Free Shield of Refuge by Carol Steward

lights of the police car approaching. She looked through the peephole, then quickly turned on the stairs light.
    â€œI see the police have arrived, but I don’t have a cordless phone on this line. Should I…?”
    â€œCan you communicate with the police through a window before opening your door?”
    She moved back to the window. “Yes, just a minute.”
    Amber lifted the window lock and cranked the window open. “Officer, I’m the owner of the party store. The security company is on the line….”
    The officer looked up and help up a hand to quiet her. “Just a minute,” he said, then came back to her. “Sorry about that—another officer was reporting from the back of the shop. It’s quiet back there. It appears someone broke the front window, but we can’t get in, so I presume you’re safe to come down.”
    â€œOh,” she said, realizing she was still barefoot. “Just a minute, and I’ll be down.” 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 hadn’t met this officer before. He introduced himself. “I’m Officer Jared Daniels. Are you the owner?”
    She nodded. “I’m Amber Scott…”
    â€œOh, yeah, I recognize the name,” he said, taking a second look. “Are you okay?” 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. “Let’s see what the damage is.”
    Her uneasiness tripled with the news that even officers she hadn’t met knew her name. Was she on every cop’s target list now? She stepped farther away from Officer Daniels. “The broken window is most likely in the lobby,” she said, pointing toward the front of the store.
    â€œWait here a minute, Ms. Scott. Let me check it out.” He pulled his weapon and eased his way to the front. “Looks okay. Come on in.”
    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.
    â€œDon’t touch anything,” Officer Daniels reminded her as he reached for the door. “Do you have any plywood around that we could use to close this up?”
    â€œThat’s locked—let me get the key.” She hurried back to the kitchen, then opened the door for the other officers. She didn’t recognize any of them, but they all looked at her as if they knew her. By name, anyway.
    â€œAny wood?” Officer Daniels repeated.
    â€œMy grandfather may have left something in the cellar. He was always fixing things for Nana.”
    â€œAre they here now?”
    â€œMy grandfather? No, I’ve taken over the bakery. Papa died several years ago. In fact, he’s the one who put the security system in.”
    Outside, a blue Mustang screeched to a stop next to the police car and Garrett Matthews rushed inside. “Are you okay?”
    â€œYes, I was upstairs.”
    He gave her an odd look, and the on-duty officers stepped back, as if to give him space. “How long have you been home?”
    â€œA while, I guess. Why?” Amber asked, glancing from Garrett to the other officer.
    Garrett stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets and stared at her. “I came by a while ago to fill you in on…”
    â€œOh, I’m sorry I missed you.” She glanced at the officer and smiled. “I guess you already knew—I’m the