Page 55 of A Thistle Beyond Time
The man had managed to snatch both objects and was running down the street.
“Cormac, wait!” Jenna called. “Don’t go after him. He might have a gun!”
Cormac didn’t heed her warning, instead, charging off down the street after the thief. The man quickly turned a corner and Cormac flew after him. They were running down an alley now and Cormac was right on his heels. Turning, the thief flashed a knife and Cormac quickly grabbed his arm, forcing the man to drop the knife. Cormac grabbed the man by his shirt and threw him up against the nearest wall.
“I believe ye have something that doesnae belong to ye,” Cormac growled fiercely.
“Here, take it,” the man’s voice quivered as he held out the purse and cell phone. “Just let me go.”
“I’m afraid not, lad.” Releasing the man from the wall, Cormac grabbed his arm and started back down the alley. The man’s feet barely touched the ground as he was dragged along. At the corner, a breathless Jenna had just turned her ankle and fallen to the ground. “Dinnae move or ye’ll regret it,” Cormac warned the thief. The man nodded and stood perfectly still while Cormac scooped Jenna off the ground. “Ye shouldnae have come after me, Jenna.”
“I was afraid he’d hurt you,” Jenna said.
Cormac laughed. “Ye were afraid that this wee man could hurt me? ‘Tis not likely.” He renewed his grip on the man’s arm, placing him in front of him while also carrying Jenna in his arms and heading back to the woman whose purse had been stolen. All along the street, people were applauding Cormac and as they approached the coffee shop, they were met by two police officers and a paramedic.
“Cormac, you can put me down now,” Jenna whispered.
He gently placed Jenna on her feet and noticed she was obviously favoring her ankle. The paramedic, who had been tending to the other woman’s bruises, led Jenna to the back of another strange-looking wagon, where he examined her ankle.
“Sir, that was very courageous of you.” One of the men in blue uniforms was talking to Cormac. “You can release your hold on this guy. We’ll take it from here.”
“I have a few questions for you, sir,” the other man in blue said. Cormac watched as the man was led away to the backseat of a black and white wagon with flashing lights on top. Much like the one he had seen that day, on their way home from the beach.
“Aye. What would ye like to know?”
“I just need to get your statement. What you saw, etc.”
“Thank you so much,” the older woman gushed as she threw her arms around Cormac. “You’re my hero.” She continued holding onto him, despite Cormac’s attempts to extricate himself.
“Sir I need to know your name and address, etcetera. If you could just fill out this form for me I’d appreciate it. You can sign it down at the bottom,” one of the men said.
Jenna hobbled back to his side and whispered, “I’ll help you with that. Officer, can we take this back into the coffee shop to fill it out?”
“Sure. We’ll be out here for a while.”
“Ma’am, you’ll need to let go of my friend,” Jenna said politely to the bag theft victim.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I just can’t thank you enough.”
Cormac peeled the lady’s arms from around his waist and set her away from him. Her bright smile belied the fact that she had just been the victim of a crime. Cormac moved to pick Jenna up again, but she waved him off. “I can walk, thanks.” She limped to the door of the coffee shop and Cormac opened it, ushering her inside. They sat back down and Cormac stared at the papers in his hand. “Here, let me see that,” Jenna offered.
Cormac handed the papers to her and Jenna produced a pen from her purse. “What is that?” Cormac wanted to know.
“It’s a police report. I’ll fill it out for you and then you can sign it on the bottom. I’m sure that’s all they’ll need, although they might need you to testify in court.”
“When will that be?” Cormac asked.
“Oh, it won’t be for a while, I’m sure.”
“I’m leaving tomorrow, lass. I’ll nae be here.”
Jenna looked disappointed, but she began filling the paper out. When she was finished, she handed the pen to Cormac and pointed to a spot on the paper for him to sign.
“Okay. That should do it. Let’s go give this to them and then we can leave,” Jenna said.
Cormac handed the papers to the police officer and they checked to make sure they had his contact information. “Thank you, sir. We’re grateful for your help. We’ll be in touch.”
“’Twas no trouble at all,” Cormac replied.
