by Misty Malone
Kelli nodded and said, "We can pretend to shop close to the shoe department and watch for the two of them. If they're both there we'll go shoe shopping."
"Good idea," Alana said. They made arrangements to take time off from work so they could go and be back before John or Cal would be at their apartments.
Chapter 7
The girls talked on their way to the department store the next day. "I'm glad Cal didn't come over last night," Kelli said. "He would have known something was wrong right away."
"Are you going to be able to get a handle on it by tonight?"
"I think so. I needed time to think it all through, and I did that last night. I think I'll be okay by the time I see him tonight. How about you, does John know when something's bothering you?"
"Yes, he does," Alana admitted. "I'm hoping I can pull it off. I spent all night last night trying to decide what to do with it, where to put it."
"Did you find a good place for it?"
"I hope so. I put it in the waste basket."
"In the what?"
"Well, if you broke into a house and were looking for something would you look there?"
"No, but you aren't afraid of losing it?"
"I put it in a bag on the bottom of the waste basket, underneath the bag that holds the trash. To find it you have to take out the bag of trash and look in the empty wastebasket. All you see is what looks like an empty plastic grocery bag. If someone finds it there, they've earned it."
"Brilliant!"
"Thank you."
When they got to Newjangles they were happy to see the same security guard walking around the front of the store, close to the doors. "We've got to get his name somehow," Alana said.
"I've got an idea. Wait for me somewhere in this department. I'll get it and be back in a few minutes." She walked past him, glancing at him on her way past and smiling at him, and went into the restrooms. She came back out a couple minutes later and found Alana. "I got it and wrote it down," she said quietly in case anyone was close enough to hear.
They walked toward the shoe department, but stopped at the jewelry department, which was next to the shoes. They browsed at the racks of earrings, while glancing over to see who was working in shoes. They were happy to see the same man helping people again today. They took their time, slowly looking at jewelry until luck was with them and the security guard walked over toward the shoes.
They nonchalantly headed for one of the racks of shoes on sale toward one end of the shoe department, talking excitedly about some of the gorgeous shoes they found. When the two men went into the back room, the girls moved to a display of shoes right by the open entrance to the back room. They picked up some shoes, appearing to study them.
The men were talking just inside the back room, and the girls could hear some, but not all of the conversation. When they heard them wrapping up the conversation they quickly moved back to the sales rack. The security guard came out first, alone, and went directly back up to the front of the store. A couple minutes later the salesman came out and headed toward the register. As he walked past the girls he stopped and smiled. He obviously remembered them from the day before. "The professional shoe shoppers are back," he said with a smile. "Finding everything okay?"
"I debated about getting these yesterday and talked myself out of it. Then last night I decided what the heck, they're on sale, I need them, too, so here we are," Alana said.
"It's a good sale. You may as well get them," he agreed.
"Unfortunately, you don't have them in my size today. That'll teach me, I guess," she said with a pout.
"I'm sorry we're sold out," he said.
"Yeah, me, too," she said very convincingly. "But I'm looking at them all again. You never know, I may have missed some yesterday that I have to have."
He chuckled as he said, "Well, good luck. Call me if you need any help."
"We will. Thank you."
They continued to look at the shoes for a while, and when he went in the back room to look for another size for a customer they left. They walked around a little longer in the store, feigning interest in several more items, before leaving.
Once they'd made their escape, as it felt to both of them, they hurried to Kelli's car and headed home. As Kelli was driving she said, "Get the little note pad out of the pocket on the outside of my purse. That's where I wrote the security guard's name."
Alana found the notebook and read, "Phil Jansen. The name doesn't sound familiar to me. Does it you?"
"Nope. Neither did the shoe department employee, Jason Wilson."
"I've never heard of either one of them, either."
Kelli said, "You better write his name down on that note pad, too, so we don't forget it. How are we going to try to learn something about these two?"
"We'll start with Google. After that I'm not sure. But now to the important stuff. How much of what they said did you hear?"
"Parts here and there. How about you?"
"Same here. But they said there's going to be another shipment Friday night."
"I heard that," Kelli said. "What are we going to do?"
"I'm not sure, but I know we have to do it fast."
"I hate to say this," Kelli admitted, "but I think we need to tell John."
"Let's go home and Google these two names and see what we come up with first. See if we get any clues from that. Friday gives us three days yet."
"Okay, we can do that much, but I don't know what Google can tell us."
"I don't, either, but I think it's worth a try," Alana said.
As soon as they got back to Alana's apartment they went to her computer. They typed in Phil Jansen and got nothing. When they typed in Jason Wilson, however, they found out he'd been in prison a couple of times. Both girls were shocked at that news. "He seemed so friendly when he was joking with us about being professional shoe shoppers," Alana said.
"I guess it just shows you don't know who you can trust. He isn't at all what he seems. So now what?"
"Let's see if we can find out what he was convicted of. Maybe we can find an old story in a newspaper or something that will say what he did and if he had help. Maybe there'll be some names that sound familiar or something."
"Good idea," Kelli agreed. They found two articles on his trials. Each girl started reading one, and they soon came across a familiar name.
"Guess who the arresting officer was in the case I'm reading about?" Kelli asked.
"I don't know, but the one in mine was Officer Phil Jansen," Alana answered.
"No way! He was the arresting officer in this one, too." Kelli looked at her friend and said, "That can't be a coincidence, can it?"
"I don't think so," Alana responded. "But if Phil Jansen arrested someone twice and that person went to prison both times, why would they be working together now?"
"Good question," Kelli agreed. "Something else, too, that means a police officer has gone bad."
"Or maybe Jansen is working undercover on this case and they're about to arrest Wilson again, but they're trying to get Wilson's boss or bosses, too."
"Maybe," Kelli said thoughtfully, "or maybe you've been watching too many cop shows on television."
"No, that wouldn't make sense," Alana said thoughtfully. "Jansen couldn't be working undercover. Wilson would know he's a cop."
"Good point. So that puts us back to the bad cop angle. They've got to be working together, don't they?"
"Probably. Or maybe they nailed Wilson and they've agreed to go easy on him if he helps them catch these guys."
Kelli looked at Alana. "Just how many cop shows do you watch?"
"Enough," Alana admitted. "But what else could it mean?"
"I guess, but I still think Jansen being a bad cop makes the most sense."
"Yeah, me, too," Alana admitted. "So now what do we do?"
Kelli glanced at her watch and said, "Nothing right now. I've got to get home. Since Cal didn't come over last night, he'll be over tonight, I'm sure."
"Yeah, you're right. John is apt to be here shortly, too. Be careful, so they don't know something's wrong."
"Are you sure we shouldn't just tell them now?"
"I'm thinking about it, but let me think about what we just learned first."
After thinking a little bit Kelli agreed. "You know, if we can solve this and turn it over to the police, the guys may not be too upset with us."
"They may even be proud of us," Alana agreed. "But I don't think we can go to the police with it, because we know at least one of them is involved. What if there are several involved? At this point we don't know who we can trust to tell."
"Ooh, you're right," Kelli agreed. "If we go to the police, how do we know we're not giving our information to a guy who already knows it? We don't know who we can trust in the police department."
They both thought about that. Then they looked at each other and at the same time said, "Except John."
Kelli said, "You're right, Alana. We need to think about this a little bit before we do anything. What if we tell John and he goes to his boss and his boss is in on it? That might be putting John in danger."
"That's true. I sure don't want to do that. Let's think about it tonight. I'll call you tomorrow when I get home from work and we'll decide what to do." Kelli agreed, then hurried home.
John stopped by to take Alana to dinner, as she was pretty sure he would. She tried to put the whole ruby incident out of her mind and enjoy her time with him, but she couldn't stop thinking about it. Her mind kept going back to her thought about him being in danger if they told the wrong person in the police department. That thought terrified her.
They were sitting on her couch after dinner and John asked, "Honey, what's wrong?"
"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong," she answered.
"Yes, it is," he insisted. "I know you well enough to tell when something's on your mind. Is it something at work?"
Taking the out he gave her, she said, "Yeah, I guess it is bothering me a little bit. In the back of my mind I feel like there's some detail I've forgotten to set up on an important business meeting Marilyn's handling, but I can't think what it would be."
John smiled and pulled her in to lean against him. "That's why you're going to be such a good event planner as soon as you get your license, honey. You have a way of thinking of all the details. If you think about it, I'm sure you'll get all the pieces put together just fine. You have a knack for it. But for right now, don't worry about it. I missed you last night. Let's enjoy our time together tonight instead of worrying about work."
She leaned up and kissed his cheek before snuggling in against him to watch the sitcom they both liked. "You're right. I'm going to try not to think about it any more tonight. I'll wait and try to figure it out in the morning."
"And I'm sure you will, too," he encouraged.
He dropped the subject until he was ready to leave that night. He told her, "I hope you think of whatever you think you forgot, Alana. I can tell it's got you worried, and I don't like seeing that." He then kissed her, and when she kissed him back with more urgency than normal, he deepened the kiss. Right before he left he said, "Honey, if anything else is bothering you, just remember that I'll always listen to any concerns you have and do whatever I can to help." He kissed the end of her nose and left, not expecting an answer.
After he left she got tears in her eyes. He had become very special to her, and she was pretty sure she was already half in love with him. She had to be careful and think straight about this ruby thing. She didn't dare do anything that would put him in any danger.
* * * * *
Kelli seemed preoccupied to Cal, as well. He also asked, "What's bothering you tonight, Sweetie?"
Kelli had been thinking about their situation all evening and was getting frustrated. Every idea she thought of she shot down not long afterward. She didn't want to put John in any danger, but she knew they had to do something. She felt like they were trapped, with no safe way out of this situation. The more she thought the more trapped she felt, and the more trapped she felt the more she panicked. Unfortunately, when Cal asked her that question she was not in a good frame of mind. She answered, "Nothing." It came out harsher than she meant it, but with her frame of mind at the moment, she didn't really care.
Cal, however, did care. "Whoa, back up a minute, Sweetheart. Now I know something's wrong."
"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong, I'm fine."
"Not with that attitude, you're not." Trying to calm her down and find out what was going on, he calmly said, "Sweetie, you don't normally have an attitude like this. That tells me something's on your mind. Why don't you tell me what it is and we'll talk about it. Maybe it's something I can help you with."
"You can't help, okay? So just drop it."
Cal's eyebrows rose. "Okay, we've gone from nothing's wrong, to I can't help and just drop it. I think it's time you talk to me, Kelli. You'll feel better if you do."
"No, I won't. Unlike what you seem to think, talking doesn't cure everything. And you aren't able to miraculously solve all my problems like you seem to think you can. This is just something I'm going to have to think through and work out myself. So just let it be."
"Watch your attitude, Kelli. If you want a little time to think through something, I can respect that. But this attitude is not necessary. In fact, it's not acceptable. If you can assure me you're okay, that your concern, whatever it is, is not about your health or safety, I'll give you some time to think, but I won't allow this attitude to continue."
Kelli looked up at him, ready to unleash her thoughts of what he could do with his dislike for her attitude. But then she saw his expression and paused. He asked, "So can you give me your word that whatever it is that's bothering you tonight doesn't concern your health, and you're not in any kind of danger?"
She had been strung so tight tonight she couldn't stop her words as they spewed from her mouth. "I'll tell you what it doesn't concern, it doesn't concern you. My worries are my worries, okay? So just let me the hell alone to think. As a matter of fact, I think you should leave tonight."
She barely got the words out of her mouth before she found herself over Cal's lap, with her jeans and panties down around her knees. He started spanking immediately, but said, "Kelli, I don't know what's on your mind, but if it's got you this upset maybe you should seriously consider talking to me about it. If you don't want to talk yet I can respect that, but I will not allow you to have an attitude like this. I don't deserve it, and neither does anyone else. You're a better person than to treat someone like this, which tells me that whatever is bothering you really has you upset."
"Ouch! Cal, stop it."
"I will, as soon as I feel you're able to treat people with a little respect." He kept spanking her, and watching her reaction. He could tell when she'd given up her fight and accepted her spanking. He knew her, and he knew when she accepted the fact that she deserved a spanking, she accepted the spanking itself. Until she reached that point, he knew he hadn't gotten through to her.
Sure enough, she started crying, and said, "I'm sorry, Cal. You're right, you don't deserve to be treated like that. I'm sorry."
He knew she meant those words, and he stopped. He gently helped her stand, and then sit in his lap. She quickly laid her head against his chest and cried on his shoulder as he wrapped her securely in his arms. After several moments of quietly encouraging her, and letting her calm down, he asked, "Feel better, Sweetie?"
"Yes, I do," she admitted. She looked up at him and asked, "How did you know a horrible, painful spanking would make me feel better?"
He chuckled and answered, "Because you were so wound tight I knew you needed a release. A good spanking is the best way I could think of to accomplish that. Besides, can you sit there and even try to tell me you didn't deserve to be spanked for your attitude?"
"No, I guess not," she admitted. "Thank you for helping me feel better."
He smiled as he asked, "Am I hearing you right, are you thanki
ng me for spanking you?"
"Oh, heck, no," she said with a smile of her own. "I'm thanking you for making me feel better."
"Which was with a spanking," he pointed out.
"Whatever," she muttered. He grinned as she nestled down against him. They stayed right like that for most of an hour, talking quietly.
He didn't mention what was on her mind again until he left that night. He was standing at her door, holding her in his arms. "Sweetie, whatever was bothering you tonight, if it's still bothering you tomorrow, think about what I said. I'll respect your privacy, but I think you'll feel better if you share your problem with me. And if it's something that could affect your health or safety, I definitely want you to tell me about it. Think about it, okay?"
She could tell he wasn't scolding, but talking out of concern. "I understand. And I promise I'll think about what you said. Thank you."
He took her face in his hands and gave her a kiss that showed her just how much he cared about her.
* * * * *
Alana was glad they weren't busy at work the next day, because she was having a difficult time concentrating on anything. All she could think about was the ruby hiding at home. Today was Wednesday, and Jason and Phil had said they were getting another shipment on Friday. They had to do something. She did some research on her computer, and finally reached a decision.
The minute she got in her apartment that evening after work she called Kelli. "I think I've decided what we have to do. Want to come over a minute?"
"I'll be right there," Kelli said.
As soon as Kelli got to Alana's apartment and they were alone Alana said, "I did some checking today about Newjangles. I grew up here and I've always heard good things about the store. It's a family-owned store, started by the current owner's grandfather. I couldn't figure out if the store is involved in this, or just that one employee."
"I'm thinking, or maybe hoping, it's just the one guy."
