Page 56 of Under Fire

“I haven’t noticed anything suspicious.” He turned away from the French doors. “I’ll check around the hotel.”

“I’ll go with you. We’ll cover territory faster between the two of us.” Simon followed his teammate out the door.

Within minutes, Matt received a text with the all-clear. In light of the attack at Baxter’s, the operatives drove the two blocks to Blackwood Grill. This time, they ate their meal without incident.

After returning to the hotel and setting up watch shifts, Trent and Liam returned to their rooms. Simon took the first watch, sitting on a cushioned chair on the balcony.

“Sasha and I are going to turn in. I have the watch in four hours.” Cade left with his wife.

“Wow. The room cleared fast.” Delilah moved into the circle of Matt’s arms. “What are you planning to do? I can watch a movie in my room if you’re ready to sleep.”

“I’m overdue to check in with Rod Kelter. After that, I planned to research Norris. You’re not tired?”

“Not after a two-hour nap.”

Matt also suspected she wasn’t ready to be alone with her thoughts after the shooting at Baxter’s. “Stay with me. I’d love your company.” He could research Norris after Delilah went to bed.

She stepped back. “Let’s call Rod. We don’t want him in the dark.”

They settled on the couch and called the Otter Creek detective.

“I was just getting ready to call you, Matt,” Rod said. His voice sounded grim.

“Why?”

“Nick is working a vandalism call at Wicks.”

Delilah stiffened. “Is Piper all right?”

“She wasn’t at the store.”

“How much damage?” Matt asked.

“Brick thrown through the front window. Knocked over several candles in jars, too. Spray paint on the bricks in front of the building.”

“No one saw anything?”

“Afraid not. Wicks isn’t on the town square. The rest of the businesses in the area had closed for the night and that section of Otter Creek is a ghost town after six o’clock. A teenager who took a shortcut home saw the damage and called it in. Nick will look for security footage in the area, but that will take a while. Our tech pool isn’t as deep as the one at Fortress.”

“Want me to run the search through Fortress?”

“We have to follow the letter of the law. However, we can’t stop you from doing your own research.”

Matt chuckled. “You want the results?”

“My brother-in-law would appreciate all the help he can get. Since Wicks is one of Madison’s favorite shops, this one is personal for him.”

“What about my shop, Rod?” Delilah gripped Matt’s free hand. “When will I be able to reopen?”

“Day after tomorrow. You need to replace the display window. Right now, Nick and the crime scene team are in the shop. When they leave, the shop won’t be secured.”

A phone call to a senior trainee would fix the problem temporarily. “I’ll take care of that.” Matt frowned. “Do you think bored teens or kids caused the damage?”

“We haven’t had vandalism reports in several weeks. I wouldn’t rule it out, but it seems unlikely.”

“Does Nick know when the vandalism occurred?”

“Between eight and ten o’clock. What do you have to report?”

---