“I don’t think you’re ready for that information.”
I frown. “Try me.”
She looks up, cheeks coloring a pretty shade of pink. “Can we not talk about ghosts for a little while?”
My eyes widen. “Is it Chelsea? Is she here?”
Alyssa swallows, head shaking back and forth slowly. “Someone else.” She sighs heavily. “I’ll tell you soon, but for today, can we just enjoy the pancakes?”
I grin. “Yes. We’re not letting perfectly good pancakes go to waste.”
She smiles, her face instantly relaxing.
Her phone dings, and I glance down at the counter to see Nina’sname lighting up the screen. She moves under my arm to grab her phone, and I take that opportunity to check my own.
I have a voice message from a number I don’t recognize.
“Nick? Nick West?” I recognize the voice, vaguely, but can’t place who the woman is. “Oh…sorry. Hi, Nick. This is your neighbor Patty Phillips. Could you give me a call, please?” She rattles off her number and I jot it down, realizing she’s the middle-aged mom of three who peddles popcorn through the neighborhood with a uniformed second-grader every year.
I chuckle to myself at Patty’s initial confusion. It’s not like my recording doesn’t make it clear that it’s my voicemail.
Moving toward my hallway, I give her a call while Alyssa is occupied. It rings twice before she answers.
“Hi, Mrs. Phillips. This is Nick West, calling you back.”
“Thank you for returning my call. I need your help. My Christmas sleigh, which I spent a lot of money on, was stolen from my front yard overnight.”
“Do you have a door cam? Any idea who might’ve done it?”
I’m not even sure why I’m asking. This isn’t my jurisdiction, and I’m off the clock. What I should do is give her the non-emergency number to the station and call it a day.
Old habits die hard, and one of mine is helping people even on my time off.
“Well…no. We don’t have a camera. But our neighbor does.”
I nod, even though she can’t see me. “I’d suggest stopping by and asking if they can check their footage. Regardless, you should contact the station and file a report.”
“Can’t you head over and ask for the footage?” Mrs. Phillips asks, sounding annoyed with me.
“I’m sorry. There’s not much I can do, honestly. I work in homicide.”
She prattles on about not having time and how it’s New Year’sand she has plans. I inhale and exhale, rubbing at the center of my forehead, allowing her to vent.
“Mrs. Phillips, I’ll stop by and see what I can do.”
Her tone immediately changes. “Bless you, Nick. Happy holidays.”
The line goes dead before I can respond.
“Happy holidays,” I say, putting the phone back on the counter.
“Everything okay?” Alyssa calls down the hall, and I head back toward her.
“Another neighbor had something stolen from their yard. I need to contact the PD and set up patrol for our street at night.”
“Yikes. I don’t love hearing that.”
“Thankfully, the thief hasn’t attempted to break in. It’s all been yard decorations taken. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Just take in anything you don’t want stolen.”
