Snuffed Out by Valona Jones

Author:Valona Jones
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CROOKED LANE BOOKS

Chapter Twenty-Six

I edged close behind my shoppers gazing through the storefront window. “What happened?”

A blue-haired SCAD student with a pink backpack gave me the scoop. “The cops arrived a few moments ago, no sirens or nothin’, and then a few minutes later, the ambulance came. Nobody’s come in or gone out since EMS arrived.”

“Gerard’s over there,” I said to no one in particular. “I hope he’s okay.”

My instinct was to race across the street and check. With customers in the shop, I couldn’t do that. Instead, I grabbed my phone and texted Gerard. He didn’t reply.

A sense of doom closed in on me. Gerard was in trouble. He needed me. “Okay, everybody out. I need to check on my staff person across the street, and that means I have to lock the door.”

“Not so fast.” A young woman handed me the small shopping basket she held. “I’m not leaving without these.”

A distinguished man held up his finds. “Me neither.”

“Okay. New plan. I’ll check out whoever is ready now, but I need to get over there right away. Everyone else please vacate the shop.”

“I’ll check on Gerard for you,” Blue Hair said. “If they won’t let me in, I can at least get a visual through the glass. I’ll be right back.”

Some of the tension eased in my chest. “Thank you.”

I hurried through the checkout procedures. No chatting up the customers with how great their selections were. I wanted them out of here. After the female customer was on her way, I started scanning the male’s items. His steady perusal made me anxious.

“You look familiar. Do I know you?” I asked.

“I’m a local.” He handed me his credit card. “Nice place here.”

“Thanks.” I did a double-take on the name imprinted on the card. Barrett Brendon Cranford. Also known throughout Savannah as BB Cranford, the power partner of the law firm Cranford, Aldrich, and Platt. The senior partner of the firm I used.

Heat seared my cheeks. “Thought I recognized you, Mr. Cranford,” I said. “You look just like your portrait in your firm’s lobby.”

His eyes twinkled. “They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I’m not one for putting my mug on billboards, but my ex-wife convinced me to sit for that portrait. She said it made a statement.”

I returned his card with the receipt. “She’s right. It’s nice to put a face with a name.”

“Indeed.” He collected his bagged items and departed.

Finally, I had the place to myself.

Pocketing my cell phone and grabbing the keys, I trotted across the shop and flipped the sign to “Closed.” I was locking the door when the blue-haired young woman and her friends joined me on the sidewalk.

“He’s why the cops are there,” the young woman said, her eyes round with fear. “The EMTs are bandaging his hand.”

The keys slipped from my grip. “Oh, dear. That is bad news. Thank you for letting me know.”

Blue Hair collected my keys and returned them. “Are you going over there?”

Determined, I nodded my intent, but part of me dreaded what I would find.

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