Chapter 13 Carver
The swap meet is already packed when we step through the entrance, the hum of voices and music blending into a steady roar. Jackson takes the lead while Axel and I fall in behind him. To avoid drawing attention, we left our kuttes in the truck.
“End of the row,” Jackson mutters without looking back. “Blue canopy.”
I spot it a second later. It’s a small and temporary setup. A folding table covered in tools. Our tools.
My jaw tightens.
The same brand nail guns. Same bulk packs of fasteners. Even the damn marking tape we order by the case. I don’t need a receipt to know where that shit came from.
“Kids,” Axel says under his breath.
He’s right. A teenage boy, maybe seventeen, lanky and twitchy, keeps scanning the aisle like he’s waiting for something to go wrong. The girl with him is younger, sharper. She handles the customers, does the talking, and takes the money.
They don’t look like hardened thieves.
They look like they should be in school.
“Don’t stare,” Jackson murmurs.
I drag my gaze away as he veers us toward a booth halfway down the aisle where a guy is demonstrating some kind of multi-tool blender bullshit. The crowd gathered there gives us cover.
We stop near the edge, half watching the demo, half watching the kids.
“Is that our stuff?” Axel asks. I nod. “Do you think they stole everything or are they working with someone?”
“That’s a good question,” I say. “They could be the same duo from the security feed. Or, there could be a bigger crew.”
Jackson crosses his arms, eyes flicking toward the end booth. “We roll up too hard, they bolt. We spook ’em, we won’t know.”
“Then we don’t spook ’em,” Axel says. “We buy.”
I shake my head. “Too clean. They’ll clock us.”
The demonstrator cranks up the blender, the noise giving us a moment of cover as we lean in closer.
“We can split up,” Jackson suggests. “One approaches, two hang back.”
“Or,” I say slowly, watching the girl hand off a box of screws to a customer, “we follow instead of confront.”
Axel glances at me. “You think they’ll lead us somewhere?”
I don’t respond because something has snagged my attention. Or, I should say, someone. A familiar figure with dark hair, a slim frame, and moving with a purpose. Raven.
She stops at a booth a few rows over—Luis’s, if I’m remembering right. My chest tightens, something sharp and protective kicking in before I can stop it.
“What?” Jackson asks, catching the shift in my posture.
I don’t answer right away. My eyes stay locked on her as she leans in, talking to Luis like they’re old friends.
I know Luis; he specializes in products that can be dangerous in the wrong hands.
After the attack, I can’t be surprised that Raven is looking for ways to protect herself.
However, her confidence while talking to Luis tells me that this isn’t the first time she’s bought off him.
I’m moving before I consider why. Raven turns as I approach and smacks into my chest. I reach out to steady her as she takes a step back.
“Carver! What are you doing here?”
“I was going to ask you that question.” I glance at Luis, who is watching us with a frown on his face.
“Raven, is there a problem?” he asks. “Is he the one…?
She glances back at him and shakes her head. “No. Not him.”
“Not him, who?” I ask.
“The man who attacked her,” Luis says. “She says he’s been following her. I just want to make sure it wasn’t you. I offered to help teach him a lesson, but I don’t think I’d survive if I had to take on your entire club.”
I chuckle. “No, you wouldn’t, but you don’t have to worry. We aren’t the ones who hurt her. Shield is working on finding the guy. However, I do need to speak to Raven about him. Seems she’s been holding out on us.”
I take Raven’s elbow and lead her to the center of the aisle. “Do you remember who attacked you? If you do, you need to tell Shield.”
Raven yanks her arm away before facing me. “I told Luis what happened to me and that I felt like someone was watching me. If I knew who attacked me, don’t you think I would have told Shield? What reason would I have for keeping that information to myself?”
I relax a little at her statement, but something still feels off. However, I don’t want to get into an argument here. Not if it could cause our petty thieves to take off. Raven’s presence gives me an idea, though.
“Okay, sorry, it just sounded like you knew more than you were saying. I want to get back to the possibility that someone is watching you, but I don’t want to do it here. Would you be interested in doing me a favor?”
Her eyebrows draw together as she studies me. “What kind of favor?”
“If you glance behind me, there is a table at the end of the aisle with a blue canopy manned by two teenagers.”
Raven shifts to her left to study the booths. She shifts back and nods. “I see them.”
“We think they’ve been stealing from our work sites.
All the items they’re selling match the items that were stolen, but we need to get closer to see if we’re right.
We don’t want to scare them away. We want to know if they’re working on their own or part of a gang.
We’re afraid they might recognize Jackson or me.
Axel can probably approach them since he doesn’t look like a biker, and he hasn’t spent much time at the sites.
I was thinking we could pretend we’re together.
They’re less likely to suspect me of being a threat if I’m here with my girlfriend. ”
Raven narrows her eyes before shifting for another glance. “They’re kids. Teenagers. You aren’t going to hurt them, are you?”
“No. We don’t hurt kids. But we need to know what’s going on and put an end to the thefts. We need to know why they’re stealing from us. They could be working for someone. We can’t just let them keep stealing from us.”
Raven nods her head in understanding. “I get it. If they’re working for someone, you want to find out who. If they’re stealing because they need the money…”
“Then we’ll help them figure out a better way to earn it. Hell, they can work at the sites if they want to earn some cash. But the stealing has to stop.”
“Okay, I’ll help you. What do you want me to do?”
Taking her hand, I lead her back where Jackson and Axel are taking turns watching the teenagers and me.
“This is Raven,” I say, introducing her to Axel and Jackson. “She’s going to pretend to be my girlfriend while we approach the teenagers. Axel, I want you to head over there, too. Jackson, stay here. They might recognize you. Axel, talk to the boy. Raven and I will approach the girl.”
Axel leaves us and walks around the booths to approach from the opposite side, closer to the boy.
He waits until a customer also approaches before he makes his move.
He’s studying the hammers. He picks one up and says something to the boy.
This is our cue. Raven and I saunter down the aisle, hand-in-hand.
Raven points at a few things and leans into me.
Anyone watching us would believe we were just a couple spending some time shopping together.
Raven pretends to keep walking past the tools, while I pull her back. “Hold on, I want to check something.”
“Oh, you and your tools. Don’t you already have one of everything?” Raven asks, sharing a smirk with the girl behind the table. “Men, right?”
The girl smiles at Raven as she moves toward us. “Are you looking for anything specific?”
“I could use a new level; I dropped mine and broke it,” I tell her.
“Oh, I have a couple that you might like.” She moves behind her brother to select three levels leaning against the back table.
Two of them are 4-foot levels with multiple vials, allowing the user to measure horizontally, vertically, and at a 45-degree angle, great for measuring framing and larger surfaces.
The third is much longer and is one we use to measure walls or floors.
I examine one of the levels, running my thumb over a scrape on the bottom. “These are all used tools? Correct?”
The girl nods. “They are.”
“Where do you find them?”
“Wherever we can. Usually, we pick them up at garage sales or at the junkyard. You’d be surprised how many people toss away perfectly good tools. We find them, clean them up, and then sell them.”
“I’ll take this,” I tell her, pulling out my wallet and handing her a twenty. She pulls out a metal box, takes my money, and offers me a smile.
“That’s interesting,” Raven says, capturing the girl’s attention. “It’s amazing what people will throw away, isn’t it? I found my dresser on the side of the road. All it took was some soap and water to clean it up and a new coat of paint.”
“We’ve talked about doing that, too,” the girl gushes. “I know there are some sellers here who repurpose items.”
“Really?” Raven asks, glancing around. “I’d love to see what they have. Do you know where they have their booths?”
While the girl gives Raven directions, I slip a tracking device into the open money box. We keep the trackers on hand in case we need them. Even if we lose the kids, we should be able to find them. Or at least the money.
I take my purchase, grab Raven’s hand, and wave goodbye to the girl before joining Jackson and Axel in a neighboring aisle.
“Well?” Jackson asks.
I hand him the level. “I’m pretty sure this is one of ours.”
Jackson studies it. “Could be. It’s the brand we use.”
“I put a tracker in their cashbox,” I say.
“I slipped one in a toolbox when he wasn’t looking,” Axel adds.
“Good, we should be able to find them, and maybe they’ll lead us to who is running this scam.”