Kiss or Kill Under the Northern Lights

by Susan Johnson

  Jack shook his head. “No. I thought I’d see what you had to say about it before I said anything, especially to my employees. Don’t want to accuse anyone without proof, you know? Or even have some of my help think I’m blaming them. Cause I really have no idea who’s doing it or how.”

  Chance finished off the last of his French fries and sipped his coke. “But you’re pretty sure someone is stealing from you?”

  “Yeah,” Jack said, with a miserable look on his face. “I’m sure. But the question is, what can I do about it?”

  “Well, until you get some good cameras set up in here, I could try staking out the place a couple of nights. You know, just watch to see if anyone goes in or out of here when you’re supposed to be closed up.”

  Jack looked dubious. “I can’t afford to pay you to do that.”

  “Did I ask you for money?”

  “No, but…will Sheriff Ben pay you for extra hours?”

  Chance shrugged. “I can ask him. But even if he doesn’t, it’s no big deal. I’d like to catch the thief in the act.”

  “That would be great,” Jack agreed. “In fact, I tried it a couple of nights myself last week, but I was so damned tired after working all day that I just fell asleep in my car.”

  “And didn’t learn anything?”

  “Well, I had a stiff neck and wasn’t worth a darn the next day. So, I guess I learned I can’t get along on a few hours of sleep slumped down in my car.” Jack sat at the end stool, looking defeated.

  “I’ll give it a try,” Chance said. “Now, I need to get back to the office.”

  “Okay, Chance,” Jack said.

  Chance patted Cassie’s arm. “I’ll call you later, Cassie.”

  “Okay,” Cassie replied with a sympathetic smile as she finished off her lunch.

  As Chance walked out, a couple of customers came in, and he exchanged nods. That was the thing about small towns. Everyone usually knew everyone and all their business besides. Except, he remembered with a grimace, this was Landers, a hot tourist destination, so most months of the year, they had a lot of visitors from the Twin Cities. People came to fish, boat or rock climb in the Interstate Park, or just enjoy the beauty of the St. Croix River Valley. So, that expanded the number of suspects to possibly thousands. He sighed and headed back to his office. Maybe tonight’s stake-out would give him some ideas.

  That evening, Chance and Cassie enjoyed a nice dinner at a restaurant, then watched a movie at her place, cuddled together on the sofa.

  “Did you get the Lilliput’s locks changed?” Chance asked.

  “Yes. And I changed the combination to the safe,” Cassie said.

  “Good. Then whoever it is shouldn’t be able to get in unless someone gave him a new key today.”

  Cassie nodded. “I suggested to Jack that he not give anyone the new keys until he figured out this problem, but he wanted extras for his employees. He’s sure it’s none of them. And he said he had to get one to the bakery that delivers fresh hamburger and hot dog buns really early in the morning.”

  “The bakery has a key to the bar?” Chance played with the short curls on her neck making Cassie squirm in pleasure.

  “Yeah. Jack said, it’s either that or get up in the middle of the night himself to accept the delivery. And he can’t get enough sleep as it is, so he trusts the guy.”

  “The bakery guy can’t deliver when the bar is open?”

  “I guess not. He comes from the next town and has a regular route to the grocery stores and restaurants. Jack said they tried just having him leave them outside the door a couple of times, but the stray cats and dogs found them, and they were inedible.” She wrinkled her nose.

  Chance laughed. “I can imagine.”

  “Well, I hope watching will help us catch the perp.”

  “Yeah. I’ll be losing a lot of sleep myself. Stake-outs are boring.”

  “Could I go with you?” She sent him a sexy grin. “We could make out in the car to help you pass the time.”

  Chance grinned and kissed her. “Good idea. But not only is it against regulations, but I’d probably be so busy with you that I’d miss the perp going in or out of the bar.”

  Cassie laughed. “Okay. But be careful. I worry about you. What if the perp has a gun?”

  “I have one, too. And I know how to use it. Don’t think about it, sweetheart. It’s all part of the job.”

  She sighed and turned back to watch the movie, muttering under her breath, “I know. But I don’t like it.”

  He cuddled her closer, reassuring her, “Try not to worry.”

  She nodded. “How soon do you have to go?”

  “The bar closes at midnight, so I want to be in place before that. We have an hour yet.”

  “Good.”

  ~ Ike ~

  The weekend of the wedding arrived. Ike took a plane from Dallas to Minneapolis and rented a car. He drove to Stillwater and took a hotel room.

  If he was lucky, he’d make a nice haul this weekend and then head back to Texas. No one would suspect him of robbing the bar because he hadn’t been there for years. And this weekend he was a half hour away for his cousin’s wedding. Nobody would even know he’d driven up to Landers that evening. He’d heard the Lilliput had changed hands. He didn’t even know anyone except his nephew, who had promised to pretend not to know him, so nobody who worked at the bar now would recognize him as a former employee. It was tourist season and there would be plenty of rental cars around.

  The wedding went off nicely. His cousin, Lois, the bride, wore an expensive lacy white dress and her bridesmaids wore lacy blue dresses. Her groom and his attendants all wore tuxedos. They even had a little girl and boy dressed up fancy as ringbearer and flower girl. That side of the family had a lot more money than his did.

  At the wedding reception, while everyone was drinking and dancing, he and Tim stepped outside onto the patio where they could be alone to talk.

  “Are you planning on helping me out tonight and coming to Dallas, Tim?” Ike asked.

  “Yeah,” Tim said. “But we’ve got a little problem.”

  “Oh? What’s that?”

  “The new boss had the door locks changed.”

  “Well, that’s no problem if I’m inside before you close. It’s still just a night lock from the inside, right?”

  “Yeah. But he had the locksmith change the combination to the safe, too.”

  “Oh. You know the new numbers?”

  “Sure. The boss just gave them to the bartender, but he passed it on to me, ’cause I have to put the money away so he can leave early.”

  “Can you give them to me now?”

  Tim shook his head. “I don’t remember the combination. It’s at home.”

  “Well, you’ll have to pass it to me somehow. I’ll come in before closing and order a beer. But don’t let on that you know me when I come in. And don’t tell anyone I’m in town. I don’t want to talk to anyone I used to know, and you don’t want anyone to guess you’re helping me.”

  “That’s for sure. But the bartender would serve you the beer. I can’t do that. Have to be twenty-one, you know.”

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot that.” Ike chewed his lip, thinking.

  Tim snapped his fingers. “I know. Just order a hamburger and fries. I’ll make it and bring it to you like I would any other customer. I can write you a note and put it in your napkin, okay?”

  “Good idea.” Ike slapped Tim on the back and they went back inside.

  ~ Chance ~

  For the past two nights, all Chance had gotten for his trouble was a loss of sleep and a stiff neck.

  The next night he almost didn’t take up the watch but convinced himself to try it one more time. Near midnight, the bar’s closing time, he carefully parked where the street light wouldn’t reveal him, in the shadows of the bar’s side parking lot where some apartment dwellers always parked. He could see anyone approaching or leaving either the front or back doors of the building. He used his own little For
d Taurus not the marked police vehicle.

  There was little traffic on Highway 95 in front of the bar or on Highway 8 where the two roads intersected at the corner at the town’s only stoplight. The night was clear and dark, but as Chance sunk down in his seat trying to be invisible, green and blue lights flickered in his rear-view mirror. As he turned his head to see off to the north, he realized what they were. Gosh, he hadn’t seen the Northern Lights in ages. They sure were pretty.

  Around eleven that night, Ike Owens parked down the street from the Lilliput bar. Since he’d worked there a couple of years ago, he knew it closed at midnight and the last employee would turn off the lights and leave soon after that.

  He headed for the bar and was happy to see Tim at the grill in back and only one guy working behind the bar. Tim had said the guy who always left early was bartending tonight. Good, so Tim was scheduled to lock up tonight. Tim met his eyes, gave a slight nod, then turned back to his work. As they’d agreed, Tim pretended not to know him.

  A lot of customers sat at the bar and in the booths along the wall. Ike glanced around but was careful not to meet anyone’s eyes. He knew a lot of the regulars from his days working here, so he hoped he didn’t run into anyone who would remember him and tell people he’d been in town. Most of them looked pretty well smashed. Nobody paid much attention to him. Good.

  If the place was busy, the lone barkeep wouldn’t be able to keep track of everyone and he wouldn’t notice that Ike hadn’t left when the other customers did.

  Keeping his ball cap low over his eyes, he bought a beer, ordered his food and found a seat at the booth closest to the restrooms.

  As agreed, Tim brought his order with a note in his napkin, giving him the new code to open the safe. “Thanks,” Ike told Tim, trying to treat him like he would any other server. He ate the food, keeping an eye on things, but trying not to be noticed.

  Since the place was hopping tonight, there should be plenty of cash in the till. Near closing time people began leaving. When the bartender turned his back to him, Ike went to the men’s room. Glad to see it empty, he moved into the stall farthest from the door.

  He sat up on the stool, so his feet wouldn’t show under the door and left the door unlatched, but almost closed, so the booth looked empty from the outside as he waited. Tim wouldn’t say anything, but he had to be cautious, just in case some other employee or the boss came by to help Tim close up. He’d said they sometimes did that without warning, so there was no guarantee they wouldn’t tonight.

  Ike could faintly hear the TV and sounds from the bar. Would anyone check to be sure no one was in the bathrooms before locking up? He knew they’d always been told to do that, but if no one was around, Tim had said he would skip it tonight, but Ike couldn’t be sure the bartender wouldn’t do it before he left. He heard the vacuum cleaner running for a little while.

  Finally, everything was quiet. He’d lucked out. He hadn’t heard anyone come in to check to make sure the bathroom was empty. He waited for a half an hour, to be sure everyone had left, and it was safe to come out.

  Then he opened the door a crack and listened. When he didn’t hear a sound, he peeked out. Everything was dark except for the nightlights. They would be enough to see by, and he had a little penlight for the safe.

  He put on his gloves, slipped out, went to the office and knelt in front of the safe. The numbers Tim had given him worked and it opened easily. Thank goodness. He quickly stuffed all the big bills in his pockets, leaving the ones and the change. Then he closed the safe.

  As he rose, he heard a key in the front door. Someone was coming!

  Ike quickly ducked back into the bathroom, hid as before and waited until he heard the door close again. He heard a vehicle start up outside, and hoped it belonged to whoever had been inside the bar.

  He waited long minutes more, listening for any sound, to be sure whoever it was had left.

  Again, he opened the bathroom door, listened and when he heard and saw no one, he slipped out into the main part of the bar. He noticed large plastic trays of buns sitting on one of the tables. So, that explained the visitor: it was the bakery guy making a delivery. He must be doing his route earlier than he used to when Ike had worked here. The guy had evidently gone on to his next delivery stop, so he was nobody to worry about.

  Ike sighed with relief and went to the door. Tim had promised he was locking up tonight and would “forget” to set the alarm.

  He threw the deadbolt and night lock on the knob and pulled the door open. Immediately, the alarm blared loudly. Damn it, someone had set it!

  Then it dawned on him, the bakery guy must have set the alarm when he left! Of all the bad luck! Why did everything have to go wrong for him? The alarm would have called the sheriff’s office. But it was ten miles away. He might still be able to make it out of here.

  Ike swore and dashed out, not bothering to close the door behind him. If he could get to his car before the cops arrived, he might make it out of here yet. He glanced down the street behind him to see if anyone was chasing him and didn’t see anyone. But three steps down the sidewalk he ran smack into a solid chest.

  “Stop! Police!” the officer shouted. In a moment, Ike’s arms were behind him in handcuffs.

  A few minutes earlier, Chance had been getting sleepy in the car. There seemed to be no action at all tonight. He watched the bakery man come and go without a problem. He used his key to get in and was only in the bar a couple of minutes, time to disarm and re-arm the alarm. Surely not enough time to have gone to the office to open the safe to help himself to any money. So, he could rule him out.

  Chance watched the bakery van drive off, pause at the stoplight and then cross the bridge into Wisconsin. He yawned. Was this another wasted night?

  But then the alarm blared. What the hell? He hadn’t seen anyone enter the bar. Had he been inside all the time?

  Chance jumped out of his car and raced down the sidewalk toward the front door, meeting a man running out and looking over his shoulder. He ran right into Chance, who quickly swung him around, pulled out his handcuffs and snapped them on him.

  Then he read him his rights as a deputy arrived with his siren blaring. Between the alarm and the police siren, Chance was sure they’d woken the whole town.

  “You okay, Chance?” Deputy Tom yelled as he jumped out of his car and ran over to help him.

  “Yep, this guy’s under control. Check out the inside of the bar to make sure there’s no one else. He left the door open.”

  “How do I shut off the damn noise?”

  “The alarm calls Jack as well as the sheriff’s office,” Chance said. “He’ll be here in a few minutes, I’m sure.”

  “Should I check for fingerprints on the till and safe?” Tom asked.

  Chance shook his head. “No point. He’s wearing gloves.”

  Jack arrived a few minutes later, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, his hair tousled like he’d just gotten out of bed.

  “You!” he said, eyeing the guy Chance had stuffed into the back of the deputy’s car.

  “You know this guy?” Chance asked.

  “Yeah, Ike Owen. He used to work here a couple of years ago.” Frowning at Ike, Jack asked, “I thought you moved to Texas?”

  Ike stared at his feet and mumbled, “Yeah, I did.”

  Jack glanced at the bar. “Did you see anyone else?”

  “Just the bakery guy a while ago. He was only inside a couple of minutes, though.”

  “Yeah, he has to deactivate and then reactivate the alarm so it doesn’t call both of us.”

  “You want to check the bar and lock up, Jack?”

  “Sure. Can I get in on questioning him?”

  “Okay. Then come on over to the office.”

  “Meet you there.”

  Later, they all sat in the sheriff’s office. Jack had called Tim, since he was the employee who was supposed to have locked up. Jack had seen the trays of buns in the bar, so he knew that person had also been there.


  Ike had been searched and relieved of all the money in his pockets. He’d admitted taking the cash from the safe. Tim and Ike glared at each other.

  Detective Chance called the bakery driver. “We caught a guy robbing the bar tonight. I saw you deliver a few minutes earlier. Did you see or hear anything out of the ordinary?”

  “No. I didn’t do anything wrong,” the man declared. “The alarm wasn’t on when I went in, but I thought maybe somebody just forgot to set it. I set it like I’m supposed to when I left.”

  “I know. I saw you take the trays inside,” Chance assured him. “I know you weren’t in the bar more than a couple of minutes. We just needed to verify whether the alarm was set when you came.”

  “No, it wasn’t. But I set it just like I’m supposed to do.”

  “Good. Can you stop by and give us a statement in the morning?”

  “Okay.”

  “Thanks.” Chance said. He hung up and turned back to where Sheriff Ben and Ike were scowling at each other.

  Jack was eyeing Tim suspiciously. “Did you and Carl lock up as usual?”

  Tim stared at the floor, squirming. Then he admitted, “Carl left early, so I locked up.”

  “Carl left you there alone?”

  Tim shrugged. “I don’t mind cleaning up. Carl hates it. It’s no big deal.”

  “It sure as hell is a big deal! He’s supposed to be in charge when I’m not there. He’s not supposed to leave a kid in charge, for God’s sake.”

  “I’m eighteen! Not a kid anymore,” Tim protested.

  “Huh.” Jack turned back to Ike. “So, how did you get in?”

  Ike sighed. “I walked in before the bar closed and had a beer. I went to the bathroom and when I came out, the place was locked up with just the night-lights on.”

  “A likely story. What, it took you hours in the bathroom?”

  Ike shrugged. “So, I fell asleep on the stool.”

  Jack frowned at Tim. “And you didn’t check the bathroom before you left like you’re supposed to?”