Caught in the Act

by Deb Loughead

  “Yes, I get that.” Mom cringed. “But you know there’s never a good excuse for stealing. So what happened to your clothes?”

  “Borrowed,” I said. “We borrowed those towels. We had no choice. Some jerks at the beach threw our clothes up in the trees. And we needed to get home without mooning the town. They’re still hanging there, if you want proof.”

  “What jerks at the beach?” the three ladies said at once.

  “Just some goofballs up to no good.” I glared at Gran. True. And there was no way I planned on ratting out Garrett. He was one guy I didn’t want mad at me. “And Tanner and his cousin Jacob were there swimming too. Not just me and Cory.”

  Silence. The three of them stared at me. Then Mom sighed.

  “Okay, so it’s not so much about the swimming or the towels,” Mom said. “And it’s not even about you breaking house rules either. As lousy as all that is. Tell him the rest, Nicole.”

  “Last night a cottage near these folks got broken into, Dylan,” Nicole explained, tapping her camera. “When these people heard the news this morning, they recalled how their dog had barked last night. So they checked their motion-sensor camera. That was when they realized their towels were gone. And when they found your photos on the camera, they handed the memory card over to us.”

  I gulped. “So what does that mean?” I said.

  Nicole squinted at me. “It means that you and your friends are suspects, Dylan. Since you were nearby around the time of the break-in. And you actually stole something last night.”

  “Borrowed!”

  “Tell me what you know, Dylan,” Nicole said. “It could help save your hide.”

  “From what?” Now I was getting angry. I was in trouble for doing practically nothing wrong, yet they didn’t seem to believe me. “What got stolen from that cottage, anyway?”

  “Can’t tell you,” Nicole said. “Might compromise the investigation. The owners were having dinner at Granitewood Lodge. They don’t have an alarm. The thieves climbed through an open window.”

  “Well, those cottager cidiots are pretty dumb then, aren’t they?” I said. Right away, I regretted saying that. “I don’t know who it was, Nicole. Trust me, it was major dark down at the beach. We never even saw their faces.” At least that was true. I hated withholding information from Nicole.

  “And,” Nicole added solemnly, “this isn’t the first break-in around here lately either.”

  They were all staring at me. “I don’t know anything. What are you all staring at?”

  “Don’t be bold,” Gran said. Then she picked up her knitting, and her fingers started to fly as the needles clicked like mad. That usually meant she was upset. I had a feeling they all were.

  “I’m not sure I like where this is going,” Mom told me. “The summer has just started, and look what’s happened already. Thank goodness you got a job. That’ll keep you out of trouble.”

  I offered her a weak smile, then looked at Nicole. “So are we charged with something or what?” I said.

  “Don’t know yet. Depends on what happens next. Now go brush your teeth. We’re going for a car ride to check out those clothes hanging from the trees.” Her smile seemed to say this would be an adventure, but I had my doubts.

  “But it’s close by,” I reminded her. “We could walk, you know.”

  “When have you ever passed up a ride in my cruiser?” Nicole said with a wink. “Besides, there’s some other stuff to get done too.”

  I didn’t like where this was going. Mom’s and Gran’s mouths looked like Venus flytraps. “But I haven’t even had breakfast yet,” I said, still stalling.

  “Isn’t that what Timmy’s is for?” Nicole said as she headed for the door.

  Officer Nicole stood on the beach, sipping her coffee and staring up at the trees. The chunk of bear claw I’d been chewing on stuck in my throat as I followed her gaze.

  “So where are they, Dylan?” she said, shaking her head.

  I looked in every direction. Even out on the water. Had last night been a dream or what? Where the heck had all our clothes gone?

  “I mean, seriously. I want to believe you, but your story keeps getting shakier. What’s going on here? ” She sipped her coffee again, then took a bite of bagel.

  “Honestly, I have no clue,” I said with a shrug. “Maybe they blew away?”

  “Wrong answer, bud,” Nicole said.

  “Sorry, but it’s the best one I’ve got,” I said, not even hiding my sarcasm.

  Nicole frowned at me. “Let’s go pick up your friends,” she said. “Maybe they can help us figure out this mystery.”

  My stomach plummeted. Cory’s folks would not be thrilled about this. Neither would Tanner’s and Jacob’s. But why should I have to take all the heat, I told myself as Nicole steered her cruiser toward Cory’s place. Besides, maybe one of them would rat out Garrett and his friends so I wouldn’t have to. At least Prince wasn’t in the backseat, panting on my neck and making me more nervous.

  As far as nastiness went, today had yesterday beat already, and it wasn’t even noon yet.

  Chapter Six

  The other guys’ parents insisted on taking them to the station to give their statements. I was stuck alone in the cruiser with Nicole. I slumped down so nobody would notice me.

  She explained as she drove that we each had to tell our stories separately, so the police could see if they matched. At the station, the four of us sat on a bench outside the interrogation room and waited to be called in. We were practically vibrating, we were so scared. But none of us said a word. The other guys’ parents stood in a corner, whispering. They shot worried glances at us every now and then.

  I let everyone else go ahead of me so that they’d all be gone by the time I got out. I sure didn’t want to face the wrath of their parents. I figured I wouldn’t be seeing much of the guys for a while after this. And I knew Nicole would have to tell their folks about the paper fire yesterday, too. My friends would probably be grounded for the summer. And I wouldn’t be very popular for telling Nicole they’d been there.

  Turned out it wasn’t Nicole who interviewed us. It was another cop, Officer Donahue. He looked sort of scary, with a thick neck and a head to match. No wonder the guys had looked so freaked out when they left that interrogation room. When he came to the door and motioned for me to come in, I felt like exiting stage left. That might have looked bad though.

  “Sit down, Dylan,” he said. I sat down across from him. The room was empty except for the table and two chairs, like in movies. There was a tape recorder on the table. He had a notepad in front of him. It all made me feel like a criminal.

  The officer cleared his throat. “So tell me what you were up to last night, buddy. Take your time. Make sure you get your story straight. And we’ll take it from there, okay?”

  He didn’t sound as mean as he looked. He sort of smiled. I took a deep breath and started to talk. Officer Donahue took notes the whole time. He looked up at me every now and then. I’m pretty sure he was mostly grinning when I got to the skinny-dip part. He didn’t even ask any questions either. Just took my statement.

  I took a chance and never mentioned Garrett’s name, because it was dark, and what if I was wrong? What if it wasn’t him after all, and I got him in trouble for nothing? In a few minutes it was all over. Officer Donahue stood up and patted my shoulder and told me I could leave.

  I slipped out the door of the station without even looking for Nicole to say goodbye. The hot July sun felt fantastic on my face after being in that stuffy room. On the main drag, the sidewalks were crowded with tourists. I set off across town for home, glad for the time to be alone to think.

  Something weird had happened around the time our clothes were thrown into the trees and we’d left the woods, wrapped in those swiped towels. A cottage had been robbed. And this morning all our clothes were missing. What was going on? It was as if Garrett and his friends had tried to cover up their tracks. That way, we’d have to take the blame
. It was starting to look like a setup. How could I prove it though? And would Garrett actually commit a robbery?

  A finger of guilt began to prod me. I thought maybe I should go back and confess to Nicole what I knew about last night. At least it might be a lead in her investigation. It sure would be a huge weight off my mind if I told her. I was about to turn back when something stopped me.

  Through the crowd ahead of me, I caught sight of a pretty face and dark silky hair. It was Heather, from the lodge, heading my way. She spotted me and smiled. She was holding hands with a guy I didn’t recognize. When I saw what he was wearing, I froze in the middle of the sidewalk. A lady bumped into me, then jostled on past.

  I still couldn’t move. Because I couldn’t tear my eyes off the gray T-shirt the guy was wearing. It was totally unique, with a cool skateboarding skeleton design, made by an indie skate company on the east coast. I didn’t know anyone who had a T-shirt like that.

  Except for me—until last night.

  The guy in my T-shirt veered into a bakery, and Heather headed straight for me. She wrapped me in another one of those soft hugs. I half wished she wouldn’t let go.

  “Hey, Dylan! How are you!” I swear her smile could make birds fall out of the sky.

  “Hi, Heather.” I tried not to look too sappy when she let go of me. “Not working today?”

  “Yep, I am, actually. Noon-till-eight shift. Just hanging out with Hayden for a bit before we have to head over to the lodge.”

  “Oh, so he works there too,” I said, getting more curious.

  “Of course, dum-dum. He’s Hayden Hillier. The boss’s son. He actually lives there. He’s picking up some supplies for his dad.”

  Gulp. As she said that, Hayden walked out of the store with a huge bag of fresh buns.

  “How’s it going?” he said. “Want a bun? They’re still warm.” Heather helped herself.

  Trying not to stare too hard at my favorite T-shirt, I shook my head.

  “Nice shirt,” I said. I couldn’t resist. “Where’d you get it, anyway?”

  “Awesome, huh? It was a…a gift.” Yeah right!

  “Hayden, this is Dylan O’Connor,” Heather said. “He’s starting at the lodge on Tuesday.”

  “That’s cool,” Hayden said, then walked over to check out a music-shop window.

  “Man of few words,” she said, laughing. “So I guess I’ll see you Tuesday.”

  Then she did it again. Reached out and wrapped me in another soft, cozy hug. I didn’t resist. After all, when would I ever have another chance to be hugged by a college girl? Over her shoulder, I spotted someone else in the crowd. My friend Monica Buckley, her face questioning. When our eyes met, she spun around and walked fast in the opposite direction. I let go of Heather and took off after her.

  “Monica, wait,” I called, but she didn’t stop until my hand was on her shoulder.

  “What, Dylan?” she said. When she turned to look at me, I saw hurt in her eyes. And I felt a thrill inside. This girl honestly cared about me. “And who was she, anyway?”

  “Heather. She works at the lodge. Where my job starts Tuesday,” I told her, grinning.

  This time she smiled too. “You got the job? Cool. So do you know her, or what?”

  “I met her there yesterday,” I said. “She works on the reception desk. She’s one of those real huggers. She was with her boyfriend, Hayden Hillier, just now.”

  Monica seemed to relax when I told her that. “The boss’s son. Wow. Lucky her. I hear they’re loaded. Hey, so guess what happened last weekend?”

  “I’m sure you’ll tell me,” I said. We walked along, shoulders touching and fingers laced together. It was easy to forget Heather’s hugs while Monica was holding my hand.

  “Somebody tried to break into my mom’s friend’s cottage. She called to tell my mom about it today.” She was breathless, as if the thought of it scared her.

  I stopped and stared at her. “Did it happen last night?” I said. “While they were having dinner at Granitewood Lodge?”

  Monica frowned. “No, it was last weekend. Their alarm went off and scared the thieves away. But how did you know they were eating at Granitewood Lodge that night?”

  “You mean they were eating there too?” I said, and Monica yelped.

  “Ouch! You squeezed my hand too hard.” She yanked it free. “You’re the one who said they were eating there, Dylan.”

  I stood on the sidewalk, blinking and thinking. Monica stared at me. Strolling shoppers grumbled when they had to swerve around the two of us. Two of the robbery victims had been eating there on separate nights? “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” I murmured.

  “You’re quoting Hamlet? Seriously?” Monica said. She nudged me with her shoulder. “How come you’re standing there in a daze, Dylan?”

  “Because I think I figured something out. And I almost wish I hadn’t,” I said.

  As we headed toward her house, I told Monica the rest of the story. She smiled knowingly when she found out how the fire department had shown up out in the woods yesterday. And she couldn’t help but laugh when she heard about our clothes dangling in the trees. And the camera in the woods. When she heard the rest, though, she was instantly curious.

  “You mean Hayden Hillier was wearing your T-shirt? That’s bizarre!”

  “Exactly. What does that mean? The clothes are missing from the trees, and now he has my T-shirt. Was he there last night, throwing our clothes up in the trees with Garrett and the other guys? Did they go and rob that cottage? Then take our clothes later to cover up their tracks? See where I’m going with this? The boss’s son at Granitewood Lodge—”

  “Could be a thief ?” Monica grabbed my arm. “You think he did it, Dylan? Along with Garrett?”

  “It’s starting to look that way,” I said. “I just need more proof. When I start work on Tuesday, I’m looking for it. Pretty strange that robberies happened when the cottage owners were eating dinner at Granitewood.”

  We stopped in front of the ice-cream parlor. They made the ice cream right in the store. My favorite was Chocolate Monkey, rich dark chocolate with peanut-butter chunks. Yum. I wanted to treat Monica to her favorite, Banana Orange Tango. When we stepped outside with our cones, a cruiser glided up to the curb. It was Nicole, and this time she had Prince in the backseat, panting over her shoulder. He was an amazing dog, but I’d never want to be on the receiving end of those teeth during a takedown.

  “Dylan, I’m heartbroken! You never said goodbye after our date this morning.” She grinned at me through the window.

  “Hah. Hilarious, Nicole,” I said, shaking my head in disgust.

  “Hi, Monica.” Nicole gave her a wave. “So, good news, Dylan. All your stories matched up. You and your friends are off the hook. And I’m back at square one.”

  I forced a smile. Clearly, the others hadn’t ratted out Garrett. Now it was all on my head.

  “I guess I am too, Nicole,” I told her. “But I’ll let you know if I come up with anything.”

  “Hope so,” she said, and then the cruiser drove off slowly along the busy street.

  “You didn’t tell her everything you know,” Monica said. “Why not, Dylan?”

  I thought about that as I took a lick of Chocolate Monkey. “I’m starting a new job on Tuesday. And it might not be a great idea to rat out the boss’s son before that. Especially when I don’t know enough yet. I mean, what if that T-shirt was a gift, and I got it all wrong?”

  “Good way to lose a job—which you didn’t want in the first place though,” Monica said with a sly grin. She’d made a good point. But now I kind of wanted the job after all. Plus, I had a whole lot of snooping to do at the lodge.

  “I’ll see what happens next week, Monica. But now I just want to enjoy the rest of the long weekend. And I hope you feel like doing the same thing.”

  By the way Monica smiled at me, I knew her answer was yes.

  Chapter Seven

  The rest of the weekend was pr
etty much perfect. On Sunday morning, Mom’s boyfriend Brent rented a boat and took me, Mom, Gran and Monica for a long cruise out on the lake. Mom was practically delirious to have a whole day off in the middle of a long weekend. She never stopped smiling. We ate lunch on a restaurant patio overlooking the bay, and Brent treated us all.

  None of my friends called, but Cory messaged me on FB to say he was grounded for the weekend and hoped I’d find something to do without his help. No problem. Monica was sitting beside me at the computer when I read it, and she hugged me and laughed.

  I had dinner at her place on Sunday evening, since Mom was busy with Brent. Then we spent the holiday Monday hanging out at the community docks, fishing and swimming. The highlight, though, was watching the evening fireworks with Monica from a log at the secret beach. The night blazed with explosions of color that lit the sky and reflected across the bay. But the best part was when Monica leaned in and kissed me.

  After that, I so didn’t want the weekend to end and Tuesday to come, but there was no stopping it.

  I woke up late on Tuesday morning. I couldn’t believe it. I thought I’d set my alarm clock for six thirty so I’d have plenty of time. But I’d accidentally set it for seven thirty. I only had half an hour to shower, grab breakfast and then pedal my bike across town to Granitewood Lodge.

  Which is why I was riding like mad at seven fifty, chewing on a granola bar and trying to make up for lost time. So it wasn’t great when I spotted the cruiser coming toward me. And even worse when it stopped at the corner and Nicole waved me over.

  “Good news, Dylan,” she said. “One of your friends ’fessed up. He told us who threw the clothes into the trees on Friday night. So now I have my robbery suspects.” Then she frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me yourself, anyway?”

  I could hardly believe what she was saying. Or maybe I could. Maybe one of my friends was desperate to get back some summer freedom. Maybe he had to rat out Garrett in order to save his own skin.