Read Online Don't Forget Me by Meg Benjamin - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Meg Benjamin
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Frau Blücher in Young Frankenstein .
At least they’d gotten the first meeting over with. Over the long run the best remedy would probably be to find somebody else. Another woman he could spend time with even if he did end up thinking about Kit.
Oh yeah, that’s a wonderful idea. It worked so well last time.
He rolled out of bed at six, after he finally gave up on sleep. He might as well go to work early. Helen’s coffee was better than his own anyway. He grabbed an energy bar out of the box on the counter and hiked over to the station.
The parking lot should have been empty at that time of day except for the cruiser and maybe Helen’s vintage Mustang, although she frequently parked it on the street. Instead, he saw Toleffson’s truck parked at the side. He picked up his pace slightly.
“What’s up?” he asked as soon as he was in the door.
Helen was frowning at her computer. “Burglary and vandalism,” she said shortly. “Over at the bookstore?”
“Docia’s bookstore?”
Helen gave him an eye-roll. “You know any other bookstore in this town?”
Nando grabbed the duffel bag with his crime scene kit and headed out the door.
Kent’s Hill Country Books was a three-minute walk from the station, which explained why the chief had left his truck in the lot. It didn’t explain why Ham had parked the cruiser outside the store, but Nando guessed it had to do with Linklatter’s obsession with showing everybody he was on the job. He pushed open the front door of the shop and found chaos.
Books were scattered everywhere. It looked like some had been torn apart, their pages flung around like confetti. One of the bookcases had been pulled loose from the wall. The cash register was on the floor at the front, and the items that had been on the front counter—pens, pencils, bookmarks, flyers—were scattered around it like flowers around a grave.
Toleffson stood at the side of the room with Docia, one protective hand resting on her shoulder. Docia herself looked like she was suffering from post-traumatic stress. Her eyes were wide, her lips trembling. One hand was pressed against her mouth.
The chief saw Nando across the room and waved him over. “Helen catch you up on this?”
“Not really. When did the call come in?”
“I found it when I got here this morning, around six thirty.” Docia’s voice shook and she swallowed hard. “I was going to get some work done before we opened. Now I guess we won’t be opening at all.” Her lower lip trembled.
Nando blew out a breath, hoping to god she wouldn’t start to cry. He never knew what to do with crying women. “How did they get in?”
Toleffson gestured toward the store room at the side. Nando glanced in. One of the windows had been smashed.
He looked back at the main room again. “Do we know what they were after? Anything obviously missing?”
Docia shook her head. “We don’t leave money here. We take the deposit to the bank when we close up each night. There were some ebook readers and MP3 players at the front that are gone. And the books…” She gazed at the carnage spread around her shelves. “I don’t know if anything’s missing,” she whispered. “I don’t…” She caught her breath on a sob, and Toleffson stretched his arm around her shoulders.
He turned back to Nando again. “I’m going to take her home. I’ll interview her there. You and Ham can do some preliminary processing of the scene. We’ll have to get Friesenhahn in on this so we can use the county lab and have their forensics people go over the place. I’ll call him after I get to Docia’s.”
Nando blinked. Calling in the county forensics unit for a burglary and vandalism case seemed close to overkill. But the county sheriff owed Toleffson all kinds of favors, so he’d probably okay it.
Toleffson narrowed his eyes as if he knew what Nando was thinking. Given the circumstances, he decided it was best not to ask any questions.
“Once you get the store locked
At least they’d gotten the first meeting over with. Over the long run the best remedy would probably be to find somebody else. Another woman he could spend time with even if he did end up thinking about Kit.
Oh yeah, that’s a wonderful idea. It worked so well last time.
He rolled out of bed at six, after he finally gave up on sleep. He might as well go to work early. Helen’s coffee was better than his own anyway. He grabbed an energy bar out of the box on the counter and hiked over to the station.
The parking lot should have been empty at that time of day except for the cruiser and maybe Helen’s vintage Mustang, although she frequently parked it on the street. Instead, he saw Toleffson’s truck parked at the side. He picked up his pace slightly.
“What’s up?” he asked as soon as he was in the door.
Helen was frowning at her computer. “Burglary and vandalism,” she said shortly. “Over at the bookstore?”
“Docia’s bookstore?”
Helen gave him an eye-roll. “You know any other bookstore in this town?”
Nando grabbed the duffel bag with his crime scene kit and headed out the door.
Kent’s Hill Country Books was a three-minute walk from the station, which explained why the chief had left his truck in the lot. It didn’t explain why Ham had parked the cruiser outside the store, but Nando guessed it had to do with Linklatter’s obsession with showing everybody he was on the job. He pushed open the front door of the shop and found chaos.
Books were scattered everywhere. It looked like some had been torn apart, their pages flung around like confetti. One of the bookcases had been pulled loose from the wall. The cash register was on the floor at the front, and the items that had been on the front counter—pens, pencils, bookmarks, flyers—were scattered around it like flowers around a grave.
Toleffson stood at the side of the room with Docia, one protective hand resting on her shoulder. Docia herself looked like she was suffering from post-traumatic stress. Her eyes were wide, her lips trembling. One hand was pressed against her mouth.
The chief saw Nando across the room and waved him over. “Helen catch you up on this?”
“Not really. When did the call come in?”
“I found it when I got here this morning, around six thirty.” Docia’s voice shook and she swallowed hard. “I was going to get some work done before we opened. Now I guess we won’t be opening at all.” Her lower lip trembled.
Nando blew out a breath, hoping to god she wouldn’t start to cry. He never knew what to do with crying women. “How did they get in?”
Toleffson gestured toward the store room at the side. Nando glanced in. One of the windows had been smashed.
He looked back at the main room again. “Do we know what they were after? Anything obviously missing?”
Docia shook her head. “We don’t leave money here. We take the deposit to the bank when we close up each night. There were some ebook readers and MP3 players at the front that are gone. And the books…” She gazed at the carnage spread around her shelves. “I don’t know if anything’s missing,” she whispered. “I don’t…” She caught her breath on a sob, and Toleffson stretched his arm around her shoulders.
He turned back to Nando again. “I’m going to take her home. I’ll interview her there. You and Ham can do some preliminary processing of the scene. We’ll have to get Friesenhahn in on this so we can use the county lab and have their forensics people go over the place. I’ll call him after I get to Docia’s.”
Nando blinked. Calling in the county forensics unit for a burglary and vandalism case seemed close to overkill. But the county sheriff owed Toleffson all kinds of favors, so he’d probably okay it.
Toleffson narrowed his eyes as if he knew what Nando was thinking. Given the circumstances, he decided it was best not to ask any questions.
“Once you get the store locked
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