Miz Scarlet and the Bewildered Bridegroom by Sara M. Barton Page B

away,
loaded the dishwasher, and scrubbed the pans. I tidied up the
butler’s pantry and put some bottled juices and waters in the guest
fridge. And then, even though I thought it looked okay, I did a
quick wipe and swipe in the powder room, to make sure it was
presentable for guests.”
    “When did the Wilkies
leave for their hike?”
    “It was just a few
minutes before I went upstairs. Diana wanted directions for the
blue trail, so I found her a park map. Last time I saw them, Dave
was getting their binoculars from their car.”
    “There’s something off
about all this, Jen, something just not right. Why break a window
at the back of the house when the front door was
unlocked?”
    “Maybe the burglar
didn’t know the front door was unlocked.”
    “Or he didn’t want to
be seen entering the Four Acorns Inn. There’s shrubbery by the sun
porch and plenty of places to hide, with no neighbors to see
someone breaking the glass. Bur’s got a view of the sun porch, but
he wouldn’t notice unless he just happened to look out the window
at just the right moment.”
    “But how could the
burglar know he wouldn’t get caught inside the inn?” Jenny
wondered. “It’s almost as if someone was watching me and waiting
for me to go upstairs.”
    “Good point,” I nodded.
That made sense to me.
It could
even be someone who knows the daily routine.
“Maybe it was someone who’s familiar with the
inn, like a workman...a carpenter...or a delivery
man.”
    “Or someone who’s been
here before, maybe a guest,” she added helpfully.
    “A former guest?” That
thought was rather unsettling.
    “Or someone with a
grudge,” she added.
    Those words stabbed at
my heart like an ice cold knife, chilling me to the bone. I could
think of one man who would love to destroy the Four Acorns Inn. He
was the same man who once tried to kill me and was sentenced to
jail for his efforts. But as far as I knew, Ned Sorkin was still
behind bars and not dumb enough to think he could get away with
menacing me.
    “Or it could just be
some run-of-the-mill thief, in search of something to pawn at
Phil’s Gold Exchange,” said an unexpected voice behind us. “Why
don’t you both take a deep breath and relax? You’re safe, I promise
you.”
    “Kenny!” I felt a wave
of relief wash over me when I heard him speak those words. “You’re
always looking for the logical answer, aren’t you?”
    “I am,” he smiled. “If
it’s any consolation, the current heroin epidemic is driving a lot
of criminal behavior, ladies.”
    “You think it’s some
junkie?” If only he had stopped after he said we were safe, we
could have let ourselves believe. Now all I could think of was that
some desperate creature, in need of a fix, was lurking outside in
the hopes of catching an opportunity to break into the inn. I
wasn’t the only one who felt this way.
    “Whoa!” Jenny recoiled.
“I could have been killed by some drugged-up
maniac?”
    “It was probably just a
petty thief,” he insisted. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’m
going to upgrade your security system right now. I even brought my
tool kit with me.”
    “You did?” I asked,
still feeling alarmed at the prospect of another break-in. He held
up a black satchel, proof he was a man of his word.
    “I’ll do anything to
keep you from climbing onto the runaway train to nowhere, Miz
Scarlet. Do us all a favor. Don’t make this more than it seems, at
least not without hard evidence. You’ll spook yourselves silly.”
Kenny leaned in and planted a polite kiss on my cheek, even as he
slipped his fingers down my back and playfully pinched my fanny,
out of sight of our teenage chaperone.
    “That’s it? Case
closed?” The teenager didn’t seem convinced.
    “Oh, I didn’t say that
to lull you into a false sense of security, Jen. I do have a plan
to protect the inn and its guests on the off-chance there is some
funny business going on.”
    “You
do?”
    “I do.” There were
those two