“It’s the middle of the night—fuck them.”
But Calvin answered the call. “Hello?”
I was already falling asleep again.
“Calvin Winter speaking. I’m the secondary contact on the account.”
I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder at Calvin’s blurry figure.
“And the police have been notified?”
I sat up.
“We’ll meet them there. Thank you.” Calvin lowered the phone and pressed a button. “Advice Line.”
“My security company?”
“The alarm on the Emporium’s back door is going off.”
I WASN’Twearing my contacts. I didn’t have time to put them in before we’d left. The weird glow of streetlamps cast elongated streaks of light on the windshield as we drove by, like an artist experimenting in monochromatic watercolors.
“I forgot to lock the alley,” I muttered, raking a hand through my unkempt hair. “Fuck….”
“It’ll be all right,” Calvin insisted.
It was hard not to believe him when he used that confident voice. Like he’d gotten a glimpse of the future and was confirming what he knew to be true.
I hoped he was right.
Calvin turned onto the Emporium’s street and parked on the corner. He climbed out from behind the wheel, moved to the sidewalk to meet me, and held his hand out for mine. I took it and followed close behind, trying to mimic Calvin’s long strides and sure footing. Only a few storefronts up from my shop, I saw two dark shapes exit the alley. I instinctively clutched Calvin’s hand a bit tighter, but then I made out the hats and coats.
Cops.
Calvin eased his hand free from mine, reached into his pocket, and removed his badge. He made a brief flash of it, and both cops stopped where they were.
“Er—evening,” I called. “I’m the owner. Sebastian Snow. My security company told me the back-door alarm was triggered.”
One officer tilted his hat back and put his hands on his belt. “That’s correct.”
Calvin offered his ID to the officer’s partner, who looked at it briefly and then shook his hand. “Was anything stolen?” Calvin asked, tucking the badge into his pocket once more.
“Nothing appeared amiss,” the second cop replied. “We just finished securing the building.”
“Can I take a look inside before you head out?” I asked. “In case I need to file a report?”
Both officers nodded and led the way back through the alley.
“How was the property entered?” Calvin asked from behind the three of us.
“The alley door was open when we arrived,” the first officer said over his shoulder. “The lock on the back door looks like it was probably picked, but it still works. We turned it on our way out.”
“May have been nothing more than a crime of opportunity,” the second said as we stopped at the door. “And luckily your alarm system scared them off.”
My gut twisted uncomfortably, even as I agreed with the cops and used my keys to open the back door once more. Itdidmake perfect sense—I’d been distracted that night and completely spaced on securing the alley. It was my job, so Beth had no reason to check it herself before leaving the bookstore.
When I stepped into the Emporium and turned on the nearest bank lamp, my impression was the cops had been correct when saying that nothing appeared to have been so much as nudged out of place.
So why did I still feel like I was about to throw up?
