Chapter Ten Her

Chapter Ten Her

Present Day

My cellphone buzzed on the drive home from the coffee place. I hadn’t bothered to plug it in, thinking a few quick turns and

I’d be in the driveway. A glance at the screen showed missed calls from the alarm company. Amazing how fast people moved when

you scanned your husband’s death certificate and sent it over, confirming he could no longer pay the bill.

Wyatt could kiss that special code goodbye.

The last turn into my driveway and... an open gate. A police car. Elias. Detective Sessions. This couldn’t be good. Hiding

wasn’t an option. That left standing there while the police pawed through everything in the house and located that damn bat.

I got out of the car and met Elias and the detective by the bottom step leading to the front door. Two policemen passed me

and went into the house without saying a word. “I guess you got a search warrant.”

“The alarm went off,” Detective Sessions said. “You should have received a call.”

Wyatt. Again. Had to be. “And you brought the entire department over to check on the house?”

The detective frowned. “We respond to alarms. I’m assuming you support that.”

Elias did a quick cellphone check then slipped it into his suit pocket. “I’m an emergency contact for your system. When you

didn’t respond, I got the call. I can be here in a few minutes from my house, so I came to check on you. The police were already

here.”

Sounded convenient, as did all the work Elias did from home lately. “We’re going to have a talk about that what else of mine

you’re listed on.”

Elias shot me a not now look.

One person seemed to be missing from this scene. “Where’s Wyatt?”

“Why would your stepson be here?” Detective Sessions asked.

Elias jumped right in. “He wouldn’t set off the alarm. He has a code.”

But someone broke in, or tried to. What if I had been here? The question ran through my head, and I blinked it out. Wyatt had to be the answer. His misdirected anger made sense. Someone

else breaking in, stranger or not, opened up a world of new worries... and revived a few dormant fears. The ones I’d buried

and ignored as soon as I got old enough to fight back.

Before marrying Richmond, I didn’t own anything of value. I kept the lights on. I could guard a studio apartment without moving.

Sit in a chair and see every wall. No one could hide and jump out at me. This house was one big hiding place.

Someone killed Richmond. I assumed that was about him . I’d blocked any thought about me being a target or in danger, but now I wasn’t so sure. “So, where are we on the thief-in-my-house

question right now?”

The detective nodded toward the front door. “The officers looked inside and—”

“Wait. Is this some sort of scam to avoid getting the search warrant? Like, a bait-and-switch kind of thing.” That would suck

but it was an answer I could live with. The detective playing games meant danger, but not the type that would keep me up at

night, huddled in a corner, listening for every noise.

“It looks like someone entered the house through the back French doors off the breakfast room. The glass is broken. They likely

smashed it to open the lock.” The detective walked through the facts in a monotone voice. “The hit was enough to trip the

motion sensor on the door. The silent alarm went off. The alarm company called you. You ignored the call. The company then

called us, which is standard procedure. We got in the house through the broken door.”

He used all those words to make it sound like the situation was my fault.

“I was getting coffee.” I held up the almost empty cup as evidence.

“In this town?” Elias whistled. “Brave.”

“You have no idea.” I grabbed my cell out of my bag and brought up the security system app. “There are cameras. Richmond had

a thing about being able to watch the entire property from the privacy of his office.”

Elias and the detective crowded in while I hit the video playback for the short time while I was out. The system cycled through

different camera angles without showing much of anything. Detective Sessions took the phone and tried again.

“I’ll need a copy of this, but I’m seeing flashes of movement only.” He glanced up at the house to the obvious camera by the front door. “It looks like the person knew where the video blind spots were and stuck to them.”

That fast my suspicions about Wyatt returned then expanded to add Kathryn. She exercised a lot of control over her kids. Maybe

that extended to secret alarm codes. “Someone familiar with the property did this.”

The detective sent me a questioning look. “Do you have a name in mind?”

Not yet. Saying anything would play into the stereotypical idea of a cat fight between Richmond’s women, and that wasn’t going

to happen. “Just thinking out loud.”

“We’ll need you to do a walk-through and tell us if anything is missing.”

“Are we sure the person who broke in left?” I asked. “It’s a big place. Lots of rooms and doors. So many hiding places.”

“I’ll go with her,” Elias said. “We can provide you with a list of missing items.”

The detective nodded. “I’m sure you will.”