Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
W as there any woman in town who wasn’t attracted to Jody as if he were catnip? Slamming the trunk of her car closed, she carried her groceries into her apartment building, then used her elbow to push the elevator button. Her blood still boiled at the way the cashier had acted.
Why do you care? she asked herself, stepping into the elevator when it opened.
Using her elbow again to press her floor button, she told herself she didn’t care. It was just embarrassing for womankind with the way they acted.
Yeah, right. She laughed grimly at herself. As if you didn’t practically orgasm when you saw Jody for the first time .
That was before she realized what a hound dog he was, she consoled herself. She hadn’t let him know, either. She would rather die a torturous death than let that lover boy know she had fallen victim to the pheromones he was using to set women’s crotches on fire. She bet he used his hot-as-hell body to chase after women. Then, when they gave in, he dropped them like a hot potato.
She was still mentally griping about Jody when she stepped off the elevator and walked down the hall to her apartment. As she bent down to set one of the grocery bags on the floor to unlock her door, her eyes automatically went to the doorknob. Her breath caught in her throat at seeing the door wasn’t closed all the way.
Setting the other bag down, she pushed the door open. Gasping at the destruction she encountered in her apartment, she reached into her purse for her phone to call 911.
After telling the dispatcher that her apartment had been broken into, she heard the shock in the woman’s voice.
“Stay outside your apartment. I’ll send a deputy right over.”
“Thank you.” Shaken, it took two tries to end the call.
What if the burglar was still inside? Should she go back downstairs and wait there?
Leaving the groceries, she moved away from her door to stand by the elevator. She stood there anxiously, waiting for the police to arrive. If anyone came out of her apartment, she planned to scream bloody murder.
The elevator door opening had her jumping back. When she recognized the deputy walking out of the elevator, she was about to throw herself into his arms but thankfully caught herself before she did.
“Deputy Bevere.” The deputy had taken her report about the man who had come into the restaurant wanting money. His concerned face eased some of her anxiety now that he was here.
“What’s going on?”
“When I came home, my apartment door was unlocked. When I pushed the door open, I saw my living room has been ransacked.”
“Did you go inside?”
“No, I was too afraid.”
“Which apartment is it?”
Sophie pointed down the hall. “I left the door open.”
“You stay here while I check it out,” he ordered, removing his gun from his holster. Deputy Bevere was scary looking, even before he pulled his gun, wearing his hair short in a military style that accented the broad planes of his face.
Sophie watched as he walked down the hallway then went into her apartment. Nervous, she waited for him to come back out. Biting her lip, she gripped her phone in case she needed to call 911 again. Shouldn’t he have backup?
When he didn’t immediately come back out, her tension increased. Then she was relieved when he did to nod to her.
As she walked down the hall, she kept her gaze trained on him, expecting the burglar to tackle him down. Get a grip , she told herself as she came up to him.
“The apartment is empty. Whoever it was did a number on the place.”
Reluctantly, she turned to look inside her apartment. “I saw the living room when I opened the door.”
“Your bedroom and bathroom are worse.”
“Great.” Almost in tears, she started to step into her apartment to see the damage for herself.
“I need for you to stay here. The sheriff is on his way, with a lab technician. Your apartment is going to have to be dusted for prints, as well as have pictures taken.”
Sophie stared at the destroyed mess inside her apartment and saw it for what it was—the straw that broke the camel’s back. She was done. There was no way she would have her mother and father come to Treepoint.
The burglar hadn’t been content to destroy what was lying around her apartment; they had ripped open boxes that she had yet to unpack.
Heartsick at seeing her childhood photos smashed on floor, she turned away to lean against the wall.
“Do you think the man who wanted the money Marty owed him did this?”
The deputy gave her a sympathetic glance. “That’s not a wild guess. I’d say it more than likely was. This is the first burglary in the last two years. He could have been looking for something you had that belonged to Marty.”
“I don’t have—”
“Sophie.”
Sophie turned at hearing Ginny’s voice. Both Ginny and Jody were coming down the hall. When Ginny reached her, she pulled her into her arms.
“What happened?” Ginny asked softly.
“Someone broke into my apartment. They broke my pictures … I don’t understand why they broke my pictures.”
“Could be a threatening tactic,” Deputy Bevere said grimly.
“Why would someone be threatening her?” Jody asked.
When the deputy remained silent, Sophie told them, “A man came into the restaurant a couple of days ago, asking for the money Marty owed him.”
“How much?” Ginny’s armed tightened around her proactively.
“Two hundred thousand.”
Raising her head from Ginny’s shoulder, she looked up and found Jody’s face. Dismayed at the formidable expression on it, she turned back to Ginny’s. “I’m okay now.”
“Are you sure?” Ginny released her but remained close to her side.
“How did you find out?”
“I was still in town when I heard you had been robbed. It came over the scanner in my truck. I called Ginny—she was visiting some friends not far from here.”
Jody stepped around them to look inside her apartment. “They had a field day, didn’t they?” Stony-faced, he moved away from the door.
“The deputy said the sheriff is on his way, and a technician. I can’t go inside to put my groceries away.”
Ginny patted her on her arm. “It’s going to take a few hours for them to get the evidence they need. Come home with me and stay the night.”
“I don’t want to impose—”
“You should go with Ginny,” the deputy advised. “There’s no need for you to stay here to watch. When you get up in the morning, we need to do a walkthrough so we can make a list of your missing items.”
“I have a spare bedroom; you won’t be any trouble.” Ginny bent down to pick up the grocery bag. “Let’s go. I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“I’m too tired to argue. Besides, I don’t think I would get any sleep if I did stay here tonight.”
Ginny looked at Jody. “Are you coming?”
Jody shook his head. “No, you go ahead. I’m going to wait for Knox.”
Sophie took another glance at Jody, still shocked at how scary he looked. She had taken him for a good-looking guy, only concerned about having a good time. By the way he looked now, she had underestimated him.
The bugler had done her a favor by showing her that Jody could be a force to be reckoned with.