Halos (16 page)

Cooper Roehr took out his cigar and stuffed it unlit between his teeth. “I’ve had a bad feeling ever since she got here.”

Twenty-Two

T
HE NEXT MORNING, STEVE PULLED into the parking space behind the store, pensive and tense from a night of subconscious activity not conducive to rest. Alessi hadn’t come to the house for breakfast. If she was out somewhere, fine—but he hoped she wasn’t stirring the pot she’d set to boiling last night—if she was sleeping, he could be quiet. He climbed out of the truck and stopped. The item hanging from the back doorknob did not belong there.

He glanced both ways—the alley was empty. The others usually moseyed into their businesses around ten, and it was only half past eight. He’d expected to slip in and work without notice, but he did not know what to make of this particular surprise.

He took it from the knob and unlocked the door. Alessi was neither gone nor asleep but up and dressed and brushing her teeth. She froze. “Where did…?” She turned and spit, swiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and said, “Where did you get that?”

He held it up. “Is it yours?”

She snatched it out of his hand and put it behind her back. “I asked first.”

“Hanging on the door.”

Her gaze jerked to the back door, and she stalked over and pulled it open.

Curiosity and amusement warred inside as he tried very hard not to imagine the article in use. “There’s no one out there.”

She spun, brandishing her toothbrush but still concealing the other item. “It was in my car.”

He sobered. “Are you sure?”

Glaring, she stuffed the mint green bra into her waistband and thrust past him to wash out her toothbrush at the sink. “Sheriff Roehr can’t ignore this.”

Steve winced. “He won’t be up yet.”

“Well, he deserves a wake-up in more ways than one.”

When had she gotten so feisty? “Alessi, you’re not really going to go dangle that under his nose.”

She flushed. “Well, it wouldn’t be my first choice, but it’s tangible proof—”

“It’s a bra.”

Her flush deepened.

“Even if it had your name all over it, you can’t prove it was in your car. Cooper won’t take your word for it.”

“Then you tell him. You found it.”

Steve considered that. “But I don’t know how it got there.”

“How do you think?” She paced across the room. “He put it there.”

“Or you did.”

She spun. “What?”

He shrugged. “I’m pointing out the possibilities.”

“You think I hung my …”

The way she was guarding it from sight, he couldn’t say he did. “No, but Cooper might. He’ll think you’re beefing up your story.”

Her jaw dropped. “What does it take around here to get proven innocent?”

Steve sighed. “He doesn’t have much to go on, Alessi. You’re the only one who’s seen the car since it disappeared, and it’s just your word that bra is even yours.”

She stood speechless, then rendered him the same with, “What do I have to do, try it on?”

He shot his gaze to the ceiling and did violence to his thoughts. “I’m not telling you what to do. I’m just suggesting you save yourself the embarrassment.”

She flounced down on the cot. “No one wants to believe me.” She spread her hands. “I don’t understand it.”

And he couldn’t enlighten her. He held his fist to his mouth, then said, “The good thing is you have something back.”

She pulled the silky bra from her waistband and tucked it under the pillow.

He rested his hands on his hips. “I guess I’ll go to work. Were you heading for the house?”

“I’m not hungry.” She stood up and put on the jacket he’d lent her.

“Where are you going?”

“To find my car.”

He knew better than to argue. He dug his keys from his pocket and held them out.

She looked from them to his face, then took the keys. “Thank you.” She stopped at the door. “I’ll be back by opening.”

He nodded. “Be careful.”

With the computer booting up, Steve stared at the screen and wondered. Was it just a joke? Someone milking a prank with little fear of consequence? Hanging her bra out there smacked of locker-room humor. Maybe they’d have their fun and then give it all back. He jolted. He was sounding like Alessi.

In Steve’s truck, she did cover ground. The hilly forest around the village spread out in places, and several homes dotted those acres. She stopped at each one. Many people weren’t home, but the ones she talked to were almost hostile.

“You’ve got the wrong idea, young woman.”

“Don’t project your problems on us.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve walking up to my door to accuse me of stealing.”

Alessi blew on her cold fingers. “I’m not accusing anyone. Just trying to find my car.”

But the door slammed in her face anyway. She had put them out of joint with her speech last night. She did not have Pastor Welsh’s way with words. But then, he told them what they wanted to hear. They were special, they were good, God’s redeemed. She must seem like the devil tempting Jesus in the desert, trying to shake him from what he believed.

Mom had told that story so well.
“There He is, so hungry the lizards are looking like steak dinner, and up comes the devil in a chef’s hat, one rock in each hand, and says, ‘What’ll it be? Hot crusty rolls or cinnamon raisin bread?”’

Alessi smiled. She’d always thought at that moment she would have crumbled.
Make sure it’s buttered
. But Jesus stood firm. He told that devil where to go, as these folks were telling her now. She could see why they’d be upset. She didn’t like to be accused or even doubted. They’d feel the same way. It was understandable.

Though she did see one vehicle covered in a tarp, the shape of it could not be her little Mustang. Steve’s truck roared back to life, and she drove through woods as dense as hopefuls in a ticket line. There were some tracks through it, but she didn’t want to risk Steve’s truck leaving the road. Not until she’d exhausted her other possibilities.

She had hoped that making her announcement might scare the culprit into returning her car. Instead, he’d hung her bra on the door. Then it hit her. He’d been right outside the place she slept. And she hadn’t heard a thing. She sighed. What more could she do?

As she pondered that thought, it came to her that maybe searching for the car should not be her primary focus. Maybe there was another task, something hidden, like in the story
Niccola’s Grapes
. His kindness to the old woman had cost the family what money they would have earned for their grapes, but the old woman was really a fairy. He hadn’t known there was magic ahead, but he had seen someone in need and shown kindness.

Maybe someone in Charity needed kindness. Maybe she had to look for that instead. It sure hadn’t helped to stomp her foot and demand her car back. Alessi brought the truck around and headed for the store. She wasn’t sure how to accomplish her quest, but things mostly happened when a person wasn’t looking. If she simply did her job, her part in the miracle might become clear.

A deep peace settled inside. She’d been selfish to focus so completely on her car. If God wanted to hide it for a while, He could do it right under her nose, and no amount of browbeating her neighbors would make it appear. She’d just forget it. A pang squeezed her stomach. Okay, so she couldn’t actually forget, but she wouldn’t focus on finding it.

She pulled the truck into the lot. Steve had the door open by the time she reached it. He’d been right there packing boxes. She wouldn’t think rare books were in such demand, but it was right before Christmas.

“Any luck?”

She smiled. “Well, I didn’t find my car, but I guess that’s all right.”

“It is?”

She shrugged. “I must not be supposed to have it right now.”

He stared at her. “Right. Well, I have three more cratefuls to process, and you can clean the books up and shelve them.”

Alessi pulled off her jacket. Wouldn’t it be funny if Steve was the good fairy? She almost giggled at the thought. That would be one great disguise.

She worked with him well into the morning, feeling a fresh anticipation after her morning’s revelation. She shouldn’t have doubted just because things looked grim. That was how magic was. You couldn’t expect it—only be ready when it happened.

Alessi’s cheerfulness flummoxed him. She had gone out the door embarrassed and frustrated, determined to find her car, then come back resigned. More than resigned; serene. What could possibly have wrought the change? Or was it just the way her mind worked?

Maybe she couldn’t hold on to anything that troubled her. It could be some defense mechanism, or true delusion. Maybe she wouldn’t look at things she didn’t want to see. She glossed it with a platitude and went about as though everything had just come right.

But while she was out finding sunshine, he’d grown concerned. Yes, it had seemed funny, finding her bra on the door. And her reactions had amused him as well. But the more he thought about the situation, the less he liked it. It was one more indication that someone in Charity had her car.

The bra had felt like a prank, but it was also a message. In spite of her speech, this person would not be intimidated. Instead, he would humiliate her. He was in control. He’d said in essence, “I have it, and I’ll do what I like with it, and no one in Charity will believe you no matter how many speeches you make.”

What was he thinking? His scenario assumed the person who took the car was at the church to hear her. He couldn’t believe that. It was like imagining Dave or Ben had taken it. He’d grown up with these people. He knew them. Or did he?

Hadn’t he told Alessi what a poor judge of character he was? He wouldn’t have believed Barb could treat him as she had. He really knew nothing at all about people, what they were capable of. That’s why he steered clear of any relationship deeper than the friendships he knew and trusted.

Mary came in with Lyn and Cait, and Alessi greeted them at the door and brought the girls over to his candy bowl. He watched with his peripheral vision as Cait took butterscotch and Lyn went back and forth between cinnamon or blue mint, then settled on butterscotch like her sister.

Mary said, “Hi, Steve.”

He said, “How are you, Mary?” without stopping his fingers on the keys.

“Just fine.” She turned to Alessi. “Could you help me choose something here for Ben?” She glanced over her shoulder as though he might find her out. “I want to get him something meaningful.”

Alessi smiled. “I’m sure we can find him something.”

Mary took Cait and Lyn by the hands. “Here I work at Wal-Mart with tons and tons of stuff, but Ben just isn’t that sort of guy.”

Alessi nodded. “Not the kind to give a set of screwdrivers to.”

Steve wondered what she based that on. She’d only known Ben a week.

“I want something special,” Mary said. “I’ve been saving.”

He couldn’t help turning to see what Alessi would recommend as they made their way forward from his desk.

She said, “Steve has some nice books that aren’t too steep. Just don’t look in the glass cases.” But then she paused. “Except there is one….” She went to a case he did not keep locked but that did protect some valuable books and took one out. “This is a pictorial history of Hollywood with some great old photos.”

He could hardly have chosen better, and he’d known Ben all his life. But the book, with its dustcover in perfect condition, was over a hundred dollars. Mary could not afford it.

She took the book and turned the leaves with reverence. “Wouldn’t he just love it?”

He would. Ben hardly ever came into the store, but if he’d seen that book, he’d want it.

“What were you looking to spend?” Alessi asked.

Steve got up from his desk. “You can have it for thirty dollars.”

Alessi turned to him, eyes shining. She knew what was penciled inside the cover.

Mary smiled, then dropped her eyes. “Thirty’s about what I hoped to spend.”

She had Cait and Lyn to make a special Christmas for. Ben would hate for her to take away from that on his account. “Ring it up, Alessi.”

She did, then tucked another butterscotch in each girl’s hand. They smiled and waved as Mary took them out.

Alessi turned. “That was nice.”

“Mmm.” He sat back at the computer. “Do you know every book I have?”