Page 95 of The Newcomer
“Haven’t seen him this morning,” she said. “What’s up?”
“I’ll explain later,” Letty said. “Can you please text me his phone number?”
“Doing it right now.”
As soon as the number popped up on her phone screen, Letty texted him.Call me back, please. Important.
Her phone rang a moment later. “Letty? What’s wrong?”
“I’m at the Publix in Madeira Beach, and Maya’s with me. We were in the produce department when I noticed this strange man staring at us. It creeped me out. He wanted to know how old Maya was, and said he had a four-year-old at home too. Then he tried to get her to say her name, but I stopped her, and basically told him to back off. Joe, maybe I’m being paranoid, but I think it’s Declan Rooney. I think he was stalking us. I took a couple photos of him when he was pretending not to watch us.”
“Text me the photos. But what makes you think this isn’t just some garden-variety perv? Rooney’s never seen you or Maya.”
“Maybe it is just some random creep. He was wearing a baseball cap that obscured his face. But Joe, I think he has seen Maya before. I’ll explain it later.”
“Where is this guy now? And where are you?”
“I’m hiding out in the ladies’ room. He was trolling around in the meat department. He’s wearing black jeans and a black zip-neck pullover, and some kind of navy-blue baseball cap. I’d say he’s about six-two.”
“Okay, sit tight. I’m headed your way.”
Hecalled Vikki Hill on his way to Publix. “Hey. We might have a complication. Letty just called me from Publix. She thinks she saw Rooney. He was stalking her. I’m going there right now.”
“Aw, shit,” Agent Hill moaned. “How does she know it’s him?”
“Not sure. But she texted me some pictures she took, and although he’s got a ball cap pulled down over his face, the build and profile fit. It looks like this could be our guy.”
“You want backup?” she asked. “That store’s just a mile from here, right?”
He hesitated. “I guess it couldn’t hurt. See you there.”
“Letty,I don’t wanna stay here,” Maya whined. “I want my goldfish crackers. And my sticker book.”
They’d been in the bathroom for ten minutes. They’d washed their hands, watched a cartoon on Letty’s phone, and sung “Let It Go” twice. Letty was tired of hiding in a locked bathroom stall, and she was tired of being afraid, and she was tired of listening to bathroom noises.
“Okay, ladybug,” she said. “Let’s go.”
She was placing Maya back in the shopping cart when her phone dinged with a text from Joe.
Here.
She texted back.We’re right inside the front doors.
Letty scanned the front of the store, but didn’t spot any tall men dressed all in black.
Joe sprinted through the door. “Is he still here?”
“Not up front,” Letty reported.
A moment later, Vikki Hill joined them. “Any sign of him?”
“Not up here,” Letty said.
“Let’s split up,” Joe said. “You take the right side of the store, I’ll take the left.”
“I’ll go with Vikki,” Letty said.
The agent gave Maya a tentative smile. “Hey there. I’m Vikki.”
