Finding Us (Pine Valley Book 5) Page 2

  Ms. Miner reached the desk and turned around before Leo had taken even one step in her direction.

  “Coming?” she asked, taking her glasses off, then tapping the keyboard of the laptop.

  “Yep,” he said. “Just checking out the layout of the shop.” He wasn’t fooling her, but she didn’t call him on it, which was a good thing.

  He joined her at the desk, and at this close of a distance, he caught her scent. Something sweet—vanilla, maybe. He should know since his mother obsessively burned vanilla candles around the house.

  When Ms. Miner pulled up the footage of a young man standing in an aisle, Leo froze. He knew the kid. Well, he wasn’t a kid any longer. Leo watched the theft unfold as his cousin Angelo shoved a book down his pants, then hurried out of the store. The camera also caught Ms. Miner’s pursuit.

  Leo’s mind spun with questions. What was Angelo doing back in Pine Valley? Where was he staying? And what was up with the shoplifting? It had been a couple of years since Leo had heard anything about his cousin—the last he knew was Angelo was working construction in LA. The kid had had run-ins with the law before, but Leo had thought Angelo had turned around. Unless Leo’s family had kept things from him—because he was a cop.

  “What do you think?” Ms. Miner asked. “Is the footage good enough to ID the guy?”

  Leo exhaled, thinking of all the ramifications this brought to his family, especially now that he was the reporting officer. A guilty conviction for shoplifting could result in jail time.

  “Officer Russo?”

  It took him a moment to respond, and when he did, he looked over at Ms. Miner—there was confusion and curiosity in her eyes. “The ID is no problem. I know the man.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, wow. Is he a known criminal or something?”

  “Not in Pine Valley,” he said.

  Ms. Miner was watching him more closely than he liked—it was his job to be observant.

  “Let’s get your report filled out, and then I can file the charge with the police department.” Leo asked Ms. Miner for her personal information, then wrote down her full report of the incident. “One final question, and you should know that it’s standard. How is your eyesight?” He glanced at the glasses that were still on the desk.

  “Oh,” Ms. Miner said, picking up the glasses and slipping them back on. “These aren’t prescription. I wear glasses to make me look older and for the customers to take my recommendations seriously.”

  Leo scanned her face. She did look older with the glasses on, but it wasn’t like she was a teenager or anything. “Really?”

  She shrugged. “Kind of zany, I guess.”

  “And do you always match your eyeglasses to your outfit?”

  She smiled, and Leo found himself smiling back. “You do, don’t you?”

  “Is owning dozens of pairs of glasses going to count as another addiction?”

  “Probably more of a quirk, so you should be safe, ma’am.”

  “Good news,” she said. “And Felicity is better than ma’am.”

  “Okay, Felicity,” Leo said, his smile pushing through again. “I’ll be in touch with you about any updates on the case. I can also talk to Mr. Smithson if you want.”

  “That would be great,” Felicity said. “He won’t be too happy to hear about this. And I don’t know if this should be in your report or not, but the shoplifter, whoever he is, didn’t really seem the criminal type. I mean, he looked a little down on his luck, but I had a sense that he really likes books. Not sure why he’d want to steal one though. The library’s down the road.”

  “Shoplifting isn’t always about someone not having money,” Leo said. “It’s more of a challenge, or a dare to themselves. But it can quickly turn into addictive behavior.”

  “Right,” she said. “So my addictions pale in comparison?”

  “Correct.” He fought back a smile, all the while knowing that he should leave the shop and track down his cousin instead of chatting with Felicity.

  “Here we are,” a cheerful voice cut in as Mrs. Harris entered the store, carrying a drink container with three coffee cups.

  Leo had almost forgotten about her. “Thank you,” he said, taking the coffee, and Mrs. Harris grinned.

  “Did you solve the case without me?”

  Leo noticed that Felicity didn’t take one of the coffee cups. “We’re close,” he said. “We’ve got decent camera footage, and this is a small town.”

  “It is,” Mrs. Harris said. “Can I see the footage?”

  “I’m afraid it’s evidence, so I can’t show it to the public quite yet,” Leo said.

  “Oh, goodness,” Mrs. Harris said. “That’s right. This is all so exciting.” She turned to Felicity. “Are you feeling better? Your color is back.”

  Felicity nodded, and Leo took the opportunity to excuse himself. He wouldn’t have minded spending more time talking to Felicity. Maybe asking her about the various colors of her other glasses, or finding out if she had some other quirky habits. But with Mrs. Harris in the mix, that was impossible.

  Once outside, his head cleared, and he settled into the front seat of his patrol car to call in the report. Then, he called his mom.

  “It’s about time you called your mother, Leonardo,” she said as her greeting. “I worry about you day and night, and your father tells me he’s tired of hearing about it. But what am I supposed to do? My son is a cop, and every time I turn on the TV, I see—”

  “Ma,” Leo cut in. He knew as well as anyone that his Italian mother wouldn’t stop talking once she was on a roll. “I’m calling you now, okay? And I need some information to help in an investigation.”

  “Oh, is this like one of those undercover investigations?” she gushed. “Do I have to swear an oath on the Bible?”

  Leo shook his head even though his mother couldn’t see him. “Not exactly. This is off the record.” Well, maybe it was an official question. “Have you heard from Angelo lately?”

  For once in Leo’s entire life, his mother went completely silent. That’s when he knew something was wrong. “Mom?”

  He knew the call hadn’t disconnected because he could still hear the droning of the television in the background that his dad watched twenty-four-seven since his stroke.

  “Here’s the thing, Leonardo,” his mother said in a hushed voice. “Your cousin fell onto some hard times, and, well, you know how his mother is. So I told him he could stay here.”

  Leo blew out a breath. “How long has he been staying with you?”

  “Only a few weeks,” his mother said. “He’s got some job interviews lined up. One at the gas station.”

  “Mom—”

  “Now listen here,” she said. “I know that you’re a cop and everything, but Angelo has turned his life around, for the most part. He’s clean, you know, and he needs someone to give him a chance.”

  Leo tried to keep his tone even. “Where is he right now?”

  “He comes and goes,” his mother said. “I don’t make him tell me every little thing. He’s a grown man, you know, and—”

  “Look,” Leo said, cutting her off. “I need to speak with him as soon as possible. I’m coming over so that I’ll be there when he gets back.”

  When he hung up with his mother, he told himself that it was better she didn’t know that he was about to turn Angelo’s life upside down.

  When Felicity’s cell phone rang two hours later, she almost didn’t answer it. As tempting as it was to take calls from unknown numbers, she regretted each time she did.

  “Ms. Miner?” a deep voice said.

  “This is me,” she said.

  “This is Officer Russo, and I’m calling to let you know that we’ve apprehended the shoplifter.”

  “Oh.” Felicity hadn’t expected everything to happen so quickly. But, then again, the cop had said he knew who the man was. “Is he . . . in jail?”

  “He was taken into custody, and processed, but he’s out on bail now.”

  �
��So fast?” Felicity gripped the phone a little tighter.

  “The judge wasn’t busy, so he set bail, and the man’s aunt paid the bail.”

  “Oh.” Felicity didn’t know how she felt. On one hand, she didn’t think the guy was dangerous, but he clearly knew that she’d turned him in. Would he show up at the bookshop again?

  “He has a court date set for two weeks from now,” Officer Russo continued, “and the judge will sentence him then.”

  “Do you think he’ll go to jail?”

  “It’s hard to say without knowing what else exactly is on his record,” he said. “He’ll get community service and a fine, at the very least.”

  Felicity exhaled, thinking this over. “All right. Thanks for updating me.”

  “No problem.” He paused. “Is everything else all right?”

  “Of course,” Felicity said, noting the concern in his voice. She supposed it was part of his job—protect and serve, and all that. But when she hung up with the officer, she wished Mr. Smithson wasn’t out of town this week. She’d love to end her shift and go back to her house for a long soak in the tub—with all the doors locked.

  She returned to reading the Elana Johnson novel, but not even the plot progression of the hot police chief and the heroine could distract her. Felicity’s mind kept returning to the shoplifter, and how he’d come into her store several times, barely speaking a word. Had he been staking out the place? Had he been watching her other times? How long had he been planning on stealing a book? And why a book? It was a strange conundrum to feel sorry for the man, yet stressed that she might run into him again. After all, he was out on bail.

  She might see him at the grocery store, or run into him at the movie theater tonight when she went with her friend Livvy. Felicity knew she’d definitely recognize the man, whatever his name was.

  Her cell rang again, and Felicity flinched, then relaxed when she saw it was Livvy. “Hi, Liv.”

  “I heard about the theft. Are you all right?” Livvy got right to the point. She worked at the library, and so they loved to talk books together.

  Felicity filled her friend in on the details. “The police already found him, and he’s been charged.”

  “Wow, that was fast,” Livvy said. “Back in LA, things would never move this quickly.”

  Livvy was a small-town transplant, like Felicity.

  “Officer Russo recognized him,” Felicity said. “So I guess he’s someone known to the cops around here.”

  “Officer Russo handled the case?”

  “Yeah, do you know him?”

  Livvy laughed. “Every woman in Pine Valley knows who he is, well, except for you, apparently. I mean, look at him. He could model for one of those police calendars as one of those smokin-hot cops. He broke up with his girlfriend Janna over six months ago, and hasn’t gone on one date since. You can imagine how hot of a commodity he is.”

  So, he’s single. Big deal. Felicity agreed with Livvy that Officer Russo was a hot commodity, but she wouldn’t admit that to her friend.

  “He grew up in Pine Valley, I guess,” Livvy continued. “I’ve seen him at the city events, but everyone thought he and Janna would get married, and I’m not really into ogling guys who are taken. Plus, I’m not big into guys who are cops or firemen, you know.”

  Felicity smiled. “Yeah, you like doctors.” Livvy had been dating a doctor for the past couple of months.

  “So what? Slade’s cute.”

  Felicity laughed. “To each his own, or her own.”

  “So, tell me, what’s Officer Russo like?”

  “I only spent a few minutes with him, but he seems pretty observant,” Felicity said. About her habits, the color of her glasses . . .

  “One of the perks of living in a small town, I guess,” Livvy said. “The cops can identify the criminals at first glance.”

  Livvy and Felicity had moved to Pine Valley within a couple of months of each other, both of them moving into their grandparents’ old houses.

  Felicity loved having her own, little house. Her grandpa had kept it in great repair, and her parents hadn’t wanted to leave their community just outside of San Francisco. So they offered Felicity the place to rent. She didn’t mind that they were charging her rent. On her eighteenth birthday, her dad had handed her one thousand dollars cash and told her that was all the money he’d ever give her. If she wanted to live at home, she had to pay rent. She already had a job at a large-chain bookstore, and so when she graduated high school, she went full-time.

  She eventually moved into an apartment, but when she’d seen the Help Wanted notice at the Reading Nook when she and her parents had come to Pine Valley for her grandpa’s funeral, she’d decided that was a sign.

  Pine Valley had been her life for over a year now, and although it was way quieter than she was used to, she didn’t mind. Having Livvy as a friend was frankly more than she’d had in high school. Felicity had been a latchkey kid and could never invite friends over after school, so she never had a close friend. As the only kid with older parents among her peers, Felicity had lived a relatively simple life. She’d dated off and on, but she was so used to being on her own that she never made it past a couple dates with any guy.

  Felicity doubted she’d ever date any man long enough to fall in love. Sure, she was interested, and flirting was fun, kissing even better, but beyond that, Felicity lost interest.

  It wasn’t something she could really pinpoint, but she chalked it up to the thrill of the chase. Once she’d “caught” the guy, he became less interesting.

  “Well, I’m glad the shoplifter was found so fast,” Livvy said. “I also called because I have to cancel on you tonight. My roommate Malory has to go out of town for a couple of days, so we’ll be doing inventory late.” Both women worked at the library.

  “That’s okay,” Felicity said automatically, although she didn’t really want to be alone tonight.

  “Can I take a rain check?” Livvy continued. “Slade wants to do something Saturday night.”

  Felicity was happy that Livvy was dating a great guy. They seemed to complement each other, so she couldn’t begrudge her friend’s relationship. “Sure, sounds good.” She tried to keep her tone light, but that didn’t disperse the nervousness that was returning.

  After hanging up with Livvy, Felicity decided she was being silly. She’d never been worried about staying by herself before, and it wasn’t like going to a movie with Livvy meant Felicity would be any less alone at night. Being alone was kind of her mojo. She was used to it.

  Surely, if the shoplifter was a dangerous criminal, he wouldn’t have been released on bail, right?

  By the time she’d finished with the online orders for the upcoming month’s new releases and helped the few customers who’d come into the shop, it was time to close. Tomorrow was Saturday, and then she’d have a day off. Mr. Smithson’s other employee only came in on Sundays. A day off would be just what she needed.

  She usually rode her bike to work, unless she walked, and today had been no exception. She locked up the bookshop, then rode her bike to the grocery store, limiting herself to two shopping bags so that the bike wouldn’t be off balance when she rode home.

  An hour later, after grocery shopping, she rode up to the small brick house, with its towering pine trees. As Felicity put her bike away, she told herself that she lived in a neighborhood that was plenty safe. And she was sticking to her original decision that a judge wouldn’t have released a dangerous criminal on bail, even if he did have priors.

  Still, as she carried her groceries into the house, her imagination played tricks on her. Had the welcome mat been slightly crooked before? Did the bushes look like someone had stepped through them? Were the locks on the front and back doors really going to keep someone out if they were determined? By the time she’d put the groceries away, her stomach was in knots, and her hands were trembling. One part of her guessed she was dealing with a side effect of being robbed; the other part of her knew she had
to go through the emotions of whatever this was.

  Felicity methodically checked the locks of every door and every window, then called her parents’ home phone number. Her parents had been in their forties when they had her, and they’d never been the coddling type. This would be advantageous now, since Felicity needed some common-sense advice.

  Her dad answered on the first ring, and after he told her that her mom was at a ladies’ dinner with a friend, Felicity told him what had happened at the shop that morning.

  As expected, her dad’s advice was practical. “Find out the shoplifter’s name, and then you can look up any of his priors. There’s no use worrying if there’s nothing to worry about.”

  So . . . his words weren’t all that comforting.

  “Okay, that’s a good idea,” she said anyway.

  “Information is power,” her dad said.

  Felicity let a small sigh escape. “Very true.”

  Her dad didn’t offer anything more, and Felicity shouldn’t have expected it. Yet she felt disappointed. Her parents weren’t the emotional type. They weren’t affectionate. They hadn’t hugged or kissed her as a child. No story time, no trips to the park. Things she hadn’t realized were missing until she started attending elementary school. Sometimes she felt like they were just going through motions of being a family, when everyone would rather do their own thing, away from each other.

  After they’d hung up, Felicity stayed on her couch, thinking about what her dad had said. He was right. The more she knew about the shoplifter, the more power she’d have. So, she called the Pine Valley Police Department for the second time that day.

  When a female officer answered the phone, Felicity introduced herself and explained what she wanted.

  “Just a minute,” the officer said. “Let me transfer you to the reporting officer.”

  Which probably meant Officer Russo. When he answered, he sounded like he was in a rush, and Felicity regretted her call. She was being too paranoid, and the cop had already given her all the information he needed to.