Panic Pond

by Cole Baxter

  Bob shrugged. "Wasn't like we had any customers. Gets so boring in here, dude, and Ellie disappeared—you know, probably on the phone with some douchebag or somethin', not that she'd admit it. Hell, maybe she's one who likes girls. It would explain why she's not into this." Bob laughed, gripping his dick.

  Vince laughed too. "Probably. Hell, she and that Selma, they're a couple of weirdos. They probably are doing each other. Maybe they stole all that stuff, I mean, it’s not like either of them makes shit here."

  Amber frowned. Was Vince correct? Had it been Ellie and Selma? Had they taken advantage of the fact that he'd been gone and Bob was distracted with the concert on the radio? She'd been so sure that he was behind it, and she'd even seen him skimming money off the top just a little while ago, but maybe that was the extent of his theft? Maybe the bigger crime was done by the others?

  Frustrated, she didn't know what to do. This undercover job was getting more complicated than she'd thought it would be. She'd figured she'd have it solved by now, but all she had were more questions than answers.

  After getting off her shift at the gas station, she headed home, changed clothes, and ate some breakfast, then headed into the police department. Yawning, she was almost to her desk when she ran into a hard chest. "Oh, sorry. Didn't see you, Mahoney."

  "Smith, you look like you haven't slept in a week."

  "Feels that way too." She covered another yawn. "So, what have you got?"

  "Just finished the last of the background checks. All of them came back clean. Not even a suspicion of anything hinky, not even a speeding ticket. Oh, except for Ellie Greene. Not that it’s suspicious or hinky, just involved. I looked into the lawyer thing. Seems she's got a juvenile record, but it's undeserved."

  "Huh? What do you mean?"

  "So, the record was sealed, and it's pretty clear why after you read it. Chief Lee got it unsealed for me. At age sixteen, Ellie was picked up for shoplifting at All That Glitters, you know, that posh designer boutique down the street? They took her to court over it because retail on what was stolen was ten grand. However, it turns out that a girl she was with had planted the stuff on her and finally confessed, but it was too late to save Ellie's reputation. It had been a pretty long and drawn out case, and it was actually enhanced video surveillance from a shop across the street that caught the other girl. When she was confronted with it, she confessed. Anyway, during the trial, her family was ostracized and basically run off the island."

  "That was in the record?" Amber couldn't believe the details went that deep.

  "No," Mahoney chuckled. "You really must be tired. I did some digging and investigating after I read the record. Anyway, even after they won in court and the other girl was held accountable, Ellie's dad couldn't keep a client, according to the wife. He ended up moving his business over to Seattle and they sold their house here."

  Amber was fascinated by what he'd discovered. "So, did you get anything else?"

  "I did. I went to see some of the people she hung around with as a teenager. I tracked them down through former addresses Ellie had given her mom. I got two versions of what happened after the trial."

  "Two versions? Just tell me what really happened." Amber frowned.

  "That's the thing. You need to know both for it all to make sense. So, I'll start with the former friends. They said that Ellie's parents blamed Ellie and cut her off. Kicked her out of the house, leaving her to fend for herself after the trial. She was still only seventeen by the time it ended. She moved around a lot here on the island and in Seattle, staying with these various friends over the next two and a half years. They told me that Ellie was devastated while it was all going down and started drinking and smoking pot to cope. She got in with some troublesome kids for a while, and the friends who had believed in her eventually stopped hanging out with her. It was Selma who got her to see her parents to try and work things out."

  "Okay, and did they?"

  "So, this is where I have to go backward and explain the second version. From the parents, I got that it wasn't so much her getting caught shoplifting and the trial that made them kick her out but the drinking and pot that they couldn't handle. She became belligerent and started staying out till all hours of the night, and they just couldn't handle her. They told her if she moved with them to Seattle, she would have to stop and go to rehab. She refused. They felt they didn't have a choice. So, two years later, Selma got Ellie to talk to them, and they reconciled. Her parents got her into a rehab program. Whitaker’s, a pretty swanky place in northern Washington. She was there about a year getting sober."

  "So, I guess her dad's business improved after the move then?"

  Mahoney nodded. "It did. He's an accountant to some pretty high-profile businesses in Seattle. So, to sum it all up, after rehab, Ellie came back to the island, which was about two years ago now, and moved in with Selma. According to Ellie's mother, Ellie is grateful for Selma and wants to pay her back for her help."

  "Wow." Amber, despite hearing what Ellie went through, couldn't even imagine what that was like for the girl to go through. "Poor Ellie."

  Mahoney nodded. "So, how about you? Have you discovered anything?"

  "Quite a bit." Amber filled him in on Vince's nightly activities and what she'd discovered about the night of the robbery. "So, can you go over to Fired Up and see if you can get ahold of this Tara? See if she's the girl Vince is seeing or was seeing?"

  "Will do. What about the Ellie and Selma angle? Think they might be behind it?"

  "Hell if I know. After that story, I can't believe it's them, but maybe they're just that desperate?" Amber shook her head. "Right now, I need about ten hours of sleep and then maybe I'll be able to think clearly about it."

  Mahoney chuckled. "You want me to update the chief so you can go home and sleep?"

  Amber thought about it for a moment but then decided she'd better do it. She was the lead, and it was her idea to do this undercover thing. She needed to be the one to keep the chief updated or she might not get to be lead again. "Thanks, but I think I'd better do it. Good work digging all that up, though."

  "All right, but you really should get some sleep, Smith, and thanks."

  "You're welcome, and I will. I'm technically off tonight." She smiled and headed for the chief's door.

  "Good thing. I'll head over to Fired Up and see what I can find out about this girl Tara, then."

  "Good luck." Amber nodded and then knocked on the chief's door and waited for her to tell her to come in. "Ma'am?"

  "Smith, come in." Chief Lee glanced up at her and frowned. "Are you quite all right, Detective Smith?"

  "Just a bit tired, ma'am. I came here after working till five a.m. at the gas station."

  "I see. Have you learned anything?"

  "A few things." She filled her in on everything, including Vince's skimming off the top and his theory about Ellie and Selma and all the information Mahoney had gotten on Ellie's past. "He was really thorough about it," she added, wanting the chief to know she was impressed by his work.

  "So, what are you thinking?"

  "Honestly, ma'am?" Amber frowned. "I'm not sure what to think. My gut says it's Vince, and we'll know more after Mahoney tracks down Tara, but right now, I can't even think straight."

  Chief Lee frowned. "All right. I think you need to go home and rest. I'll have someone drive you home. I don't want you on the road like this. And we'll talk again tomorrow morning after you've rested. You aren't working again tonight, are you?"

  "No ma'am."

  "Good. You're a good detective, Smith, but you're going to burn out if you don't get some rest."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "And your parents would be after me if anything happened to you, so please, go home."

  Amber laughed. "Oh, they would totally blame me, ma'am."

  "Maybe, but I won't have it on my conscience. Now, off with you." She stood and opened the door, peering out into the precinct. "Detective Low, drive Smith home."

  "
Yes, Chief," Detective Low answered, standing up and grabbing his keys.

  Amber smiled gratefully at the chief and then followed Detective Low out to his car. "Thanks for this."

  "Sure. Anytime." He grinned.

  She'd always liked his grin. It was friendly.

  "Need me to pick you up in the morning?"

  "No, I'll be fine by then," she answered.

  "But you left your car at the station."

  "Oh. Right. I forgot." She laughed. "Yes, please. Would you mind?"

  "Nope. See you around seven."

  "Thanks, Mike." She climbed out and gave him a wave as she headed for her front door.

  She crashed as soon as her head hit her pillow.

  Chapter Twelve

  Amber woke up around four and was completely disoriented and unsure of what day it was. Panicked, she checked her phone and saw it was still the same day and she sighed in relief. She got up, took a shower, and then went into her kitchen to make herself dinner. She couldn't remember the last time she ate and she was starving.

  She hadn't pulled anything out to thaw, so she decided soup and grilled cheese would have to do. She opened a can of chunky vegetable soup, poured it into a pot, and set it on the stove to heat. She started making her own version of a grilled cheese sandwich, buttering the thick sliced bread she preferred, and turned the skillet on low heat. She set the buttered side down then added Munster, Colby, and Swiss cheeses, sliced up a tomato, and added a couple of thin slices to the cheese. She buttered the other piece of bread, added it to the skillet as well, then put a slice of pepper jack cheese on it. Once the cheese was gooey, she moved the piece with the pepper jack to the other, flipped it over so the pepper jack was on the bottom so she could check that it was crisped to perfection, then lifted it out of the pan and flipped it right side up onto her plate. She cut it in half and then took her heated soup and added it to a bowl, which she put on the plate too with the sandwich halves on the edges of the plate.

  After pouring a glass of Coke, she took it all into the living room and got comfy on the couch to eat. She channel-surfed as she ate, not really settling on anything, just skimming through shows, looking for something of interest, but she couldn't get her mind off the case now that she was awake.

  She finished eating, took her dishes to the kitchen, and then decided to check in with Mahoney to see if he'd tracked down Tara. She found her purse and pulled out her phone, then headed back to the living room. She dialed his number and waited.

  "Smith?"

  "Hey, Mahoney, I was just checking in."

  "You are supposed to be resting. Chief told me not to bother you for the rest of today."

  "I've rested. Slept for seven hours, I swear. Now tell me what you've got."

  "But—"

  "Mahoney, don't make me come out to the station. It's nearly five now, and if I have to, I'll go to your house. Now tell me what you've got."

  "Okay, okay. I just don't like going against the chief."

  "Look, I appreciate the fact that she wanted me to rest, but I have and now I'm awake and need to know if you tracked down Tara and what she had to say. I won't leave my house. I'll go back to bed in a little while, but for the love of God, tell me."

  Mahoney was quiet for a minute and then said, "I went to Fired Up and asked about Tara. Her last name is Murphy, and she lives with her mother. I do think she is the right Tara, but I wasn't able to speak to her. According to one of the other waitresses, she had to take her mother over to Seattle for a doctor's appointment and they stay on the mainland overnight. She's due back tomorrow afternoon for her shift."

  "Oh. Well damn."

  "See, there wasn't anything for you to get all worked up over anyway. Now go back to bed."

  Amber sighed. "I'll try."

  "I'm doing a background on Tara, so I'll have that for you tomorrow when you come in. Hey, do you need a ride? I saw your car in the lot."

  "No. Thanks, though. Detective Low is picking me up. I'll let you get back to the background check then. See you tomorrow."

  "See you then." He hung up.

  Amber sighed. She didn't really want to go back to bed. She was too keyed up. Something about what Nick had said while they were out in the parking lot was bugging her. He'd said that Selma had told him that Tara—or at least Amber was assuming it was Tara—had loudly broken up with Vince. She wondered if it were actually true. Suddenly, she realized she wasn't totally vehicle free. She had 'Carrie's' SUV sitting in her garage. She could go 'run into' Selma at Fired Up.

  Jumping up from the couch, she headed into her bedroom and started getting dressed up in a Carrie outfit. Since she wasn't working at the gas station, she opted for a pair of grey leggings, a long Ralph Lauren sweater that matched, and the knee-high Louboutin boots. She put on the wig, added the green contacts, and then slid on Carrie's glasses. She shifted things into Carrie's purse, grabbed her keys, and went out to her garage.

  She drove over to Fired Up and parked, checking the lot to make sure that Selma was actually working. She was pretty sure it was her night at the pizza place and not the gas station, and seeing her little beat up Toyota, she knew she was right. Smiling, she headed into the restaurant. She stood watching to see what section Selma was working and then chose a table in her section.

  "Oh, Selma, hi," Amber said, seeing her approach her table a few minutes later.

  "Uh, hi. Aren't you working at the station tonight?"

  Amber shook her head. "No, I'm off tonight and I was really craving pizza." Actually, she wasn't all that hungry now, having just eaten her soup and grilled cheese a little more than an hour ago.

  "Okay, well, what can I get you?"

  Amber looked over the menu and decided on a large pepperoni. She could always take the leftovers home and munch on them for the next day or two. "And a Coke, please."

  "I thought you didn't drink soda?" Selma looked at her suspiciously.

  Crap. Amber sighed. She'd forgotten that little detail. "Er . . . normally, I don't. But umm . . . I'm splurging tonight," she covered.

  Selma nodded. "Anything special going on?"

  "Well, any night away from Vince hitting on me is special." She laughed.

  "That man can't keep it in his pants, I swear. Hits on anything that moves." Selma rolled her eyes. "Other than that, he's fine. I never really have a problem with him."

  "Would you believe he had the nerve to tell me that he and his 'woman' " —Amber used finger quotes— "Tara have an open relationship and any time I wanna get with him, it would be okay?" Amber shook her head and rolled her eyes. "As if I would ever!"

  Selma frowned. "Really?" She wrinkled her nose. "That's weird. I mean, I thought . . ." She stopped speaking and then smiled. "It doesn't matter. I'll go get your order in, sorry."

  "Wait." Amber could tell that she was about to say something important but was holding back. She decided to trust her instincts and break her cover. "Selma, I need to tell you something. Can you sit for a minute?"

  She hesitated and then looked around the restaurant. They weren't too busy yet, so she nodded and sat down on the edge of the seat opposite Amber. "What's up?"

  "Okay, I'm going to tell you something and I need you not to freak out, okay?"

  She nodded. "Okay?"

  Amber reached into her purse and pulled out her badge. "My name's not Carrie. It's Amber. Detective Amber Smith. I'm trying to find out who's behind the theft at Kelley's."

  Selma's eyes widened and she gasped. "Does Ray know?"

  "What, that I'm working there undercover? Yes, of course."

  "Wow, so what . . . you think one of us is behind the theft? I wasn't even there!"

  Amber reached across the table and gripped Selma's hand. "I know. If I thought it was you, I wouldn't be telling you all of this."

  She nodded slowly. "O–okay, right. So . . . so I'm not a suspect?"

  "You were, but I am going to trust that you weren't involved. Now, just a moment ago, you were about to say som
ething and you stopped yourself. What was it?"

  Selma blinked and then looked confused for a moment before nodding. "Oh, that." She looked around the room again. "So, you said that Vince told you he and Tara were in a relationship?"

  Amber nodded. "Yes, he referred to it as an open relationship."

  She shook her head. "Not true. See, Tara dated Vince back in Seattle, but she got tired of his shit and moved here to get away from him. He showed up a few months later and begged Ray to hire him. See, before Vince got here, Ray had two assistant managers, Brett Stevens and Kerry Thompson, but they started dating and didn't like being on opposite shifts. So, when they got engaged, they left. Ray was doing interviews. I actually applied for the job, and so did Nick, but then Vince showed up and told Ray he'd do the job of both assistants. It would be better to keep the place 'in the family'." She shook her head, clearly annoyed by what had happened.

  Amber frowned. "So why did you stay?"

  Selma shrugged. "I have bills to pay, and it's not like there are a ton of jobs here, you know?"

  "Right. So that's how Vince ended up at the gas station, but what does that have to do with Tara?"

  "Right, so when Tara found out he was on the island, she blew up. Came storming into the station and ripped him to pieces over it. I was the only other person there at the time. Bob had gone on break. I knew Tara from here, so I totally believe what she said even though Tara isn't the most together person. She's a bit of a party girl, you know?"

  "Okay, so Vince lied about being with Tara. He left the station that night and told Bob he was with Tara. Does he leave the station a lot when you're there?"

  Selma shook her head. "He wouldn't dare. He keeps his mouth shut around me because he knows I know Tara."

  "So where do you think he's going if he's not going to see Tara?"

  She shrugged. "I don't know. Do you think he's the one who stole everything?"

  "I don't have any proof yet. It would be great if I could find the electronics he stole, but so far, nothing. That's why I'm still working there."