Page 140 of Resting Beach Face
“Yeah?” he answered gruffly.
“He’s here.” I checked Declan’s camera. “Look out your window.”
There was a rustle of bedcovers shifting, then the rattle of blinds. “I see him.”
“I’ll have Declan call the sheriff.”
“He might be gone by the time they arrive,” Gray said. “I’m going out there to detain him.”
“Gray, that might be dangerous?—”
“Call the sheriff and get him out here ASAP then.”
Click.
He’d hung up. I turned to see Declan awake and alert. He held out his hand. “Give me the phone. I’ll make the call.”
I handed it off and reached for my clothes. “I’ve got to get out there. I don’t want Gray handling this guy alone.”
“I’m right behind you,” Declan said grimly.
I tugged on my shorts while Declan talked to the sheriff’s department, then raced outside. Without the camera feeds on Declan’s phone, I had no idea where our trespasser might be. I headed toward the Tree Hut, since that’s the last place he’d been—and the place Gray was most likely to have intercepted him.
There were sharp voices coming from the middle of Declan’s garden. I veered left, heading toward the two man-shaped silhouettes. As I watched, one took a swing, the other ducked and lunged, and then a full-on scuffle ensued.
Shit! Who knew how dangerous this guy was? Even if he was a petty criminal, he wouldn’t want to be caught.
I poured on the speed, barely noticing when I passed too close to a rosebush and a thorn tore through my calf. I reached the scene just as Gray wrestled the perp’s arms behind his back, pinning him to the ground with a knee.
“You okay?” I gasped.
“Fine.” Gray grinned wolfishly. “Caught me a vandal.”
The guy squirmed. “There’s been a misunderstanding!”
I crouched down, eyes widening when I recognized Bruce Ford. He ran a fishing charter about ten minutes south of town. He used to work with my father.
“Bruce?”
“Cash! Thank god. Will you tell this man to get off my back? Please. My arms feel ready to snap.”
Gray eased up the pressure, though he didn’t let go. “You know this guy?”
“He worked with my dad back in the day.”
My phone rang with Declan’s number, and I picked up. “Hey, we’re in the garden. Gray has him pinned down, and I know who he is, so even if he gets away, he isn’t getting away with anything.”
“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Bruce shouted, bolder now that he wasn’t pinned like a bug.
“Be right there,” Declan said.
By the time he arrived, sirens sounded from the main road.
“Bruce was just telling us what he was doing here,” I said as Declan arrived.
“I was just out for a walk,” Bruce said.
“So why did we see your truck on camera?” I asked.
