by Sarah Fox
I ran straight into a bush, gasping as the branches caught on my clothes, slowing my progress to a near halt.
No, no, no.
I glanced behind me. The beam of the intruder’s flashlight danced across the parking lot, seeking me out. I choked back a sob and charged through the spindly bush. It resisted, but I broke free and stumbled across an alleyway and through a dark gap between two buildings.
When I emerged from the passageway, moonlight lit up the street in front of me. I’d reached Sea Breeze Drive. Not knowing where else to go, I turned right and ran as hard as I could, aiming for Saratoga Street.
As I reached the corner, I raced up Brett’s driveway, darting around the looming shape of his van, running for the front stairs. I tripped over the first one and went down hard, smacking my knees against the edge of the second step.
I bit back a cry of pain and reached through the darkness for the railing. My hand clapped around it and I held on tight. I pulled myself up to my feet and resumed my race up the stairs. On the porch, I all but collapsed against the front door, pounding it with my fist while gasping for breath.
“Help!”
I pounded the door again.
I ran my hand over the wall next to the door and found the button for the doorbell. My fingers pressed against it once, twice.
Please answer.
The porch light switched on, almost blinding me with its brightness.
“Who is it?” Brett’s voice called through the door.
I almost cried with relief. “It’s Marley. Please, open the door.”
The lock clicked. I glanced over my shoulder but could no longer see the beam of the intruder’s flashlight.
The door opened and I nearly fell through it, crashing into Brett. His arms went around me to steady me.
“Marley? What’s wrong?”
I spun around and slammed the door shut, locking it.
“Marley?” Chloe stood behind her brother, wrapped in a colorful silk robe, her blond hair mussed and her blue eyes wide. “What’s happened?”
“Someone…in the pancake house…” I gasped for breath. “I climbed out the window.”
“Someone broke into the pancake house?” Brett asked.
I nodded.
“Chloe, stay with her. I’ll call Ray.”
Brett charged up the stairs to the second floor. I leaned my back against the front door, my legs shaking now that most of my fear and adrenaline had worn off.
“You’re bleeding,” Chloe said.
“Am I?”
Only then did I notice the stinging pain of several scratches on my face and arms. One particularly long scratch on my right forearm had dribbled a bit of blood.
Goosebumps ran along my arms and I shivered. I hadn’t thought to grab my jacket before fleeing the pancake house.
Chloe put an arm around my shoulders. “Come on, we’ll get you cleaned up.”
She guided me down the hallway to a bathroom, where she opened a cupboard and took out a fluffy towel and washcloth and a box of bandages. “I’ll get you something warm to wear,” she said as she returned to the hallway.
After she’d disappeared, I turned on the tap and let warm water run into the sink. As I gently cleaned the scratches on my face and arms, the last of my fear trickled away and my mind cleared. For the first time since my escape through the office window, questions about the experience formed in my mind.
Who was the intruder?
Why had they broken into The Flip Side?
Right behind those questions came a frightening realization.
The intruder hadn’t broken into the pancake house.
Whoever it was had a key.
Chapter 12
A new, icy fear trickled through me.
The only people aside from me who were supposed to have keys to the pancake house were Leigh and Ivan, but I was sure it wasn’t Ivan at the restaurant, and why would Leigh show up in the middle of the night?
She wouldn’t. At least, I couldn’t think of any reason why she would.
But why would someone else have a key to the restaurant? And why sneak around after hours? Had the local thief or thieves decided to steal from businesses as well as homes?
If someone other than Leigh and Ivan had a key to the pancake house, did they have any other keys? Could he or she get into Jimmy’s house?
Too many unanswered questions.
I’d told my mom I was safe in Wildwood Cove, but now I had to wonder if that were true. What if the intruder was the same person who’d killed Jimmy? Would they have killed me too, given the chance?
That thought was too scary to dwell on, but it didn’t want to disappear. It kept running through my head as I dabbed at the last of my scratches with the damp washcloth.
Brett appeared in the open doorway as I wiped the last speck of blood from my arm. Although he’d taken the time to dress in sweatpants and a T-shirt before answering my frantic pounding on the door, his feet were bare and his hair was a little more haphazard than usual, one blond curl hanging down over his forehead. Even with all the fearful thoughts running through my head, I couldn’t help but notice that he looked adorable and hot at the same time.
“Ray’s on his way to The Flip Side.” He nodded at my scratched arms. “What’s the damage?”
“Nothing serious.” I dried my hands and ran my fingers through my tangled hair. “I’m just a bit of a mess.”
He reached out and brushed a ringlet behind my ear. “You look great to me.”
I struggled to come up with something to say, but I was too distracted by the flurry of butterfly wings in my stomach. Luckily, Brett spoke again, giving me a chance to untie my tongue.
“Do you want something warm to drink?”
“That would be nice,” I said. “Thank you.”
“I’ll put the kettle on.”
He left the bathroom as Chloe returned with a pink hooded sweatshirt.
“You’re okay, right?” she said, her eyes worried as she watched me cover the worst of my scratches with bandages.
“Yes. It gave me a major fright, but otherwise there’s no real harm done.”
Chloe held up the hoodie. “I’m a bit taller than you, but this should still fit.”
“Thank you.” I pulled the hoodie on over my T-shirt. Although pink wasn’t one of my favorite colors and the sleeves were a bit on the long side, I was grateful for the extra warmth.
Once I had the sweatshirt zipped up, Chloe gave me a quick squeeze. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
I returned the hug and thanked her again.
We left the bathroom for the kitchen, where we found Brett.
“Tea or hot chocolate?” he asked me as steam rose from the kettle’s spout.
“Hot chocolate, please.”
“Chloe?”
“Sure, I’ll have one too.”
I settled into a chair at the table. “Sorry for waking you guys in the middle of the night.”
“I’m glad you did,” Brett said.
“So am I,” his sister agreed.
Brett set a mug of hot chocolate in front of me and handed another one to Chloe.
I breathed in the delicious chocolate aroma. “Thank you.”
“What were you doing at the pancake house so late?” Brett asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down.
“My brain was too wired for sleep when I got home. I was hoping some office work would help my thoughts settle. I guess it worked better than I expected, because I fell asleep at the desk for…it must have been a couple of hours. I’m glad I woke up in time to get away from the intruder. I don’t want to know what would have happened if they’d reached the office before I stirred.”
“Neither do I,” Brett said.
As Chloe joined us at the table, a knock sounded on the front door. I nearly jumped out of my skin and my heart thumped away in my chest.
“That’s probably Uncle Ray.” Brett got up and headed for the foyer.
He returned a
moment later with Ray Georgeson right behind him. By then my heart had stopped racing and I took a deep breath to calm myself further.
“Chloe,” Ray greeted his niece. Then his eyes settled on me. “Marley, I hear you had quite the fright.”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever been so terrified,” I said.
“I can make you some coffee,” Brett offered his uncle. “Or some hot chocolate.”
“That’s all right.” Ray pulled out a chair and sat down at the table with me and Chloe.
Brett retrieved his mug of hot chocolate and joined us.
“Did you catch whoever it was that broke into the pancake house?” Chloe asked.
“There was nobody there by the time Devereaux and I arrived,” Ray replied. “We found the front door standing open, but we couldn’t see any signs of forced entry.”
My hands tightened around my mug of hot chocolate. “There wouldn’t be. I heard the door unlock, clear as anything.”
“Hold on,” Brett said. “Are you saying that whoever it was had a key?”
“They must have.”
“That’s freaky.” Chloe shuddered and pulled her robe more tightly around her.
“Could it have been Ivan?” Brett asked. “He has keys, doesn’t he?”
“He does,” I said, “but he always uses the back door. This person came in through the front door.”
“Do you know if any keys are missing?” Ray asked.
“Mine aren’t. I’d have to check with Leigh and Ivan about theirs.”
“Could you tell if the intruder was a man or woman? Did you catch a glimpse of him or her at any time?”
“All I saw was the beam of their flashlight.”
“Why would someone be sneaking around a pancake house so late at night?” Brett asked, voicing one of the questions circling around in my mind.
“I assume they were looking for something,” Ray said. “The office was in disarray—another sign that it wasn’t Ivan. I’m guessing you didn’t leave it like that, Marley.”
“No. But what could they possibly want from the office?”
“No way to know at the moment. We don’t even know if they found what they were looking for or not.” Ray pushed back his chair and stood up. “We’re dusting for prints, but I don’t know that we’ll find anything useful.”
I frowned into my hot chocolate, uneasy at the thought of the break-in going unsolved.
“Was the intruder ever aware of your presence?” Ray asked as he tucked his chair under the table.
“Yes.” The memory of my intense fear nearly took my breath away. “They chased me. I saw the light from their flashlight behind me.”
“Do you think she’s still in danger?” Brett asked, a crease of concern between his eyebrows.
Ray rested his hands on the back of his chair. “Hopefully not, but I’d advise against staying at the restaurant on your own at night, at least until we’ve got this matter cleared up. And it would be a good idea to get the locks changed as soon as possible. Same for the locks at Jimmy’s house. Just to be safe.”
Renewed fear skittered up my spine as his words brought one of my earlier concerns back to the surface. “You think whoever it was could have keys to Jimmy’s house as well?”
Chloe shuddered. “That’s scary.”
“As long as we don’t know how they got the keys to the pancake house, we don’t know what else they may or may not have,” Ray said.
“Then she shouldn’t be staying alone at Jimmy’s house, either,” Brett said. “At least not until the locks are changed.”
“Best not to,” his uncle agreed.
“She can stay here.” Brett shifted his eyes to me. “We’ve got a spare room.”
I wasn’t sure whether I should thank him or protest, but I didn’t get a chance to do either right then.
“Do you think the intruder and the killer are the same person?” Chloe asked Ray.
“It’s certainly a possibility.”
Chloe shuddered agai,n and I almost did, too. The possibility that I was chased by Jimmy’s killer was no less frightening after further consideration.
“And you don’t have any leads in the investigation into the other recent burglaries?” Chloe clutched her mug in both her hands.
“Not as of yet,” Ray replied, “but we’re working on it.” He addressed me next. “Marley, perhaps you should come back to The Flip Side with me and take a look around.”
“I’ll come too,” Brett said.
“Then come back here for the night,” Chloe added.
I took one last sip of my hot chocolate and followed Brett and Ray to the foyer.
With Chloe watching from the porch, the rest of us piled into Ray’s car for the short trip to the pancake house. No more than a minute later, we pulled into the parking lot behind the restaurant. The lights were off and the back door was shut, but Deputy Devereaux sat in a car parked in the lot. He climbed out of the vehicle as Ray shut off his car’s engine.
Once we were all out in the night air, Ray had a word with his deputy while I peered into the shadows surrounding the single-story building. I knew Ray and Devereaux had checked the area and I doubted that the intruder would return that night, but my heart still skipped a beat when a bat flew past and disappeared over my shoulder.
“You can go ahead inside,” Ray said, still standing with Devereaux. “The back door’s unlocked.”
With Brett accompanying me, I opened the door and reached inside to flick the light switch. The bright glow from the overhead lights gave me courage and I made my way along the corridor. The first door on my left led to the office. I flipped another light switch and took a hesitant step into the room.
My stomach tightened as I took in the disarray before me. The intruder had pulled files and documents from the filing cabinets and dumped them on the floor, creating a sea of papers. All the desk drawers stood open, their contents rifled, and my tote bag had been emptied onto the surface of the desk. Fingerprint powder added to the mess, dustings of it marring several surfaces around the room. I snatched up my personal items, checking my wallet for my credit cards and cash. Everything was still there, as was my phone.
If the burglar had passed by my money and credit cards, then he or she must have wanted something specific. But what?
I swung a framed painting of a seascape away from the wall to reveal a small safe. After entering the combination, I opened the safe and rifled through its meager contents.
“Can you tell if anything is missing?” Brett asked as Ray joined us in the office.
“No,” I replied as I shut the safe and swung the painting back into place. “All my personal belongings are here and the safe hasn’t been touched, but I didn’t know what was in the filing cabinets to begin with, so I have no way of knowing if anything was taken.”
Surveying the room again, I wondered what Jimmy would think about the mess. Then I remembered that he wouldn’t see it because he wasn’t coming back.
The disorder the intruder had left behind wasn’t any less overwhelming after a second look, and I shook my head at all the scattered papers. “What a mess. This will take forever to sort and clean up.”
“Don’t worry about it tonight,” Brett said.
Not wanting to make the others hang around any longer than necessary, I shut and locked the window that had provided my escape earlier and gathered up my jacket and tote bag. I checked over the rest of the pancake house, glad for the fact that no money was ever left in the till overnight. Even if the intruder hadn’t been after money, easy access to hundreds of dollars in cash might have proved too strong a temptation to resist.
I inspected the kitchen last, but everything appeared as orderly and immaculate as Ivan had left it. As far as I could tell, the burglar hadn’t set foot in that part of the restaurant. That was probably for the best. I didn’t want to know how Ivan would react to a criminal trespassing in his kitchen.
With my inspection complete, I locked up the pancake house behin
d us, knowing that doing so wouldn’t stop the burglar from returning. But at least it would keep out any other potential thieves.
We drove from The Flip Side to Jimmy’s house, where I checked in on Flapjack, set out some dry food for him, and packed a few items into my tote bag. Although I didn’t love the idea of leaving Flapjack alone in a house that might be targeted by the intruder, I figured he’d be happier in his familiar environment than at Brett’s house or locked away in his carrier all night. Besides, he had plenty of places to hide in the old Victorian, and I doubted the intruder would be bold enough to try breaking into the house that night. He or she had to know that I would have called the sheriff after our close encounter. That had to be a strong deterrent.
When I had everything I needed, Ray gave us a ride back to Brett’s house and I soon settled in for the night in the guest bedroom. Although the bed was comfy enough, I didn’t sleep well, instead tossing and turning as my fright at the pancake house replayed in my dreams. Every time I managed to drop into the depths of sleep, footsteps or the sound of a door unlocking would jolt me awake, only for me to realize that I’d dreamed the sounds. I did my best to remind myself that I was safe, but I still couldn’t shake off the remnants of my fear.
Shortly after five in the morning, I woke up with heavy limbs, a dull headache my unwanted companion. A quick shower revived me and eased the tension contributing to the ache behind my eyes. By the time I’d dressed in jeans and a graphic tee I was wide awake, if not as well rested as I might have liked.
Careful not to make too much noise in case the others were still sleeping, I made my way down to the kitchen. Although Chloe was nowhere to be seen, Brett was already up and dressed for the day, putting a pot of coffee on to brew.
“Morning,” I said.
“Morning.” He looked my way and grinned. “Raise a little kale?”
I glanced down at the words written on my green T-shirt and smiled. “Always. It’s nutritious and delicious.”