Maya ducked her head. “I’m not s’posed to talk to strangers.”
“Exactly right,” Vikki Hill said. “Donottalk to strangers. Ever.”
They were rolling at a fast clip through the frozen food aisle, then past the wine and beer, then the pharmacy, dodging senior citizens who were perusing lists on their phones or just chatting in the middle of the aisles.
“Jesus! Aisle cloggers are the worst,” Hill said under her breath.
“It’s the coupon clippers who drive me nuts,” Letty said.
“And don’t get me started on people writing checks. Who does that? You see him anywhere?” Vikki asked.
“I think he’s gone,” Letty said. “I’m so pissed at myself for hiding out in the bathroom like some chickenshit. I should have at least tried to follow him out to the parking lot to see what he was driving.”
“With a little kid in your cart? No. You did the right thing.” Hill pointed at Joe, who was standing in front of the customer service counter, chatting with a man in a short-sleeved dress shirt and tie and Publix name badge.
“We think he’s gone,” Vikki Hill said, as they approached.
“I didn’t see him either,” Joe said. “Agent Hill, Letty, this is Craig Hoffman. He’s the manager here. I’ve asked if we could take a look at the store’s security cameras. Maybe we can get a better look at this guy’s face that way.”
“And I was just explaining that I’d have to get my district supervisor’s approval for that kind of thing,” Hoffman said. “Sorry. Company policy.”
Vikki Hill frowned. “Mr. Hoffman? How long would that take? The man we’re looking for is a felon and a fugitive. He’s a suspect in an unsolved homicide in New York. We won’t disrupt business or hassle your customers. All we want to do is look at the video for the past hour.”
Hoffman shrugged. “And as I said, it’s company policy. We like to assist law enforcement in any way we can, but…”
The FBI agent waved aside his apology. “Never mind.” She turned to Joe. “Let’s roll. We’re getting nowhere here.”
“I’ll meet you back at the motel,” Letty said, brandishing Ava’s grocery list. “I’ve got to finish shopping.…”
Agent Hill plucked the list from her hand. “Now,” she said quietly. “I heard from our friend this morning. We leave now.”
37
AVA AND ISABELLE MET HERin the parking lot at the motel. “Are you okay?” Ava asked. “Joe called to tell me what happened.”
“I’m a little shook,” Letty admitted, lifting Maya out of her car seat. “Sorry I didn’t get your groceries.”
“Hi, Isabelle!” Maya reached out her arms to her babysitter.
“Hi, Maya Papaya,” Isabelle said, giving the child a quick hug before setting her on the ground.
“Was it really Rooney?” Isabelle whispered, leaning into Letty.
“I don’t know. Remember, I’ve never seen him in real life. But when I looked up and saw him staring at us, and then when he tried to talk to Maya, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I couldn’t get away from him fast enough.”
“If it was him, he’d better not show his face around here again,” Ava said, her expression fierce. “I would just as soon shoot him as…”
Letty cut her eyes toward her niece.
“Anyway,” Ava said. “You’re okay, and that’s all that matters.”
“Isabelle, let’s go to the beach,” Maya said, taking her babysitter’s hand as they walked slowly toward the office.
Letty shook her head slightly and Isabelle caught her meaning.
“Not right now. My mama is going to fix us some lunch! And after that, we can play dress-up.”
“I wanna go to the beach,” Maya said, her lower lip pooching out.
