Chapter Text
Rona scrambled to the landline, hands shaking as she dialed for help. She looked out at her shop, the shards of glass covering the floor as if it was attempting to beat her over the head that she was robbed. Her flowers were crushed and broken, tossed about without a care, but she had no idea why. What would be the point of destroying her livelihood?
Finally, there was an voice on the line. "9-1-1, what's your emergency?"
"My store has been broken into!" she tried to say, though it came out mostly in a sob. Her money was stolen, her flowers were beyond salvaging, and she had a gigantic hole in the front of her shop. Reporting the rest to the operator passed by quickly. At least, it seemed quick.
"We've dispatched an officer to the scene. Please stay where you are."
Hanging up the phone, she went to the back room and grabbed the blanket in her office. Even with her sweater, jacket, and two pairs of socks, the winter air was frigid. She let out another sob when she walked back into the main room of the flower shop, seeing the scene again. Could she recover from this? Would her insurance help her?
Rona took a seat behind the counter, pulling the blanket around her tightly. The air was so cold she could see her breath. With each blinding pass of light of headlights, her eyes looked out at the street, wondering if any passing car was her robber or, more likely, the local sheriff. It only took ten minutes for him to arrive, and when he did, he knocked on the door.
"C-come in," she called out, unable to stop shivering. The door's bell gave an uncharacteristically cheery jingle for the circumstances, not that she expected it to sound as hopeless as she felt. The man who entered wore a fur collared jacket and jeans, not at all like the sheriff she expected to see. Though seeing his blond hair, curly and untamed, and the tired look her wore, she figured he must have been woken up for this.
"Are you alright?" the sheriff asked first and Rona sat there, looking up at him if not a little confused. That was not the first thing she expected to be asked, standing in a drafty flower shop at two in the morning. Then again, she hadn't been expecting much at all. Part of her pictured this playing out like a scene in those movies where the cops just ask questions, uninterested in what had happened before leaving to grab a doughnut and complain about the rampant crime these days. But that was a movie and this was the small town of Haven that probably only had a few thefts a year and some teenage vandalism during Halloween. A break in like this would probably end up in the local newspaper.
"I wasn't here during the robbery, if that's what you're asking," she explained. He just offered a small smile and leaned against the counter as he pulled out a pad of paper and pen from the inside of his jacket.
"These sorts of ordeals can be very stressful and I know there must be a million questions on your mind, but if you feel you're well enough we can just go ahead and start." He looked at her, waiting for some kind of answer. When he didn't get it, he went on. "I'm Sheriff Cullen Rutherford, by the way."
---
If there was any time of the year for a flower shop to hit financial hardship, it might as well be in the Winter. Everyone liked to set up flower arrangements for those family meals in the holidays, and Rona was thankful that not everyone had the time to do those arrangements themselves. Sure, there was weddings in the Summer, but in a small town like Haven, there weren't as many wedding as she would've liked. Sure, Ori was having her wedding in a few days, but she got the friends and family discount.
Purple roses, orange lilies, yellow daisy poms, and narcissus flowers, all strategically placed in a tall white vase. This arrangement had been rather fun, taking her mind off finances even if for a moment. The caller had asked for something fun to look at for an workplace setting to liven up the place, something she might have expected more from a female customer than a man, but she hadn't questioned it. Only seconds passed from when she finished the arrangement had the customer came in.
"This looks great," he said. She didn't recognize him at all. Was he new to town? Certainly he wasn't just passing through, not with having given her several hours before the pick up. "I think I'll know just where to put it."
"I'm glad," Rona replied as he handed her cash for the flowers. With any luck, she'll be able to make rent this month. "Have a nice day."
He carefully picked up the vase and gave her a nod. "You too."
---
"Rona Lavellan," she replied and took a deep breath. I can do this, she told herself. The next half hour went rather quickly. Reciting what happened was odd to put into words. She was returning from a friend's wedding that was about an hour out of town and planned to do some work before she went to bed and had left a few needed papers in her office. When she stopped by to pick them up when she noticed everything broken, trampled, and missing. Cullen would ask his questions and she'd give her best answer, though afraid it wouldn't be enough to catch whoever did this.
"Come on, let's get you somewhere warmer," he said as he closed the little notebook he had written everything she said in.
"I was just planning on going home and falling asleep," Rona admitted. Fall asleep and sleep for twelve hours probably. Would her insurance call her once the report was filed or would she have to reach out to them? Nothing like this had ever happened to her before and she had absolutely no idea how to go about it.
"Well, there's that too. But there is a warm diner a block from here, if you didn't know. They serve great pie." Okay, now that made her smile a bit.
"I do work here, you know," Rona said as she shrugged off the blanket, letting it fall to the floor. The place was already a mess, who would care about a misplaced blanket. Wait, she'd probably be the one to clean it up later. Quickly, she scooped it up and folded it to place on the counter. "But yeah, some comfort food sounds really good right now."
"Plus, it might not be the best idea to drive right away. You're cold, probably hungry, and this can't have been easy for you. Not to mention a nice cup of coffee will keep you awake for a drive home at two a.m."
Rona nodded absently. With that in mind, it seemed like a bad idea not to go take a moment for herself at the diner. "Are you coming with?" she asked as he followed behind her.
"Yes, I still have a few questions left, but nothing we can't do somewhere you're not freezing."
She gave him a thankful smile, quick but hard to miss. "I appreciate it."
Just before they were out of the door, he gently touched her shoulder and she turned around. "Before I forget, you have security cameras, right?"
She nodded. "I do. I'll get you the tapes. Just a moment." She ran back to her office for the tapes. This was a flower shop, not a jewelry store, so she didn't have a high tech security system or guards to watch it at night. If anything, she was surprised her store was even broken into. It wasn't like she had a whole lot to steal.
With the security footage put on a flash drive, she left and locked the office before rejoining the sheriff and handing it to him.
"Thank you. Now, let's see if they still have any apple pie left."