“Sir, no one is in the mall except me.” Toby half-smiled. “But no one has reported anything.”
“Sorry, you’re right. I need to go home.”
“Just curious. If you had to describe what you saw, what would you say?” Toby asked.
“Between the two of us,” I looked around to make sure we were alone, “I’d say I saw an elf.”
“Well, um…okay, sir.” Toby put his notepad in his pocket. “I’ll scan the mall for an elf-looking person.”
“I know you’re making fun of me in your head.” I laughed, then waved goodbye. “It’s alright. So am I.”
“Good night, Mr. Hawthorne. The doors will lock behind you.” Toby waved.
I got the text I was waiting for from Mitch. He was out front waiting on me. I checked to see if Apple had messaged, then sent my own message.
“Have you ever seen an elf in the mall?”
Chapter 21
Paige
I’d waited as long as I could to sneak out of the workshop to go to the bathroom. I darted down the corridor and slipped into the bathroom. Toby wouldn’t find me in the girls’ bathroom as long as I kept the lights off. The flashlight feature on the cell phone I’d found gave just enough light to do what I needed to do.
I could use a hot chocolate. I wonder if I can make it there before Toby makes rounds again.
Brad had shown me where the hot water and cocoa mix was, so making a hot chocolate would be a piece of cake. What I hadn’t planned on was a man’s voice shattering the quiet of the empty mall. I pushed the hot chocolate behind the register and dove over the counter.
That voice was not Toby’s. Who is in the mall this late?
Footsteps approached, then paused. I crawled to the cabinet I’d hid in the last time this happened but, before I could get in the cabinet, the person jumped up on the counter and peeked in the back. Thankfully, I’d made it to the far side of the refrigerator. Had the person walked further into the kitchen, I would have been caught.
I wonder if being in the mall is illegal.
I waited until I heard the footsteps leave, then waited a little longer until they got much further away. I grabbed the hot chocolate, quickly placed a lid on it, then swerved and ducked around the seating area. Hiding behind chairs and planters, I only had to make it another twenty feet to the workshop and, once inside, I’d be safe. I could hear Toby speaking with someone by his office since sounds echoed in the empty mall. One peek around the corner confirmed no one was looking in my direction.
Just stay low and run.
I made it across the hall safely, diving behind the trees, then crawled the rest of the way into the workshop just as the voices approached. I heard a man’s voice say to Toby “I know you’re making fun of me in your head. It’s alright. So am I.”
“Good night, Mr. Hawthorne. The doors will lock behind you,” Toby called out.
One set of footsteps walked away while the other came closer. I had my red blanket from my car in the workshop with me. I threw it over my head to hide, just in case.
“Elves? Rich people!” Toby scoffed and walked away mumbling about people seeing elves.
I knew it. The person did see me. Or saw my elf costume. Who’s Mr. Hawthorne?
I sat in silence for a while, thinking about my life and what I was going to do when Christmas ended and this job was gone. I’d been living in my car for almost a year, but it was never this cold before now. I was going to have to go south and hope for a job, or at least another women’s shelter.
I really don’t want to live in a shelter again. What am I going to do?
The cell phone was laying on the floor of the workshop next to me. I fumbled for it when I saw the light go on. I’d forgotten to turn it off when I was scurrying to get hidden. It was a text from the cell owner.
“Have you ever seen an elf in the mall?”
“Sure. Haven’t you?”I texted back.
“No. Well, I should say yes, but only at Santa’s workshop.”