She slipped into the kitchen, and a minute later, the thin blond kid approached. He was coltish, still growing into his limbs, and it looked like he could wrap the big white apron around himself twice.
He came right up to Todd and stuck out his hand, pumping Todd’s three times. “Is the girl okay? I’ve been worried.”
“We’re not sure. Someone hurt her, and she hasn’t regained consciousness.”
“That’s not good.” The kid put his hands in the back pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels. “I was about to come in and tell Doris we should call 911 when I saw you. I knew you were a cop from all the times you ordered food here.” He turned his attention to Caleb. “I don’t know you.”
“I’m Todd’s partner.”
“How do I know that?” Something shuttered in his expression as if he didn’t trust the words.
Interesting as he’d been open when he approached Todd. “You want to see his badge?”
“No, I wanna be sure you’re gonna keep me safe because someone is doing bad things here, and I don’t want to get caught in it.”
“You came to work tonight.”
“Sure. I need the money, and Doris counts on me.” He stood taller. “You gotta show up when people depend on you.”
“So why do you think it might not be safe?”
“Other than the girl in the alley?” Travis spoke like it was a dumb question.
Todd couldn’t fault him for that. “Covering our bases. Don’t want to assume we know what you mean.”
“It’s easy to think everything’s good cause it’s Lincoln, but we’re not that far off the Interstate, and we’re close to the airport. Sometimes it feels a bit off the grid. And not in a good way. Like people think they can do things around here that they wouldn’t do other places.”
“What were you doing when you found the girl?”
“Taking out the trash. It’s the fun part of my job.”
“I heard that.” Doris yelled the words from the kitchen.
Travis rolled his eyes. “She has ears like a hawk.”
“I heard that, too.”
Todd chuckled. “How did you see her?”
“It was one of those things. I saw a shadow. Something that was there that shouldn’t be.” He shrugged. “I guess I’m always alert when I go into the alley. It seems like a place for something bad to happen, you know?”
Having stood in that dark space last night, Todd got it. “Yeah.”
“I poked at the pile, but it was more solid than I expected. That’s when I realized it was a small person. That scared me. I couldn’t get her to respond, so I started looking for help. Of course, there wasn’t any.” He shook his head, hands still firmly in his pockets. “I’d let the door lock behind me, so I had to comearound to the front. Doris wasn’t going to be happy because I would be in the front before I washed my hands, but I didn’t have an option.” He shivered. “Then I saw you.”
“I’m glad you did.” Something still bothered Todd, though. “Doris told me you were scared when you went back in. Why?”
“Someone else was in the alley. I’m sure of it.”
That got Todd’s attention. “I didn’t notice anyone.”
“I think I interrupted them, before they could do whatever they intended to do.” He shuddered. “What if they think I saw something I didn’t and come after me?”
That might explain why someone had come after Eliza in the hospital. It didn’t explain why she’d been in the alley, but if Travis had interrupted whatever was happening, then that person had unfinished business. Todd turned to Caleb. “We need to let the off-duty officer know.”
“On it.” Caleb stepped outside to make the call.
Todd turned his attention back to Travis. “Do you want me to have an officer take you home?”
