Page 99 of It's a Wonderful Knife

“I don’t know. He must have been on this side of the river when the storm hit.” I frowned. “I thought Jax and the others searched for him?”

“It’s a big piece of land. He could easily have hidden.”

“True.” I studied the emaciated-looking fellow as he mumbled to himself, looking bewildered. It occurred to me I could hear a faint voice coming from my pocket.

The 911 operator.

“Oh, shit.” I stuck my fingers into my pocket and pulled the phone out. “I forgot I was talking to 911.” I put the phone to my ear. “Hello, I’m sorry. I… I didn’t hang up.”

Royce walked up, breathing hard. He had a scrape on his cheek, and his expression was serious, but I could feel his relief. We had contact with the outside world now. “Let me talk to them,” he said gruffly, reaching out to take the phone from me.

Happy to let him take charge, I complied and gave him the phone. I glanced at Dakota, who was hugging his mom. Leo was shielding both of them in his arms, and Ezra was talking to Jax.

What is wrong with this picture?

Lucas approached, and River intercepted him. “That was dangerous,” River said tersely. “You should have let Royce handle it.”

“I’m fine,” Lucas grumbled, rubbing his shoulder.

“That was brave,” I said grudgingly.

Lucas frowned. “Your tone implies surprise.”

“I guess it never occurred to me you might be hero material,” I said.

Lucas sighed. “Tactful as usual, Max.”

“It was brave,” Girdy said. “But River is right. It was also dangerous to get involved.”

Lucas shrugged. “Seemed like the right thing to do.”

The homeless man stood next to Royce, his hands tied with rope. He looked subdued as Royce spoke on the phone next to him.

“Why do you suppose that guy would stab Santiago?” River asked.

Girdy grimaced. “Why did he grab Dakota? He’s probably not all there.”

“We don’t know for sure he’s the one who stabbed Santiago,” I murmured.

River scowled. “He literally just tried to stab Dakota.”

“I know.” I met his gaze. “But the police will need to verify that’s the same knife that killed Santiago.”

Lucas nodded. “Max is right.”

Curling his lip, River said, “Well, look at you two, besties for life.”

“Uh, yeah.” Lucas eyed me cautiously. “The jury is out on that one.”

River said, “Where do you suppose that homeless guy has been the last few days?”

“Since he looks like a drowned rat, my guess is he’s been outside in the storm.” Lucas sighed.

“Do you think he really wanted to hurt Dakota?” Girdy asked.

I sighed. “It’s hard to say. I doubt he knows where he is right now.”

“It’s kind of scary to think that guy has been lurking on the property the whole time.” Girdy shivered.