Concealed Hearts (Hometown Jasper #4) - Nicky James Page 0,71

the girls tonight. Ask Harriet.”

“Already told her I’d go. Never mind.”

I headed toward the high school, intent on swinging through the back parking lot to ensure there weren’t kids hanging around where they shouldn’t be. It was a hotspot since you couldn’t see the back field from the main road, and the school backed onto open land with no backyard neighbors.

“Gotta date with the secret lady friend?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t tell you about it. You’re a blabbermouth like the kid.”

John laughed until I grumbled for him to get back to work and killed the radio.

The high school was clear, so I made a detour to check out all the local hangouts in town where high school kids were known to gather. The parks, the supposed haunted house beside where I lived, the elementary school playground, and the fairgrounds. I was still hung up on Felix and the bits and pieces I’d learned about him. The kid had many layers, and I’d only been able to dig so deep. I was an adult, and he didn’t trust me. I remembered what it was like being a teenager and thinking the world was against you.

After a few hours of driving around, I headed back toward the station. It had been a quiet day. Two calls had come in while I was out, and John had taken them both. Julie had radioed her intent to head home early, and Matthew checked in as scheduled on the top of the hour. At least he’d proven he could multitask.

Driving down the main street, I caught sight of a group of kids hanging around on the benches across the street from the grocery store. There was a small area with a historic statue representing wartimes where the town gathered on Remembrance Day every year. There was a flagstone path leading to a memorial park on the other side of a wall of hedges. It wasn’t an ideal place for teens to hang out, and more than a few calls had been placed in the past by concerned citizens, worried they might deface the memorials.

It was smack dab in the middle of downtown Jasper, so the likelihood they were causing trouble was slim. Underage smoking and too much cursing was the extent of the problem, and I had no intention of stirring the pot for something so trivial. I’d learned over the years that harassing teenagers with minor complaints only encouraged more unruly behavior. You had to pick your battles.

I decided to park on the other side of the street and run into the grocery store for a cold drink. My presence in the area would likely be enough to keep them on their toes or send them packing. As I suspected, the minute I pulled up, cigarettes landed on the ground, crushed under shoes. Their conversation turned hushed. All eyes watched me, even when I didn’t show signs of watching them back.

Ignoring them, or rather pretending to, I headed toward the store. It was Ben’s crew. There was always a group of seniors who felt superior and untouchable. They walked around like they owned the town, often causing trouble the minute no one was looking. It seemed this was the group taking root this year if the incident with Felix was anything to go by.

The group vacated the benches before I got far, and they headed toward the park, ducking out of sight behind the row of hedges. I waited a few minutes, feigning interest in my phone to see if they’d come back, then I turned to head inside the store.

I ran smack into Felix, who was on his way out, head down, eyes glued to his own phone.

He startled and glanced up. “Hey, Chief.”

“Felix. How’re things?”

He shrugged and gave me a wane smile before holding up a bag of groceries. “Grabbing stuff for Mom. She made me a list.”

“Still grounded?”

Another shrug which didn’t answer my question one way or the other. Felix slipped around me, hooked a left, and headed down the road. I watched him go. Not once did he show any indication he knew Ben’s group had been outside the store recently.

I wondered if Felix was the reason they’d gathered on the benches to begin with.

Abandoning my plan to grab a cold drink, I returned to my cruiser and sat, watching the street in both directions as Felix wandered away, unaware I was keeping an eye on him.

When he turned down a side street, I started the car and pulled a