Finding Monica, page 14
Slate moved faster than Monica had seen him move before. He was in front of the two women before she could blink.
“It’s okay, Slate, it’s Theo,” Lexie told him, putting a hand on the SEAL’s arm.
Monica didn’t know who Theo was, but obviously Slate did, because he nodded and she could see his muscles visibly relax.
“Hi, Theo. There’s a bit of excitement around here tonight, huh?” Lexie asked him.
Monica realized almost immediately that the man wasn’t in his right mind. He kept his gaze on the concrete at his feet and he rocked back and forth slightly.
“Theo, are you all right?” Lexie asked.
Monica guessed the man was in his mid-forties or so, but when he spoke he sounded much younger. “Bad things happened,” he said.
“Did you see them?” she asked gently.
“Kevin McCallister,” Theo said, still not looking up from where he was studying the ground as if it was the most interesting thing he’d ever encountered.
“Who’s that?”
“Tonight. Kevin McCallister,” Theo repeated.
Lexie looked up at Slate and shrugged. “I don’t know anyone with that name.”
“Me either,” Elodie agreed. “But maybe he’s a homeless person he knows from the streets.”
“Come on, do you want to come with us to Food For All? I can get you a snack if you want. Did you eat tonight?” Lexie asked.
“No, no snack,” Theo said in agitation.
Monica wasn’t sure it was her place to step in, but she felt the need to help. Along with children, the other people she seemed to easily click with were the mentally handicapped. Maybe because in many ways, they were like kids stuck in adult bodies. She stepped closer to where Lexie and Elodie were talking with the man and said, “Hi, Theo. I’m Monica. It’s good to meet you.”
He glanced upward, then returned his gaze to the sidewalk, shifting in distress.
“Theo’s one of my friends,” Lexie told her. “He was there for me when a bad man tried to hurt me. He got injured in the process. He lives near here in a studio apartment,” she explained.
Monica definitely wanted to hear the story Lexie was referencing, but she was more interested in calming Theo down at the moment.
Slate’s phone pinged again. “The guys are getting worried,” he said. “We should get going.”
“Come on, Theo, come with us,” Lexie urged.
He shook his head almost violently. “Kevin McCallister,” he repeated.
“You guys go. I’ll see if I can get him to talk to me,” Monica volunteered.
“You sure?” Lexie asked.
“I’m sure. I can see the front of the building from here, so I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll send Pid as soon as I get to Food For All,” Slate said.
“That’s not necessary—” Monica began to protest, but at the look on the man’s face, she pressed her lips together, cutting off anything else she was going to say.
“Thanks for talking to him,” Lexie said in a low voice after she turned away from the agitated man. “He’s been much more mellow after moving down here. I haven’t seen him like this in a long time.”
Monica nodded, and once the group had left to head toward Food For All, she tried to talk to Theo once more. “Can you tell me about Kevin McCallister?” she asked.
“He’s me. I’m him,” Theo said.
Monica frowned. She knew Theo was trying to tell her something, but she wasn’t sure what it was. It had to be frustrating for him. “Did you see whoever it was who broke into Food For All?” she asked.
Theo nodded and rocked back and forth.
“Did you talk to him?”
He shook his head.
“Have you seen him before?”
He nodded once more.
Monica knew she needed to get this info to the police officers. If Theo knew the man, it was likely Lexie and Elodie did as well. “Are you scared to go back to Food For All?”
Theo nodded.
“The man who broke in is gone. The police officers are there. They’ll keep you safe.”
Monica watched as Theo’s face lost all its color. “No, they’ll take me to jail.”
“Theo? Can you look at me?” It took a full minute, but she was so proud of him when he finally looked up and met her gaze. “No one will take you to jail. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Monica said.
“Kevin McCallister,” Theo said once more.
Monica frowned. What was he trying to tell her?
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stuart coming her way. She needed to warn Theo so he wasn’t startled. “Here comes Stuart…you probably know him as Pid.”
Theo glanced behind him, then nodded again.
There had to be a reason why the man was still standing there. If he was as scared as he seemed to be, the likely thing for him to do was to go back to his apartment, where things were familiar and safe. But instead, he’d sought out Lexie. And he wasn’t leaving now, even though Monica was a stranger to him. Whatever he was trying to tell them had to be important.
“Hey,” Stuart said as he neared.
Suddenly, something popped into Monica’s head. She wasn’t sure if she was on the right track, but it was worth a shot. She held up a hand to Stuart, who paused several feet from where she and Theo were standing. She didn’t have time to explain what was going on to Stuart, but hopefully he’d give her and Theo some space so her new friend didn’t get distracted or spooked.
“Kevin McCallister was the boy who was left home alone, right?” she asked, remembering how much past charges had loved those movies.
Theo’s head flew up and he met her gaze as he nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“And you said you’re him and he’s you?” she asked.
Theo nodded more enthusiastically. “From New York, not Chicago.”
“Right, the second movie when he got on the wrong plane and ended up in New York by himself,” Monica prodded.
“Yeah. Toy store. Turtle doves,” Theo agreed.
“Why are you Kevin?” she asked.
Theo’s brows came down and his lip began to quiver.
Monica hated seeing him so distressed. “Can I touch you?” she asked, knowing better than to touch someone like Theo without his permission.
Theo reached out so quickly, Monica was startled. He grabbed her left hand and held on as if she was his lifeline. Normally, she would’ve recoiled from anyone holding her damaged hand, but she was too concerned about what Theo was trying to tell her.
“Toy store. Robbers hiding in the dollhouse,” he said urgently.
“That’s right. They hid inside the store until it was closed, then came out to rob it. Was that what happened at Food For All?” she asked.
Theo shook his head. “After.”
Monica racked her mind trying to remember the movie and what happened next. Then it came to her. Without turning her head, she raised her voice and asked, “What was the damage to the building, Stuart?”
He kept his voice low, and Monica had never appreciated someone being as astute as Stuart seemed to be. “It doesn’t look like the lock was jimmied or the door was busted in. But the front window was shattered by a cinderblock.”
Monica nodded and squeezed Theo’s hand. “You saw the man inside and broke the window, didn’t you?”
Theo’s eyes filled with tears. “He ran away. The policeman will take me to jail.”
Monica shook her head. “No, he won’t. You did that to get help, to set off the alarm, right?”
Theo nodded once more and looked back down at the pavement.
“You did so good, Theo. It’s so lucky you were there to see the man go inside. How did you know he was a bad guy? That you needed to break the window to get the police to come?”
“He had on black. And he didn’t turn on the lights. It’s dark. He had a bag and I saw him put things inside. Lexie wouldn’t like that.”
“No, she wouldn’t. Thank you for telling me what happened. If I promise nothing bad will happen to you, will you come with me to Food For All? I’ll stay right by your side and I won’t let the police put you in jail.”
“Promise?”
The frightened sound of his voice touched a chord within Monica. “I promise.”
“Okay. If you stay with me.”
“I will. Lexie and Elodie are going to be so proud of you. Just like Mr. Duncan was proud of Kevin.”
At that, Monica saw a small smile cross Theo’s face. “I trust you,” he said.
His words made Monica jolt slightly. This man-child, someone she’d literally just met, trusted her…and she couldn’t manage to trust anyone, even after knowing them for weeks. It was somewhat depressing.
Pushing that aside, and without letting go of Theo’s hand, Monica turned to look at Stuart for the first time. The look of admiration on his face nearly made her trip over her feet. She couldn’t remember a time when anyone over the age of ten had looked at her like that.
“Hey, Theo, you’re gonna give me and the rest of the guys a complex. We came all ready to be a hero, only to find out that, once again, you’re the hero of the night,” Stuart said.
Monica felt the man next to her stand up a little straighter. “Theo’s a hero,” he declared.
“Yes, you are, bud,” Stuart agreed. He approached Monica’s right side and reached for her other hand.
They walked like that, her in the middle, Theo and Stuart holding her hands, down the sidewalk toward Food For All, which was now lit up, every light in the building shining bright.
They paused before going inside and Monica asked Theo, “You ready?”
“Ready,” he agreed.
She felt a tug on her right hand and looked up at Stuart. “You’re amazing,” he said quietly, then kissed her temple quickly, before squeezing her hand and letting it go.
Feeling warm and gooey inside, Monica led Theo into the building, careful to avoid the broken glass that was all over the floor just inside the door.
Twenty minutes later, after Theo had admitted to breaking the window and telling the police officers what he’d seen, he and Monica were seated at one of the tables. Someone had gotten Theo a piece of paper and a pencil and he was bent over it, drawing.
Pid stood off to the side and kept his eye on Monica. The way she’d patiently talked with Theo and gotten to the bottom of what he was trying to relay was impressive. It was no wonder she was as good at her job as she was. He wasn’t surprised the ambassador’s son had been so worried about her back in Algeria.
He felt someone come up beside him and turned to see Elodie. She looped her arm in his and leaned her head against his biceps.
“I like her,” Elodie said softly.
Pid couldn’t help but smile. “Good.”
“I mean, at first, I wasn’t sure about her. You and her seem so different. And she didn’t seem interested in getting to know any of us.”
“She was nervous.”
“I get that. It’s not easy to come into a close-knit group of people. Mustang told me a little bit about her, but not a lot. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and when she didn’t even try to join in our conversation at dinner, I was a little upset. But after you guys went out to the beach and came back, she was better.”
Pid nodded.
“So, I figured she was probably just trying to figure out the dynamics of the group. I know us women can be a bit overwhelming at times. But hearing how she was with Theo? And how she figured out what he was saying with that Kevin McCallister thing? And how she is now? I get it.”
“What do you get?” Pid asked, genuinely curious.
“She’s quiet. Introspective. She doesn’t like to bring any attention to herself. She’s never going to be super outgoing, especially in public. But get her around someone like Theo, and she blossoms as if she’s a flower seeing sunshine for the first time.”
He nodded. “It just takes her a while to warm up to people,” he said. “It’s taken her two weeks to really be herself with me.”
Elodie nodded and dropped her arm from his. “If you don’t keep her, you’re crazy, Pid.”
“She’s got a career, Elodie,” he warned. “The chance of her staying is pretty damn low.”
“Then change her mind,” Elodie argued.
“It’s not that easy.”
“Why not? I stayed. As did Lexie. Give her a reason to stay, Pid.”
“Hey, El, can you come here a sec?” Lexie called from across the room where she was still talking to the officers.
“Coming!” she yelled to her friend. Then she turned back to him. “You look…content. I haven’t seen you so laid-back in all the time I’ve known you. If you let her leave, you’ll regret it.” Then she turned and walked across the room to see what Lexie needed.
“Sorry, man,” Mustang said as he approached.
“You heard?” Pid asked his friend.
“Most of it. Elodie’s on a mission to see everyone on the team as happy as we are.”
Pid nodded, but didn’t comment.
“For the record, Monica does seem to have a calming effect on you. Lately, you’ve seemed more settled. If that makes sense,” Mustang said.
It made perfect sense to Pid. Because that was exactly how he felt. He looked forward to spending his evenings with Monica. She was easy to be with, and instead of obsessively watching the news, trying to figure out where their next mission might be, he spent his time talking with Mo and seeing if he could get her to smile.
His friend slapped him on the back and headed across the room to his wife.
Slate had left a while ago to take Ashlyn home, and Jag had already left after making sure everything was more than adequately handled. Lexie and Elodie had insisted Kenna head home with Aleck, as well. They were meeting with Robert in the morning to go over some wedding details and it was getting late.
Pid was lost in his head, thinking about what Elodie had said, when he saw Monica walking toward him. She had a piece of paper in her hand.
“What’s up?” he asked in concern.
“Theo drew this. I think it’s the guy he saw in here tonight.”
Looking down at the paper, Pid saw a perfect rendering of a man. “Holy shit, Theo can draw!” he exclaimed.
“I know. I mean, I knew he could; look at the beautiful mural on the wall in here. But many times people are good at one kind of art and not another. I wasn’t sure he’d be good at drawing portraits, but when we sat down, I kind of encouraged him to try…and this was the result.”
“Why don’t you bring that over to Lexie and the others and see if they recognize him? If nothing else, the cops need it to help them figure out who he is.”
Monica hesitated. “I thought you could bring it over there.”
Pid reached out and put his finger under her chin, urging her to meet his gaze. “What are you afraid of?” he asked in a low tone.
Monica shrugged. “Tonight didn’t go that great. I know it, you know it, they know it. I figured it would be more comfortable if I just hung out with Theo until you wanted to leave.”
“Cut yourself some slack, Mo. It took us a while to get comfortable with each other. Why did you think it would be any different with my friends?”
The look in her eyes slayed Pid. It was obvious she wanted to be friends with the other women, but wasn’t sure how to do that.
“I’ll go with you. Come on,” he said, not giving her a chance to argue. He reached for her hand once more and counted it as a win when she didn’t yank it away. They walked over to where Elodie and Lexie were talking to two police officers. They all turned to face them as they approached.
“I asked Theo to draw a picture of the man he saw in the building tonight,” Monica said without preamble, as she held out the paper.
Lexie took one look and gasped. “Holy crap, that’s Cash!”
Elodie looked over her shoulder and nodded. “Yeah, that’s definitely him.”
“Who’s Cash?” one of the officers asked.
“He was hired recently to take my place at the downtown Food For All,” Lexie explained.
“Could he have a key to this building?” the officer asked.
“He shouldn’t. But it’s possible he was able to make a copy at some point. And it’s probably not a stretch that he was able to find out the alarm code, so he wouldn’t set it off when he came inside.”
“We’ll look into it,” the other officer said. “That drawing looks pretty damn accurate.”
“Thank you,” Lexie told Monica.
She shrugged. “I didn’t do anything.”
“Yes, you did. You figured out that it was Theo who broke the window, purposely setting off the alarm, and you got him to relax enough to draw this. You practically solved the case for the detectives,” Lexie told her.
Monica’s cheeks turned a rosy pink. “I’m glad I could help,” she said. “But really, it was all Theo.”
“Whatever. Consider yourself a part of our tribe,” Lexie said firmly. “I know you aren’t comfortable with us yet, but you’ll get there.”
Monica looked at her in surprise, her cheeks getting redder. “Oh, um…Okay.”
“And I know you aren’t sure how long you’re staying, but if you could maybe slow down the process of looking at those pictures the commander has you going over, so you can be here for both Kenna’s bachelorette party and her wedding, we’d really like that.”
Pid and Mustang burst out laughing.
“What?” Lexie asked. “I just want her to be around for as long as possible.”
“I’m not sure asking her to interfere in a federal investigation while you’re standing in front of two military members and two officers is the smartest idea,” Midas said as he walked up and put an arm around Lexie.
“I’m not interfering!” Lexie insisted innocently. “Just making sure Monica knows we want her to be here for the wedding in a couple weeks.”
Pid saw Monica give her new friends a small smile. “I’ll see what I can do,” she promised.
“Great!” Lexie exclaimed.
“Awesome!” Elodie echoed.
“I’ll let you guys continue with what you were doing. I’ll just be over there with Theo,” Monica said, gesturing to the table across the room, where Theo was bent over another piece of paper.
