Page 44 of Home Team Advantage
“Name?”
“Campbell. Elsa Campbell.”
The woman exhaled and got to her feet as if it was a great chore to do so and disappeared into the back. When she came out again, she was empty-handed. “It’s not back there.”
“But I received a call a few days ago that it was ready.” When the woman said nothing, Anna said as politely as she could, “Would you mind checking again, please?”
With a sigh, the woman did. She returned so quickly; she couldn’t have done more than walk into the next room, turn around, and walk back out. “Nope, nothing.” The young woman settled back on her stool.
Clearly, customer service wasn’t the girl’s passion. “Perhaps the owner is still working on it. Is he around?”
“No.”
“Do you know when he’ll be back?”
“Later.”
Anna took a notepad out of her purse and quickly scrawled her number. “When he gets back, would you have him call me, please? It’s very important.”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Anna left the jeweler, feeling both annoyed and anxious. When Mrs. Campbell had told her how it was her favorite watch but it didn’t work anymore, Anna had thought it would be a nice gesture to take it to the jeweler and see what he could do. It might be as simple as needing a cleaning and a new battery. She’d never considered the possibility that it might get lost in the process.
Anna had a few more items on her to-do list. She planned to stop in the jeweler again before she picked up Mrs. Campbell in the hopes that the owner had returned and the pink-haired girl was gone.
The strong scent of men’s cologne hit her nostrils a moment before a figure stepped into her path. She recognized him immediately. Eddie.
“Miss Black, what a pleasant surprise.”
His tone belied his words, which was just as well because pleasant wasn’t a word she’d use to describe any encounter with him.
“Mr. Campbell.”
“Did my grandmother give you another afternoon off?”
“She’s having lunch with her friends. I’m just running a few errands.”
“Is that wise?”
“I’m sorry?”
“My grandmother requires supervision, Miss Black. I know she’s painted me as the villain here, but I only want what’s best for her.”
Anna highly doubted that. “What about what she wants?”
He waved his hand dismissively. “She’s old. She gets confused.”
“She seems perfectly lucid to me.”
“Ah, she didn’t tell you. Yes, well, I’m not surprised. It’s not something she readily admits to, but you must be warned. My grandmother has … episodes.”
“What kind of episodes?”
“Paranoia mostly,” he said, looking sad. “She thinks people are out to get her. Are after her money.”
Like you? she wondered silently. Why else would he be so anxious to put his grandmother in a home? He certainly wasn’t giving off compassionate, caring vibes. No, whatever his motivation was, Anna bet it was for his benefit, not Elsa’s.
“Her doctor didn’t mention anything.”
