Aiden gave him a curious look but shrugged and went back to work.
Pulling his phone out as he headed into the living room, Ed dialled the local police station. “Hi. I’d like to report someone acting suspiciously.” He told them what he’d seen and mentioned the car now parked on the street in plain view.
Bold as brass.
Shame he couldn’t make out the registration from there.
To his shock, the officer who took his call didn’t seem at all surprised when he described the person attempting to break into Betty’s house. Was he a repeat offender?Jesus. Ed couldn’t remember hearing about any burglaries in the area. But it wasn’t like he lived near here or anything. Well, not until now, anyway.
They told him a Sergeant Walker was nearby and would swing past to check things out.
Ed found himself in the kitchen by the back door, debating whether to go out there or not. From what he’d seen, he was far bulkier than the guy currently casing Betty’s house, but what if he was armed? He thought about Betty, all alone in her house. If that had been Elise...
He was out the door before he finished that thought.
Peeking over the fence proved fruitless. Either the guy had decided to clear off or he was already inside. Ed craned his neck to get a look at the bathroom window. It was opened, but that could mean anything. He listened hard for any sounds of disturbance, but there was nothing.
A car door slammed out the front and Ed hurried down the side alley to see who it was.
The police car parked outside brought him up short. Christ, that was fast.
He walked down the path towards the tall and rather good-looking police officer coming towards him. In any other situation, Ed would have taken a moment to admire the view, but his mind was focused on what might be happening next door.
“I think he might be inside,” Ed whispered, pointing behind him at the house. “The bathroom window was open, and he looked skinny enough to get in.” Just as he finished speaking, Betty’s front door swung open, revealing the very person Ed had been talking about. Except instead of looking like someone being caught doing something illegal, the guy appeared bemused. He looked from the police officer to Ed, then scrunched up his nose. “I forgot my keys.”
Sergeant Walker turned to Ed, lips twitching. “Mr Middleton?”
Ed nodded.
“Is this the suspicious person you reported?”
“Yeah. That’s him.” His cheeks heated with the creeping realisation that maybe he’d made a mistake.
Sergeant Walker sighed. “Thank you for being so conscientious about your neighbour’s safety—” Ed inwardly groaned as he suddenly noticed the resemblance between the two men and sensed he’d got it all wrong somehow. “But I believe there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding.” He gestured to the guy now leant against the door frame, cheeks as pink as Ed’s felt. “Oliver?”
The guy—Oliver—blew out a breath. “I’m staying with Betty for a while. I wasn’t trying to break in, just left my keys inside by accident. Sorry for any confusion.”
Ed narrowed his eyes and barked out, “Why the hell didn’t you just knock on the bloody door then?” Embarrassment made him snap, and he winced a little. But for fuck’s sake!
Oliver gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. “Because I know Betty always takes a nap at this time and I didn’t want to disturb her. I would’ve done if the bathroom window hadn’t been open, but it was, so...” He held his hands out and shrugged.
They both turned to look at Ed, and he desperately wished for a hole to form under his feet and save him from all the awkward. To make matters worse, Betty appeared behind Oliver, looking a little tired and confused, but her face brightened considerably when she saw not one, but two of her...relatives, Ed was guessing. When her gaze fell on Ed, he saw the exact moment she realised what was going on. Or got a good idea anyway. The mischievous glint to her eyes made him nervous. “Oh, what a lovely surprise,” she said, clapping her hands together. “And Ollie, this is the lovely young man I was telling you about. Elise’s nephew.” She threw Oliver a wink.
Oh God.
Oliver rolled his eyes. “Oliver. Ollie makes me sound about twelve.” He grinned as she waved his words away.
“You’ll always be young in my eyes. Humour an old lady.”
Sergeant Walker cleared his throat and faced Ed. “I think we’ve established this was an unfortunate misunderstanding. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Ed felt three pairs of eyes on him and shifted uncomfortably. “No, that’s fine. Sorry for wasting your time.”
“Not at all.”
“Right... I’d... um... I’d better get back...” Ed walked as quickly as he dared back up the path to his front door and caught sight of a grinning Aiden standing at the living room window.
Loud laughter met him as soon as he got inside.
