Theodosia, Drayton, and Haley huddled together at a small wooden table in one corner of the Indigo Tea Shop. It was a cool day and they’d started a fire in the little flagstone fireplace. But no matter how merrily the flames crackled and danced, it couldn’t lift the chill in their hearts.
Theodosia had slowly and sadly filled Drayton in on all the details of last night’s debacle, Haley jumping in wherever she could. Her tea master had listened gravely, sitting ramrod stiff, allowing only his gray eyes to betray the concern he felt.
Finally, when Theodosia had exhausted herself with the details of the robbery, Drayton took a sip of his Assam tea, brewed extra strong today, and set his cup down in his saucer with a tiny clink. “So that’s what this type of crime is typically called? A smash-and-grab?”
“That’s what the police are calling it,” Theodosia said. “As well as a homicide.”
Drayton shook his head. “Tragic. Simply tragic. For someone to be killed during the course of a stupid robbery.”
“Brooke is absolutely devastated,” Theodosia said. “When I left her last night, she was just wandering through the ruins of her shop. And I guess making calls to funeral homes.”
Drayton reached for a strawberry scone. They’d sat there for a while even though Haley had baked them less than an hour ago. Nobody was really hungry. “I can just imagine how terrible Brooke felt,” he said.
Theodosia, Drayton, and Haley generally got together each morning to drink tea, enjoy the quiet, and exchange pleasantries before the Indigo Tea Shop opened its doors for business. This morning all they could do was commiserate. Everyone felt on edge, a little out of sync, and extremely upset that Brooke’s event had ended so tragically.
“Not only that,” Haley said. “I ran a search on the Internet first thing this morning. It turns out that smash-and-grab robberies have become a huge trend. I read about this Bentley dealership, I think it was down in Miami, that had a jewelry shop attached to it. I guess it was so fat cats could buy a Rolex and a Bentley. Anyway, that place got knocked off by a gang of robbers, a lot like the guys that hit Brooke last night.”
“And they stole everything?” Drayton asked. He was midsixties, gray hair slicked back, and dressed in his trademark tweed jacket and bow tie. Though Drayton always appeared somewhat formal and brittle, a most proper Southern gentleman, he had a soft side to him, too. But only when you were allowed past his crusty, crunchy hard-shell exterior.
Haley was nodding solemnly. “Snatched all the Rolexes from that Miami dealership. Then they robbed the sales guys of their wallets and rolled away in a brand-new Bentley. Huh, some getaway car. It probably cost, like, three hundred grand and had six miles on the odometer.”
“Haley’s right about these bold robberies.” Theodosia looked thoughtful as she spooned a dollop of Devonshire cream onto her scone. “I heard about a jeweler in New York, I think the shop was on Madison Avenue, that was robbed the exact same way. Vandals used a stolen truck to punch a hole right through the front window, then made off with the entire inventory.”
Drayton’s brows knit together. “All these tales have me worried. I was just thinking about the Heritage Society’s Rare Antiquities Show that opens Saturday night. Maybe we should be proactive and enlist some extra security to guard our precious pieces. There’s an outside chance those thieves—those murderers—might come back.”
“Oh, I don’t think . . .” Theodosia started to respond to him just as a sudden bang sounded at the front door.
“Customers?” Drayton frowned. “Already?”
Haley popped up from her chair, pushed back the chintz curtains, and peered out the leaded-glass window. “Oh no, it’s Brooke.”
Drayton was startled. “She’s here? Now?”
“Better let her in,” Theodosia said.
Haley scurried to the front door and pulled it open. Brooke, looking red-eyed and exhausted, tottered into the Indigo Tea Shop.
“How are you doing this morning?” Haley asked as she led her over to their table.
Brooke eased herself into the captain’s chair directly across from Drayton. “Terrible.”
Theodosia leaned over and hugged her, and then Drayton and Haley hugged her as well, expressing their heartfelt sympathies over and over.
“Thank you, thank you,” Brooke said.
Theodosia thought Brooke seemed a little dazed and lost. Almost like the victim of a major, mind-shattering event, like an earthquake or hurricane. She was physically present but her mind was . . . someplace else.
Drayton poured Brooke a cup of tea and passed it over to her. “Here you go, dear lady.”
Brooke accepted the tea. “Thank you.”
Now Drayton was mock stern. “You know you probably shouldn’t even be here.”
Brooke took a quick sip of tea. “I know.” She took another sip. “Good.”
“It’ll help fortify you,” Haley said, putting a scone on a plate for her.
Theodosia figured it was probably up to her to jump-start the real conversation. The one she knew they probably had to have. “What’s going on over at your shop?”
Brooke sighed. “The police were there pretty much all night long, digging through the rubble.”