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“Good,” Will said from where he waited by the door. “I’ll drive you over and Travis can drive himself to the bakery.”
“Wasn’t there someone watching the bakery?”
Will scowled. “Yes. As I told Travis, the rookie on the overnight shift will be reprimanded. Callie says he was asleep in his vehicle when she and Connie found the mess.”
“He’s okay?” Lila asked.
“Groggy, dismayed, but seemingly well. We sent him to the clinic too for a tox screen.”
“Will thinks he might’ve been drugged somehow.”
Lila’s knees threatened to buckle. They had to get a handle on this situation immediately. “And you’re sure this is related to the thief?”
With Travis’s encouragement, Will handed over his phone. “Pictures from the scene.”
She scrolled through, her stomach twisting into knots.
The bakery was a disaster. It looked as if their own private tornado had torn through. Utter destruction in every photo. Bags of flour and sugar were torn open, the contents spilled over the floor. Racks were toppled, and equipment was scattered everywhere.
No wonder Callie had been overwhelmed. Lila felt the urgency pressing on her to get to the clinic, but she needed all the details first.
The last photo showed a message scrawled on the wall in bright red frosting:You know what I want
“What about the front counter?” she asked when she reached the end of the series of photos.
“Nothing disturbed outside of the kitchen,” Will said.
“Because whoever did this knows how to hit below the belt,” Lila grumbled. “When you find the thief, I want a chance to punch her lights out. Gram too,” she added, refusing to entertain any ideas of Connie being weak.
Will’s eyebrows arched, but there was a ghost of a smile on his mouth. “We’ll see.” He tucked his phone away. “At this rate, the whole town will want to take a swing.”
“Good.” That would be a rich fantasy she could use to distract Gram. “I need to get to the clinic.”
Travis handed her a jacket and her shoes. “I’ll be over as soon as we sort this out.” He bent and kissed her cheek under Will’sstern expression. “Stay away from the officer,” he whispered in her ear.
She used his shoulder to steady herself as she shoved her feet into the shoes. “I hadn’t even considered that.”
“Good.” He kissed her on the lips this time. “Don’t.”
And then he hustled out the door.
“You need anything else?” Will asked.
She shook her head. “I’ve got my phone. Anything else I can call Travis.”
“Or a friend.”
“That too.”
Will offered up a few reassurances on the short drive to the clinic and promised they would share details as they came to light. They walked inside and she heard him ask about the officer who’d messed up while she darted off with another nurse to see her grandmother.
The nurse pushed open the door and Lila rushed in, unsure what to expect.
“Lila!” Connie opened her arms. “Finally. Let’s get out of here.”
“Sure thing,” Lila replied, crossing to the bed. She bent down and gave Gram a gentle hug. The machine monitoring vital stats beeped softly and steadily. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. Get me out of this dumb gown.”
