Panic Pond

by Cole Baxter

  "Off and on. How is the . . . have you . . ." He started and stopped and then frowned.

  "Still underway. I'll let you know once we have something solid, promise." She smiled at him.

  He nodded. "Okay. Well, I'm gonna grab some dinner and then head out, probably gonna just go home and watch a little tv then head to bed. Been a long day."

  "Is Vince on his way in?"

  "Should be here any time now. Bob and Nick too. Selma left for her other job about twenty minutes ago."

  Amber nodded. "Okay, I'll get to it then." She watched Ray head over to the diner, slide into a booth, and greet the waitress. Seeing that he was occupied, she pulled out the stepladder and affixed the last camera to the cigarette case so it pointed right at the register. "Good?" she asked softly.

  "Great view," Mark said in her ear.

  She then started filling in the cigarettes since she already had the ladder out. She had waited on about seven customers by the time Vince showed up. Bob and Nick came in shortly after that, and Ray left.

  "Something's up in the back room," Mark murmured in her ear. "The regular cameras in the back room shut off."

  "Where's Vince?" She looked around the store.

  "Vince is over in the diner chatting up that new girl, what's her name?" Nick answered.

  Amber followed his gaze and saw Vince leering at the girl. "Brenda, isn't it?" She rolled her eyes.

  "Yeah. I'm gonna go clean up the lot." Nick grabbed some trash bags and headed for the glass doors.

  "Hey, Bob?" Amber called.

  "Yeah?" he popped his head out of an aisle to her right.

  "Can you cover the register for a few minutes?"

  "Sure." He nodded.

  "I'm just gonna go use the ladies' room." She smiled and left him to the register. As she headed to the back, she said, "Did you see anyone in the back room before the cameras went out?"

  "Nope, not a soul."

  "Okay." Amber went through the door and headed toward the plug. She noticed that it was in but really loose. She pushed it back into the socket. "Back on?"

  "Yep."

  "Okay. Anything happen when Ray left?" she asked softly.

  "No, he put some money in the cashbox, wrote the amount in the ledger on the desk, and then used his key to go out the back door."

  Amber nodded. "Okay, I'm headed back out there. I've got this weird feeling something is going to happen. Are Low and Shadwell still tailing Vince?"

  "I'll find out. Give me a minute."

  She headed to the counter, and after Bob was finished with the customer, she said, "Thanks, Bob."

  "Sure." He turned to the radio and started messing with the station.

  Ray usually had it on a country station, but both Bob and Vince preferred rock. He turned it up right as Mark said, "Yeah, they're across the street. Shadwell is going to come in and get dinner for the two of them."

  "Okay."

  Twenty minutes after seven, Shadwell had been in, and a large semi-trailer pulled into the back lot. Vince directed her and Nick to unload it, so she spent the next two hours unloading the truck and opening boxes of stock. "Looks like Ray was able to replace the phones, at least. Vince, where should we put them?"

  "Oh, I didn't know we had those coming in. I guess leave 'em on the shelf under electronics. Ray can deal with 'em tomorrow."

  Amber nodded. She slid the two opened boxes onto the shelf where the previous electronics had been. "Got it."

  Nick took a couple of boxes out to the stack of things that needed to be replaced on the floor, and Amber broke down the empty boxes. By ten thirty, she was back at the register as Bob swept and Nick stocked the shelves. The diner staff had just left and Vince was counting out the money from their till in the back room.

  "Anything?" she whispered to Mark.

  "He's skimming. I'm keeping track," Mark answered. "He's finishing up now . . . heading your way."

  "Thanks," she murmured and picked up the cleaner bottle and sprayed down the counter then started wiping it down.

  "Hey, Bob," Vince said as he passed him. "You guys are all good, right?"

  "Uh, yeah?" Bob answered. "Why?"

  "With you three here, I'm gonna take off for a few hours, go see my woman. I'll be back around one."

  "Sure." Bob nodded.

  "But what if the robbers come back?" Amber widened her eyes and gave him a frightened look.

  Vince shook his head. "You'll be fine. Gotta stop worrying about it, babe. Those guys got what they wanted. They're not coming back."

  Amber frowned.

  "See ya later," he called as he headed back to the back room. "I'll lock the door, don't worry."

  Bob went back to sweeping.

  "Did you get all that?" she whispered.

  "Loud and Clear. I'll alert Low and Shadwell."

  Amber sighed and started filling in the candy in front of the counter. She felt like she was on pins and needles just waiting for something to happen. The waiting around was the worst part.

  "We have movement in the back parking lot."

  "Vince?" she whispered.

  "Can't tell. Looks like it might be, but he didn't drive into the lot—came on foot."

  "Weird. Put a call in to Low and get a couple of the patrol officers over to our area," she directed.

  "Will do," Mark answered. "Whoever it is, they're wearing a ball cap. I can't see their face. And they're coming in."

  "Okay . . ." Amber prepared for the worst. She couldn't hear anything from the back room, and she didn't want to call Bob or Nick's attention to it.

  "He's headed into the office."

  Amber jumped when the door dinged, and she whirled around. "Oh, hi, um, just a sec," she murmured to the customer as she rushed back behind the counter.

  "Twenty-five on pump eight, please."

  Amber nodded, rang them up, and said, "Have a nice night." She smiled tightly as they headed out.

  "It's not Vince. Low and Shadwell have him in their sight out at the marina."

  "If it's not Vince, who is it?" she asked with surprise.

  "Can't tell. They've emptied the cashbox . . . patrol is pulling into the back lot."

  "Where is the guy? What are they doing?"

  "They're looking in boxes, can't see which ones . . ."

  Amber was anxious and wanted to rush back there and confront the bastard. "Should I head back?"

  "Not yet. Patrol is nearly in place. Called the chief and Mahoney as well."

  "What are they doing?"

  "Filling a bag," he answered. "Looks like a backpack."

  "Are they in place yet?"

  "Yeah. Head back there, but be loud. Make them head out the door before you get there so patrol can grab them."

  Amber took a breath and then said, "Hey, Bob?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Can you cover the register again? That water just went right through me."

  "Sure." Bob nodded and headed up to her.

  Amber slipped out from behind the counter and started for the back room. "Hey, Nick, you need me to bring you anything from the back room?" she called as she got closer to the door.

  "Yeah, I need the Maybelline foundation box. I'm almost finished with the Cover Girl."

  "Okay, I'll grab it after I use the bathroom."

  "He's headed for the door . . . and he's out," Mark said.

  Amber rushed into the back room and to the back door as she heard, "Stop! Police! Hands in the air!"

  Chapter Fifteen

  Amber pushed open the back door, which wasn't alarmed or locked, apparently, and saw the patrol officers rushing the man. He struggled and shouted and Amber gasped. "Ray?"

  "Sugar, tell them to back off! This isn't . . . it's not what it looks like."

  Amber moved toward him and looked him over. He was dressed in a band T-shirt and jeans with a baseball cap pulled low over his face. She pulled the backpack from his shoulder and opened it. "It looks a hell of a lot like you're ripping off your own store, Ray.
What the hell is going on?" Then she shook her head. "You know what? You can tell me later." She turned to the patrol officers. "Take him in. He can spend the night in jail, and we'll see what all this is about."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "What? Sugar, you can't do that. What's going to happen to my gas station?"

  "You should have thought about that before you decided to stage robberies, Ray," she said with disgust. "Mark?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Call Low and Shadwell and have them pick up Vince."

  "On any particular charge?"

  "Theft. You got it on camera, right?"

  "Of course. It was only a couple of hundred dollars, though."

  "I don't care. Tell them to pick him up."

  "Sure thing."

  "So, what's going on?" Mahoney asked, joining her, watching the patrol officers loading Ray into one of the police vehicles.

  "Hell if I know. We just caught Ray robbing his own place." She shook her head and then realized she'd need Ray's keys to lock up the gas station. "Hang on," she called to the patrol officer as she headed toward them. She popped her head into the car. "Ray, where are your keys?"

  "I already took them from him, ma'am." The officer held them out to her.

  "Thanks." She took them and looked at Ray. "I'm going to close the gas station and send Bob and Nick home."

  Ray nodded, tears in his eyes. "I . . . thank you."

  "I'm really disappointed in you, Ray. Your staff is going to be devastated."

  He hung his head as she turned from the car. She waved Mahoney over to come inside with her. They headed in through the delivery door and Amber used the key to lock it. "Would you go collect the cashbox and ledger from the office? I'm going to send Bob and Nick home."

  Mahoney nodded. "Sure thing."

  Amber moved out to the front of the store, waited until Bob was finished ringing up a customer, and then said, "Hey, I'm closing up the station for the night. I'm sure you've already seen the cop cars and lights and everything."

  "Yeah, what's going on?" Bob asked.

  "I don't know yet, but Ray gave me his keys and told me to lock the place up and send you and Bob home."

  "Ray's here? Where's Vince?"

  "No clue," Amber answered honestly.

  Bob shrugged. "I'll get Nick. He's out there." He nodded his head to the front lot. He moved to the door and called, "Hey, Carrie is closing up the station. Ray told her to."

  Nick jogged over to the door and looked at her suspiciously. "Really? Because I just saw you talking to the cops and Ray getting into the back of the police car, so what the hell is going on?"

  Mahoney came from the back room and said, "Smith? Where are you? I thought you were closing the station."

  "Right here," Amber called back. "Look, my name isn't Carrie Blake. It's Detective Amber Smith. And yes, Ray is headed to the police station. I can't tell you more than that at this time. I know you're concerned about your jobs, but right now, I can't answer any of those questions for you."

  Nick gaped at her.

  "Whoa, you're a cop?" Bob stared at her.

  "Yes. Now, both of you, head on home, okay?"

  "Yeah, sure." Bob headed for the door. "See ya."

  Nick shook his head and followed him back outside.

  "I just need to grab my—"

  Mahoney held up her purse. "Already grabbed it."

  "Oh, thanks. Let me shut down the pumps and get the lights. I'll have to call the rest of the staff later and tell them everything's closed for now."

  Once she finished, they headed out together and he walked her to the SUV. "I'll see you at the station. Do you want to question him tonight?"

  Amber frowned. "I don't know yet. Let's talk to the chief see what she wants to do."

  "See you there."

  She drove the short distance to the police station and parked. She and Mahoney walked in together and ran into Low and Shadwell. "You picked up Vince?"

  They nodded.

  "Yeah, he's been processed and locked in the cell across from Ray. You should have seen his face when he saw Ray in the other cell. Ray is furious, by the way," Low said.

  "Well he shouldn't have been stealing from his own place! I don't even know if that's possible! Can you steal from yourself?"

  "Depends on whether he filed a claim, I guess, but he definitely wasted police resources and time, and that should be taken into consideration," Shadwell replied.

  Amber nodded as the four of them headed to the chief's office. She knocked on the door and waited a moment.

  "Come in."

  She opened the door and the four of them entered as Chief Lee glanced up at them. She looked as put together as she always did despite it being nearly two in the morning. Amber dropped into one of the chairs, not even caring that Chief Lee hadn't asked her to sit.

  "Detectives, is our thief locked up in the cells?"

  "Both of them are, Chief," Detective Low answered.

  "Both?"

  "I'm not sure why, ma'am, but Ray Kelley was caught tonight stealing the money from the cashbox, as well as this bag full of new cellphones." She held up the bag.

  "Have you spoken with him yet?"

  "No, ma'am. I didn't know if you wanted us to do that tonight or wait till morning."

  "I'll leave it up to you, Detective. I don't think it will hurt him to spend the night in the cells. Might do him some good to think about what he's done."

  Amber nodded.

  "And if Ray was behind the theft, why did you pick up Vince Kelley?"

  "Oh, he's also a thief. He's been skimming money and we caught it on camera tonight. I don't know if Mark can go through past video footage and get more, but he took a couple of hundred tonight alone."

  "I see. Well, let's let them stew for a few hours. I'll let the guards know. Then we'll have a conversation with them in the morning. Good work, Detectives. Go get some sleep."

  "Thank you, ma'am. I'll sign this into the evidence room and then head home."

  The four of them headed out of her office, and Amber split off from them as she headed for the evidence locker while they headed out to the parking lot. "Hi, Jim. I've got evidence for the Kelley case." She held up the bag.

  Jim accepted the bag and opened it. He counted as he removed the cellphones and then logged the number. "Forty-three. Wow." Then he pulled out the stack of cash and began counting it as well. Twenty minutes later, he said, "Thirteen thousand, four hundred and ninety-seven."

  Amber blinked. "There was that much?"

  "I can count it again if you want."

  Amber shook her head. "No. Thanks, though."

  "Sure." He put the money into a bag and then returned the phones to the backpack as well as the cash and put them in a box marked Kelley's Gas Station.

  "I'm headed home. ’Night, Jim."

  "’Night, Amber. By the way, I like you as a redhead. Cute." He grinned.

  Amber had completely forgotten that she was still dressed as Carrie. She laughed. "Yeah, thanks." She headed home, changed back to herself, and put away her Carrie persona. She'd have to take it back to her parents’ house to store, but not right then. She was going to take advantage of being home early and get some sleep.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Amber strode into the interview room and sat down across from Ray. "All right, Ray. Tell me why you were robbing your own gas station."

  Mahoney, who was sitting next to her, turned on the recorder. "Mahoney and Smith, questioning Mr. Ray Kelley about the thefts at Kelley's Gas Station." He nodded at Ray. "Go ahead."

  "I . . ." Ray started. "How did you even know I was there?"

  "Cameras, Ray. I installed small cameras to catch Vince. I had no idea I'd be catching you!"

  He pursed his lips. "I should have listened to Nick and Selma. I shouldn't have hired Vince. He's the reason I set up those fake robberies."

  "Fake robberies? You called the cops and reported the crimes that you committed, Ray!"

  "Look, let
me start at the beginning. It all started back when I hired Vince. I was working almost twenty-four hour days at the time. I was exhausted. My two assistant managers had quit, not wanting to work opposite shifts because they were seeing each other. So, I was short-staffed. I was ready to promote both Nick and Selma, but then Vince showed up."

  "Selma told me he convinced you that the station should be run by family," Amber put in. "Go on."

  "Yes. Vince told me that his dad, my older brother, had kicked him out of the house because he didn't like his girlfriend. My brother and I . . . we don't get along, had a falling out years ago, so I didn't bother to call and check out Vince's story. Vince knows all the computer stuff. He explained and convinced me that the way we were doing things wasn't necessary since we never closed. So, I figured he knew what he was talking about." Ray shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "About a week after Vince took over night manager duties, Nick and Selma both shared concerns with me, but I thought they were just pissed that I hadn't hired either of them. It wasn't until about a month ago that I started noticing we weren't making as much as we had been. And certain things were going missing. Just a few things here and there. A couple of bottles of liquor, some small electronics."

  "Why didn't you say something then, Ray?"

  He looked ashamed. "I still didn't think it was Vince. I thought it might be Nick or Selma getting back at me for hiring Vince over them."

  "Ray."

  "I know." He sighed. "Anyway, I thought if I staged a larger theft, you'd come and investigate and discover which of them it was. But once you started working undercover, I discovered it was actually Vince taking the money. Ellie told me she saw him pocketing a bunch of twenties from the cashbox." He hung his head.

  Amber ran her hand over her face. "You still didn't say anything, though. Why?" She just couldn't wrap her head around his thinking.

  "I know. I thought if I dressed like Vince, the cameras would see me as him in the back room and office, and if I positioned myself just right, I could make it look like him and then you'd be able to arrest him. I didn't know you were having him followed or that you had anyone watching the back of the station." He frowned.

  "Ray, I added cameras last night, one to the back door, a couple in the office, and over the register. We caught Vince stealing money from the cashbox, but it was only a couple hundred. Mark is going through all of your past surveillance footage now to see if he can pick up more so we can charge him with more than petty theft. But now we have to charge you too."