“What do you think, Noud? What’s all this about?” Bernard asked once the courtyard of the complex had finally quieted down.
“To be honest, I have no idea. But I wouldn’t want to be in Ted’s shoes. By the way, I think he suspects us.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because Carlos couldn’t pull something like this off. And Ted has no clue that we have no interest in his stupid, childish notes.”
“Ah,” Bernard shook his head. “I don’t think we even cross his mind. He has no idea who we really are. He watches us out of routine, just like everyone else. If he suspected anything, he’d have already fled the island. He wouldn’t take the risk. He only called the police because he thinks he’s safe.”
“It was reckless of him to involve the authorities. I get that he wanted to flex his power and prove he has nothing to hide, but playing with fire is never a good idea.”
“Especially when he’s the only one who could get burned. Ted is the sole target here, and he still hasn’t realized it.”
“That’s because Carlos keeps hovering around us, messing everything up with his stupid games,” Noud grumbled.
Bernard smirked.
“I have to admit, sometimes I get a good laugh at how seriously the old man takes himself.”
“Well, his little bug was actually quite impressive.”
“Fair enough. I’ll give him that—it was a clever move.”
Ted was not pleased about making a fool of himself in front of the police. He had called them about a break-in, yet he hadn’t told them exactly what had been stolen. Then what was the point of calling them in the first place? But he couldn’t exactly confess that what had disappeared was his collection of photographs and notes on the residents. Had he made a mistake? Maybe. But he had to prove he had nothing to fear. Even if that meant taking a huge risk. Especially when he couldn’t be certain who the culprit was.
Carlos seemed like the obvious suspect, but his ridiculous games with toy watches and imaginary phone calls made the old man look anything but serious. And besides, what would he even do with Ted’s notes? What would he gain from the information inside? Even María José would find more use for them than that old windbag.
Bernard and Noud, on the other hand, seemed like nothing more than common burglars to Ted—thieves who probably couldn’t even tell costume jewelry from real gold. The bespectacled man had no doubt that the two Dutchmen made a living by breaking into places. That was precisely why he was eager to catch them in the act. At first, he had assumed they were the ones who had broken into his place, too. But the fact that nothing else had been taken aside from his notes had immediately shifted his suspicion away from them. Sure, he didn’t keep much cash or valuables at home, but any ordinary thief would have taken his phone or the wallet sitting on the coffee table.
After carefully washing the coffee cups he had served the police and Ted with, Carlos decided it was time to visit his neighbors.
“This is madness, I swear,” he muttered, shaking his head as he stepped onto the Dutchmen’s terrace.
“I was just telling Noud the same thing,” Bernard greeted him with a handshake. “The world’s gone mad. Who would have thought something like this could happen in a gated complex with surveillance cameras?”
“Let’s hope the footage will reveal who this scoundrel is that’s disturbing our peace. Maybe it was the same person lurking around in that diving suit last time.”
Bernard struggled to suppress a mocking smile.
“I don’t think the two incidents have anything in common.”
“And why are you so sure about that?” Carlos challenged.
“Look, my friend, I don’t know who was snooping around back then, but there wasn’t even proof that it really happened—it could have just been that little German girl’s imagination running wild. As for whoever broke into Ted’s place, they must be some kind of lunatic.”
“Lunatic?” the old man snapped.
“That’s right. Don’t tell me a real burglar would cut a hole in the glass to break into a house!”
Carlos bit his lip. “I’ll show you who’s a lunatic”, he thought, then turned on his heel and set off to visit Ted.