofu cookbooks. I’ve been wondering if there’s a new health fad happening. Is there? With tofu?”
“What? No. I mean, I’ve no idea. Listen. Yesterday someone smashed one of my windows.”
“Son of a bitch!” she shouted. “I was wondering what was up with the plywood when I walked by this morning.”
“Yeah. Anyway, this morning when I opened the Emporium, the entire shop was full of bricks.”
“Come again?”
“Bricks,” I repeated.
