bored?”
“Is it that obvious?” Slade asked.
“If you didn’t want to be a small-town police chief, why on earth did you take the job here on Rainshadow?”
“I told you, I needed something to tide me over until I can get my project up and running.”
“Things didn’t work out in the FBPI?”
“Let’s just say I’m ready for a change. Now, about your breakin.”
“Follow me.”
She led the way through the crowded, shadowed space and into the back room of the shop. She was very aware of Slade following close behind her.
Okay, not alone, exactly. She and Slade shared Rainshadow with the other residents, but an island was an island, and given that a ferry that operated twice a day was the only regular link to the outside world, there was a very real sense of remoteness and isolation.
The back room of Looking Glass was even more crowded than the front sales room. It was jammed almost to the ceiling with packing crates and shipping boxes full of antiques and collectibles that her aunt had never bothered to unpack. The containers formed a narrow canyon that led to the rear door. There were also several new crates stacked around the room. They contained the objects that she had elected to bring with her when she closed down her Frequency shop.
“I don’t envy you trying to take an inventory,” Slade said. “Some of these crates look as if they’ve been sitting here for decades.”
“Like I said, Aunt Beatrix wasn’t big on organizing stuff.”
“This goes beyond a lack of organizational skills. There’s a word for folks with this kind of psychological problem, you know.”
“Hoarder? Yes, I know.” Charlotte stopped. “What can I say? It’s no secret that my aunt was a little weird.” She gestured down the narrow path created by the towering walls of crates. “That’s the door that was unlocked this morning when I arrived.”
Slade walked forward and crouched on the floor directly in front of the door. “Huh,” he said.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“Looks like the print of a running shoe.” Slade got to his feet. “Judging by the muddled footprints, he spent some time in this room and then went into the front of the shop. Turned around and came back here. Left the same way he got in. Through the back door.”
“Believe it or not, I figured that much out all by myself.”
“Yeah?” Slade raised his brows. “You ever think of pursuing a career in crime fighting?”
“Very funny. What do you think happened here?”
“I think someone found the door open last night, walked into the shop, took a look around and then left.”
“I told you, I locked up last night,” she said firmly.
Slade glanced at the lock on the back door. “Even if you did, all anyone would need to get through that door is a credit card.”
“I intend to order new locks. But there’s been so much else to do that I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
“Good plan.”
She frowned. “Shouldn’t you be dusting for fingerprints or something?”
“Oh, yeah, and maybe swab for DNA while I’m at it. Thanks for reminding me.”
“You really are not going to treat this seriously, are you?”
He looked at her. “If you were in Frequency City and your shop got robbed what do you think the cops would do?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Not much. Probably just ask for a list of stolen goods in case any of the objects turned up in a pawn shop.”
“Since nothing appears to have been stolen here and there are no pawn shops on Rainshadow, the scope of this investigation is somewhat limited.”
“Cripes. You’re really not into your job, are you?”
Slade shrugged. “It’s just a temporary detour.”
“It strikes me that you have a very poor attitude, Chief Attridge.”
“Okay, okay. Here’s the most likely scenario. Last night after closing up someone noticed that the door of your shop was open. He came inside, took a quick look around to make sure everything was okay, and then he left. How’s that for a theory of the crime?”
“Absolutely pitiful. But it’s obviously all I’m going to get in the way of law enforcement so I’ll take it.” She turned and went into the front room. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“Depends. Is that a bribe? If it is, I think you’re supposed to include a doughnut.”
“Sorry, no doughnuts. Something tells me bribery would be useless with you, anyway.”
“What makes you so sure of that?”
“My intuition. You are in luck, however. I happen to have half a loaf of leftover zucchini bread that my neighbor, Thelma Duncan, made for me.”
“Thelma Duncan’s zucchini bread seems to be everywhere at the moment. Myrna brought a loaf to the station this morning. Rex ate it.”
“The whole loaf?”
“Well, he and Officer Willis split it. Turns out Rex loves Mrs. Duncan’s zucchini bread.”
“That’s good, because I’m told it will be around for a while. Mrs. Duncan is an incredible gardener and as it happens zucchini season just hit. I’ll cut a slice for Rex.”
She went behind the counter and unwrapped the zucchini bread. She was very aware of Slade watching her as she cut a slice and set it on a small paper plate. She set the plate on the counter.
Slade looked over his shoulder. “Come and get it, Rex. Zucchini bread.”
There was a muffled chortle from the vicinity of the vintage purses and bags. Rex appeared. He scampered across the room and bounded up onto the counter. He rushed to the plate of zucchini bread and fell to it with evident enthusiasm.
“Amazing,” Charlotte said. “You’d think after the loaf he shared with Willis this morning he would have had his fill of zucchini bread.”
“Not yet,” Slade said.
Rex polished off the slice of zucchini bread and bounded back down to the floor. He disappeared amid the array of antiques.
Charlotte ladled coffee into the filter. “Keep an eye on him, please.”
“That’s hard to do in this place.”
“I’m warning you—”
“I know. Your you-break-it-you-buy-it policy.”
“Right.” Charlotte poured water into the coffeemaker and started the machine.
There was a short silence behind her. She watched coffee drip into the glass pot.
“You never went for a full Covenant Marriage,” Slade said after a while.
Startled, she swung around. “No.” She took a deep breath. “No, I haven’t. Not yet.” She turned back to the coffee machine. “I take it you never went for a CM, either.”
“No. Tried a Marriage of Convenience somewhere along the line but it didn’t work out.”
The legally recognized Marriage of Convenience had been designed by the First Generation settlers as a short-term arrangement that allowed couples to experiment with commitment before moving into a full-blown Covenant Marriage. Young people were encouraged to try an MC before taking the plunge into a Covenant Marriage. An MC could be dissolved by either party for any reason, no harm, no foul. Unless there was a baby. A baby changed everything. In legal terms it transformed an MC into a full Covenant Marriage.
The legal and social bonds of a Covenant Marriage were as solid as alien quartz. There was a move afoot to make divorce easier but for now it was extremely rare largely because it was a legal and financial nightmare, not to mention social and political suicide.
