“Flat tires,” she responded, trying to keep her tone light. “Go ahead and close up your shop. I’ll call someone from the resort to come get me.”
Frowning, he approached her, studying her tires with a shocked expression. “This is deliberate?”
“It seems to be.”
“But who would do this?”
She wished she knew. With a shrug, she gave the only explanation that made any sort of sense to her. “Just some bored kid whose idea of fun is destroying other people’s property, I guess.”
Looking angry that this had happened at his store, Luther turned in a slow circle, much as Hannah had, looking for possible cul
prits. “Have you called the police yet?”
“I hadn’t even thought of calling the police,” she admitted.
“Want me to call them for you?”
“No, I’ll take care of it. I’m sure they’ll have questions for me.”
He nodded. “I’m going inside to help the ladies close up, but I’m not leaving until someone has come for you. Why don’t you come inside and get out of this heat? I’ll get you something cold to drink while you wait.”
“Thank you. I’ll make some calls first and then come in.”
“Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thank you, Mr. D.” Taking another look at the ugly scratch on the side of her car, Hannah swallowed hard before turning her attention to her phone.
* * *
Andrew took one look at Hannah’s car in the pharmacy’s small parking lot and ground out a curse. If his instincts were correct, this was more than just a random act of vandalism. And his instincts were almost always reliable.
Even though it was past the closing hour posted on the pharmacy door, he could see Hannah standing inside, looking out at him. She opened the door as he approached. “Hello, Andrew.”
He studied her intently. Her expression was carefully shielded, but he saw the distress reflected in her deep green eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, of course. I was inside when it happened. I never even saw anyone.”
“Did you call the police?”
“I filed a report. Not that it will do any good, because there were no witnesses. And I’ve called for a tow truck. It should be here any minute.”
He nodded. “We’ll follow the tow truck and I’ll wait with you at the body shop until your car is fixed. If they can’t get to it today, I’ll take you back to the resort and we can pick it up tomorrow.”
Hannah nodded, then turned to speak to someone Andrew couldn’t see inside the pharmacy. “A friend is here to give me a ride, Mr. D. Thanks for waiting with me.”
“You take care,” Andrew heard a man’s voice reply. Hannah joined Andrew outside, and a friendly looking man locked the door behind her, nodding a greeting to Andrew through the glass before turning off the Open sign.
Hannah glanced up at Andrew. “I wasn’t expecting you to be the one to come get me.”
He shrugged. “Everyone else was busy with that influx of new guests, so I volunteered.” He’d known he wouldn’t have been her first choice, but no one else had seemed to find it unusual that he’d volunteered his services. He turned with Hannah toward her car. “You didn’t see anyone who could have done this? No one walking or running away, even someone who seemed an unlikely culprit?”
“Several cars drove by, but I didn’t see anyone at all on the sidewalk,” she answered. “Trust me, I tried. Whoever it was either ran off before I came outside or hid while I was looking for them.”
“You said you called the police. Did they mention whether there’s been a rash of car vandalisms in this area recently?”
She shook her head. “Luther Duquesne—the pharmacist who waited with me—said this is the first he’s heard of. He and the other pharmacy employees park in the back lot, but none of their vehicles were touched. Mine was the only one in this front lot, because it was almost closing time.”
“Do you know anyone who would have specifically targeted your car?”