‘Oh, hi,’ said Felix, looking shifty.
‘Off anywhere nice?’
‘Just heading out to take some photos of the sunset.’
‘Ah yes, you said. I didn’t realise you were into photography.’
‘It’s a new hobby,’ said Felix, his words clipped, his hands playing with the strap of his bag.
‘You seem in a hurry.’
‘Don’t want to miss the sunset, that’s all.’
‘Right,’ said Sarah. ‘Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’m just off to have a shower. Keep your fingers crossed there’s some hot water.’ She gave what she hoped was a carefree laugh.
Felix mimicked her laugh with one of his own. He held up a hand and crossed his fingers. ‘Have a good evening.’
‘You too. Oh, and I’d love to see the photos you take,’ said Sarah, enjoying watching him squirm.
‘I’d wait till I’ve had a practice if I were you. I haven’t quite got the hang of focusing yet. Everything seems to come out in a blur.’
Oh, Felix, you’re such a terrible liar. ‘OK then, see you.’
‘See you.’
Sarah headed toward the shower. As soon as she was out of sight of the tipis, she crouched behind a bush and set her phone timer to five minutes. She had to time this right. After what felt like an age, Sarah’s phone vibrated in her palm and she crept out from her hiding spot. She approached the tipis with caution, wondering if five minutes had been long enough.
As light slipped from the sky, Sarah ran to Felix’s tipi and darted inside. She pulled the door closed behind her and stood, hands on hips. There was no way Hattie would take her seriously without evidence, and it wasn’t as if Felix had many places to hide it.
Over the past few weeks, Sarah had been totting up the value of all that went missing. She’d kept most of the missing items to herself, a few slices of flapjack here, a couple of pints of milk there. Now that the total had exceeded two hundred pounds, and with the latest order showing the stealing was ramping up, now was the time to act.
The last puzzle piece was collecting irrefutable evidence. If she shared her suspicions without it, Hattie would laugh her out of the café. Sarah could picture the scene…Let me get this right. You felt Felix’s bag, and it was heavy? You’re accusing him of stealing because he has a heavy bag?Oh, how they would laugh. She’d be back to spiky Sarah, the troublemaker, the staff member who couldn’t work as part of a team. Well, she wouldn’t have that happen again. This time, she’d be prepared.
Sarah looked through the chest of drawers beside Felix’s bed. All she found were a few books and plenty of well-worn clothes. She tried the chest at the end of the bed, disappointed as her hands rifled through woollen blankets. Flat on her stomach, Sarah began pulling items out from under Felix’s bed. She’d removed three suitcases before she found what she was looking for.
The large plastic tub took quite some effort to drag out. Sarah eased it from under the bed, but when she tried to lift it, found she didn’t have the strength. She clicked open the lid and began removing the contents and laying it out beside her. Tins, jars, bags of pasta and rice. There was enough food hidden in the box to feed an army. Was he preparing for a nuclear fallout?
As vigilant as she’d been, Sarah discovered she had underestimated the extent of Felix’s light-fingered behaviour. Mental maths had never been her strong point, but besides all the fresh food she’d witness go missing, this new find had to bring the total closer to five hundred pounds. Five hundred pounds worth of stock. What the hell was Felix thinking? Was he suffering from kleptomania? Whatever the cause, he needed to be called out on it.
Sarah took her phone from her pocket and photographed the contents of the box. Next, she replaced everything as she found it and slid the box back into its original position. With one last check everything was in its rightful place, Sarah left the tipi and returned to her own.
She’d need to pick her moment with care. There was no rush, it might be fun to watch Felix go about his business unaware for a few days. Soon enough, he’d learn that Sarah was not someone you messed around. Soon enough he’d be exposed as the lying, cheating, kleptomaniac he was.
Chapter 36
‘ThisisallIneed,’ said Sarah, hands on her hips, surveying the damage.
‘Somewhere you need to be?’ asked Felix.
‘Yes, Kate has her final dress fitting this morning. I’d booked a taxi for nine, which I’ve had to cancel.’
‘Does Fran know about this?’
‘Yes, Hattie’s calling her now.’
‘I’m sure she’d give you a lift back to Bodmin.’
Sarah grimaced. She’d hoped never to be in a car with Fran again.
