Series: Paige Michaels
Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
The customer smiled at Nora and finished her conversation. “Thank you, honey. Be careful out there.” She put her phone back in her purse. “He says he’ll pass along the information, and Avery will most likely be over this morning. If that guy comes back, call the station.”
“Thank you so much for your help,” Nora said gratefully. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t spoken up. Let me find those corners for you. I’ve taken enough of your time this morning.”
“Oh, no problem. This is my fun for today. I love craft stores and was so excited you’d opened. Bennett here was sick so I couldn’t come for the grand opening. Now, I’m going to take my time looking around. Could you start a pile for me somewhere?”
“You bet. Let’s put everything here on the counter,” Nora suggested, and the young woman returned cheerfully to the shopping she’d obviously been looking forward to.
As she disappeared into an aisle, Nora grabbed her phone and sent a message to Mateo.
Could you come talk to me when you have a spare minute? Nothing urgent.
Forcing herself to get busy on all the tasks left on her opening-day list, Nora tried not to worry about the man’s appearance and threat. She had barely one more box unpacked when the door chimed that someone had entered. Nora called a cheerful “Welcome to Craftastic!” as she stepped into the main aisle. At the sight of Mateo, she dashed forward into his arms.
“Angel? What’s happened?”
“There was a man here. He said he was a detective about the bomb threat,” she whispered, trying to keep her customers from being concerned. “He wouldn’t tell me his name. Something just felt icky about the whole encounter. When I asked for his name a second time, he told me if I wasn’t going to cooperate, he’d just have a patrol car pick me up and take me into custody for questioning.”
“What? That’s absurd. Did you call the police?”
“I didn’t know what to do. A customer overheard the whole thing. Her husband is a police officer, and she called him. I could remember the name Avery, and he knew her. She’s supposed to come talk to me. I don’t think that was actually a police officer.”
“Nor do I. If he walks in again, call the police immediately and then me, in that order. No messages. Call me directly so there’s no chance I’ll miss the call.”
“Okay.” Nora just barely kept herself from adding Daddy to her answer. “It was scary.”
“I would have been scared, too.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “Want me to wait with you until the detective gets here?”
“No. I’ll be fine. My morning cashier should be here soon. Look, there she is.” Nora pointed at a pleasant-looking woman who approached. “That’s Amy, my employee. I’m sure Avery will come soon.”
“Promise you’ll call even if you just get spooked?” he requested.
“I promise.”
“Good girl.”
When he left, she watched him until he disappeared into La Havana as she greeted Amy. She knew that he would be back in a flash if he even suspected that anything was wrong. In a few minutes, Amy had stowed her things in the back and had taken over the cash register.
Nora glanced out the large plate-glass windows before returning to her list. With relief, she watched a familiar woman step onto the sidewalk in front of the store. Detective Reynolds.
Hurrying to the door, Nora greeted the detective. “Hi. Thank you for coming. I’m Nora, the owner of Craftastic.”
“I remember. I hope there’s less excitement here today,” Detective Reynolds said with a smile.
“Maybe? Would you mind talking in my office?” Nora requested quietly.
“That sounds like a good idea. I’ll follow you.”
In the privacy of her office, Detective Reynolds listened carefully and took notes. She asked for and received a copy of the security video from the entrance of the store. Nora didn’t get the feeling that the police detective recognized the man who had come into the store.
“Here’s my card if anyone else comes inside. If someone identifying themselves as a police officer comes to bring you in for questioning, call me before you go anywhere with anyone. If I don’t pick up the call, call 911 and give them the officer’s description and name. They can tell you if it’s legit. I don’t think they’ll be back.”
“Do you have any idea why that man even came here in the first place?” Nora asked.
“I don’t like that he knew there had been a threat here earlier. That kind of information is not published for the public’s information,” the detective informed her. “An investigative reporter might happen on the information or someone who was here during the event might have notified them, but it’s not publicly released normally.”
“I don’t know what’s happening here. I’ll admit I’m scared. This store is the result of years of work and dreams. Why is stuff happening here?” Nora asked.