Page 24 of Love Undecided
“I didn’t call in a false report. I just asked Detective Sherman to send someone out to check for fingerprints or something. Brad, I mean Lieutenant Matthews, thought he saw someone on my balcony earlier.”
“Were you here earlier?” The officer turns to Brad as he asks this.
“No, I saw someone from the beach. My unit runs together in the afternoons. I ran up when I saw him, but he was gone by the time I got here.”
“You’re sure it was a man?” the officer asks.
“I’m sure.”
The other officers walk out of the house.
“You called in a false report?” one of them asks me.
“No! This is all just a misunderstanding. I’m sorry! I just wanted someone to check for prints or something. Someone was here earlier, Brad saw them,” I tell him and the other officers at the same time. Brad looks like he wants to hug me, but holds back, then turns to go inside and inspect the house.
Ethan steps closer to me. “Stirring up trouble again, Kat?” he asks with a slight smile.
I sigh. “This must have gotten mixed up somehow between me telling Sherman and him telling dispatch. You guys didn’t have to come all the way over here. Brad knew no one was here.”
“We were dispatched, Kat, whether your report got mixed up or not, when we’re dispatched, we have to respond. No way was Brad not going to respond. Especially after he saw someone on your balcony today,” Ethan says.
“Did you see them too?” I ask Ethan.
“No, but I’m not exactly interested in looking at your balcony when I’m running on the beach and it’s still bikini weather. Ya know what I mean?” he asks with a wink.
I attempt to wink back. “Got it.” My winks are not very appealing. Luckily Ethan knows me and knows better than to ask if I have something in my eye or if I'm about to cry.
Brad comes back outside. “When did you get security cameras on the balcony?” he asks.
“I don’t have security cameras on the balcony,” I say.
“Well, there’s a small camera up in the eaves over the balcony.”
“What do you mean there’s a camera in the eaves? Like acameracamera? Like one that takes pictures and records me when I’m out there?”
“Yes, a camera camera. A small video camera.”
“Let me see.”
He leads me through the house out to the balcony and shows me where the camera is; I’m amazed he saw it. And tell him so.
“I only noticed it because I was looking to see if the doves had returned this year and put a nest up there,” he says. “Otherwise, it’s not even visible. Fuck. You didn’t know it was there. I need to tell the guys outside.”
I smile at the thought of Brad remembering the bird’s nest. For such an alpha-male-hard-ass firefighter, he’s a total softie. What I’m assuming are the same pair of doves, have returned for the past three years and built nests in the same spot under my roof.
He put his hand on the small of my back and we walk back into the house; Ethan is heading for us with two of the police officers and Bauer bringing up the rear.
“Cookie, you good?” Bauer comes over to me and grabs my upper arms, looking me up and down.
I look at Brad, he raises his eyebrow at me. I’m sure over Bauer’s touch and use of “Cookie” when addressing me.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. There’s a camera on my balcony though, and I didn’t put it there.”
Bauer heads out toward the balcony.
“Who’s that guy?” Brad asks.
“That’s Chance Bauer, he’s a detective. I’m working with him on the Shower Stealer case.”
