Page 36 of Allegiance
“There’s no damn way I’m going to let them run me off. This isn’t how this is supposed to go down. I’m not rolling over and letting those bastards take what’s mine without a fight,” she muttered.
Lena dug her cell out of her pocket and called the sheriff’s office.
“Hello, Santa Teresita Sheriff’s Department. This is Deputy Westmore.”
“Where the hell are you guys? I called 911 almost a half hour ago, and no one ever showed up. I need to speak with Sheriff Windsor.”
“What was your emergency?”
“For starters, two guys came in and robbed me. Then one of them mauled and physically assaulted me. Why didn’t anyone show up?”
“There must have been a mix-up.”
“I gave my address to the dispatcher and told her what was going down. This town has less than twenty thousand residents and hardly any crime. We’re not talking about L.A. or San Francisco. How the hell could there be a mix-up?”
“I understand you’re upset, ma’am. If you could please tell me the details, we can start an investigation.”
“A fucking investigation has already been started by Sheriff Windsor. This happened to me the first time about ten days ago.”
“If you can just tell me what happened tonight, I’ll make sure to include it with the ongoing investigation.”
“This is so fucked up,” she muttered under her breath.
“I see. Can you relay the details to me, ma’am?”
Lena spent the next fifteen minutes going over the details with the deputy as he made vague, disinterested noises. At one point, she heard him slurping on something through the line.
“You know, I called Sheriff Windsor on his personal line. He gave me his card. I want to continue this conversation with him, please.”
Though her tone was polite, she was barely holding it together. The deputy had her going in circles, walking her through the encounter repeatedly.
“You’re sure you don’t want me to send a bus there to have you checked out? Nothing’s too sore or feels dislocated?”
“No, I’m okay, If I could just talk to the—”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, he’s busy tonight. You’ll have to stick with me.”
Lena blew out a breath of frustration.
“I’ll send someone over to check the place out. Hold tight, and we should have someone over there in twenty, okay?”
Before she could agree or disagree, the deputy hung up, leaving her with a ton of dead air.
Her fingers clenched tightly around the phone in her hand, and she quelled the urge to throw it at the wall. At this point, all Lena wanted to do was lie back in a nice, soothing bubble bath, with some soft music and a large glass of wine.
I need to get away, go somewhere exotic.Maybe a vacationwasin order. The only snag to that idea was the sobering fact that she couldn’t afford one. She wouldn’t be able to afford anything ever again unless those criminals were dealt with. Lena made her way back to the office and plopped down in her comfy leather desk chair. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on her breathing as she waited for someone to show up and take her statement, look around the store, take fingerprints, and do what the police were supposed to do.
When a knock sounded from the front door, she nearly jumped under the desk. She took a moment to compose herself. Wiping her slick palms on her pants, she walked into the main area of the restaurant.
A deputy was standing in front of the glass door with a gentle smile on his face. He stepped back as she undid the locks and opened the door wide.
“I’m Deputy Eisenhart. Sheriff Windsor sent me to pick you up. He wants to see you.”
“I thought he was unavailable?”
The deputy shrugged. “I don’t know about that, Miss. I was told to bring you to the station. If you have your car here, you can follow me.”
“All right. But is anyone going to take fingerprints or go over the crime scene?”
The young deputy smiled. “We’ll do a thorough investigation.”
Lena slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder and looked at the man. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
