the back door that opens to the alley. He broke the lock.”
“So you think this was all done by one person?” Riley asked.
“I checked the area myself and only saw one set of fresh footprints in the patch of dirt between the door and the alleyway. Big feet. Definitely an adult male. Not wearing Western boots like so many around here do. Prints indicated he was wearing sneakers, no doubt looking for a fast getaway.”
“So no eyewitness?” Riley asked.
“Nope.” Cavazos raked his fingers through his thinning hair. “But we couldn’t have missed the scoundrel by much. He busted the hell out of the system keypad next to the back door, but not before the call went through to the security company.
“When the company couldn’t reach you, Dani, they called us.”
“I was at the Double K for the wedding reception. Evidently I couldn’t hear the phone over the band.”
“Wouldn’t have changed the results if you had. The first two deputies were on the scene in under five minutes. Your burglar wasted no time wrecking the place.”
“Any suspects?” Riley asked. “Is this a pattern of similar vandalism and break-ins in Winding Creek?”
Cavazos shook his head and scratched his whiskered chin. “Last downtown business break-in we had was dang near three years ago. Then it was a couple of teenagers camping out down at the park on Winding Creek. They got high and hit Caffe’s Bar looking for booze. Didn’t make a mess like this, though.”
“Your registers were emptied of all the bills,” one of the deputies said. “That was probably the intruder’s first order of business.”
“That didn’t gain him much. There was very little money in them. I emptied them when I closed shop for the day, except for enough bills and change to start business in the morning. Not that I’ll be opening to customers tomorrow now.”
“What about the cash you took in this morning?” Riley asked. “Where’s that money?”
“I made a deposit at the drive-through lane before the bank closed. The rest is in a hidden safe upstairs.”
“That might be your motivation for the vandalism,” Cavazos said. “Jackass went for the cash and when there wasn’t enough to satisfy him, he got pissed and did as much damage as he could before he heard the approaching sirens.”
“Guess I’m lucky you got here so fast,” she said.
But she felt certain that wasn’t the motivation for the vandalism. The culprit was that rotten James Haggard. He was devoid of any decency. A scoundrel who was determined to steal the trust fund of a motherless girl he claimed was his own flesh and blood.
Riley took off the jacket to his tux and wrapped it about her shoulders. That was when she realized she was trembling.
“I know you’ve got a major clean-up job here,” he said. “The good news is there’s very little costly damage. The best news is neither you nor Constance was home at the time of the break-in.”
“I agree,” she said. She wasn’t sure if Haggard had only come by to threaten her again and then decided to break in when she wasn’t here, or if vandalism had been his goal.
“I wouldn’t advise you to try and stay here tonight,” Cavazos said. “The lock on the back door is busted. Fact is, the whole door is busted up. It will have to be replaced, and it will likely be Monday before you can get someone out to take care of that for you.”
“I’ll secure it until the door’s replaced,” Riley said. “And I’ll replace all the locks once the door is in, just to be on the safe side.”
“Good idea,” Cavazos said. “Now if you two will excuse me, I need to return a phone call. The deputies will be finishing up here in a few minutes. After that, the place is yours, but if you think of anything I should know about, give me a call on my private line.”
He handed them each a business card. He spoke briefly to his deputies and then left through the front door.
Dani’s mind was reeling. Cleanup seemed all but insurmountable and she wasn’t sure she had the strength or willpower to even start on it tonight.
And then there was Riley. She’d known him one day, yet he’d taken over tonight as if they were lifelong friends—or more. He was protective, and far more clearheaded than she was at the moment.
He was both of those things now, but he could be gone tomorrow. She couldn’t start depending on him.
“You don’t have to stay tonight, Riley. Really, you’ve done so much already. I’m starting to feel guilty about taking up all your time when you’re in Winding Creek to visit your brothers and Esther.”
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