Page 57 of The Rescuer

She jerked her head toward him. “No, Shane, I didn’t. Back to point number one about priorities.” Her voice was pure frost, but her eyes burned as though twin flamethrowers had ignited inside them. Neve was much shorter in stature than the deputy, but she made up for the height difference in her feisty spirit. It occurred to him she was way more woman than Leo Cantrell could handle, and a little happy dance threatened to break out in his chest over their breakup—a wholly inappropriate response, given the wreck they were dealing with. No lie, though, Reece was getting a kick out of fiery Neve—she was right up there on the pedestalbeside brave Neve. Wisely, he chose to keep any hint of amusement to himself.

One of Shane’s eyebrows lifted, and she threw up her hands. Her expression morphed once more, sliding into pure dejection. “Don’t say it. Security should have come first. Cow’s out of the barn now.”

“Don’t beat yourself up.You’renot the one responsible for the vandalism, and we’ll find whoever is.” Reece vaguely wondered if Shane’s promise was an empty one. The deputy paused before his next question. “I tried contacting Lauren, but she didn’t pick up. Know where she is?”

“She’s visiting family in Iowa.”

“Is everything copacetic between you two?”

“You thinkshedid this?”

Shane glanced at the acoustic tile ceiling for a beat. “I have a theory that whoever did this intended to rob you, but they’re amateurs. They were also pissed off. From the looks of it, they jimmied the back door but actually came in through the front door by smashing the glass—then turned around and smashed it some more from theinside. Which makes no sense unless someone is mad because they couldn’t get through the back door, or they’re PO’ed at the clinic or you personally. Why else take the time to annihilate the glass, especially knowing they could get caught at any moment?

“So I need to know about anyone with a personal vendetta, any unhappy clients, a vendor you owe money, or a disgruntled employee. That’s why I asked if you and Lauren are on good terms.”

“As good as can be between boss and employee, but she’s not capable of this.” Neve gestured around herself. “In fact, she was a Nazi when it came to tracking the controlled meds.”

“Did you know she’s been seeing Jimmy Culbertson?”

This took Reece by surprise, and he blurted, “Cully, the drug addict Charlie fired ages ago?”

Shane gave him a slow nod.

Calculations seemed to move behind Neve’s wide eyes. “No, I did not know that. How long?”

“According to the grapevine, a couple of months. Might explain why Lauren was so tenacious about inventory. She could have been manipulating supply for her boyfriend.”

Neve shook her head, as if she refused to believe it could be her assistant. “That doesn’t make sense. But leave it to Fall River to know all the dirty details about a person’s love life.” She shot Reece a knowing look before turning her attention back to Shane. “Any idea when this happened?”

“Someone reported it this morning. They drove by and noticed the glass smashed out of the front door. I’m guessing it was sometime last night.”

Neve took determined steps toward her office, leaving the men in her wake.

Spinning on his heel, Shane called after her. “Neve, wait—”

A wail cut through the air, and Reece sprinted toward the sound. Shane muttered something about not having warned Neve about her office.

When Reece reached her, she stood wide-eyed and slack-jawed beside her empty desk. No computer, no keyboard, no pens. Not even a paper clip. It looked as though someone had brought in a big broom and swept everything from the surface—and onto the floor, where objects lay in a mangled mess, including her prized stethoscope, the one she had proudly shown off at the Miners Tavern when she’d first opened her clinic.

Whoever did this hadn’t only taken out their rage on the clinic—they’d personally attacked Neve too.

She swallowed, the column of her neck working hard. “I can’t do this.” She wheeled in place and stormed out, and Reece hopped back a few steps to give her a wide berth.

He sent Shane a helpless look, who motioned for them to follow Neve. Back in the reception area, hands on hips, she faced a wall of shelves stocked with pet food, toys, and accessories. “So they destroy my pharmacy, wreak havoc in my office, but they leave my store alone. Whoarethese crazies? And why are they picking onme?”

Shane continued in that soothing tone he and Reece had both practiced over the years. “Doc, I know this is hard, but I’m going to need you to leave until the lab folks can gather evidence. We don’t want to contaminate the scene.”

“How long will that take?” she bit.

“Probably a couple of days. We rely on Montrose County for this kind of work, and unfortunately, they’re really backed up. Once they’re done, I’ll need you to come back and go through the entire place and documenteverything that’s missing, damaged, or out of place.” He sent a silent plea Reece’s way.

Reece took his cue. “C’mon, Neve. Let’s go pick up your dog so you two can get home.” Neve appeared dazed, teetering on her bootheels, so he parked himself a little closer in order to catch her if another wave of nausea took her or she keeled over. “Shane, any chance I can come back as soon as I get the doc settled and drain the water to keep her pipes intact?”

“I already did that.”

Neve seemed to come to, as if waking up from a trance. “Is that kind of service normally in a sheriff’s playbook?”

Shane cracked a half-smile, the first since they’d arrived. “No, but it’s inmyplaybook. You’ve got enough to deal with as it is.” He laid his hand on her shoulder. “We’ve been friends a long time, Doc, and I care what happens to you.”

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