Normally she parked in the back of the store in the alleyway but at this late hour she pulled up in front of the store and withdrew her keys to unlock the door. She hated the silence surrounding her at this time of night. The moon was mostly hidden by the clouds and the air was brisk. The light that had normally lit up her storefront had been out for over a week and she wasn’t technically sure who was responsible for replacing it: the city or the person who owned the shopping center. Either way, it was starting to irritate her, and she made a mental note to call tomorrow and find out who should replace it.
She unlocked her door and knew immediately something was off. Intuition maybe, or maybe it was the crawling sensation she felt along the back of her neck. Before she could turn around back to her car and at least get her gun, she saw the figure coming toward her in the darkened room. Not even able to let out a scream, the man was in her face in a split second, shoving her down to the floor.
She fell back; a nightstand had blocked most of her fall and she banged her elbow enough to question if she broke it. She tried getting up to stop the man, but he jumped over her legs and ran at warp speed out her front door.
Her elbow burned and she couldn’t catch her breath. She was shaking, trying to compose herself. What the hell was that? A robbery? She quickly turned on the lights and tried ignoring the shooting pain in her elbow as she frantically glanced around the store. Nothing seemed out of place. Had she just stumbled in at the right time? The robber hadn’t had a chance to take anything? She ran to her cash register and found it open. The small amount of cash, maybe a hundred dollars, she had had in there was gone and a quick look below the counter confirmed her suspicions. There by her safe lay a hammer and some kind of tool. Touching nothing, she ran to the back of her store where she had left her phone and dialed 9-1-1.
She assured the dispatcher there was no one left in the store except herself and besides the throbbing pain in her elbow, no one was hurt. Two police officers showed up almost immediately—a benefit of being only a few blocks away from the police station.
“You okay, ma’am? Would you like me to send an EMT to check you over?”
The first officer who walked in was young, maybe mid-thirties with jet-black hair and matching eyes. The second officer, an older gentlemen, she thought he said his name was Harry, began walking around Lolita’s surveying the scene and taking notes.
“No, that’s not necessary,” Gabbie said. “I was mostly scared and when he pushed me, I banged my elbow really hard. If I think it’s too bad tomorrow, I will see the doctor.”
The officer took out his notepad and proceeded to question her.
“I came back for my phone—”
“About what time, miss?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Ten oh five, maybe? It was dark already and that stupid light, which normally lights up the front of my store, has been out so it was really dark. Anyway, I unlocked the front door—”
“Was the door actually locked?”
Gabriella thought back to her unlocking and opening the door. “Yes, it was locked. I unlocked it and I knew something was wrong right away.”
“How’d you know that?”
“A feeling, I guess. But I didn’t see the guy. He was wearing a hoodie and it happened so fast, he charged right at me and pushed me out of the way.”
“How do you know it was a man?”
Gabbie thought back to that terrifying moment when the man was coming toward her. “I don’t technically. But his build was shaped like a man, he was wearing men’s clothes. He had a bandana-type thing over his nose and mouth. But he looked like a man. Not a female. And when he pushed me, it was pretty clear the intruder was a he.”
Gabriella finished answering the young officer’s questions and the older one, Harry, came over to her counter where they had been standing.
“It looks like he forced his way in through your back door. Do you normally come here at night?”
“No. I forgot my phone.”
“Good. You said he only took a small amount of cash from the register?”
“Yes.”
“It doesn’t sound like he got away with much and based on the type of products you are selling, my guess is he wasn’t interested in that.” As Harry gestured around the store, Gabbie was certain she saw the younger officer blush.
“Do you have any type of security?”
“You mean, like a camera or something? No. I can’t afford anything that extravagant. At least not yet.”
“Consider getting one. You never know what someone like this could be after. Although it appears to be a random break-in, never a bad idea to be extra cautious.”
A little while later, the same locksmith company she called out when she’d lost her keys, showed up and fixed the back lock. The officers stayed and waited for Gabriella to lock up Lolita before they all went their separate ways.
Finally making it home, with cell phone in hand and ice on her elbow, she checked her phone. Nothing from Logan.
She needed him. She convinced herself she was not calling him
