Free The Babbling Brook Naked Poker Club - Book One by Ann Warner Page B

more.”
    “But all you can document is roughly a
hundred bucks’ worth.”
    “Theft is theft.”
    “Of course it is. But to get this department
involved, I need stronger evidence that he’s stolen a lot more than
this.”
    “What about the baseball card? And the
necklace? Don’t forget those.”
    “Those are rumors. And you’re a third
party.”
    “So that’s it?” Josephine said. “You do
nothing?”
    “I can arrange for someone to speak to Mr.
Colter. Likely that will put a stop to it.”
    “Can you do it now?” I said.
    “Why the rush?”
    “Josephine feels insecure. You see, Eddie
has access to a master keycard. And neither of us doubt he’s
capable of more than a little petty larceny.”
    McElroy sat back and rubbed his knuckles
across his lips. “Okay. Where’s this Eddie likely to be right
now?”
    I glanced at the time. “He should still be
at work. And I need to get back. I have an activity in twenty
minutes.”
    “Tell you what. You head on back, and I’ll
follow along and talk to Eddie. Let him know we’re aware of the
situation. That should stop him from harassing you.”
    “Can’t you arrest him?” Josephine’s voice
held a uncharacteristic plaintive note. Given my experiences with
Eddie, I didn’t consider it an overreaction on her part.
    Detective McElroy shook his head. “Doubt it
would stick. You’d be better off reporting this to whoever’s in
charge at Brookside so they can fire him.”
    “The manager is his uncle,” I said.
    “Like I said, I’ll talk to him. Let him know
I’m keeping an eye on things and that if anything happens to either
of you, I’ll be looking into it. Would that help?”
    “Guess we have to hope it does,” Josephine
said, sounding more like her usual self.
    “I have a request,” I said. “Please don’t
mention my name when you speak to Eddie.”
    He cocked his head. “You have a history with
Eddie?”
    I knew what he was asking. Especially after
Josephine said Eddie was good-looking.
    “He’s a bully. I try to avoid him whenever I
can. But, well, once I didn’t quite manage it.”
    He sat back, pursing his lips, giving me
that aware look that made me feel he knew more about me than I
would like him to know.
    “And?” he said.
    “He grabbed me and tried to kiss me.”
    Josephine shifted. I glanced at her to find
her lips set in a firm line.
    “When was this?” the detective said.
    “Two weeks ago. I’ve been avoiding him ever
since.”
    “I hope you can see, Officer, that something
needs to be done,” Josephine said.
    He nodded. “I see no reason to mention your
name, Ms. Subramanian. After all, you weren’t involved in
confronting him about the thefts. I would have advised against
that, by the way.” He turned that piercing look on Josephine, who
didn’t seem the least bit fazed.
    “I quite agree with you, but Myrtle and
Bertie were determined.”
    “We’d better get back,” I said, standing.
“Thank you for your help, Officer.”
    “My pleasure. Here’s my card. If anything
makes you uncomfortable, you can call me. Anytime.” He handed us
each a card, then came around the table and opened the door for
us.
    I turned and glanced back at him as I held
the second door for Josephine. He looked solid and reliable, and I
was glad to know he was on our side.
    “Do you think that did a bit of good,”
Josephine asked as we got back in the car.
    “I don’t know. But I do know I’m not
comfortable leaving you alone until we see what happens when he
talks to Eddie.”
    “What do you suggest?”
    “Come to dinner with the group tonight. We
can squeeze in one more, and I’ll feel better knowing where you
are.”
    “I do think something needs to be done about
that young man before someone gets hurt,” Josephine said, pursing
her lips. “And I thought we were doing it today. But now, I guess
we’ll have to wait and see.”
    “So, you will come to dinner with us
tonight?”
    “I’ll still have to come back to