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“I think there’s someone in the store,” Aiden said. He squinted, trying to make out the outline of a man.
“What? Who?” Julia asked.
Tristan leaned over us to get a better look. “Yup, there’s definitely someone in there. I see movement.”
“I don’t know, but it looks like—Sully!” Aiden shouted in surprise.
When Aiden called out the dive shop owner’s name, I pressed my nose against the window.
“You’re right,” I said. I could see Sully’s unruly hair and beard. There was enough light from the street to barely illuminate the store inside.
The thought that Sully was skulking inside his shop in the dark was mystifying.
“Knock on the door. Maybe if he knows we’re here, he’ll let us in,” Aiden said.
I knocked, but it was so soft that Sully didn’t hear.
“Do it again louder,” Julia said.
I knocked more forcefully. This time, Sully turned his head toward the door. But to my surprise, instead of coming toward the door, he hurried into the office.
“That’s odd,” I said when Sully ignored us.
“Hello?” Aiden yelled and banged on the door, but Sully didn’t come out of the back.
I jiggled the doorknob. “It’s locked.” Disappointed, I let go of the brass knob.
“Look! Officers Shin and Frankel are here.” Julia pointed at the police car approaching from the other direction. The parking space in front of the dive shop was occupied, so Officer Frankel stopped to let his partner out of the vehicle.
“Officer Shin, Sully is in the shop, but he won’t come to the door. He heard us knock, but he went into his office,” Aiden said.
“I assume the door is locked,” the Officer said. Even though we nodded, he tried to turn the handle. “Did you see anyone else inside the store?”
We shook our heads. Officer Shin frowned.
“Okay, step out of the way.” Officer Frankel had arrived, and he flicked his hand for us to move away from the door.
We moved backward until we were a few feet behind the two officers. Then Officer Frankel rapped his knuckles on the wooden door.
“Thomas Sullivan, we know you’re in there!” he yelled and then peered into the store window to scan the room for movement.
When he didn’t see Sully leave the office, he motioned for Officer Shin to go around so he could block any attempts to escape out the back entrance.
As Officer Shin jogged toward the back, I wondered if the dive shop owner hadn’t already escaped.
My heart raced at that possibility, and I said, “Sully could’ve left already.”
“Maybe, but his store is at the end, so we would’ve seen him if he did leave,” Julia said.
Aiden nodded. “That’s right, the beach is right next to the shop, and he would’ve to pass us if he wanted to go on the street.”
“True. He must be in his shop then. I wonder why he’s not coming out. What’s he afraid of?” I asked, but no one responded.
Officer Shin radioed to Officer Frankel that he was blocking the back, so without further warning, Officer Frankel took his flashlight and smashed the glass pane above the doorknob. Then, with the flashlight, he moved it around to create a bigger hole so that he could put his hand through the opening without getting cut by the jagged glass.
After he unlocked the door, he gave it a great shove, but he remained outside.
“Thomas Sullivan, are you in here? Come out with your hands in the air?” There wasn’t any response when Officer Frankel shouted out instructions. He pushed the button for the radio that was attached near his right shoulder.
