Page 68 of Doing Life

Then he silenced his radio.

“So. Leah, you in the back, lady?”

He checked the mirror behind the cash register, the one hiding the camera. He couldn’t see anybody waiting for him, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone.

“I… I’m fine.” Leah so wasn’t fine. Her normally cheerful voice was full of tears. “Just leave the money on the… on the counter. I’ve got my hands full back here.”

Oh, he didn’t think so. “I’m paying with the card, honey, so I’ll wait. Also? I think you’re low on Slim Jims, and that’s what I’m here for. Slim Jims and roasted peanuts.”

And figuring out what the hell was going on.

That was part two of what he was there for. Figuring out what was going on and making sure Leah was okay.

“Be right there.” Slowly, Leah came out of the back, her face ashy with fear, makeup streaked from her tears. “I think we’re out of Slim Jims.”

Her eyes were huge, the white showing all around the dark irises.

“Bummer,” he said gaze shooting toward the back.

She bit her bottom lip and bobbed her head. “Um. I think we’ve got some of those organic ones. Let me just show you where they are.”

“That would be a blessing. Thanks, lady. I’m going to be listening to an audiobook with Lance tonight. I want to make sure we have plenty of snacks.”

“Yeah, what book?”

“Thriller.You know that one with the kidnapper I told you about?”

He’d never talked to her about it, but he figured she was smart enough to play along. “The one with the scary tweaker? I-I just finished that one myself.”

“Yeah, you said it ended well.” He kept talking, slowly, slowly easing her out of the line of fire, keeping his hand down low. He held up one finger, raised an eyebrow. Just one?

She nodded, holding up one finger and then pointing, pretending to be motioning to the counter, but actually to the door to the back. “See. They’re right here.”

He sheltered her with his body, moving her toward the front door. “Absolutely.”

He could see where the stand-alone ATM had been jimmied, but not opened. Those things were more challenging than hyped-up store robbers thought.

“Let me start ringing you up.”

She got to the edge of the counter, right by the door, and Sloan mouthed, “Run. Cop car.”

She whirled and sprinted, streaking out of the door and diving into his cruiser.

He eased toward the back of the store. “Hey, buddy. Leah is gone. It’s just you and me now. Thanks for letting her go.”

“Fucking bitch.” This skinny dude came jittering out atthe back, a Saturday night special in his hand. Man, that was fascinating because the guy was damn piebald, and that was the oddest sartorial choice he’d ever heard of or seen.

“No, she’s just scared. What happened to your hair?”

“Shut up,” the kid screamed, and he squinted a little bit.

“You set yourself on fire cooking meth, didn’t you? That’s why you were here, am I right? Sudafed? She doesn’t carry anything like that, you know. For that you have to go to the pharmacy at the Brookshire Brothers. They do have Mucinex.”

The kid stared at him, mouth open.

“I don’t know if you can make meth out of Mucinex.” All he had to do was keep talking until his backup showed they weren’t that far away.

“I said shut up!”

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