Seas the Day by Maggie Toussaint

Author:Maggie Toussaint
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Maggie Toussaint
Published: 2019-12-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

Deputy Lance Hamlyn strolled into my commercial kitchen forty minutes later wearing sneakers, jeans, a fishing shirt, his usual heavy-handed aftershave, and police gloves. His cop eyes checked every corner before pinning me. “You okay in here?”

“I’m good for now,” I said, locking the door behind him. I zipped back to the stove, turned off the gas burner, and covered the pan. “You’re early.”

“I cleared my schedule to keep you company this afternoon and help you with this VIP client tonight. Figured you’d feel safer if you weren’t alone. I gather that black garbage bag outside is the paper towels?”

“This really spooked me. Thanks for the company and the offer of help. I’ll take you up on both, if you don’t mind. I won’t be alone later because Pete’s flying home tonight. As for the paper towels, I couldn’t leave them inside. I aired this place out by opening the windows and then I sanitized every surface before I started making the balsamic reduction again.”

I drew a deep breath. “I wish I’d brought the cat over here. Can we go check on him?”

“The cat will keep a few more minutes,” Lance said. “We’ll check on him after I search the area for signs of your intruder. Meanwhile, are you hurt?”

“Physically, I’m fine.”

“I hope you don’t mind. I brought a supply of my black police gloves for policing and catering. My hands are much bigger than yours and I wanted to make sure we kept things sanitary.” Lance took a moment, glanced around my kitchen again. “Everything seems in order. Where’s your fire extinguisher?”

“Good thinking. I don’t think your hands would fit in my smaller gloves.” I pointed to the wall mount. “Where it belongs.”

“You used it so you have to refill or replace it. If it has a metal valve, take it to the fire station. They refill them for a minimum charge. It’s cheaper than buying a new one.”

I walked over and studied the fire extinguisher. “Metal. Guess I’ll be making a trip to the fire station soon.”

He withdrew a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and placed it on the counter. “Start on your police statement while I snap pictures of the paper towels and clear the woods. How’d the guy get in?”

My face heated. “I opened the door because the cat made a ruckus outside. Guess I forgot to lock it when I got back to work.”

“Not a good plan to leave your door unlocked, but at least your lock isn’t busted.” He opened the door, locked and unlocked it a few times. “Any serious burglar could pick this cheap lock in less than ten seconds.”

“I’ve never worried about people breaking into my kitchen before. The lock works fine for nonserious burglars. What would anyone want from my kitchen? Pots and pans?”

He made a small laugh before he asked, “Was anything stolen?”

“Yeah. My pride. My innocence too. Armed intruders aren’t commonplace on Shell Island or in my kitchen.”

Lance shrugged. “We’re seeing big city crimes on the island.

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