Faith's Sheriff (Montgomery Family and Friends) by Iris Abbott

much stronger than she looked.  She could handle this and she would have to know eventually, so he might as well break the news to her now.  He lightly grasped her elbow and led her through the door.  “Come on in just don’t get in the way.  The investigators are almost finished.  I called your landlord and he is sending someone from a private maid service over to clean up this mess.  Also a man from the hardware store is coming to board up the window.  He will eventually replace it, but he had to do a special order on the glass and can’t fix it until later in the week.”
    “Whoa wait a minute.” Faith held up a hand.  “I don’t expect Mr. Morris to pay someone to clean up this mess. I can do it myself.”  She chewed on her bottom lip.  “I hope this doesn’t mean my rent is going to go up anytime soon.  I’m saving to buy my own place,” she confided to Cole.  “That is if things work out at the school and I end up staying in this area.”
    The thought of Faith leaving twisted Cole’s gut.  He was quick to reassure her that this little town was the place for her. “Mason Blake has nothing but good things to say about you and your performance in the classroom.  I don’t think you have to worry about the job working out.  I also know that Caroline is thrilled to have you living nearby.  And about Mr. Morris, he likes to fuss over his tenants since he doesn’t have any family of his own left in the area.  Just let him do it this one time.  He’d be the first to tell you that he’s thrilled this place isn’t just standing empty collecting dust.”
    “I guess.”  It was time to focus on why she was really there.  “So did the investigators find anything while they were looking over the place?”
    “It doesn’t look like there were any intruders, just the rock.”  He pulled her aside and out of the range of anybody that might be eavesdropping. “There was a message written on the rock,” he told her.
    Faith gasped.  She hadn’t been expecting this little piece of information.  “What?  Really?”  She shivered and moved just a little bit closer to Cole.  She knew there had always been a good chance that this attack was personal, but a message only served to confirm her worst fear.   “What was the message?”
    “Go home.”  Cole didn’t see any reason to beat around the bush, so he blurted out what had been written on the rock.  “Think really hard, Faith.  Is there anyone who would want to scare you out of town?”
    “Other than a possible murderer you mean,” her voice hitched on that last word.  Murderer really wasn’t a nice word at all, especially if you thought one had it out for you.
    Cole resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and hold her tight.  It wouldn’t be professional behavior and the house was filled with law officers from the county level all the way up to the state level.   “I know this is unsettling, and I’m going to do my best to get to the bottom of it.  I’m going to need your help though.  Are you sure no one else is holding a grudge against you?”
    “Nobody that I know of,” she truthfully answered.  “I haven’t been here long enough to make enemies.  I usually hang out with Caroline and the Montgomery sisters.  We all get along just fine.  There are no problems there.”
    Cole nodded his head in agreement.  He knew that group well and there was no trouble coming from them.  He’d grown up with Abigail and he also knew Annabel and Aubrey well enough to mentally cross them off of any suspect list.  Caroline was just as sweet as the Montgomery sisters.  Besides she was the one that had invited Faith to move to Florida.  He crossed Caroline off the list too.  “What about work?”
    Faith shook her head.  “I really don’t think so.  Everyone at the school has been very friendly.  I think a lot of people know that Mason put in a good word for me with the principal.  That probably guaranteed me the