Chapter 44

FORTY-FOUR

PAWPAW VALLEY

Ellie had a bad feeling something had happened to Barbara. She braced herself to find a body as she glanced in the garage. Quickly shining her flashlight around though, she didn't see any signs of her. With caution she entered the house into the kitchen. She noted a half empty coffee cup on the counter, and the pot was still on although what remained inside had turned to sludge.

A quick peek in the living room offered nothing, so she walked down the hall calling Barbara's name, but there was no response.

The wood floor squeaked as she stepped on a loose board and the sound of the heater whirred in the hollow emptiness.

Exhaling, she pivoted, walked down the hall and found another room at the end.

Her breath caught as she pushed the door open and stepped inside. No Barbara. But the room held a baby crib beneath the window and two sets of bunk beds on the opposite side. The beds were adorned with pink and purple comforters. Dolls and children's toys filled a bookcase, and a stuffed bear was nestled in the crib with a baby blanket.

The room had also been ransacked. Pictures and photographs lay broken and scattered all over the floor as if they'd been ripped off the wall in a fit of rage.

According to Derrick's background check, Barbara didn't have family. Maybe she babysat for some of the kids at the preschool?

Was she planning to adopt or foster? Had she fostered in the past?

Ellie searched her desk and found a laptop. Of course, it required a passcode which she did not have so she searched the desk drawers and located a teacher's planner for the school where Barbara taught.

She quickly flipped through it but nothing suspicious caught her eye. Still, she'd take it for analysis. There was another planning book, a personal one listing dates of doctor appointments, dinners and meetings.

Next, she checked out the rest of the house. She passed a bedroom with a queen bed draped in a green quilt. A few articles of clothing had been tossed in a chair in the corner, but there was no sign of Barbara or an altercation. The master bath held toiletries, the shower curtain drawn.

She took a deep breath, half expecting a body in the tub, but when she eased it open, the shower/tub was empty. She glanced back at the room again. It had been searched as well.

Exactly what was the intruder looking for?

As she pivoted, she spotted the mirror and froze. It looked as if something red like lipstick had been smeared on the mirror. She studied it, thinking someone had written something there, but couldn't make out any words… as if Barbara had tried to clean it off.

Footsteps echoed from the front of the house and Ellie looked up to see Derrick.

"Call an ERT," Ellie told him. "There was an intruder in this house and Barbara's gone."