Page 69 of The Damaged Hearts Bargain

“But you don’t see another way that it could have,” Lucy finished, thinking about everything that everyone had ever told her about Cal.

George sighed. “Luce, she was in here alone. I’d just finished showing her everything and then the bookshop bell went and I went over there. She offered to stay, said she’d be fine, that she had to wait for you anyway. And then…” He looked down at his hands. “And then I was longer than I’d thought. A customer wanted some recommendations and I got to talking and… it was probably ten minutes that I was gone.”

Lucy glanced around her. “And Cal was alone that whole time?”

George stepped around the counter, came to her and took her hands. “I don’t know what to say, Luce.”

“Was she alone here?” Lucy pressed. “Think about it George. Did you hear the shop bell?”

He closed his eyes, breathed deep. “Um, yes, yes, I did actually. More than once as a matter of fact.”

Lucy saw a glimmer of light. “So she wasn’t here alone all the time, was she?” Her eyes went to the counter. “And that’s not the stolen money.”

George followed her gaze.

“You said it was sixty pounds, two twenties and two tens. That’s a fifty and a ten. She took everything out of her wallet, you saw her. That’s not the stolen money, she put it there just to keep us away from her.”

“To stop us calling the police maybe,” agreed George. He stood a little taller. “Are you sure that you’re not just looking for excuses, Luce?”

She looked at him helplessly. “What else can I do, George? She didn’t do this. I know that she didn’t. There has to be another explanation. None of this makes sense. She knew you would check, she knew that she was the only person in here, why would she be stupid enough to take cash that could so easily be tracedback to her?”

Just like before. Something didn’t add up. Before Cal had been caught putting money back, which made no sense either.

“So what did happen then?” George asked her. He took her hands. “Listen, I know there are feelings here. But are you sure that you’re not thinking with, well, um, not with your head?” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s compulsive. Maybe she’s a narcoleptic or something.”

“Narcoleptic?” asked Lucy confused. “Oh, kleptomaniac.”

“That’s the one,” George agreed. “Maybe she can’t help it.”

“She’s not a kleptomaniac. I’d have noticed.”

“Then what? She’s just someone very, very unlucky who happens to be around when other people steal things?” asked George. “What are the chances of that?” His phone beeped in his pocket but he ignored it. “I can see that you don’t want to see this.”

“It’s not a matter of don’t want to see it, it’s…” She sighed. “I can’t explain it. I know she didn’t do it, George. I know in my gut. She wouldn’t. But I can’t see what else happened.”

There was a clattering of feet on the pavement outside and then a banging as a small child hit the bakery window with their fists. Lucy looked over to see Moira Hadley pulling her youngest away from the smeared glass. Moira pulled a face and rolled her eyes, then propped the child up on her hip and came into the bakery, holding the door so that her other children could follow her in.

“Twice in the space of fifteen minutes, you’re going to start thinking I’ve got some kind of bread addiction,” Moira said.

“It’s fine,” said George, painting on his best smile and going around the counter. “What can I get for you?”

Moira sighed. “Well, Riley had some of your biscuits and the others decided they wanted sweets from Mr. Gupta’s, but now Harley has changed his mind. So another biscuit, if you don’t mind.” As she was talking, Riley banged in and out of the bakery door, setting off the bell. “Sorry about that,” said Moira. “She’s been like that all morning.”

“Looks like we’re all out of biscuits,” said George, looking at the display racks.

“Right, Callan Roberts served me and she had to go in the back to find some,” agreed Moira.

“Oh, yes, there’s some cooling in the oven.”

But Lucy was already starting to put things together.

“Wait, you were here earlier,” she said to Moira.

“For my sins,” Moira laughed.

Lucy looked at George, then back at Moira. “And Cal had to go in the back, meanwhile, Riley is going in and out and ringing the bell like that?”

Moira nodded, frowning in confusion.

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