Page 19 of In Pursuit of the Truth

“I wish I knew, buddy. They’re going as fast as they can in there.”

Another car pulled into the parking lot. Nate waved as Jenny got out and walked over. She put a hand on Jordan’s head. “Hey, guys. You staying busy?”

“We’re trying.” Nate raised an eyebrow.

Jordan set his bean bags on the picnic table. “I wanna go home.”

“I bet you do.” She nodded toward the store. “I’ve got these guys. Why don’t you go see how it’s going?”

“You sure?” Nate really didn’t mind sitting with theboys, but he would like to find out where they were in the investigation and make sure Bailey was okay.

“Absolutely. We’re good.”

“Thanks, Jenny.” He slapped the top of the picnic table with one hand and turned to go inside. There were two different officers taking photographs of the damage.

Detective John Paris was talking to Bailey in the back of the store. Nate picked his way through the mess on the floor until he reached them.

“Walker.” Detective Paris gave Nate a nod. “Good to see you.”

“You, too.” Nate looked from him to Bailey. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. Have you guys made any headway on finding out who’s responsible?”

“Not yet, unfortunately.” Paris frowned. “It looks like they came in through the front door. Most likely using a crowbar. Officers have dusted for prints, but given the number of people who come in and out, it’s going to be hard to know which prints to focus on.”

“I knew I should’ve installed cameras. They just seemed so unnecessary at the time.” Regret tinged Bailey’s voice as she crossed her arms in front of her. “It’s going to take forever to get this cleaned up. I’ll be lucky if I’m able to re-open the store before the end of the season.” She leaned against a nearby display and picked at her bottom lip.

Nate wanted to encourage her, but there was no denying how much of a mess the place was. “Can you tell if anything is missing?”

“If they took something, it’s not obvious. I don’t leave money here overnight, and I make sure to take home anything personal. This feels…vindictive.” Her chin rose. “Did you see the for sale sign that someone put out front?”

“Yep. I have a hard time believing that two separateindividuals decided to mess with your place on the same day. They must be connected.”

Paris nodded. “I agree.” He motioned to the chaos around them. “Between the damage to your goat pen and now this… They’re clearly trying to send you a message.”

“I don’t like being pushed around. This is extreme and a big jump from destroying a fence.” The muscles in Bailey’s jaw flexed.

Nate wondered the same thing. This was escalating fast, and he worried about Bailey and the boys.

Paris looked over his notes. “They might have trashed the place so that it’s harder to see what was stolen. Or maybe it’s a disgruntled customer? Even if it’s directly related to someone wanting to buy your place, this kind of damage would suggest it’s not to purchase the business itself.”

That made sense. Most people wouldn’t damage what they were trying to obtain. If Bailey wasn’t able to get all of this cleaned up in time to open on Friday, then she’d have to let customers know. It could potentially harm the business longterm, which would be counterproductive if that’s why someone wanted the place.

Man, he wished she didn’t live out here alone like this.

The detective must have been thinking along the same lines as he spoke to Bailey. “I’ll have patrols drive by regularly for the next few days. That said, your property is large. It would be a good idea to install cameras around your home and the store if you can. Anything to deter someone from coming on your land. Sometimes even putting up warning signs about home security will help because it’s just enough to make a would-be thief second guess breaking into your home.”

Nate noticed the way Bailey shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

She gave a barely perceptible nod. “Thanks. I’m going to check on the boys. Then I guess I’d better start going through everything so I have some numbers for the insurance company tomorrow.” With that, she moved toward the door.

Nate waited until she was outside before speaking with Paris again. “I’m worried about them. Whoever’s behind this is getting bold. Dangerous.”

“I tend to agree with you. This is officially my case now, and I intend to do everything I can to figure out who’s behind this. In the meantime, you might encourage Bailey to take the boys and stay with family or friends. Just until things quiet down a little.”

“I’ll do what I can, but she’s not the type to back down.” It was a personality trait of hers that he normally admired greatly.

“I get it. Trust me. Eve’s like that. Won’t back down until she’s solved the problem. Then again, she says the same about me.” He chuckled. “At least we can’t hold it against each other.”

“Very true.” Nate laughed.

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