Young Squatters by Blair London Read Free Book Online Page B

sweaty as he looked at her documentation.
    The officer looked over the license and handed it back to her.  “Thank you, Miss.  Are these your things?”  He gestured around the kitchen.
    “Only what’s in the boxes,” said Bradford.  “We just moved in today, we haven’t had a chance to unpack.  I don’t know what her stuff is still doing here.”  Bradford hooked a thumb at Mrs.  Donnelly.
    Nora’s mouth opened, then closed.  Then she couldn’t help herself.  She started shrieking again and the officer had to take her back outside and told her to stay there.  Harper could hear the conversation.  Bradford gave her a look and a wink.  She wished he wouldn’t have; how could he be so confident in their plan?
    “Now I want you to stay out here calmly while I go back inside to talk to the young couple,” the policeman said to Nora.  “Do you think you can manage that?”
    As the policeman stood watching the woman, waiting for a response, he stood frozen to the spot.
    “I don’t know why you are saying I have done something wrong when those two in there are who you should be telling to be outside, not me.  It is my house.”
    “Look madam, I want to sort this out as much as you do, but you have to let me do my job.  So will you stay out here while I go inside to speak to the couple and try to get this mess resolved?”
    Nora agreed to stay outside of the house, but she looked irate.  Harper saw her take out her cell phone again then put it back in her pocket, staring up at the sky with pure emotional frustration.
    Bradford showed the officer around the rest of the house.  In every room, it was the same story: the owners had told them they could move in and take over the place, like tenants.  No, they hadn’t signed a lease, it had been a handshake kind of a thing, an email agreement.  No, they hadn’t moved anything that belonged to the Donnelly family.  No, their own stuff was still in boxes.  They’d answered a rental listing on the internet.  This guy had told them they could move in right away, even took a deposit from them.  Bradford had even had the electric bill switched into his name, and he showed the policeman the utility statement he’d received.
    Getting the electric bill switched to their name hadn’t been a problem.  Harper had handled that, because she had gone to that same utility company when her mom had forgotten to pay the bill on numerous occasions.  She just explained to the guy at the utility company that they were moving into a new house and taking over the electric bill.  He’d been happy to help set up a new account for them.  She and Bradford had used the utility statement to get their driver’s licenses changed.
    Finally, the officer went back outside.  Harper could hear them talking from her place at the front door.  “Listen, Ma’am, I don’t know what to tell you.  Their I.D.s both say they live here.  Your I.D. doesn’t.”  He put up his hands as she hissed at him like a snake.
    “You have got to be kidding me,” she snapped.  “Are you calling me a liar, sir?”
    “No, Ma’am, I’m not calling you a liar, I’m just telling you what I know.  There’s no sign of forced entry.  The kid’s got a key.  Nothing seems to have been disturbed.  No one’s been hurt.  How am I supposed to know who’s telling the truth here?  I could get into a lot of trouble if I arrested him and he hasn’t committed a crime, you understand?  I’m just here to keep the peace and uphold the law.  Maybe he’s a victim of a scam?  It happens, you know.”
    “Well you sure as hell better do something about this right away, or I’m going to get you fired!” she said, though the threat didn’t seem very scary.
    “Okay, okay, listen,” the cop said, clearly trying to appease her and keep her calm.  “I’m gonna call my dispatcher and see what my lieutenant thinks.  Just stay calm, alright?”
    “Stay calm?  Stay calm?” she asked, her