AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“See you then,” she agreed and opened the door.
“Bye, Pippa.”
“Nos vemos, Mason.” She held on a beat longer before he exhaled and ended the call.
Pippa slipped the phone in her back pocket and locked her apartment door. Lady snorted beside her. Pippa turned to her animal as the dog eyed her. “Not you too. I get enough of a hard time from Sophia.” She walked down the steps, her chest light and free. Sure, this was casual, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t look forward to an afternoon with the coolest young woman and her sexy Adonis father. Since when did the big girl get the chiseled Navy SEAL? Yes, it happened, occasionally. But never to her. She would make sure to enjoy every minute of their arrangement.
Lady barked, drawing her attention to the store. Pippa looked up and froze. Ice slid in her veins before it was replaced with hot anger.
Red slashes of spray paint scarred her once sparkling glass windows with the words, All fags will burn.
Lady whined next to her, pressing her soft coat against Pippa’s bare legs, snapping her out of her shock. Pippa’s eyes darted around the street. Several people across the road stared, holding up their camera phones.
“Pippa? Oh my God.” Remy rushed to her side. “A few customers were talking about this. I thought they meant somewhere else.”
“I need . . . I need to . . .” What did she need to do? Call the police? Families with their kids would be arriving later that day, and the last thing they needed to see was this shit on her store.
“I already called Bently. He’s on his way.”
The sheriff? Right, he was Remy’s brother-in-law.
“Are you okay?” Remy placed her hand on Pippa’s arm.
Pippa nodded numbly, tears blurring her vision. Seeing her safe place violated in such a disgusting manner made her stomach churn with bile. “I need to get this off before too many people see it.”
“I wouldn’t touch it until Bently arrives. Oh, look.” She waved to the truck marked Sheriff pulling into an empty parking space. “He’s here.”
Bently got out of his vehicle before tucking a pair of aviators into the front pocket of his tan uniform. A dark-haired woman got out of the passenger side, her eyes glued to the storefront. She frowned and shook her head.
“I got here at five, and not that I really looked, but I didn’t see anything amiss when I unlocked the café. Of course, I came in the back,” Remy said to Bently.
He reached out his hand to shake Pippa’s. “Ma’am, we didn’t quite get introduced at the pharmacy. I’m Sheriff Evans. You can call me Bently like almost everyone else here does. Haven’t quite made it in, but I believe my wife, Belle, has, and my foster son, Gage. They say it’s quite the bookstore.”
Pippa nodded. Gage’s face flashed in her mind. He enjoyed the thrillers and a lot of non-fiction if she remembered correctly. “Yes. Thanks. I’m Pippa Davis.”
“Did you happen to hear any disturbances, Miss Davis?” Bently asked.
“Please call me Pippa. No. Nothing out of the ordinary. I came outside earlier to let Lady out, but this wasn’t here then.”
“About what time was that?” He pulled out a pen as the woman next to him handed over a clipboard.
“Um, about seven thirty I think.”
“Do you have security cameras installed that point towards the front of the store?” his partner asked.
“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t have any cameras at all.”
“Okay, I’ll take a look around. See if I can find any evidence as to who did this. You might want to hold off on opening just yet.”
“Can I wash this off?” she asked.
“I’ll grab what you need at the hardware store, and I’ll help you get it cleaned up before the kids start showing up for story time.” The woman beside Bently stepped forward, motioning to the window. “I know I don’t want my son having to see this, even though he isn’t reading yet.”
Pippa cut her a questioning glance. The woman smiled and extended her hand. “Elena Vargas. My wife is bringing our son, Jay.”
Recognition flared. “Oh, you’re Millie’s wife.”
Vargas smiled. “Yes, ma’am.”
