A Sea Change by Veronica Henry Read Free Book Online

what to say.
    ‘No. I saw you nick that wallet out of the cool box. And take that purse out of that woman’s handbag earlier.’ He pointed back down the beach.
    She shook her head. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
    She moved away and carried on walking. He walked beside her.
    ‘I’ve got photos.’
    She hesitated for a moment. ‘Of what?’
    ‘Good enough evidence for a court of law.’
    She turned on him. ‘Go and hassle someone else, will you? You’re being weird.’
    ‘I should have you arrested.’
    ‘I should have
you
arrested. You’ve beenfollowing me since this morning, taking pictures. That’s stalking.’
    He was impressed by the way she stood her ground. On the surface, she seemed defiant. A passer-by would believe her innocence, but Craig had been trained to read body language. Her fists were clenched, and she refused to make eye contact. He was going to have to be more forceful to get her to admit her guilt. Yet somehow his heart wasn’t in it.
    Maybe he should just let her go and be done with it. Thinking she had been caught would probably put her off doing it again, and this was supposed to be his week off. He just wanted to chill and get things straight in his head. This was like being back at work, if not worse. All he really wanted to do was sit back down and have a beer and maybe fall asleep again.
    Craig nearly gave up and let her go, but something inside him wanted to know more about her. He wanted to know why she was on the beach nicking money. He never had time, when he arrested people, to go into the whys and wherefores, and he was interested.
    ‘I don’t want to make a big scene,’ he told her. ‘But I can’t just let you walk off with all that money.’
    She spread her hands, laughing. ‘There is nomoney. I haven’t even got enough for an ice cream.’
    He held her gaze.
    ‘Open your bag. Let me have a look.’
    ‘Leave me alone. Or I’m going to call for help.’
    He looked around and then took his wallet out of his shorts. ‘You better take a look at this.’
    He flipped it open and showed her his police identification.
    She stared at it for a good five seconds before she finally dropped her eyes to the ground. She sighed and turned away.
    ‘I didn’t have any choice,’ she said, her voice tight with tears.
    ‘We all have a choice,’ he replied. ‘I’ve got a choice right now. I can take you into the nearest station. Or we can talk about it.’
    ‘What are you, my counsellor, all of a sudden?’ she asked, crossly.
    He raised an eyebrow. ‘Normal girls of your age don’t come to the beach on their own and spend the day nicking money.’
    ‘You think I don’t know that?’ She raised her voice, and he realised that people were looking.
    ‘Look,’ he said. ‘I’m a cop. By rights it’s my duty to turn you in. But I’m on holiday. I don’t want a load of hassle.’ He looked at her. She wasstaring down at the sand. The fight seemed to have gone out of her. ‘And I bet you don’t either.’
    She looked up and put her hands on her hips. ‘So what are you going to do? Give me some big lecture? It’s not as if I don’t know it’s wrong.’
    ‘So why did you do it?’
    She stared at him. Her eyes were huge in her face. He reached out a hand and touched her arm.
    ‘Come on. Come inside and have a drink. We can talk about it.’
    Jenna stood there. She didn’t know what to do. All she knew was that the heat was suddenly unbearable and she felt sick. She wasn’t scared. She didn’t feel like running away. In fact, she almost felt a sense of relief. Her future was now going to be out of her hands. Someone else was going to be in control.
    She looked up at the bloke again. He was going to decide her fate. She didn’t have to make the decisions any more. She couldn’t read the expression in his silver-grey eyes. She’d expected harshness and accusation but they seemed almost understanding.
    ‘Come on,’ said the man, nodding his head up