Free Trapped in Tourist Town by Jennifer Decuir Page A

explain this better to your supervisor.”
    “That won’t be necessary. A patrol car was dispatched to your address as soon as you said intruder. The officer should be there shortly. Please stay inside and do not attempt to engage them.”
    “Officer? As in one?” Burke’s eyes widened as he swore his would-be assailant stood up straight on the porch, casting a shadow on the living room wall. The guy was nearly seven feet tall! Oh, they were never going to be able to tackle this behemoth on their own.
    “I assure you he will assess the situation and call for backup if needed.”
    “Fine. But make sure he’s got his weapon drawn when he gets here. This guy is big. He’s like some freakin’ Sasquatch or something.”
    There was a pause on the other end of the line and the 911 operator cleared her throat loudly.
    “Try to be patient and the police officer will be there within a few minutes.”
    Now he could hear the scuffling that issued from the back porch. The intruder was going to try to get in through the sliding glass door! Unbelievable. He wondered why the jerk wasn’t more careful about being quiet. It was clear the cottage was no longer vacant. The rental car was parked in the driveway. He couldn’t believe the balls on this guy!
    Spotting the knife block sitting beside the cutting board, Burke felt a little queasy. The thought of slicing through living flesh was enough to make him hurl. But he grabbed the largest one anyway. Hanging over the stove was an array of pots and pans. He reached up and pulled down a frying pan. Maybe he could catch the guy unaware, and knock him out cold as he entered through the back.
    Headlights speared the night, nearly blinding him as they lit up the kitchen. The cavalry had arrived. No flashing lights or sirens, but they hadn’t made any attempt to sneak onto the property and catch the intruder in the act. So now he was probably running through the woods, long gone. Wasted trip. Burke shook his head in disgust and went to let the patrolman in.
    “Officer, he was trying the back door. You might still be able to catch him if you’re quick.” Burke gestured for the man in uniform to hurry, leading him through the house with his kitchen weapons held out in front of him.
    “Mr. Sanders, are you certain someone was trying to break in? You heard them try the door?”
    The officer trailed behind, not bothering to keep up with Burke or even take the lead. “Listen, I heard him on the back porch. The idiot wasn’t even trying to stay quiet. Come on, we’ve got to catch him. I don’t care if it’s just a couple of stupid teen pranksters. They need to learn a lesson. I intend to press charges.”
    Burke reached the sliding glass door that opened out onto the back porch. The police officer followed, his service revolver firmly encased in its holster. Unfortunately, there was no way to hide their approach. So Burke hurried to the door and flipped the switch on the side of the wall, bathing the deck in light. He dashed to the side of the door, in case the would-be robber opened fire. Before he could take a look to see if their quarry was still in sight, the patrolman let out a bellow of laughter.
    Seated on the deck, in front of the gas grill and looking quite comfortable, was a bandit all right. A fuzzy, fat raccoon. He had managed to climb up to the surface of the grill and pull down the leftover hamburger and hot dog that Burke had forgotten to remove after dinner. At the moment, he was washing down his late-night snack with a bottle of Corona.
    Burke glared. Could this night get any worse? The cop was wiping tears from his eyes, nearly doubled over as he was still convulsing with laughter. Awesome. This would be all over town by morning. Burke peered at the man’s name tag. Officer Eaton would enjoy relating this late night rendezvous. Aw, crap! Eaton. It couldn’t be. In this small town? Double crap!
    “Tell me you aren’t related to Cady. I know Scallop Shores is small,