Santa's Posse (21 page)

“You know what
isn’t good?” she said pointedly.  “It’s not good that people in this mall don’t
have better things to do than spread rumors and engage in idle gossip.  These
people don’t even know me!”

“You’re right,”
Jill said.  “They don’t know you, which is why you should probably refrain from
hiding behind clothes racks with our esteemed commander.”

“Yeah, you’re
probably right about that.  But in my defense, it wasn’t my idea.  And just so
you know, our evasive maneuver lasted all of thirty seconds and certainly
didn’t involve…  Well, you get the drift.”

Jill smiled
reassuringly.  “I know that.  Having worked with you over the past several
weeks, I know better than to believe you’d do anything to jeopardize your
position as mall manager.”

Kellie’s eyes widened
in horror.  “What if the mall owners believe it?”  She began pacing, a worried
frown on her face.  “Oh, my goodness.  Oh, no.  Oh, no.  This could mean
problems for both Miles and me.”

Jill patted her
arm.  “Try not to worry.   

She sighed.  Being
the object of so much conjecture and speculation was beginning to wear on her
nerves.  And it certainly didn’t bode well for Miles’ credibility with his
coworkers, or mall employees.  Unfortunately, people couldn’t seem to stop
themselves from gossiping about them. 

Perhaps she should
nip the situation in the bud.  Perhaps she should stop giving them reason to
gossip about the two of them.  Perhaps she should stop speaking to Miles all
together.  As much as she hated to do that, she had to think about him too.  He
had a career, which could potentially be adversely affected by all the gossip. 

Since she was
unsure whether or not she even wanted a relationship with him, it might behoove
her to put the kibosh on further contact.  Even if the two remained strictly
friends, people would still gossip.   But how could she manage to avoid him all
together?  And really, did she even want to?

“Mr. Barnes,”
Kellie said, “I assure you, we’ve stepped up security in the mall lots.  In
fact, I just got off the phone with Doug Dell, the director of mall security,
and he’s bringing in additional security officers through the end of the year.”

He shook his head. 
“As much as I appreciate that, I’m afraid it won’t be enough.  Several of our
customers’ cars were burglarized last night, and it’s going to continue
happening unless law enforcement steps up their patrol of the lots.”

“And they have,” she
assured him.  “The sheriff’s office is having a meeting at the precinct this
afternoon, to discuss the appropriate course of action.  I’ll be in
attendance.  You’re welcome to come too.  I assure you, between mall security
and the sheriff’s deputies on-site, we have things well under control.”

The man ran a hand
through his gray hair, and then sighed loudly.  “I’d like a word with Commander
Blake,” he said.

“He’s home ill,”
she told him. 

He gave her a
speculative look.  “Well, I guess you would know.”

Kellie gave him a
speculative look in return.  What exactly did he mean by the remark?  Perhaps
it was completely innocent, but something told her that he was privy to the
rumors circulating around the mall.  She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of
her stomach.

She attempted to
keep her tone professional when she spoke.  “I’m sure Commander Blake will be
happy to meet with you when he returns to work.  If you’d like, I can set up a
meeting between you and Doug Dell today.  Perhaps you can make arrangements
with him that will put your mind at ease.  Or, as I said, you are certainly
welcome to attending the meeting.”

“What time is the
meeting?”

“Four-thirty.”

He frowned.  “I
have to leave before then.”  He appeared deep in thought and nodded.  “I’d
appreciate the opportunity to talk with the director of mall security.”

“I’ll have my
assistant call you, once I’ve spoken to Doug.”

She left his
office and strode back to her own.  She decided it wasn’t her imagination that
several of the staff in the stores were eyeing her as she walked by, and when
she passed the clothing store, where she and Miles had hidden from Dolores, she
was sure that two female employees pointed at her and actually laughed out
loud. 

Not good.  Not
good at all.

Forcing the
thought from her mind, she checked her watch.  It was nearly noon.  She had told Miles she would bring him lunch.  She smoothed a hand through her
hair, in a nervous gesture.  Should she stop by his place during the lunch
hour?  If someone happened to see her, it would only fuel more speculation
about them.  What should she do? she wondered.   

She had nearly
reached her office when she spotted Daniel entering the mall, his red hair wet
with rain.  The little boy shrugged out of his jacket, draped it over his arm,
and began walking toward the center mall corridor.

“Hello, Daniel!”
she called out, and then remembered the time of the day.  “Hey, why aren’t you
in school?” she asked, mock suspiciously.

He actually
smiled.  “Early release,” he told her.  “Thought I’d hang out here.”  He
glanced down shyly and kicked at a floor tile with the toe of his sneaker. 
Finally, he met her gaze again.  “Um, I was wondering if you have any more jobs
for me?”

Kellie perked up,
realizing he was the solution to her quandary about whether or not to take
Miles lunch.  Daniel could deliver lunch to him for her.

“I do have a job
for you,” she told him, and then glanced outside.  “Darn it, though.  It’s
raining…”

“I don’t care,” he
interjected.  “Rain doesn’t bother me.  Really.”

“Okay then.  Would
you mind delivering lunch to Commander Blake?  He’s home sick with the flu, and
I promised him I’d bring him lunch.  But unfortunately, I really can’t get away
right now.”

She knew she’d
just told a little white lie, but then remembered she really did need to
connect with Doug Dell, in order to set up a meeting with Mr. Barnes.  That
might take some doing, so she hadn’t really fibbed.

“I’ll do it,” he
said eagerly. 

“Thank you so
much.”  She pulled a ten out of her wallet.  “Would you mind ordering a turkey
sandwich special at the deli?  Here’s a ten, and here’s a … five for your
trouble.  Keep any change, okay?”

He beamed. 
“Sure!  I’ll get going.”  He took off in a jog, but stopped and turned.  “If
you ever have any other jobs for me, will you call me?  I’m saving up to buy my
mom a Christmas present!”

“You bet I will,”
she assured him, her heart warming.  It was sweet of him to be thinking of
buying his mother a special gift.  “Oh, Daniel, by the way, don’t get too close
to Commander Blake.  He’s really sick and you don’t want to catch it.”

“I won’t!” 

With a final wave,
he dashed off, and she headed into her office.  She asked Jill to attempt to
reach the director of mall security, and to patch the call through to her
office phone when she did.

“Will do,” Jill
said and reached him within moments.

Kellie explained
Mr. Barnes’ concerns to him.  Doug promised to call him right away and to make
arrangements to meet with him.

After hanging up
the phone, Kellie stepped out of her office to speak with Jill.  “Hey, do you
have any lunch plans?  Would you like to join me?”

“I do,” she said
with an apologetic wince.  “I’m meeting George at his place.  He’s cooking me
lunch!” she said with an enthusiastic grin.  “Hey, you can come too!”

“Oh, no I can’t!” she
said adamantly.  “I’m not tagging along on a date.  George wouldn’t appreciate
that one bit.”

“Kellie, he
wouldn’t mind in the least, and neither would I.”

“Well, I would. 
You go off and enjoy your date.  I want to hear all about it when you get back.”

Jill grinned. 
“Let’s do lunch tomorrow.”

“Absolutely.  It’s
a date.”

When she left,
Kellie felt oddly bereft.  She realized she probably had wanted her friend by
her side as she entered the food court, as a buffer between her and anyone who
might be inclined to give her curious glances or to talk about her.  Since she
was starving, she decided she would just have to buck up and face the music.

At the food court,
she decided on a Cobb salad and diet soda, and after ordering, chose a small
table overlooking the southern lot.  Although it was a weekday, the lot was
packed with holiday shoppers.  As she ate her salad, she continued to watch the
activity in the parking lot.  Suddenly, her eyes widened.  She spotted a
familiar sight—or rather, a familiar person.

Through narrowed
eyes, she could just make out the outline of a figure, wearing the same oddly
shaped cap she’d seen on the man last night at the condo.  She couldn’t make
out his face, but noted he was walking toward the mall entrance.  Suddenly, he
was joined by another man, who was also familiar to her.  She couldn’t place
him, since he was also too far away for her to identify his face. 

She watched them,
and for a brief moment, they were enveloped in a crowd of mall goers, but soon disengaged
themselves from the others.  They stopped near a car she recognized as a high
end SUV, and heads bent together, appeared to study it for a moment or two
before striding away.

Soon, the men nearly
reached the mall entrance.  She was finally able to make out their faces.  She
gasped.  The younger of the men, wearing the cap, was the older teen she’d met
her second day on the job—the kid who had punched another boy in the face.  Although
the others had been banned from the mall for a month, he had been banned indefinitely. 
Clearly, he hadn’t taken the expulsion seriously. 

And the other
man…  It was Tony Marks, the man from her condo who Miles had warned her about.

As she watched
them disappear from her sight as they had entered the mall, her mind began
working overtime.  She knew that law enforcement believed the car prowlers working
the mall lots were involved in some sort of synchronized effort, and that there
had to be several of them to hit so many cars at once.  And then it hit
her
. 
What if Tony Marks was the ring leader of a gang of wayward teens?  The more
she thought about it, the more she realized, it made sense.

He lived in close
proximity to the mall.  Miles had intimated Tony was a bad guy and someone she
should avoid at all costs.  He hadn’t divulged much about him, but she had
taken his warning to heart.  What if he was responsible for all the thefts?

***

“We have both men
under surveillance,” the deputy told Kellie.

After spotting the
two suspicious men, she had hurried to the precinct to inform law enforcement of
her theory relating to all the auto prowls and theft occurring in the mall
parking lots. 

She was presently
sitting in the office of a Sergeant Manchester, who told her that Tony Marks
had been a suspect in several neighborhood burglaries, and that he was also a
known drug dealer.

Suddenly,
something else clicked in her mind.  “Oh, there’s something else.  I saw two
men at my condominium complex last night,” she remembered.  “…I’m fairly
certain it was them.”  She searched her memory, remembering the distinctive
shape of the younger man’s cap.  Yes, she knew she was right.  She had seen
them at the condos.

Manchester arched
his brows and asked for her exact address.  He placed a quick call to dispatch,
spoke for a moment or two, and then turned to her.  “We received three
complaints of auto prowls and theft last night at that location,” he said, raking
a hand through his hair.  “Hey, isn’t that where Blake lives?”

She nodded.  “The
commander lives directly across the street from me.”

He cocked his
head, meeting her gaze.  “I’m surprised Miles didn’t catch these thieves in the
act,” he said.  “Blake seems to have a sixth sense when it comes to crime
happening—and particularly right outside his window.”

“Well, he’s really
sick with a bad flu,” she said.

“And he’s been
awfully preoccupied lately,” he observed, fighting the smile that tugged at his
lips.  “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Kellie knew what
he was implying and shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny.                

When she didn’t
respond, he gave a neither-here-nor-there shrug.  “I think I’ll give the
commander a call—apprise him of what’s happening here.”  He flashed a quick
smile.  “By the way, good call, Miss Sanders,” he said, “putting two and two
together like you did.”

She nodded. 
“Thanks.  I hope it pans out and you’re able to arrest these guys.”

As if on cue, a
deputy charged into the room.  “Sarge, we’ve got ‘em!  Out in the east lot.”

“Let’s go,”
Manchester said, jumping from his chair.  “We’ll be in touch,” he directed to
Kellie, as he ran after the deputy.

She left his
office and was just outside the precinct when suddenly, she felt a hand on her
arm.  She turned and found herself face to face with a female deputy she didn’t
recognize.

The woman extended
her hand.  “Hi, I’m Carla.”

“Hi,” Kellie said,
smiling uncertainly.

“We haven’t met
before, but I wanted to say ‘hello.’”

“Oh, okay.  Hello.”

The woman grinned
broadly, like the cat that had swallowed the canary.  “I can see why Miles
likes you so much.  You’re really pretty—his type, if truth be told.”

Kellie gave a
puzzled frown.  What exactly was the appropriate response to that particular
observation?  And from a perfect stranger. 

“Hey, do you have
a minute?” the woman asked. 

She checked her
watch.  “I really need to get back to work, but you can walk with me back to my
office.”

Carla readily
agreed and fell into step beside her.  Kellie gave her a hesitant glance,
unsure what this woman wanted to discuss with her.