His fancy car had the cop’s tone staying civil as he said, “Arresting a trespasser. Who are you?”
Theo drew himself up to his full height. “I’m Thibault Lafontaine. I own this building. Why are you arresting my caretaker?” He stared the cop in the eyes, not looking at me.
Blood roared in my ears and my vision blackened around the edges.Thibault fucking Lafontaine? ‘Own the building?’I almost hoped that was a clever con, something Theo came up with to get me free. But I remembered him smashing the mirror in wild anger, him turning pale for no reason looking around the place. Saying he’d been here as a child.He knew it well before they boarded the windows.
“Your caretaker?” The cop flexed his hand on my arm, rocking me back and forth. I almost didn’t feel his grip. “You know he has no ID?”
“Maybe you didn’t give him time to get it.”
“Well, he does, but expired.”
“He doesn’t drive. He doesn’t need a current license.”
“Okay.” The cop flipped my wallet open. “Tell me his name.”
“Shane…” Theo hesitated, and I guessed I’d never told him, same as he’d never told me. My heart thundered in my chest, but I was no fool.Take the get-out-of-jail-free card.
I spoke up. “Look, he’s vouching for me. He doesn’t have to answer fifty questions. I’m Shane Webster, caretaker for this fine establishment, so no one actually breaks in, and that’s all you need to know.” I couldn’t gesture at the building with my hands cuffed behind my back so I tilted my chin that way.
The cop shoved me away a step and turned to Theo. “You have some ID, sir?” He sounded grumpier than I’d expect toward a Tesla owner, but boy, do cops hate being made to look foolish.
Theo pulled out his driver’s license and passed it over.
The cop turned the card in his hands. “San Diego address on this.”
“That’s where my main business is. I inherited this place from my grandparents and the will just cleared probate. I’m still deciding what to do with the building.”
“Huh.” He handed Theo’s license back. “Then why did this guy tell me he was panhandling?”
“Passing the time,” I said airily. “Plus, Th— Mr. Lafontaine can’t pay me legally till I get local ID. A man’s got to live on something.” I smirked, even though I knew I shouldn’t with his cuffs still on me.
Theo said, “Here. I have the building keys.” He pulled a key ring out of his pocket, sorted through, and held the side door open to show he could lock and unlock the deadbolt from outside. “It’s not trespassing if the owner with the key lets him in.”
The cop made a grumpy sound, then barked at me, “Turn around.”
I did so happily, and he unlocked the cuffs. Flexing my wrists, I took three big steps back out of reach.
“What about my dog?” The thin woman had been watching us like we were a TV show, but now the cuffs were off, she took a step closer to the cop. “He was going to steal Veronica. You have to arrest him.”
“Did he touch your dog, ma’am?” The cop didn’t sound too fond of her, either. Probably because her call got him into this mess.
“He lured her to the fence. He was going to grab her.”
I couldn’t resist saying, “Not without leather gloves and a muzzle.” Thatolder-wiserthing made me add, “Look, I bent down to talk to her, see if I could get her to stop barking at me. You were the one who picked her up and got bit.”
“I did not get bitten. Veronica never bites.” The woman hid one hand with the other, though.
I rolled my eyes at the cop, and his expression lightened for a moment till he remembered I was the enemy.
“That’s fine,” I said, “but I never had any interest in her.”
She tried, “He’s been loitering around. Casing my house to break in, I bet.”
“I asked him to do careful surveillance around my property,” Theo said in his best upper-class voice, the hint of French accent reappearing. “He was notloitering.”
The cop cleared his throat. “Since the owner gave permission, there’s no trespassing charge. But…” He turned and stepped up into my face. I could’ve backed away, but letting a cop walk off with the last word has saved me from being busted more than once. “You. Get a legal address. You can’t stay in an abandoned building, I don’t care who owns it. Stay away from Mrs. Fotheringhamandher dog.”
“And my house!” she added shrilly.
