Chapter 11
Monica hadn’t expected the night to end up like this.
With her hanging out two blocks from the Food For All pantry in a parking lot with Elodie, Lexie, Kenna, Ashlyn, and Slate, while the rest of the guys went down the street to talk to the police on scene and make sure it was safe for them to approach.
She’d watched the easygoing men morph into deadly soldiers as they insisted the women stay where they were while they did their thing.
It was a surprise to realize that she wasn’t that nervous about being around them.
Even Slate, who was extremely imposing as he stood guard over the five of them in the parking lot.
It was a revelation, one that Monica knew she’d be thinking about later, but for now, she was just as anxious to make sure everything was all right inside the food pantry.
She didn’t work there, had never even laid eyes on the building, but listening to the other women talk passionately about the people they were helping, and hearing their worry about what the break-in meant in regard to the essential service they provided, made Monica equally keen to see what the damage was.
Slate’s phone pinged with a text and he looked down at it. “Okay, it’s safe,” he informed them all.
Lexie and Elodie were on the move almost before he’d finished speaking, obviously eager to get inside the building and see firsthand what had happened.
But before they’d gone a dozen steps, a man stepped out of the shadows in front of them.
Slate moved faster than Monica had seen him move before. He was in front of the two women before she could blink.
“It’s okay, Slate, it’s Theo,” Lexie told him, putting a hand on the SEAL’s arm.
Monica didn’t know who Theo was, but obviously Slate did, because he nodded and she could see his muscles visibly relax.
“Hi, Theo. There’s a bit of excitement around here tonight, huh?” Lexie asked him.
Monica realized almost immediately that the man wasn’t in his right mind. He kept his gaze on the concrete at his feet and he rocked back and forth slightly.
“Theo, are you all right?” Lexie asked.
Monica guessed the man was in his mid-forties or so, but when he spoke he sounded much younger. “Bad things happened,” he said.
“Did you see them?” she asked gently.
“Kevin McCallister,” Theo said, still not looking up from where he was studying the ground as if it was the most interesting thing he’d ever encountered.
“Who’s that?”
“Tonight. Kevin McCallister,” Theo repeated.
Lexie looked up at Slate and shrugged. “I don’t know anyone with that name.”
“Me either,” Elodie agreed. “But maybe he’s a homeless person he knows from the streets.”
“Come on, do you want to come with us to Food For All? I can get you a snack if you want. Did you eat tonight?” Lexie asked.
“No, no snack,” Theo said in agitation.
Monica wasn’t sure it was her place to step in, but she felt the need to help.
Along with children, the other people she seemed to easily click with were the mentally handicapped.
Maybe because in many ways, they were like kids stuck in adult bodies.
She stepped closer to where Lexie and Elodie were talking with the man and said, “Hi, Theo. I’m Monica. It’s good to meet you.”
He glanced upward, then returned his gaze to the sidewalk, shifting in distress.
“Theo’s one of my friends,” Lexie told her. “He was there for me when a bad man tried to hurt me. He got injured in the process. He lives near here in a studio apartment,” she explained.
Monica definitely wanted to hear the story Lexie was referencing, but she was more interested in calming Theo down at the moment.
Slate’s phone pinged again. “The guys are getting worried,” he said. “We should get going.”
“Come on, Theo, come with us,” Lexie urged.
He shook his head almost violently. “Kevin McCallister,” he repeated.
“You guys go. I’ll see if I can get him to talk to me,” Monica volunteered.
“You sure?” Lexie asked.
“I’m sure. I can see the front of the building from here, so I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll send Pid as soon as I get to Food For All,” Slate said.
“That’s not necessary—” Monica began to protest, but at the look on the man’s face, she pressed her lips together, cutting off anything else she was going to say.
“Thanks for talking to him,” Lexie said in a low voice after she turned away from the agitated man. “He’s been much more mellow after moving down here. I haven’t seen him like this in a long time.”
Monica nodded, and once the group had left to head toward Food For All, she tried to talk to Theo once more. “Can you tell me about Kevin McCallister?” she asked.
“He’s me. I’m him,” Theo said.
Monica frowned. She knew Theo was trying to tell her something, but she wasn’t sure what it was. It had to be frustrating for him. “Did you see whoever it was who broke into Food For All?” she asked.
Theo nodded and rocked back and forth.
“Did you talk to him?”
He shook his head.
“Have you seen him before?”
He nodded once more.
Monica knew she needed to get this info to the police officers. If Theo knew the man, it was likely Lexie and Elodie did as well. “Are you scared to go back to Food For All?”
Theo nodded.
“The man who broke in is gone. The police officers are there. They’ll keep you safe.”
Monica watched as Theo’s face lost all its color. “No, they’ll take me to jail.”
“Theo? Can you look at me?” It took a full minute, but she was so proud of him when he finally looked up and met her gaze. “No one will take you to jail. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Monica said.
“Kevin McCallister,” Theo said once more.
Monica frowned. What was he trying to tell her?
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stuart coming her way. She needed to warn Theo so he wasn’t startled. “Here comes Stuart…you probably know him as Pid.”
Theo glanced behind him, then nodded again.
There had to be a reason why the man was still standing there.
If he was as scared as he seemed to be, the likely thing for him to do was to go back to his apartment, where things were familiar and safe.
But instead, he’d sought out Lexie. And he wasn’t leaving now, even though Monica was a stranger to him.
Whatever he was trying to tell them had to be important.
“Hey,” Stuart said as he neared.
Suddenly, something popped into Monica’s head.
She wasn’t sure if she was on the right track, but it was worth a shot.
She held up a hand to Stuart, who paused several feet from where she and Theo were standing.
She didn’t have time to explain what was going on to Stuart, but hopefully he’d give her and Theo some space so her new friend didn’t get distracted or spooked.
“Kevin McCallister was the boy who was left home alone, right?” she asked, remembering how much past charges had loved those movies.
Theo’s head flew up and he met her gaze as he nodded. “Uh-huh.”
“And you said you’re him and he’s you?” she asked.
Theo nodded more enthusiastically. “From New York, not Chicago.”
“Right, the second movie when he got on the wrong plane and ended up in New York by himself,” Monica prodded.
“Yeah. Toy store. Turtle doves,” Theo agreed.
“Why are you Kevin?” she asked.
Theo’s brows came down and his lip began to quiver.
Monica hated seeing him so distressed. “Can I touch you?” she asked, knowing better than to touch someone like Theo without his permission.
Theo reached out so quickly, Monica was startled. He grabbed her left hand and held on as if she was his lifeline. Normally, she would’ve recoiled from anyone holding her damaged hand, but she was too concerned about what Theo was trying to tell her.
“Toy store. Robbers hiding in the dollhouse,” he said urgently.
“That’s right. They hid inside the store until it was closed, then came out to rob it. Was that what happened at Food For All?” she asked.
Theo shook his head. “After.”
Monica racked her mind trying to remember the movie and what happened next. Then it came to her. Without turning her head, she raised her voice and asked, “What was the damage to the building, Stuart?”
He kept his voice low, and Monica had never appreciated someone being as astute as Stuart seemed to be. “It doesn’t look like the lock was jimmied or the door was busted in. But the front window was shattered by a cinderblock.”
Monica nodded and squeezed Theo’s hand. “You saw the man inside and broke the window, didn’t you?”
Theo’s eyes filled with tears. “He ran away. The policeman will take me to jail.”
Monica shook her head. “No, he won’t. You did that to get help, to set off the alarm, right?”
Theo nodded once more and looked back down at the pavement.
“You did so good, Theo. It’s so lucky you were there to see the man go inside. How did you know he was a bad guy? That you needed to break the window to get the police to come?”
“He had on black. And he didn’t turn on the lights. It’s dark. He had a bag and I saw him put things inside. Lexie wouldn’t like that.”
“No, she wouldn’t. Thank you for telling me what happened. If I promise nothing bad will happen to you, will you come with me to Food For All? I’ll stay right by your side and I won’t let the police put you in jail.”
“Promise?”
The frightened sound of his voice touched a chord within Monica. “I promise.”
“Okay. If you stay with me.”
“I will. Lexie and Elodie are going to be so proud of you. Just like Mr. Duncan was proud of Kevin.”
At that, Monica saw a small smile cross Theo’s face. “I trust you,” he said.
His words made Monica jolt slightly. This man-child, someone she’d literally just met, trusted her…and she couldn’t manage to trust anyone, even after knowing them for weeks. It was somewhat depressing.
Pushing that aside, and without letting go of Theo’s hand, Monica turned to look at Stuart for the first time. The look of admiration on his face nearly made her trip over her feet. She couldn’t remember a time when anyone over the age of ten had looked at her like that.