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A car door slammed on the street in front of the restaurant, then a second door. At the same time, a car pulled into the parking lot behind the restaurant.
“Looks like the cavalry is here,” Spence said.
Carole looked around wildly, as if trying to find an escape route. But there was only one door, and Spence was blocking the way.
The same two police officers who’d come to the store when Julia fired the three women turned the corner and approached the office. J. Houlihan stared at Carole, her expression hardening. “You came back.”
Carole stared at the officer, her lips pressed together. She didn’t speak.
Officer Houlihan glanced at Spence’s gun. “You have a license for that thing?”
“I do,” he said. “Once you get Carole secured, I’ll be happy to show you my driver’s license, ID card, FOID card and concealed carry permit.”
Houlihan motioned him out of her way, then stepped over to Carole, holding handcuffs. “Turn around,” she ordered.
Carole took her time, but finally turned. Houlihan cuffed her, then patted her down.
“I take it the restaurant’s owner wants to press charges?”
“Yes, I do,” Julia said as she strode toward the office. She studied Carole for a long moment. “I gave you a break when I didn’t press charges for the money you stole. But you came back and were in the process of opening my safe. What did you think was in there, Carole?”
Carole held Julia’s gaze but didn’t say a thing.
“How did you get the combination?” Julia asked.
Carole just stared at her without speaking.
Julia turned to the officers. “Thanks again, officers. I appreciate this. I most definitely want to press charges. But can I come down to the station tomorrow? Or later today, I guess it would be. I need to make sure she didn’t take anything from my safe.”
“Tomorrow would be fine, Ms. Stewart,” Houlihan said. She turned to the other police officer. “Connor, put Ms. Hastings in the squad car, then stay there and watch her. I’ll be right out. I have a few questions for Ms. Stewart.”
“Got it,” Connor said, taking Carole’s arm. “Right this way, ma’am.”
* * *
Julia followed Connor and Carole to the front door and watched as the young police officer eased Carole into the back seat of a squad car. Judging by the way she continually shifted, Julia realized she was still handcuffed and uncomfortable. A tight fist of anger squeezed her chest as she watched Connor settle into the front seat.
Julia turned around and called, “She’s in the police car, Nico. It’s safe to come out.” Then she looked at Spence. “What did Carole say to you?”
Spence shrugged. “About what you’d expect. Said she hadn’t taken anything. That I should just let her go. After all, she only stole a few hundred dollars from you.”
“Yeah, right,” Julia said scornfully. “Madeline’s has been struggling for months. She and the other two probably stole thousands and thousands of dollars from me.” She nodded toward the safe, which was standing with the door ajar. “What did she say she wanted in there?”
“Said you called and asked her to get your ledger. Bring it to you.”
Julia snorted. “She has to be stupid to think you’d buy that, after knowing I’d just fired her.” She felt Nico come up behind her. She fumbled for his hand and drew him closer, and he put an arm around her shoulders. Snugged her against his side.
“How do you think Carole got the combination to my safe?” she said, slumping against him.
He tightened his arm around her shoulder. “Flynn and I need to scan this room for hidden cameras,” he said. He nodded at her computer. “Or maybe Carole got it somehow with the spyware Zoe discovered. Is the combination for your safe on that computer?”
Julia shook her head. “No. It’s in my head. And on an encrypted spreadsheet on my computer at home with all my passwords.”
Nico gripped her upper arm more tightly. “The one that had spyware on it,” he said evenly.
Julia gasped. “Oh, my God. I didn’t even think about my passwords.” She spun around to face him. “Zoe cleaned it off that computer the next day. Do you think she could have hacked into the file that quickly?”
“No idea,” Nico said, his voice grim. “But we’ll change all your passwords tomorrow. I’ll install a program that generates random passwords for you.”
