Chương 4
Collins looked toward Mercer.
Mercer did not rescue either of us.
“What does that mean?” Collins asked.
“It means put down that I perceived an immediate threat.”
“That isn’t what I asked.”
“Then ask Mercer.”
The use of his last name changed the air.
Collins glanced between us again.
Mercer walked over.
“Morgan.”
“I’m tired.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
His expression shifted, almost too small to notice.
“That’s fair.”
I folded my arms.
The watch had slipped again.
I shoved it higher beneath my sleeve.
Collins’s eyes followed the movement this time.
“What is the tattoo?”
“Old mistake.”
Mercer said, “It isn’t relevant to tonight.”
Collins nodded, though curiosity remained plain on his face.
I appreciated Mercer for that and resented having to appreciate him.
Teresa approached carrying my thermos.
“You left this at the service desk.”
I took it.
The lid was crooked.
“Thanks.”
She stayed beside me.
Her eyes moved toward Calvin, who stood alone near the entrance under the harsh white spill from the overhead fixtures.
“I should have said something sooner.”
“You did say something.”
“Not about him.”
She nodded toward Calvin.
I looked at her.
Teresa pressed her lips together.
“Three days ago, after you filed the complaint, I heard him on the phone in the manager’s office.”
“With Derek?”
“I didn’t know then.”
“What did you hear?”
“Calvin said, ‘She doesn’t know when to leave things alone.’”
The muscles in my neck went tight.
“What else?”
“He said, ‘I’ll handle her schedule.’”
I stared at her.
Teresa looked miserable.
“I thought he meant yours.”
“You changed my schedule tomorrow.”
She nodded.
My usual shift started at ten.
The new schedule had me coming in at midnight through the side employee entrance after the front doors locked.
Calvin had called it an inventory adjustment.
A practical change.
Nothing worth arguing about.
I looked toward him.
He saw something in my face and straightened.
Mercer noticed.
“What is it?”
I told him.
Teresa added what she had heard.
Mercer’s expression did not change, but he called Collins over.
“Get the current employee schedule preserved before anybody edits anything.”
Calvin stepped toward us.
“That is ridiculous.”
Mercer looked at him.
“Did you change Ms. Reed’s shift?”
“Yes, because payroll asked us to reduce overlap.”
“Can you document that?”
“I’m sure I can.”
“Good.”
“You’re acting like I set her up.”
“I’m collecting facts.”
“You’ve already decided.”
“No.”
Mercer’s voice remained level.
“You’re the one who keeps deciding what the facts mean before I ask for them.”
Calvin looked at me.
There was anger there now.
Not guilt.
Anger.
“You have any idea what kind of mess you’re making?”
The words landed harder than Derek’s hand had.
Teresa inhaled sharply.
I stared at Calvin.
He seemed to hear himself only after the sentence was out.
“I mean for the store.”
“No,” I said.
“You meant me.”
“Morgan, come on.”
“You told a man who harassed a nineteen-year-old employee that I was responsible for his complaint.”
“I told him to stop contacting the store.”
“You told him my schedule might change.”
“I did not.”
Teresa said, “You said you’d handle her schedule.”
“That could mean anything.”
“Sure,” she said.
“It could mean you were planning her birthday party.”
Calvin glared at her.
“This is exactly why managers can’t talk around hourly employees.”
Teresa’s face went still.
I had never seen her look at anyone that way.
She was fifty-eight, five feet two, and normally apologized to furniture after bumping into it.
Now she said, “You might want to stop talking.”
Calvin actually listened.
Mercer took out his phone.
He did not touch me, but he positioned himself slightly between Calvin and me.
The habit irritated me because I recognized it.
Protection disguised as coincidence.
“Who is the district manager?” he asked.
Calvin hesitated.
“Pamela Ortiz.”
“I need her number.”
Calvin crossed his arms.
“You can contact corporate.”
Mercer nodded.
“I can.”
The answer somehow sounded worse.
Calvin pulled out his phone.
While he searched, another patrol vehicle entered the lot.
A woman deputy got out and began speaking with Collins.
A few customers had gathered near the front doors now.
One person was openly filming.
Teresa noticed.
“Oh, wonderful.”
“Don’t,” I said.
“I wasn’t going to.”
“You were.”
“I was going to ask him whether his mother raised him to record strangers having terrible nights.”
“That sounds like you.”
She shrugged.
“My mother raised me badly.”
I laughed once.
It surprised both of us.
The laugh hurt my throat where the man’s forearm had pressed.
I touched the spot.
Teresa saw.
Her expression softened.
“You really okay?”
“Ask me tomorrow.”
“No.”
“Then don’t ask.”
“That sounds more like you.”
Mercer finished a short phone call and returned.
“Ortiz is on her way.”
Calvin stared at him.
“You called her?”
“You gave me the number.”
“I thought you were going to speak to her tomorrow.”
“I didn’t say that.”
The irony was not lost on anyone.
Derek suddenly called across the parking lot.
“Calvin!”
Collins told him to stay quiet.
Derek ignored him.
“You better tell them about the texts.”
Calvin went pale.
Mercer turned slowly.
“What texts?”
Derek smiled with blood at the corner of his mouth where he had bitten his lip during the struggle.
“The ones where he told me when she got off.”
Calvin looked at Derek as if the man had reached across the parking lot and struck him.
Mercer did not move.
“What texts?”
Derek leaned back against the curb and smiled at Calvin with a kind of vindictive satisfaction.
“You know.”
Collins stepped in front of him.
“Don’t shout across the scene.”
Derek’s smile disappeared.
“I’ll show you.”
“Your phone is being preserved.”
“It’s all right there.”
Calvin said, “He’s lying.”
Nobody answered.
That seemed to make him more desperate.
“He’s trying to save himself.”
Mercer looked at him.
“That may be true.”
“It is true.”
“It doesn’t make the messages disappear.”
May you like
Calvin’s face reddened.
“I never told him to hurt Morgan.”
