Second Time's the Charm

But if he was the sheriff, and he knew about Jon’s past, he’d suspect himself.

He had to find out more about what was going on. If they were going to be pulling people’s records, it might be time to grab his packed duffel and head out.

They’d have to leave Lillie.

He had a life here.

But he’d have no life if he was arrested.

And there was Clara...always the threat of Clara...in the background.

“Addy has an in with the sheriff,” Jon said to Mark as they shared a late lunch perched on the rocks outside the plant. “Have you guys heard anything about this guy doing all the break-ins? Do they have anything to go on yet?”

“Just that he wears a size-ten shoe. And they figure from the indention of the footprint in the dirt that he weighs about 180. They also think he’s a student at Montford,” he said.

Jon’s sandwich stuck in his throat.

“Why do they think that?”

“They found a token from the cafeteria on the ground outside one of the homes that they suspect fell out of his pocket.”

The tokens were given as change when students used dining passes. Jon had a bowl full of them on his dresser at home. He didn’t eat at campus much because of Abe, but a dining hall pass came with his scholarship and he used it for the occasional lunch when he was on campus. And he sometimes used it to pick up fruit and packaged items, like microwavable macaroni and cheese, that he could bring home.

He wore a size ten and weighed 175.

As, he was sure, did many other average guys on campus.

But how many of them had confessed to breaking and entering? Or done time for being caught red-handed with the things he helped steal?

Hell, he’d had stolen beer in his belly, and on his lips, at the time of his arrest.

Stuffing the remainder of his lunch in the trash, Jon swallowed, and said, “Well, I hope they catch the guy soon.”

Mark nodded, chewing on the same type of bread and peanut butter he carried to work almost every day. “They will. You can count on that. Sheriff Richards is smart and determined. He’ll get the guy.”

“So what’s up with you and Lillie? I heard you two were driving through town together yesterday.”

Mark’s knowing glance gave Jon more pause. This thing with Lillie... They’d agreed to be careful.

“It was strictly business,” he said. “That stuff with Abe I told you about. We took him to a museum for kids in Phoenix yesterday.”

Mark asked about the museum, how Abe had liked it, what he’d done. He’d allowed Jon to distract him from his real question.

Turning, Jon headed back toward the plant. Mark caught up with him as he slid his badge in the slot and reached for the door.

“Funny,” Mark said, just behind him. “I heard that she said you two were ‘friends.’” Mark’s emphasis on the word was too obvious to miss.

Lillie was talking about him. Them.

Jon’s gut leaped. And his tension dissipated. Everything would be okay if he had Lillie by his side. Abe would be fine. And Jon...that dream of having a woman to look after, to protect. To look after him. Fight for him...

Rein it in, dude.

Mark was paged. And, with a teasing nudge to Jon’s shoulder and some pithy words that Jon didn’t catch, he was off.

Jon got back to work, too.

Lillie might like him fine now. Chances were good she didn’t have any idea about his past. His guilt. And if she got too close, she’d be bound to find out.