Page 36 of Hiding Hollywood

“Good girl.”

“Are you going to tell Cameron?”

She smiled into her coffee cup. “You’ll tell him when the time’s right.” She took a sip. “Might want to do it when you’re alone though. If he has an ounce of his daddy in him, the whole town doesn’t need a demonstration of exactly how misplaced his frustration has been once he acts on his feelings for you.”

12

The camera Addie selected didn’t give her a clear view of the parking lot next to the library. That’s the spot she wanted, mostly because it was the most isolated and was a couple hundred feet away from five of the car break-ins.

Security turned out to be a low priority for the businesses in Statem. That meant only half of the security cameras were digital and easily accessed. Aside from the lumberyard, she’d breached four total. Only four cameras for an entire city. One specifically was the library. It gave her a good view of the center of town. City Hall had another good view of Jefferson Drive, but also of two different side streets.

Then, there was the high school. Cameron had politely suggested she limit her activities. The request hadn’t shocked her, but how pleasant, but distant, he’d acted after dinner when he stopped by, armed with apologies for insulting her yesterday. And sniffing around for cake.

She didn’t blame him. She’d helped Mrs. Dempsey bake, and it was a delicious cake.

But, aside from cake, her evening had remained pretty low key. She should work on herSunflowercase, not scan through old video footage trying to remember when the break-in happened.

When the corner of the screen showed the time stamp for when she thought Mrs. Latham’s car break-in occurred, the back of a man, a shadow with tan boots, walked down the alley. Five minutes later, he walked back out. A partial profile of his face could be seen. She couldn’t identify him, but there was a chance that someone in the town could. She tagged the video to show Cameron later.

Stifling a yawn, she reached for her coffee. She swapped to another camera she’d accessed near the school that might have caught the guy entering a car in the parking lot next door.

When the camera feed pulled up, it was a live shot of the school’s parking lot.

And the guy.

She sat up straight, her fatigue rushing away.

He was off to the side, sitting on the curb, partway in the shadow, not appearing to be doing anything illegal.

But she was sure it was him. He wore those tan boots and another dark jacket or sweatshirt, hard to tell with him sitting. She couldn’t see his face, but it had to be him.

Addie jumped up from the computer, blood pumping. She could help solve this for Cameron. She tip-toed to her room and pulled on her boots over black yoga pants. She grabbed her leather bomber jacket. She didn’t have Cameron’s number. No way she’d wake up Mrs. Dempsey at two in the morning. What could she possibly tell 9-1-1? I think someone is sitting on the sidewalk not hurting anyone, but he might be plotting to break into a car? No one would believe her. Plus, she’d have to explain how she knew all this. She’d be fine. She’d call the police if she needed them.

Easing her way into the kitchen, Addie grabbed Mrs. Dempsey’s keys and a flashlight sitting on top of the fridge. Just borrowing the car to get into town wasn’t horribly illegal, right? Cameron wouldn’t find out anyway. A quick peek at the man, maybe an up-close photograph, and she’d come right back.

The drive to town passed quicker than she’d expected, and she arrived without any real plan. She parked along the side of the high school opposite from where she thought she’d seen the guy and clicked the flashlight on and off. Good, it worked.

Her head fell back against the headrest. This was a dumb idea. Stupid. But she really wanted to do this for Cameron. She climbed out of the sedan, closing the door as silently as possible. This was it. She’d catch the guy and help solve the crime. Cameron would be eternally thankful since it would put him one step closer to proving to the town that he’d be a good Sheriff.

A shadow moved in the far side of the parking lot before it disappeared around the corner.

Keeping her flashlight off, she moved alongside the building, staying away from any street lights. Like a spy.

Without training.

Armed with the camera app on her phone.

Why didn’t she wear her running shoes? That was her only real defense. She could outrun almost anyone.

She’d take a few pictures (with the sound and flash off), call 9-1-1 if he broke into a car or house, and go back to the Dempsey’s house and wait for Cameron.

She pressed her back against the wall, took a few deep breaths, and waited on the shadow to move again.

The darkness from the trees surrounded the building and blocked out the moon, pushing her adrenaline higher. A cold breeze rustled through the limbs causing her to think of scary stories her brother used to tell her. They were nothing more than shadows and branches, not monsters. She shivered.

A twig snapped behind her.

She clicked on the flashlight and shined it toward the sound. A deputy she didn’t recognize shined a light back at her.

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