“I saw someone on the other side of the fence near the last row of buildings. They took off running when I shined my flashlight on them. I yelled for them to stop and chased after them when they didn’t,” I explained.
“They got away?”
I cupped her cheek. “I heard you yell, so I stopped chasing them and came back.”
She tilted her head down and looked away from me. “I didn’t know what was happening, and I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Too fucking sweet,” I said and kissed the top of her head.
“Did you get a good look at the person?” she asked.
“I wouldn’t call it a good look, but I would say they were in their late teens or early twenties, average height, thin build, fair skin. They were wearing a hat so I’m not sure about hair color.”
“I hope you scared the crap out of them. Did you get a chance to look at the cameras?” she asked.
“Yes. Someone spray-painted over the lenses.”
“Are you kidding me? Why would someone do that?” she asked incredulously.
“It’s easier than taking them out and you’re less likely to get caught if you approach the camera from behind and spray it from directly underneath,” I explained.
“So, there’s nothing wrong with the cameras?” she asked.
“I can’t say for sure, but if it was just paint and nothing else, they’ll be fine once they’re cleaned off. But you should probably call the police first.”
“Oh,” she said, sounding surprised. “Do you think the person you saw is the one who spray-painted the cameras?”
“It’d be one hell of a coincidence if it wasn’t them,” I pointed out.
“Right. I need to check the units and make sure none of them were tampered with or broken into first.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. If nothing was stolen, then I don’t see a need to involve the police. It was probably just some kid with nothing else to do.”
I didn’t agree with her, but it wasn’t my call to make. Instead, I offered to check the property for her, so she didn’t have to disturb the baby. And I wanted to see if the mystery person left anything behind.
After I rode through the property and checked every single unit, I stopped at each camera and cleaned the spray paint off the lenses. Then, I circled around to the rear corner and stopped to look around with my flashlight. Unfortunately, I didn’t find anything helpful.
9
BLAKELY
When Grant left to check the units, I went to the kitchen intending to wash Kalen’s bottles and wipe down the counters. Before I realized what I was doing, I was halfway through making banana pudding. I liked to bake when I was stressed, and I was definitely stressed.
When he started describing the person he chased, I couldn’t help but think they sounded a lot like Ben even though I knew it couldn’t be him because he was in jail. However, it didn’t escape me that strange things had been happening around Stuff It since Ben’s visit.
Part of me felt like I should mention my observations to Grant, but I didn’t want to betray Ben’s trust. On the other hand, I didn’t really know Ben while Grant had proven himself to be trustworthy. I wasn’t sure what to do.
Grant lightly knocked on the side door, causing me to jump.
“What are you doing?” he asked when I let him in.
“Huh? Oh, making something,” I answered distractedly. “Was everything okay with the units?”
“I didn’t see anything out of place, and every unit had a locked lock. I also cleaned off the lenses for you.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely. “You didn’t have to do that.”
