Book 8-The Book Thieves

Author: Cari & Al

Written: October 2007

Summary: Someone’s stealing books, and Dylan returns to Nate’s.

Copyright: It’s ours.

 

*           *           *

 

“Steve’s a little depressed today,” Shane told Tracy and Amber as they took off their coats and purses. “So go easy on him.”

 

Tracy shoved her coat and purse in her locker and slammed the door. “Any reason why?”

 

Shane reached for his Seahawks cap and placed it firmly on his head. He titled his head back to look at her from underneath the big bill. “In case you haven’t heard, Raquel got her job back.”

 

“Yeah, she told me yesterday.  Is there something wrong with that?”

 

“You know the answer to that.”

“OK then.  Anything I should know?”

 

“David had to leave early for a dentist appointment, so you have Raquel until 4:30, and Steve until 6.  There are a few books that need to be shelved, but other than that, just basic upkeep and customer service, and Tracy, I need to talk to you alone.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I’ll be shelving.” Amber dropped her lanyard over her head and went out onto the floor.

 

“What’s up?” Tracy plopped down on Nate’s desk and swung her legs.

 

“We got our shrink numbers back from inventory last month, and they’re not good.”

 

Tracy looked over the columns and rows of numbers. The total number was highlighted in pink and in illegible note from Nate was scribbled next to it. “Five percent? Who wants to steal from this bookstore? There’s a better selection at Barnes and Noble a few blocks away.”

 

“Someone finds it worth their time. We have to find out who’s doing this and stop them.”

 

“How?”

 

Shane picked up the manager communication log. “Here are Nate’s ideas.”

 

Tracy took the book from Shane.

 

1.      All employees must submit to a bag check by the manager on duty before leaving the store even if they employee does not have a bag.

2.      Any items brought by employees into the store that can be purchased at the store must be declared to the manager on duty as they enter.

3.      Employee purchases must be rung up by the manager on duty and receipt must be kept with the purchases while in the store.

4.      There must be a greeter on the sales floor during business hours greeting every customer shopping in the store.

5.      Employees are no longer permitted to have unpaid merchandise in the back room.

6.      Restrooms are to be monitored and checked several times an hour for possibility of customer theft.

 

Failure to follow these new guidelines can result in disciplinary action.

 

“He thinks it’s someone working here?” Tracy gasped. “He’s crazy!”

 

“We don’t know who it is. This is not because we suspect the employees, but because we want to remove our employees from suspicion.”

 

“Are those the exact words Nate used?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Who are you suspicious of?”

 

Shane glanced around to make sure no one else had come in the back room. “I don’t know, exactly, but if the numbers don’t go down, Nate’s thinking about putting in cameras.”

 

“I hate this job.”

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing. So, who do we have as our greeter?”

 

“Whoever you decide. Steve’s been doing it most of the day.” Shane shrugged into his coat. “These rules better be followed. Nate, Betty, and I are serious about this.”

 

“Got it. Should I give you a bag check?”

 

Tracy followed Shane to the front of the store. Shane didn’t have a bag, so he put his hands up as if was being held at gunpoint.

 

“I don’t have anything.”

 

“Then you do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around.”

 

“Good bye, Tracy.” Shane left.

 

“That’s what it’s all about!”

 

“What was that all about?” Amber asked.

 

“Tell ya later. You wanna shelve or work at the registers?”

 

“I’ll work registers.  Give Raquel a break.”

 

Amber headed for the front desk and ran into Steve, who blushed and lowered his head in embarrassment. “Uh…hi Amber.”

 

“Hey,” Amber replied weakly. She had recently used her ‘charms’ on Steve to recover a notebook that held evidence that would get Raquel fired, and now she was remembering what she had done. “So…I’m gonna go work the registers.”

 

“Uh, sure…Oh, by the way, have you seen my notebook?”

 

Amber looked blank. “What notebook?”

 

“You know…” A customer walked by and Steve lowered his voice. “Remember?  The one that I write in at work?”

 

“Oh yeah.  Nope, haven’t seen it.”

 

“Oh.  OK.” He shuffled his feet a little, avoiding eye contact.  Amber left him and went to the registers.

 

“What’s wrong with Steve?”

 

Raquel looked up from her OK magazine. “You mean besides the fact that he’s an idiot?”

 

“Well…yeah.”

 

“Beats the hell out of me.  Maybe he’s trying to gather the courage to come out of the closet.”

 

Amber laughed despite herself and noticed a bottle of clear liquid sitting on the counter. “What’s this?”

 

“Glass cleaner, I think.  Nicole brought it in this morning.”

 

“What happened to the Windex?”

 

Raquel looked blank.  “From what Shane said, we failed to meet plan last month, so they’re cutting back on stuff.” She flipped the page and grimaced. “Now that’s a horrible dress.”

 

“I’ll never understand why you read that stuff.”

 

“Cheap entertainment.” She flipped another page. “So I heard about your little encounter with Steve.”

 

Amber’s mouth dropped open. Tracy happened to come rolling a cart of books past the registers. “You told Raquel!?” She gasped and Tracy stopped.

 

“What?”

 

“About Steve…You know…the other day…” Her voice trailed off and she noticed Tracy’s confused look.

 

“I didn’t tell anyone.  But if you want me to-“

 

“No!” Amber whirled to look at Raquel, who smirked. “How did you know?”

 

“My little secret.”

 

Tracy rolled the cart into the mystery section and walked back to the registers. “There are some changes to the rules.”

 

“I know. They suck,” Raquel said.

 

“What kind of changes?” Amber asked.

 

“We need a store greeter all the time,” Tracy answered.

 

“Oh, that explains Steve.”

 

“What about Steve?”

 

“Watch.”

 

The three girls turned to the self help section, where Steve approached a male customer flipping through a red book.

 

“Hello. How are you today?” he greeted the poor man.

 

“Fine,” the man said.

 

Steve clasped his hands. “Good, good, good. And how can I help you on this fine day?”

 

“I’m just looking, thanks.” The man smiled weakly, and gave Steve the cold shoulder.

 

“Well, we have lots of places to look. What do you want to look at?”

 

“If you must know, my wife’s brother died. I’m looking for a book on grieving to give to her.”

 

Steve didn’t miss a beat. “Oh, that’s so sad. Was it tragic and unexpected?”

 

The man fidgeted uncomfortably. “Yes, yes it was.”

 

“Oh, that’s too bad. It just goes to show that no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse.”

 

“Um…yeah…I’ll just look around.”

 

“We have a great death and dying section over here. May I recommend When Bad Things Happen to Good People?”

 

“I think I can find a book myself, thanks.”

 

“Ok, let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with.” Steve patted the customer on the back as he left.

 

“Wow!” Tracy breathed. “Someone’s going to have to put him down.”

 

“He’s been like that all day.” Raquel shrugged. “I find it rather amusing.”

 

The man Steve was just helping turned and briskly left the store when Steve turned his back.

 

“This is why we’re not making sales plan,” Amber said. “We’re being deprived of Windex because Steve is an idiot.”

 

“Should I talk to him?” Tracy wondered.

 

“Nah,” Raquel said. “We’ve got a greeter. We’re following the rules. If Nate saw that, he’d name Steve employee of the month for the second month in a row.”

 

“Grr…”

 

Steve approached the desk and gave them all his best smile, but shied away from looking at Amber. “Hey, where’d that nice gentleman go?  I thought of another book for his sister-

you know, the one who lost her brother.  But I can’t find him.”

 

“He ran away,” Raquel told him. 

 

Steve’s face fell. “Poor guy.  Grief must have been too much for him.”

 

The bell over the front doors caused them to look up.  Two teenage girls entered the store and moved to the Graphic Novel section.  Steve quickly stepped away from the counter.

 

“Hello!  How are you today?”

 

The girls froze with the deer in headlights look. “Um…good…” One of them answered slowly.

 

“Great!  What can I help you find?  And if we don’t have it, I can order it for you.  And I would love to look anything up that you want me to and-”

 

“Steve!” Tracy called. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

 

“Coming,” he answered. To the girls he said, “I’m sorry to cut this short. I will come back to check on you as soon as I can, or I will be walking around the store if you need me. Have a nice day.”

 

The girls were relieved when Steve left.

 

“What’s up?”

 

Tracy glanced at Raquel and Amber, then said, “I’m going to greet for a little while, OK?  I have a cart of books in Mystery, if you want to shelve.”

 

“Sure, I can shelve.  I love to shelve.  Thanks, Tracy.”  He skipped away and Tracy rolled her eyes.

 

“It’s like Betty on speed,” Raquel said.

 

The next ten minutes or so passed smoothly-the store remained quiet as Steve shelved and Tracy straightened and filled in the displays near the front of the store.  She was up on the ladder arranging the overstock when she heard the bell over the door.  Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a group of about five teens enter the store.  She nodded to them, and they smiled back.  A short time later, she heard a hissing sound.  Confused, she looked around and spotted Steve standing at the bottom of the ladder, looking frantic.

 

“What?” Tracy demanded.  

 

Steve pointed in the direction of the Graphic Novel section. “That guy is in here again!”

 

“What guy?”

 

Steve danced back and forth from foot to foot. “You know…that guy!”

 

“Steve, you’re not making any sense.”

 

He shook his hands back in forth at Tracy. “The one who likes Amber!”

 

“Who?  Dylan?”

 

“Yeah, him.  He’s here!”

 

“So?”

 

“So?  SO!?” Steve cried, his voice making a funny squeaky sound. “Betty kicked him out of the store-he’s not supposed to be coming in any more!  Remember?”

 

Tracy smiled a little. “Yeah, since I was actually there.  I’m surprised you remembered, seeing as how you were sitting in a jail cell when it happened.”

 

Steve’s lower lip flapped around as he tried to find the right words. “I-uh-that was-he can’t be in here!”

 

At that moment, Amber rushed over. “Is it my imagination, or is Dylan in here?”

 

Tracy climbed back up on the ladder and peered over the tops of the bookcases.  She saw a crowd huddled by the Graphic Novel section. Sure enough, Dylan was there, casting looks over his shoulder and glancing towards the registers in hopes of seeing Amber.  Normally, there wasn’t anything too suspicious about any of this-the Graphic Novel section was a popular area for pre-teens and teens, but something told her that something wasn’t quite right.

 

Tracy climbed back down the ladder and faced her co-workers. “OK, I’ll take care of it.” She moved towards the group, aware that Steve was following her. She stopped in front of him and folded her arms. “What are you doing?”

 

“Following you. Nate wants to make me a manager like Shane.” He puffed up.  “I want to glean everything I can from you-like how to deal with these kinds of situations.”

 

“Steve, you almost peed your pants when you saw Dylan in here.”

 

“I did not!”

 

“Fine. But you are to watch only. Don’t talk, don’t try to help, and don’t get in the way.”

 

Tracy marched to the back of the store with Steve trotting behind.

 

“Hello, Tracy,” Dylan greeted her. His lip got snagged on his braces as he tried to smile making his top live curve up as if it were caught on a fishing hook.

 

“You’re not supposed to be in here, Dylan. You’re banned from the store for attacking a customer.” Tracy crossed her arms.

 

“That was all a misunderstanding. I thought he was shoplifting.”

 

“I totally understand,” Steve interjected. “I would have tackled him too. I hate shoplifters. I think we should round them all up and—“

 

“Steve!”

 

“Sorry.”

           

“He wasn’t, and it’s not in your authority to make those decisions.”

 

“I may not work here, but I care just as much about this store as you do,” Dylan said.

 

“Then you wouldn’t have tried to stop him.”

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“Where’s Amber?”

 

“Amber doesn’t want to see you,” Steve said. “She’s in love with someone else.”

           

“Who?” Tracy asked.

 

“Me. So you can’t have her. Leave her alone.”

 

Dylan and Tracy exchanged glances.

 

“She’s a hell of a heartbreaker,” Tracy said.

 

“I’m going to ask her myself.” Dylan turned on his heel.

 

“Dylan! No! You have to leave the store or I’m calling the cops.”

 

“Tracy, hi,” Amber came up behind her. “Raquel’s been looking all over for you. She wants to see you right away at the registers.”

 

“What? Huh?”

           

“Raquel wants to see you at the registers.”

 

Dylan turned around at the sound of Amber’s voice. “Amber, I’ve missed you,” Dylan cooed.

 

Even Steve stuck his tongue out in disgust. “Amber, I can be a better sap than that.”

 

Tracy grabbed Steve’s sleeve and pulled him after her. “What do you need, Raquel? And what’s wrong with Amber that she’s willing to talk to that slime ball?”

 

“She’s in love with me! This can’t be happening. I have to go back--”

 

“Steve!”

 

“Sorry.”

 

“Back to Amber.”

 

“Being short has its advantages,” Raquel said. “While you were entertaining Darth Vader over there, Amber snuck up on his little storm troopers undetected and noticed them shoving manga books into their backpacks.”

 

Steve’s faced turned white. “What do we do? Oh no! Why is this happening on my shift!”

 

“Your shift?” Tracy gasped. “I’m the manager here. Give me the phone. I’m going to call the cops.”

 

“You can’t claim they’re stealing until they try to leave the store without paying for them,” Raquel pointed out. “The only thing you can do is customer service them to death and hope that scares them enough that they put the books back.”

 

Tracy and Raquel looked to Steve. He looked back and forth between the two of them then backed up and put his hands up.

 

“Oh no. I’m not going over there. Those are real thieves! They might be armed.”

 

“They read manga, they’re losers. They wouldn’t know what to do with a gun if one dropped from the sky in front of them,” Raquel said.

 

“What would the Employee of the Month do in this situation?” Tracy asked.

 

Steve sighed. “Fine. But if I get killed, my parents will sue.”

 

“Give me the phone. I’m going to call security on Dylan and maybe we’ll have more information on the storm troopers by the time they get here.”

 

Raquel handed the phone to Tracy as Steve hurried over to the group.  His voice, sounding high and squeaky, could be heard from where Raquel was standing.

Amber slipped back over to the registers, looking like she was going to hurt someone.

 

“Hey there.  How’s the manga freaks?”

 

Amber glared. “I have to get out of here.  Think Tracy would let me go home early?”

 

“Only if you get me out of here, too.  Though I’m sure she’d like another day off, too.”

 

“Well, no, we don’t have proof,” Tracy was saying into the phone. “But they’re acting very suspicious, and one of them is Dylan Snaith…yeah, that’s the guy…I know he was banned…he kind of snuck in…yeah, I’ll hold.” She pulled the phone away and made a face. “They don’t seem that concerned.”

 

“Tell them Dylan has the power to control the elements,” Raquel suggested.

 

“I can’t lie to a cop.”

 

“He’s not a cop-he’s a rent-a-cop, and besides, with all that manga the kid reads, he probably does believe he has superpowers.  All those freaks usually do.”

 

Tracy rolled her eyes and turned back to the phone. “Yeah, I’m still here…ten minutes!?  But what if they leave-OK, fine.” She growled and hung up the phone.  “They’ll be here in ten minutes.”

 

“What if they leave?” Amber wanted to know.

 

“I guess we’re supposed to find a way to keep them here.”

 

Both girls looked at Amber. A moment later, the thought sunk in.

 

“Oh no! I’m not helping, forget it.  If anything, I should be able to leave.”

 

“You’re closing.”

 

“And you could just as easily.”

 

“No!  No, you can’t leave yet!” It was Steve, hurrying to stand before the small group to prevent them from leaving.  Dylan froze, and the three kids with him did too.

 

“Why not?” He asked.

 

“Um…well…you can’t!” Steve scrambled over his words, trying to come up with a plausible reason. “Um…until you organize the manga section.  You’ve messed it up.”

 

“Isn’t that your job?” One of the girls wanted to know, giving Steve a dark look.

 

“Now what?” Amber hissed to Tracy. “If they leave, they leave with over $200 dollars worth of merchandise.  I don’t think Nate’ll be happy.”

 

“Want me to kick his ass?” Raquel asked.

 

“I hardly think that will help.”

 

“Maybe not, but I’ll feel better.”

 

“Amber, go stop him!”

 

“He’s not the one with the books!”

 

“But he’s the leader of the group!  Stop him, and you stop the ones with the books.”

 

Amber did not look happy about this. Still, she steeled herself and approached the group. “Hey Dylan.” She said. Dylan’s face lit up like a badly carved jack-o-lantern.

 

“Amber!  Have you come to say good-bye?  Or to accept my invitation to Sakura Con next year?”

 

Amber made a face. “You never asked me to go to Sakura Con-“

 

“I’m asking now, aren’t I?”

 

“Dylan, we have to go.” One of the girls shifted her bag awkwardly on her shoulder and glanced at the front doors.

 

“Um-you ca-Uck!” Steve squeaked, but abruptly fell silent when Tracy came over and dragged him away by the collar of his shirt.

 

“You’re the manager!” He gasped out when Tracy released him. “Do something!”

 

“I am! I’m keeping you from causing more trouble.”

 

“Who’s she?” Amber asked.

 

“A friend-just a friend. She’s not my girlfriend.” Dylan said quickly. “My heart will always belong to you.”

 

“Oh, give it a rest.” Amber grumbled.

 

“This is grossing me out.  I feel lunch coming back up,” Raquel muttered.

 

Tracy was getting antsy.  The rent-a-cop wouldn’t be here for another few minutes, and the girls with Dylan looked ready to bolt any second. 

 

“Dylan…” One of the guys whined and Dylan frowned.

 

“Well, my love, I’m afraid we must finish this conversation at another time-we have a class to get to.” Dylan pushed past Amber and his group headed for the front doors.

 

“Wait!” Steve surged forward, tripped over his feet, and collided with Raquel. The two landed in a heap behind the counter.

 

“Ew, get off me!” Raquel swung her fist and punched Steve across the side of his face.  He howled and jumped to his feet.

 

The only thing Tracy could think of was to pull off her shoe and hurl it at the back of one of the girls’ heads.

 

“Ow!”

 

It didn’t slow them down. The group dashed for the door.

 

At that moment, the doors opened and Collin and Denae stepped inside, holding hands and smiling at one another.

 

“Collin!  Denae!” Tracy shouted “Stop them!”

 

The two jumped aside when they saw the stampede of crazed manga snatchers charging toward them.

 

“Wait for me!” Dylan cried.

 

Amber stuck her foot out and Dylan went down like a pile of bricks.

 

The rent-a-cops arrived. Steve stood outside and pointed down the walkway toward Speedy Dry Cleaners. “They went that way!” he shouted. The rent-a-cops hopped on their bicycles and sped away.

 

“You were supposed to stop them,” Tracy accused Denae and Collin.

 

“Yeah, you were supposed to stop them, honey bunny!” Denae repeated.

 

“What was I supposed to do, poopsie?” Collin shrugged. “They were coming at me like a train.”

 

“You’re supposed to be a tough macho man.”

 

“I am, but not when attacked by college students with rabies.”

 

Tracy sighed. “Where’s Dylan?”

 

“Over here.”

 

Tracy heard Amber’s voice, but couldn’t see her.

 

“Where?”

 

“Here!” A hand popped up in the travel section.

 

Tracy turned to check on Steve. He jumped up and down waiting for the cops to come back with the criminals. In the travel section, Dylan untangled himself from the shelves and fallen books and stood up.

 

“I’m suing,” he said. “Why’d you trip me?”

 

“It was an accident.” Amber batted her eyes. “Now get out here, you’re making me sick.”

 

*

 

It hung on the wall over the water cooler, next to the fuzzy picture of Steve shoved against a police car. Another silent testament to what she considered stupidity, but what management considered noteworthy.  This time Steve was in front of the police car, shaking hands with the deputy.

 

“I’m in the wrong job,” Tracy sighed.

 

“Cheer up. It wasn’t that bad.” Amber put her hand on Tracy’s back. Tracy slumped forward and banged her head on the wall.

 

“Why! Why! Why!

 

“Stop it. You might knock something loose.”

 

Joyce swung the back door open. “What’s going on? What’s wrong with Tracy?”

 

“Steve got Employee of the Month for the second time in a row for helping catch the manga thieves.”

 

“But I thought Tracy stopped them?”

 

“Argh!” Tracy pushed herself off the wall. “Apparently it’s against the rules to throw shoes and trip customers.”

 

“But I tripped Dylan,” Amber said. “And he wasn’t even supposed to be in the store.”

 

“Yes, you did, but since I was the manager on duty, I am responsible for you so it was all my fault for being a crappy supervisor.” Tracy dropped herself into Nate’s chair. “Steve’s going to be Assistant Manager before me at this rate.”

 

“You should have gotten some credit for the capture.” Joyce knelt down on the floor next to Tracy’s chair. “They had $300 in stolen manga books in their backpacks. You helped delay them until security got here.”

 

“Yes, but Steve did the right thing. He didn’t chase him. He got a good description and let the authorities handle it. That’s how you’re really supposed to handle things.” Tracy banged her head on Nate’s desk. “Why! Why! Why!”

 

“Hey, at least you don’t have Steve hitting on you.” Amber pulled Tracy back upright in the chair. “He was excited when he heard I tripped Dylan. I beat up the competition for him.”

 

“That is so depressing,” Tracy moaned.

 

“Hey, guys!” Raquel pushed open the back door. “Collin and Denae are having another fight. She’s giving out free pastries to get him in trouble with the manager. Hurry! They’re going fast!”

 

“Maybe that’s how I’ll get my revenge,” Tracy mused. “I’ll hand out free books and tell people they’re from Steve.”

 

“Oh, stop it,” Joyce said. She stood up and held her hands out to help Tracy up. “Let’s go get some cookies.”

 

“Yeah.” Tracy took Joyce’s hands. “Let’s go get some cookies.”