A Wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn
Page 25
“Yep, we’re good.”
The policeman lightly rested a hand on her shoulder. “Come with me, Miss Overholt. We’ll go sit inside and I’ll fill you in on what we know.” Looking at Zack, he said, “Do you want to join her?”
Zack nodded. “For sure. Give me a minute and I’ll bring over my fiancée, Leona, as well.”
Beverly sighed with gratitude as Zack trotted off. She didn’t particularly want to sit with the policeman by herself. And though Zack and Leona were both only in their early twenties, she considered them both to be good friends.
Zack paused. “Bev, want me to bring Miss Sadie in, too?”
Noticing that Sadie was now crying uncontrollably, Beverly shook her head. “Nee. She has my tote bag, but I, um, would rather it just be the four of us for now.”
“Gotcha. I’ll grab the bag from Sadie, then Leona and I will be right there.”
“Danke, Zack.”
Beverly followed Officer Roberts up the front stairs of the inn. For the first time in memory, she wasn’t looking at the pretty flower beds she’d spent hours tending or the colorful welcome mat directly in front of the door. She wasn’t feeling pride about the neat and attractive way she kept the inn. Instead, she was noticing the broken glass littering the porch and the scratches surrounding the frame of the front door.
But then, as she crossed the threshold, Beverly couldn’t refrain from gasping. The main gathering room was in complete disarray. Furniture had been knocked over; her pretty framed prints were off the walls and lying in pieces on the floor. One of her prized hurricane lamps had been shattered.
“Ack! Oh, but this is terrible.” Tears pricked her eyes. “Who would do such a thing?”
Officer Roberts looked just as dismayed as she felt. “I’m sorry, Miss Overholt, but I have no idea.”
“Beverly. Please call me Beverly.”
“Oh, my goodness,” Leona whispered as she came in with Zack. After a brief pause, she reached for Beverly’s hand. “Let’s sit down.”
Beverly did as Leona suggested and squeezed her friend’s hand as Officer Roberts perched on the edge of the chair across from her and fidgeted, as if he was extremely uncomfortable.
“Beverly, I’ve learned that in cases like this, it’s best to be blunt. Two hours ago, we got a call from a neighbor that she’d noticed one of your front windows was broken and that things didn’t look right. We drove by to check things out, and saw that the front door was cracked open. We entered, but whoever did this was long gone. Do you have any current guests?”
“Nee. I don’t have any guests right now.” At Eric’s urging, she’d given herself a week’s vacation. Why had she done that? If she hadn’t left the inn, no one would have dared to come inside.
Or had someone been watching the inn? Had they known it was empty? It was such a disconcerting thought that she couldn’t bear to dwell on it.
“Good to know.” He punched something in his phone, then continued. “I’m sorry to tell you that the majority of the inn looks like this room. Whoever was here spent a lot of time causing extensive damage.”
“I wonder why.” The destruction all seemed so unnecessary.
“We’ll do our best to find out, ma’am. But in the meantime, when you’re ready, we need you to walk through the inn and tell me what you notice missing.” He continued talking about fingerprints and motives, police reports and pawnshops.
But Beverly was done listening. She really couldn’t take any more. Someone had ruined her livelihood, stolen her belongings. She felt as betrayed and dismayed as she had when she’d discovered her fiancé had fallen in love with her best friend all those years ago. And angry. She was so angry.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to push those thoughts away. This wasn’t the time to examine those painful wounds.
“Are you going to be all right?” Zack asked. “Do you want me to get you a glass of water or something?”
“I’m fine,” she said at last, and tried to mean it.
Because she had no choice.
“Your insurance should cover the damage,” Zack said quickly, as though thinking that not having to worry about financial repercussions would ease her mind. It didn’t, though.
Insurance could never replace the most valuable thing the burglar had stolen today—her sense of security.
“Do you want me to call Eric for ya?” Leona offered. “I don’t mind.”
She looked at Leona and shook her head. “Nee. I’ll do it.”
“Who’s Eric?” the officer asked.
Beverly said, “He’s the owner of the inn.” During the last few months, he’d also somehow become the best friend she’d ever had.
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Also by Shelley Shepard Gray
SISTERS OF THE HEART SERIES
Hidden • Wanted
Forgiven • Grace
SEASONS OF SUGARCREEK SERIES
Winter’s Awakening • Spring’s Renewal
Autumn’s Promise • Christmas in Sugarcreek
FAMILIES OF HONOR SERIES
The Caregiver • The Protector
The Survivor • A Christmas for Katie (novella)
THE SECRETS OF CRITTENDEN COUNTY SERIES
Missing • The Search
Found • Peace
THE DAYS OF REDEMPTION SERIES
Daybreak • Ray of Light
Eventide • Snowfall
RETURN TO SUGARCREEK SERIES
Hopeful • Thankful • Joyful
AMISH BRIDES OF PINECRAFT SERIES
The Promise of Palm Grove
The Proposal at Siesta Key
OTHER BOOKS
Redemption
Credits
Cover photograph by Steve Gardner; PixelWorks Studios
Copyright
“Cranberry Orange Bread” recipe from Simply Delicious Amish Cooking by Sherry Gore (Zondervan, 2012) reprinted with permission.
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
P.S.™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.
A WEDDING AT THE ORANGE BLOSSOM INN. Copyright © 2015 by Shelley Shepard Gray. Excerpt from A Christmas Bride in Pinecraft © 2015 by Shelley Shepard Gray. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
Photographs courtesy of Katie Troyer, Sarasota, Florida
EPub Edition SEPTEMBER 2015 ISBN 9780062337757
ISBN 978-0-06-233774-0
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