Page 84 of A Spot of Tea
“Hold please,” said the flat voice. “I’ll transfer you.”
The line clicked and Chief Hank answered. “Eliza! I was told to expect your call.”
“Hi, Chief. This is Eliza Dennet and I have a warrant—”
He cut her off. “I know. I talked to your Granny this morning. She said you’re a rule follower.”
“Uh – yes, I guess so.” She hesitated. She’d planned for more resistance, or at least more urgency. Was it every day people turned themselves in? “Can I give you my coordinates? I’m on Stuart Island. I’m not quite sure how to get back…”
Taking Joey’s phone was perhaps not her brightest idea. She’d forgotten she’d need a ride this morning.
The thought of seeing him made her stomach flip. When he’d thrown her phone into the ocean, she’d thought for a split second they might run away together. The thrill that had run through her then…
“How about I come pick you up?” Chief said.
“That would be great.”
“I’ll be there in half an hour.”
“Thank you.”
She put on her coat and waited at the dock, her legs folded beneath her. Sea otters rolled and splashed at the edge of the shore and a pair of seagulls bickered over a fish. It would have been a perfect place to meditate if she weren’t waiting to be arrested.
The police boat first appeared as a silver spot in the distance. Eliza stood and waved. “Over here!”
Chief Hank pulled up to the dock with a hard frown on his face. “Eliza Dennet?”
“Hi, Chief. Yes, it’s me.”
He removed his black aviator sunglasses and squinted at her. “I’m under strict orders to take you for breakfast before placing you under arrest.”
She shook her head. “That’s okay, I don’t need—”
“Strictorders,” he said firmly, a smile crossing his face. “Hop on.”
“If you’re the Chief Deputy Sheriff,” she asked, carefully stepping onto the boat, “who are you taking orders from?”
He grinned, starting the engine. “I’ll give you one guess.”
They took off and Eliza zipped her jacket shut. Chief Hank pointed out spots of note – a rock where he’d jumped onto an unmoored boat during a storm; the remnants of a house fire where the family goat alerted the family late at night and everyone had gotten out safely.
“I have to say,” he told her, hands in the pockets of his black coat, “I’m impressed with how you solved that bank robbery. You could have a promising career as a detective.”
Eliza turned to him, laughing. “You can’t be serious.”
He kept his eyes straight ahead. “I am.”
She turned back. They were gliding past another island – she wasn’t sure which one. The shores were smooth and graceful, bowing in and out of the sea. “Thanks for that.”
They landed on Lopez Island and had breakfast at a little restaurant where everyone knew Chief. One woman spotted him through the window and came in to yell at him about her chickens disappearing.
“There’s a chicken thief on the island and no one is taking me seriously,” she said before storming out.
Her plate of scrambled eggs, pancakes, and bacon glistened with butter and syrup. She tried to avoid looking at it, taking small bites until Chief was done eating.
On their way out, after they’d finished their meal, the chicken lady caught them again. “You aren’t going to believe this, but my two missing chickens are back! I guess the thief heard you were in town.”
He nodded. “I guess so.”
