“Anybody have a phone I can borrow?” the older man asked the customer service line.
Grace looked around at the other customers in line. They all glanced at each other expectantly as if to say, ‘I won’t help him, but you could.’
It was two days before Christmas. Maybe it was because of the holiday spirit, or more accurately it was because she was a people pleaser, Grace took the bait. Shifting the weight of the coffee grinder she was returning, Grace fished her cell phone out of her pocket.
“Here, you can borrow mine,” she said, secretly soaking up the nods of approval from those in line with her.
“Thank you so much,” chirped the older man. “I’m going to call my mother for a ride home.”
“No worries,” Grace replied as she walked up to the store clerk. She had finally made it to the front of the line.
The man stepped away, close enough for Grace to see him, but she was out of earshot. As she finished her return, she glanced over to see the man still using her phone. Still unable to hear what he was saying, it looked like he was leaving a voicemail as he never paused to hear whoever was on the other end.
Slightly annoyed at the imposition, Grace walked over to the man.
“Anyway, just letting you know I’m thinking about you bye,” he said, ending the call as Grace made her way over.
She couldn’t help but feel weird about how he hastily finished the call when he saw her walking towards him. Further, it didn’t sound like it was a call for his mother to pick him up.
“Thank you so much,” she’ll be here soon.
Clocking the skepticism on her face, he quickly changed the subject.
“Do you live around here?” he asked, returning the cell phone to her.
“Uh, yeah,” Grace replied reluctantly.
“Oh, wonderful. I love Summerlin. I used to be a chef and have written many cookbooks I could —
“That’s great,” Grace interrupted, growing more uncomfortable talking to the strange man. “I need to go, but happy holidays.”
Not waiting for his response, Grace quickly turned her heels and briskly walked towards the parking lot. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but the entire interaction felt off. Glancing at her watch, it read 9:30. Her parents would be landing at the airport soon, and she was about 20 minutes away.
She shook off the weird feeling and got into her car. Soon, her whole family would be under one roof, celebrating Christmas. Just the thought of the incoming reality made Grace forget about her strange encounter with the man at the store.
“Auntie Grace! Are you going to the park with us?” her nephew Joseph asked here.
“I can’t, buddy. I’m getting started on the cookies. You and your brothers can help me decorate them when you return.”
“Ok!” he hollered as he raced for the door.
Grace rolled up her sleeves and washed her hands. Her mother, Vanna, began to preheat the oven.
Turning from the oven, she asked her daughter, “Do you want to start with the gingerbread men?
“Sounds good,” Grace replied. As she dried her hands, her phone began to ring. Slightly irritated because she’d have to rewash her hand, she sighed and picked up the phone. It was a 702 number that she did not recognize.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Hi, this is Detective Brady Jensen of the LVPD.” the caller responded. “May I ask whom I’m speaking with?”
“Uh,” Grace stammered. “May I ask why?”
“Oh, right. We are with the family of a boy who has been the target of a known predator. It appears that he tried to contact the boy last night using this phone.”
A pit formed in Grace’s stomach. “Oh my God,” she replied.” Suddenly, she recalled the older man she lent her phone to last night. That weird feeling last night began to make sense.
“I’m so sorry,” Grace blubbered. “I was at the store last night, and a man asked to borrow a phone to call his mother. I lent him mine. I had no idea that contacting a boy was his actual intention. I honestly didn’t know.”
“That’s ok,” the officer said in an encouraging tone. “You didn’t know. I’m just confirming that he won’t call again from this number.”
“Absolutely not,” she confirmed
“No problem. Thank you, and you have yourself a Merry Christmas”
“You too,” Grace replied. She hung up the phone and turned to her mother.
Vanna, who saw the shocked look on her daughter’s face became concerned. “What happened?” she asked.
“I lent some guy my phone last night, and it turns out he used it to call a boy he was preying on.”
Vanna looked horrified for a moment. After a little while, she began to giggle.
“What are you laughing at?” Grace asked, perplexed by her mother’s response.
“Nothing,” Vanna laughed even harder. “I hope they find the bastard. But I can’t help but realize that you have a knack for finding the weirdos. Remember the creep in Utah?”
Grace thought about it for a moment and joined in laughing with her mother. She was right.
“No good deed, Grace,” Vanna said to her daughter.
In between her laughing, she responded with a shrug, “No good deed, indeed.”
