Page 15 of No Good Deed

Back in the B&B’s backyard, he looked for anything he’d missed, but there were no clues.

As soon as he moved from the shadows, the back door flung open, and Piper walked out. “Are you okay? What was all that about?”

Jim and Carl stayed inside, but both watched them curiously. “Someone broke the window of your car. I tried to chase them down, but no luck. I’m going to call Marcus to report it.”

Piper wrapped her arms around herself, and her gaze flew around the yard. When Jim opened the door, she called out. “Lock up the doors. Someone broke into my car. Troy’s going to call his friend.”

He’d already texted Marcus, so he turned to her. “You can go inside where it’s warm.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “It’s my car. I need to check on Rusty.”

“Rusty?”

“My car. I’ve only had him for a week, but he’s a good car.”

He nodded but touched her arm when she started to move into the driveway. “Let’s stick to this side so we don’t mess up the footprints. I doubt there’s any evidence to find from them, but it’s better if we don’t disturb them until Marcus has a look.”

She nodded, and they moved along the house to stand near her car. “Nothing was touched on this side.” When she moved around and saw the mess on the other side, she gasped. “What a mess. Poor Rusty.”

Marcus pulled up in the squad car, and Piper smiled wryly. “There are definitely a few advantages to small town living. It can’t have been three minutes.”

Troy doubted it was even two. Marcus brought out his Mag Lite and shone it over the area as he greeted them. Then he walked over. “You must be Piper Keenan. I’m Deputy Marcus Ramirez. Sorry to meet you under these circumstances. Did you get a look at the person?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t see or hear a thing. Troy spotted someone moving in the driveway.”

Troy nodded and walked Marcus through what he’d seen and done. The deputy played his light over the car and the glass scattered on the snow. “Thanks for not messing up the footprints. I’ll take some photos. Do you know if anything was taken?”

Piper shook her head. “It all happened so fast, I doubt there was time. The only thing in the back seat was a bag of snacks for the road trip. He better not have taken my Oreos.”

Marcus smiled at her. “Why don’t you grab your keys and then open the doors on that side to see if anything was taken.”

She headed inside to get her keys while Troy held the light so Marcus could record the scene and check for evidence.

Once they were alone, Marcus raised an eyebrow. “Any ideas?”

Troy shook his head. “Not really. She’s mentioned a run of bad luck a few times, but she hasn’t shared any details. I don’t know if there’s anything in her background that might be big enough to follow her or if this is something random.”

Marcus grunted at that. In a town the size of Phail, random crime was almost nonexistent. They’d had several major incidents over the past year, but they’d all been connected to individuals who’d come to Phail or Midnight Lake.

Piper returned and beeped open the car. She opened the back door. The dome light allowed them to see the inside. Glass covered half of the back seat but he could see a cloth bag with a pack of Oreos sticking out the top. Not a stretch to see how the bulldog came by his name.

“I’m glad the creep didn’t get my cookies.” She opened the front door. “I don’t see anything missing, but I didn’t have much inside. Just the snacks and an extra hoodie in case I got chilly driving. Do you think I can check the trunk to see if my suitcases are okay?”

Marcus frowned. “You don’t have your suitcases inside the B&B.”

She shook her head. “No. I have a couple of duffels of what I’ll need while I’m here. The suitcases hold everything else I own.”

Marcus straightened at that and studied Piper over the roof of her car. “Everything you own?”

The light was dim, but he was sure Piper’s skin flushed as she shrugged. “I was laid off from my job and had a run of bad luck in Chicago. I haven’t decided where I’m heading next.”

He could tell she was trying to be casual about the words, but he knew better. Because he already knew her well enough to tell.

Marcus moved to the rear of the car while she opened her trunk. The two suitcases Troy had seen before appeared to be untouched. “Why don’t we help you get these into the B&B and we’ll see if Jim and Carl have anything to use to cover up the window. Do you mind if I check the undercarriage of your car?”

Her eyebrows rose. “Of course not, but why? This was probably some kid hoping the dumb tourist left spare change in her cup holders.”

Troy held his tongue and let Marcus respond. “Just a hunch. Better to be thorough than miss something.”

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