Ed Pederson owned and operated the Village Clock Shop for over 40 years. And when his wife passed away, Ed spent even more time in his shop. … Too much time, some might say.

It was an unpleasant surprise when Ed found his store in disarray after 7:00 a.m. one bitterly cold morning in January. Upon inspection, Ed learned that a thief had broken in the back door. The burglar’s plan would have been to steal money from the brass plated, old-fashioned cash register in the middle of the shop. However, the intruder did not realize that Ed emptied the contents of the cash drawer every night. Ed took extra precaution to protect his business, and hid the money for bank deposit in a floor safe underneath the antique roll top desk in his small office.