lights of the police car approaching. She looked through the peephole, then quickly turned on the stairs light.
âI see the police have arrived, but I donât have a cordless phone on this line. Should Iâ¦?â
âCan you communicate with the police through a window before opening your door?â
She moved back to the window. âYes, just a minute.â
Amber lifted the window lock and cranked the window open. âOfficer, Iâm the owner of the party store. The security company is on the lineâ¦.â
The officer looked up and help up a hand to quiet her. âJust a minute,â he said, then came back to her. âSorry about thatâanother officer was reporting from the back of the shop. Itâs quiet back there. It appears someone broke the front window, but we canât get in, so I presume youâre safe to come down.â
âOh,â she said, realizing she was still barefoot. âJust a minute, and Iâll be down.â She reported to the security company, and by remote they turned off the annoying alarm.
She went back to the couch and shook her head at the mess, then slipped on her clogs and hurried downstairs to let the police in.
Since she came to the back door first, she looked out, then tentatively opened the door, wondering who was on call tonight. She hadnât met this officer before. He introduced himself. âIâm Officer Jared Daniels. Are you the owner?â
She nodded. âIâm Amber Scottâ¦â
âOh, yeah, I recognize the name,â he said, taking a second look. âAre you okay?â he asked.
Amber nodded.
He lifted his hand to his chest and pressed the button of a tiny mike in his buttonhole. After repeating her name three times in response to different questions, he turned his attention back to her. âLetâs see what the damage is.â
Her uneasiness tripled with the news that even officers she hadnât met knew her name. Was she on every copâs target list now? She stepped farther away from Officer Daniels. âThe broken window is most likely in the lobby,â she said, pointing toward the front of the store.
âWait here a minute, Ms. Scott. Let me check it out.â He pulled his weapon and eased his way to the front. âLooks okay. Come on in.â
She followed him, which was much less threatening. Peering around him, she saw the hole in the window, and a baseball-size rock on the lobby floor. A bitterly cold wind blew inside.
A third police car arrived and stopped in the middle of the street.
âDonât touch anything,â Officer Daniels reminded her as he reached for the door. âDo you have any plywood around that we could use to close this up?â
âThatâs lockedâlet me get the key.â She hurried back to the kitchen, then opened the door for the other officers. She didnât recognize any of them, but they all looked at her as if they knew her. By name, anyway.
âAny wood?â Officer Daniels repeated.
âMy grandfather may have left something in the cellar. He was always fixing things for Nana.â
âAre they here now?â
âMy grandfather? No, Iâve taken over the bakery. Papa died several years ago. In fact, heâs the one who put the security system in.â
Outside, a blue Mustang screeched to a stop next to the police car and Garrett Matthews rushed inside. âAre you okay?â
âYes, I was upstairs.â
He gave her an odd look, and the on-duty officers stepped back, as if to give him space. âHow long have you been home?â
âA while, I guess. Why?â Amber asked, glancing from Garrett to the other officer.
Garrett stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets and stared at her. âI came by a while ago to fill you in onâ¦â
âOh, Iâm sorry I missed you.â She glanced at the officer and smiled. âI guess you already knewâIâm the