“I won't,” I promised again. Lifting my head, I opened the door to leave. I needed to get to the office and catch Tenn before he came back and saw the blood on the carpet.
Turning the doorknob in my hand, I said, “Lock this behind me. When things are settled, I'll come back to let you know what's going on. But don't let anyone in if you're alone.”
“Do you think I'm in danger?” she asked as if that thought hadn't occurred to her. I hated that it had occurred to me.
“I hope not. Sabotage is one thing. If this is escalating to physical attacks, I don't want to take the chance it's going to spill over onto you. It's pretty obvious to anyone watching me that you're an important part of my life. I won't let anything happen to you.”
Daisy went to her toes, reaching up to press her lips to mine. “Okay, I'll be careful, too.”
I left her with one more kiss, pausing on the other side of the door to wait for the snick of the deadbolt flipping so I knew she was safely locked inside. It came, and I left, my mind racing with possibilities, eyes scanning the street for threats.
This was absurd. Griffen had a guy come after him not long after he'd moved back to Sawyers Bend, but that guy was in jail now, and he'd had a grudge against our father. The list of people who'd hated Prentice was long, but I couldn't think of anyone who'd come after me specifically.
You can't expect logic from a person who'd walk into your office and stab someone, I reminded myself.
We were dealing with someone who was capable of murder. Who the hell knew what they were thinking? I hoped West had some idea of where to go with this because I had nothing.
When I got back, the offices were crowded with evidence techs, my office blocked off by yellow caution tape. Tenn sat at Penny's desk, talking to West and digging into one of the quiches Daisy brought for our lunch. I thought about complaining and then, much like the thing with Sterling and Forrest, decided now was not the time. It wasn't like Daisy was going to eat it anyway.
Two hours later, Forrest was back from the ER, bandaged but not stitched, and we were no closer to figuring out who had attacked him. He was giving me cautious looks when he thought I wasn't paying attention, but I wasn't sure if they were about Sterling or getting stabbed in my place. I didn't ask.
Forrest and I agreed that the woman we'd seen was both tall and blond, but neither of us had recognized her. Something about her struck me as familiar, but when I tried to break it down—was it her face? her build?—I came up empty. I couldn't remember a tall blond. I knew tall women and blond women, but not both together. Of course, she could have been wearing lifts or a wig.
There was definitely premeditation involved. Not just stealing an Inn uniform or the possibility of a disguise, but the security team reported that the system was shut down in the stairwell, elevators, and admin suite on that floor of The Inn. They'd gone offline right around the time I was called back to the front desk to deal with the reservations snafu.
Lucky for me, or I would have been in my office when the mystery woman went after Forrest in my place. Or unlucky because if I'd been in the office with Forrest, it was likely no one would have been stabbed, and she would have tried again another day.
Either way, it was late afternoon by the time West went back to the police department with a plan to question Forrest again the next day in the hopes that he'd remember something useful. Forrest had tried to work the rest of the afternoon, but Tenn and I sent him home to sleep off the worst of the pain. I did not ask if Sterling went with him.
I bailed on Tenn after West left, packing up Daisy's used storage containers to take back to the bakery. I knew she must be dying to know what had happened after she left, and I needed to see her face, to assure myself she was well and safe, insulated from all this craziness. I wasn't keen on the idea that someone had tried to stab me. I was even less keen on the idea that they might come after Daisy.
I can't remember the last time I’d entered Sweetheart Bakery from the front door. Ever since I'd been seeing Daisy I'd used the alley door to the kitchens, bypassing the customers in the front. More to the point, bypassing Grams and Daisy's mother. Grams was all too happy to see me, but the few times I'd crossed paths with Daisy's mom she'd glared at me, prompting Daisy to usher me away before we could be properly introduced.