Page 45 of Crazy in Love

“What are you going to do about it?” Nick pressed.

“What can I do?” Faith shrugged. “It’s over a thousand dollars’ worth of merchandise, which is a lot of books, but not a lot in the grand scheme of things. Maybe I’ll ask the insurance company what they can offer.”

Nick appeared to mull something over. “Why don’t we go talk to him?”

“Yes.” Irene nodded at the same time Faith shook her head and said, “No.”

“What if it’s not him?” Faith said. “I only met him once, but he seemed nice.”

“You’re too trusting,” Nick said.

“You’re too cynical,” Faith responded.

“Perhaps. But what would it hurt to ask? If it wasn’t him, he can clear his name, and you can move on to another suspect.”

She studied him, brows knitting. “You only want to do this because you miss your job and you’re bored.”

“I don’t deny either of those accusations. I do miss work, and I am terribly bored. But, Faith, this is what I do. All I have to do is look into his eyes, and I’ll be able to tell if he’s lying.”

“Seriously?”

He raised a shoulder and let it drop.

“That’s cool. And a little scary,” she muttered. Did he know she was crushing on him then? Could he tell that every bit of eye contact, accidental touch, or brief conversation had her heart all aflutter? Just in case, she averted her eyes to answer. “Fine. When?”

“I’m free now.”

She wasn’t. She had a million things to do, but the thought of an afternoon with him was too good to pass up. “Um, okay. I suppose it can’t hurt.”

In the car, Faith told Nick what little she knew about Jesse. “He’s in his mid-thirties and lives with his mom in New Hampton. From what Irene told me, he jumps around from job to job but doesn’t stay anywhere too long.”

“Does he have money issues?”

“Pft. Doesn’t everyone?”

“I mean significant or severe problems. Something that could be a motive for stealing.”

She shrugged. “Beats me. Like I said, I barely know him. He quit before I took over.”

“Sounds like he took advantage of your mom while she was sick. Stole what he could while she was distracted and then bailed. I’m gonna do a little research before we get there.”

Nick stayed buried in his phone for the twenty-minute drive. She pulled into a trailer park and stopped at number forty-six. “This is it,” she said, glancing at the Post-it where she’d written his address.

Nick was always kind of gruff, but on the walk to the front door, he morphed into a total hard ass. “Let me do the talking,” he grumbled before using his cane to pound on the door. “Also, if he runs, you’re gonna have to chase him, ’cause I can’t.”

“Chase him?” Faith’s mouth fell open. “And dowhatwith him if I catch—”

Jesse answered the door before she could finish. At the sight of Faith, his eyes popped open.

“Faith…um…hi,” Jesse stammered. “Sorry about your mom. I, ah…I meant to go to the funeral, but…um…forgot. So…um…what are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, Jesse. We—” Faith started.

“Mind if we come in?” Nick interrupted.

Faith gasped. “Nick.”

“What part of ‘I’ll do the talking’ didn’t you understand?” He was talking to Faith but didn’t take his eyes off Jesse.

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