Page 42 of Under the Lights
She sat on the side of the road into town for a while, watching the noses of vehicles dive as drivers saw her cruiser and hit their brakes. None of them were speeding enough to merit banging a U-turn and pulling anybody over, but she liked slowing the flow of traffic before it hit the main street of Stewart Mills.
When the dispatcher called, she sighed and knew her peaceful morning was probably over. “Go ahead.”
“Officer Clark responded to a shoplifting call at the gas station. He has a twelve-year-old female in custody and is requesting a female officer on scene. So, that would be you.”
“ID?”
“It’s Emily Jenkins.”
Her heart sank. “Oh, damn. Tell him I’m on my way.”
Emily’s mom had been a friend of Kelly’s, and they’d lost her two years ago to cancer. Emily seemed to be doing okay, but shoplifting was so out of character for her that Kelly wondered what could have gone wrong.
When she pulled into the gas station, she saw Emily sitting in the back of Dylan’s marked sedan, her head bowed and shoulders shaking. Dylan was leaning on the outside of the car, and he gave a shrug of his shoulders when Kelly looked his way.
She decided to start inside so she could get the full story before she talked to Emily. Janie Vestal was behind the counter, and it occurred to Kelly that the woman had been Chase’s girlfriend back in high school. Even though it was stupid, she felt awkward all of a sudden and almost forgot why she was there for a second.
Then she took a deep breath and stepped up to the counter. “Hey, Janie. What’s going on?”
“I caught her shoplifting feminine hygiene products,” she said, almost in a whisper even though the store was empty. “You know, pads.”
Oh, the poor child. “Is this the first time you’ve caught her shoplifting?”
“It is. I called the owner. It’s hard, Kelly. I mean, my heart breaks for the child, but with the economy the way it is, we can’t be seen as an easy target. If we look the other way when a kid going through a tough time steals from us, we’ll be having tough times, too.”
“I understand, and I agree. What about pressing charges?”
Janie shook her head. “She’s only twelve, and it’s not like it was cigarettes or beer or something. The poor girl’s having her period and it might even be her first. But we need you to make sure she understands she can’t do it again.”
“I will.” Kelly rubbed the spot between her eyebrows. “You can tell your boss I’m going to speak to her father and that I appreciate being able to handle it. Trying to scare the kids with jail only does more harm than good.”
“I know you care about the kids. All this work you’re doing for the football team is amazing.” Janie cocked her head sideways. “I couldn’t believe it when Chase Sanders walked in the other day. I dated him in high school and thought we’d get married someday. I heard his life’s a wreck, though, so I sure dodged a bullet there, huh?”
Kelly nodded and smiled, as if she agreed, but she had to fight an urge to defend Chase. So what if he’d fallen on hard times not all entirely of his own making? A woman who’d just had to call the police on a little girl who didn’t have money to buy pads for her period should probably be a little more sympathetic.
“I’m going to go see to Emily now.” She saw the package of feminine pads on the end of the counter and slid it over to the register as she pulled out her wallet. “I’ll pay for these.”
After Janie put the package in a paper bag, Kelly walked outside and took a deep breath. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to be a police officer in a big city. More dangerous, of course, but maybe more impersonal, too. But she supposed community was community no matter the size, and it would always be personal on some level.
“I’m going to take her home,” she told Dylan, who looked relieved. “I’ll talk to her dad and hopefully that’ll be the end of it.”
“I wasn’t sure what the story was because Emily just kept crying, and then Janie got all choked up and said it was a female issue. I figured with you being a woman and being a friend of her mom, it would be easier for everybody if you came.”
“Absolutely.” She opened the back door of the sedan. “Come on, honey. I’m going to take you home.”
Emily seemed to calm down once she was riding shotgun with Kelly, but she sniffled a little when she handed her the paper bag. “I’m sorry I tried to steal them.”
“You got lucky, Em. The man who owns the gas station is a nice guy and Janie went to bat for you, but you can’t try to steal from them again or it’ll be bad.”
“I know. But they’re expensive, and Dad’s still paying for Mom’s medical stuff even though she’s not here anymore and I didn’t want to ask him for money.”
“You’ll need these every month, honey, and they’re a lot cheaper if you buy them at the big grocery store. He’ll just put them on the list and it won’t be a big deal.”
“It’s embarrassing,” she mumbled.
Kelly tried to imagine having to go to Coach the first time she’d had her period, but her mind didn’t even want to go there. She’d gone to her mom and that had been that. But Emily didn’t have a mom. “As you get older, there are going to be things you need to talk to your dad about, honey. And even if you or he or both feels a little uncomfortable, you still need to talk to him. Or at least to somebody. Go to Miss Cooper. Or to me.”
“I don’t like telling people we don’t have a lot of money,” Emily said, her mouth setting in a stubborn line.
