Page 19 of Hiding Hollywood

He rubbed his hands along his jeans. “I’m sorry to hear that. Where was her car parked?”

“You know that side yard on my property, headed toward the lumberyard?”

“Yeah.”

“I had to replace the sprinklers in the front, so I made her park back there. Just bad luck with her car so far hidden in the shadows.”

Cameron visualized the area. “Wait,” he said, holding his hand up. “If her car was parked on that side of the property, wouldn’t the lumberyard’s new cameras cover that area?”

“I’d wondered that myself, but I didn’t know if you had access to those.”

“No.” Cameron swallowed and set the pen down. And he thought the break-ins couldn’t get any worse.

Mr. Stinson shook his head. “I hate to say what we’re both thinking, but I’m guessing Kevin is the only one who has access to those.” He winced. “I don’t suspect that riff between your family and him has gotten any better over the years?”

Kevin Miller, the foreman at the lumberyard. He’d make things difficult for Cameron. His sole reason would be based upon some forty-year-old grudge he held against their family. Kevin would have to put those differences aside. If those security cameras picked up the theft, it might be the best shot they had at solving this thing before anyone else lost valuables. Or worse, someone was home when one of the break-ins occurred. Maybe Kevin would see reason.

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll still need to talk to Kevin.”

Mr. Stinson pressed his lips together, the tanned wrinkles along the side of his face deepening. “You might ask your daddy about that.”

Until recently, the reminders that most of the town still saw him as someone right out of high school hadn’t bothered him. Hell, until he pulled over the Mayor one year after a Christmas party for a DUI, he’d thought of himself as a kid pretending to be an adult. Now, with his dad planning on retiring next year, he needed them to see him as something more. Older. Responsible. Capable of doing this job.

“This is my investigation, Mr. Stinson.” Cameron held the man’s gaze before easing back on his aggression. “But I’m sure I’ll end up talking to him over supper tonight. Hard not to with Kevin in the picture.”

Mr. Stinson gave him a sharp nod. “You’re doin’ a good job, son.” He settled his hat on his head. “We’re all really proud of you. Let me know if you need to come out and look around. I’m afraid there might not be any fingerprints left. Laura was so distraught, she opened and closed every door to her car trying to find her things. I’ll give my wife the heads up that you might be around.”

“I’ll be in touch.”

“Thanks.”

Cameron jotted down a few additional, unnecessary notes, keeping his hands busy. His temper simmered in a low boil under his skin. He didn’t have any hard feelings toward Mr. Stinson. He hadn’t said anything more than what the entire town thought. Cameron still had to get his daddy’s permission before making a move.

The front door clicked closed as Mr. Stinson left. A brief second, later, it reopened.

Cameron closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. How many thefts could actually occur in one night?

“I thought the title of Chief Deputy meant you didn’t get to sleep on the job.”

His eyes opened. Addie stood there, arms crossed as she peered down at him with her large, black sunglasses in place. Her pink lips twisted to the side. “Or is that one of the perks of your daddy being your boss?”

Cameron stood. His chair fell over with the quick motion. Even she thought he couldn’t do this job without his dad.

She didn’t flinch or back down, but her strawberry lips spread into a smile that diffused his anger. How did she do that?

“It was a joke, Cameron. Chill out.”

It hit a little too close to home to feel like a joke.

She took a seat in front of him, crossing her legs and sliding her glasses off. “Your mom asked me to come by and see if you were coming home for dinner tonight.”

Cameron set his chair upright. As he sat down, his eyes locked on Addie as she took a sip from her to-go coffee cup from Crossroads Coffee Shop. He tore the sheet of paper from Mr. Stinson’s report and set it with the others, ready to be entered into the system.

“How did you get here? Your license is suspended.”

She shifted in the seat, her hand running down her thigh covered in tight gray pants. His eyes betrayed him and tracked the movement.

His hands itched to touch her the same way. Trevor would have his ass for that thought. Couldn’t be helped. Addie wasn’t anything like thelittle sisterhe’d planned on helping. Not to mention it’d been over a year since he’d touched a woman. He cleared his throat. “I won’t have a choice but to put you in jail if you were driving on a suspended license.”

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