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store of the busiest mall in the area. The security office was located on the main floor of the massive store. Annie tapped on the door and a burly man opened it immediately. An enormous grin threatened to split his face when he saw her.
    “Annie,” he almost shouted. “Come in! Come in!”
    Annie smiled back at him. His exuberance was almost overwhelming. He pointed to the only visitor’s chair in the small room. “Have a seat,” he said, as he slouched down in a swivel chair behind the desk. “So how’s the most beautiful girl in Canada?” The grin still hadn’t left his face.
    Annie chuckled. “Oh, Jake and I are doing well,” she said.
    “Jake? Are you still with that guy? If you ever need a real man, I’m your guy.”
    Annie laughed. She and Jake had known Chris for quite some time, and had assisted him in his job as head of store security on several occasions. He was a harmless flirt. She knew he had a wife he loved dearly, and a young boy who was his pride and joy. “I’ll let you know,” she said.
    “Good enough,” he said, and turning more serious, he continued, “But in the mean time, we’ve got a small problem on our hands. It’s in the jewelry department. Seems like we’ve had some stuff go missing lately. A couple rings, a necklace or two. Security cameras haven’t caught anything.” He was frowning now.
    Annie leaned forward. “We ran all of your jewelry people through a security check. They came back clean.”
    “We have two shifts during the day, then a couple of different girls work evenings and weekends. But we’re not necessarily suspecting it’s one of our girls. It could just as likely be a customer.”
    Annie knew exactly what to do. A few strategically placed mini-cameras should do the trick. “We’ll set up some camera surveillance,” she said. “If we may get in here this evening after you close. It shouldn’t take too long. We’ve got the equipment.”
    “Excellent,” he said. “I knew I could count on you.” The grin was back.
    Before she left, they arranged to meet again just after nine o’clock that evening.
    On her way home, she was thinking about Jenny. Jake had filled her in on their unsuccessful attempt the day before to locate Chad. She felt she should update Mrs. James on their progress, or lack thereof. She knew in the case of a missing child, for a mother, any news was better than no news at all.
    When she arrived back at the office, she called Mrs. James immediately and arranged for a meeting just after 12:00 noon.
    Jake was still at home, and she informed him of the task for Cranstons. They needed a few more mini-cameras in order to do the job right, so Annie sent him down to Techmart, a store that dealt in everything electronic, including a wide range of security and surveillance equipment.
    Jake didn’t mind that mission. It made him feel like a kid in a candy store.
     
     
    Wednesday, August 10th, 11:05 AM
     
    “HANK wants to meet us at Amelia’s,” Jake informed Annie. Jake had returned from Techmart and had dumped his purchases out onto the kitchen table.
    “That’s fine,” she said. “Amelia will see he’s still taking this seriously.” Annie eyed the pile of electronic equipment. “This looks good,” she said, “but did you really need this pen camera? You’re not quite James Bond, you know.”
    “I thought it would come in handy,” Jake replied sheepishly. “Plus, it was on sale.”
    Annie glanced at the clock on the wall. Still a little while before their appointment. Jake helped her prepare a quick brunch before heading to Amelia’s.
    When they arrived at their destination, Hank was already waiting for them. He was parked across the street, still sitting in his dark brown Chevy. He swung from the vehicle when they pulled up. He greeted Annie with a warm smile and a smothering bear hug.
    They made their way up to the front door of the house, and when Annie knocked on the door, Amelia opened it almost immediately. She led