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Celia could all but smell the fear on the older man when she walked in. His eyes were little pinpoints in his head, and sweat was already gathering around his collar. “Good morning, Mr. West; we have a warrant to take your work computers, laptops, and any tablets you personally own from the premises.”
“But…but, I need those. How can I run a business without my computer?”
“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to figure that out on your own.” Celia signaled the team that had followed her and her partner to the inn to get to work, and they followed her into the office behind the desk to remove the computer back there. “Which rooms are yours and your wife’s, Mr. West?” It was a known fact that he and his wife lived below stairs on the premises, and she’d learned through questioning that they’d rented a room to Bridgette in the servant’s quarters for pennies as part of her room and board since the girl had nowhere else to stay.
Inez West came out from the kitchen where the sounds of breakfast being made could be heard, took one look at the cops, and lit into her husband. “What did you do now, you old fool? I knew that girl was trouble the first minute I laid eyes on her. I know it’s not right to speak ill of the dead, but she had floozy written all over her. What’s going on here, detective?”
“We’re confiscating your husband’s computers, ma’am, as well as the one back here in the office.”
“Well, that’s just fine. How’re we supposed to get anything done now?” Thankfully her ire was placed at her husband and no one else. “Where are your rooms, ma’am? We have to search for any computers there as well.”
“Come along then, and I’ll show you. How long do you think you’ll be needing those computers? I can maybe get by without them for a day or two, nothing wrong with paper and pen, but anything longer, and I might have to see about getting a new one. Busy season is right around the corner, you know.”
The older woman had a lot to say as she led Celia down the stairs to her private quarters, where she found one more computer, which Pete lifted while one of the other guys removed the tower. All in all, they left with two PCs and one laptop, only one of which was for the business.
The way Dale West stared at them as they left told her that, more than likely, she’d find what she was looking for on there. Her mind was still working to put the pieces together, to connect the dots. So far, she was almost certain that Bridgette had got the drug from Misty since she’s the one who worked for the pharmaceutical company, but that’s just a thought without evidence.
In the next few minutes, she’d learn for certain if the drug was indeed being manufactured there, which would be one piece of the puzzle, the rest she’d learn when she brings Misty in for questioning. “Pete, why don’t you head back to the station and check that stuff in with Andy? Tell him to put a rush on it while you’re at it.”
“Sure thing, by the way, I almost forgot, Gil and Bobbie are coming by the station this morning, remember?” Celia nodded but didn’t bother to tell him that if what she was beginning to suspect was correct, the two men need not bother. She had less than five minutes to get to her next appointment, which was no problem since the streets were hardly ever crowded this time of day or any other time of day for that matter.
As she drove through the picturesque streets, she marveled at how much her life had changed. A year and a half ago, she was caught up in something that had threatened her very livelihood. There’d been a dark cloud hanging over her head that even as a gifted detective, she could see no way out of. She knew firsthand what having an obsessed stalker after you was like.
What feeling like you had eyes on you everywhere did to your psyche, and what having your personal space invaded by an unknown could do to your sense of safety. The many men and women she’d sworn to protect suddenly took on new meaning when her own life was in jeopardy. From those days ‘til now, she’s never forgotten, and though it had been an uphill battle once the dust had settled and her stalker had been put away, it hadn’t been as easy as she thought to put the pieces back together.
She recalled as she looked at the well-manicured lawns and the old magnolia trees that graced the sidewalks how bereft she’d felt at the prospect of leaving the big city for this humdrum place that she’d never even heard of before.
