Jack’s black hair was short and neat just like in high school. He wore a crisp white dress shirt and tie, even though he could wear anything he wanted. Jack looked up with a smile, returning Abel’s handshake. He was straightening up the oranges into a nice neat pile while a few ladies looked at the tomatoes. Abel knew Jack bought his produce from local farmers in the area. Tables filled with homemade bread and jams were also scattered around the market stalls. He spotted one of his deputies also walking around and acknowledged him with a nod. His department wasn’t big by city standards, but he had a group of good men and women on his team.
“Is Stacy ready to dump your ass and come with me?” Abel teased, knowing his friend would not take offense. Abel liked the couple very much. Jack just shook his head and laughed. Jack met Stacy in college and fell head over heels, bringing her home to Brook Hollow. Even though Abel liked being a bachelor, he did envy Jack’s good luck. Jack and Stacy just fit together. Stacy adored her husband.
“I heard about what happened last night. Bad enough I had to listen about that damn peeping tom all summer, now we have a purse snatcher? Getting soft, Abel?”
Jack always knew any gossip traveling through the grapevine. Stacy belonged to the ladies’ book club along with his own mother, Delores, and several ladies from town. Abel often wondered if they even discussed books or just sat around and gossiped. His mom often knew things before he did. It was aggravating when he had to find out news from his own mother who gloated about it.
“Let’s have another game of football and we’ll see who is the soft one, Johnson.” Abel snorted. He pictured Mia Wilson from last night. Unfortunately, she had stayed stuck in his head most of the night and it irritated the hell out of him, making him feel cranky this morning.
“Yeah, unfortunately it’s true, Jack,” Abel replied in a low voice so others wouldn’t hear. “He got away but not for long.” He wasn’t sure how many people knew yet since it happened in the wee hours of the night.
Jack shook his head. “And here I thought Mrs. Miller threatening whoever stole her prized watermelon was the only excitement going on. Heard she bought some shells for that antique shotgun of hers and is planning on sitting on her porch all night to protect the rest of her crop. God help us all. I am sure she can’t see a thing.”
Abel groaned and rolled his eyes. Mrs. Miller was at least eighty years old. Not that Abel would ever ask her outright. She’d box his ears and wouldn’t let him being sheriff stop her. “Good Lord. All we need is for her to shoot an innocent person walking by or her own foot. I’ll go have another talk with her. She’ll probably end up lecturing me.”
“Hope you catch this asshole before a panic spreads. As soon as the gossip spreads, it will be chaos with everyone seeing shadows everywhere. You couldn’t even walk by a house and look or you’d get accused of being the peeping tom a few months ago,” Jack told him with a shake of his head. “Poor Becky must be distraught. Mia is new in town.”
“Becky from Becky’s Brew?” Abel asked, just making the connection from the last name. He had been so enchanted by Mia that his brain had not been working.
Jack nodded and explained. “Mia is Donald Wilson’s niece. She was laid off from her job and Becky invited her here to regroup for a bit. Becky is thrilled to have someone around. She told Stacy she was always fond of Mia and kept in touch with her.”
Abel just nodded and let the information soak in. He felt the disappointment that she might not stick around for long, then he pushed it away. He had made a vow to stay alone and he was keeping it. “See you around, Jack.”
As he headed to Fulton Street, the aroma of fresh coffee hit his nostrils. Becky’s Brews was a well-established business in this town. Becky and his mother were longtime friends. Normally Abel stopped in there occasionally, but lately he had been busy. He was trying to hire a few more officers to pick up some of the slack of him and his brother working too much. Abel didn’t mind the long hours, but his younger brother Lincoln, who was his right-hand man, was getting married soon and didn’t want a grueling schedule.
The red brick building sat on the corner of a busy street. It was quite popular with the younger crowd since they added Wi-Fi from what he heard. His younger sister Melanie loved to hang out there, and his future sister-in-law Jessy came for the quietness to do her online classes. She was finishing up her college degree.
He passed by the big picture window and spotted a few people engrossed in their laptops or smartphones. Abel was still a dinosaur when it came to modern technology. He preferred speaking to a person face-to-face or at least over a phone. Typing words in a small window did not sit well with him.
He spotted Becky behind the counter and decided to pop in for a minute. Abel opened the heavy glass door and entered. No one looked up from their laptops. He shook his head with amusement. He just didn’t get the fascination with technology. The smell of coffee mixed with baked goods reminded him he had skipped breakfast this morning because he woke up late, pushing the snooze button one too many times.
The walls were painted a warm terra cotta color. The big picture window let in the natural sunlight. Colorful paintings of coffee cups hung on the wall. He headed for the long oak counter and slipped on to a black leather stool. He loved the coffee smell in the air.
Becky Wilson was wiping the counter with a white, wet rag. She looked up when he sat down and greeted him with a friendly smile. “Good morning, Abel. Coffee?”
He nodded. He had been in here a few times, but mostly he liked to drink his coffee at home. He liked his privacy. She set a plain white cup of black coffee in front of him. He added cream and one sugar from the small container in front of him. He knew they sold all kinds of fancy coffees from what his sister told him, but he liked plain old fashioned coffee. Why mess with a good thing, was his opinion.
“How is your niece doing?” he asked, trying to sound casual without too much interest. Becky didn’t need to know he had thought of Mia all night long and not about the case. It threw him off balance and he didn’t like the feeling. He had made a vow to himself to never again fall for a pretty face. It had almost ruined his life once before and he still had nightmares about it.
Becky sighed sadly. “She is shook up, of course. She lived in New York all of her life and never got mugged. Shame it had to happen here. And after I told her Brook Hollow was as safe as can be.”
Abel agreed, sipping on the hot liquid. He felt disappointed Mia wasn’t here, then he told himself it was better that way. He did not need the distraction of mooning over Becky’s niece. Women were nothing but trouble.
“Any word of who it was?” Becky looked worried. Her blonde hair was mixed with silver but she still looked young. Abel knew she was the same age as his mother. Her husband had left Missouri long ago and Becky divorced him. She never talked about him much and Abel remembered he was a quiet man who kept to himself, and Becky was a social butterfly. An odd combination and probably why it hadn’t worked out.
“No, but we will figure it out, Becky. He ran into the woods so it is possible he came over from the next town. He knows a l
ot of women might walk alone to their cars making them easy targets,” he said with determination. This was not going to go on in his town.
“I gave her some mace your mother gave me. Hope it’s still good,” Becky informed him with a mama bear attitude. “Here I am inviting her to come stay with me for a spell, and she gets mugged.”
“I am sure mama will pass it out among her famous book club, and of course to Melanie and Lily.” Abel shook his head. “She orders that stuff by the case. Never thought I’d see the day anyone would need it. I’ll never hear the end of it now.”
Becky chuckled and agreed. “She’ll probably order you some for your officers.”
“So Mia is from New York. Is that where Donald was from?” He was just being curious he assured himself. He should know the people living in his town. It made sense to him.
Becky shook her head. “I met him in Saint Louis where he was working when we were in college. His family is spread here and there. I always liked Mia and kept in touch with her.”