The police arrivedthirty minutes later to take their statements. Realizing what had happened, Wes had immediately sprung to his feet and checked his computer equipment, but whoever had ransacked the house hadn’t damaged the electronics. Cara had nothing of great value at the house, and her computer was still on the kitchen table where Wes left it.
“Nothing was taken?” The young female patrol officer asked, eyeing Wes’s misbuttoned shirt.
“Nothing valuable… it’s such a mess.” The contents of their kitchen cabinets were scattered across the counters, broken glass everywhere. Wes’s clothes and dresser drawers had been tossed, and Cara’s room had fared little better.
“But there issomethingmissing?” The officer narrowed her eyes.
Cara made a face, aware of how ridiculous it was going to sound. “He took a snow globe. It wasn’t valuable to anyone but me.”
The officer’s pen stopped writing. “A snow globe? You noticed it was missing?”
Cara shook her head. “He was carrying it when he left. Wes has the video from the security camera on his phone.”
“I’ll make a note of it.” The officer rolled her eyes.
While Wes had been on the phone to 911 reporting the break-in, Cara called Luke. He’d beaten the police to the house by ten minutes. She needed to tell the officer about the stalker. Cara hadn’t told Luke about it yet, and she didn’t think Declan had either… This was not the atmosphere she wanted when she finally told him.
The officer produced a card and handed it to Cara. “If you think of anything else or discover something missing, let me know. Could be kids wanting to cause destruction…” She looked doubtful.
Cara took the card, worrying the edges. “There is one more thing.” She gave her brother an ‘I’m sorry’ face and dove into the story. Luke paled, his jaw flexing, but thankfully he held himself in check in front of the police officer.
“Your stalker may have taken the snow globe as a personal souvenir. The crime scene team will be here soon. They’ll dust for prints, and hopefully, whoever this guy is will be in the system.” The woman glanced at Luke again. “Can you and your boyfriend stay with your brother?”
A muscle ticked in Luke’s jaw.
“I’d like a detective here,” he said, his voice steely. The officer nodded.
“My sergeant is on his way.”
“Can my sister and herfriendgather some things to take with them?”
“Not until they clear the scene.” She gave Cara’s party dress a sympathetic look. “It shouldn’t take long, and if you tell me what you need, I’ll have them bring it out.”
Cara and Wes told her where to find their suitcases and which computers they needed. Thankfully, Cara had already packed her travel toiletry bag. The second the officer was out of earshot, Luke turned on her.
“Need advice for a friend, huh? Why the fuck didn’t you tell me someone was threatening you?”
Cara’s retort died on her lips. She knew he was worried, and shehadlied to him.
“I wasn’t being threatened at the time. It was just creepy flowers and notes. It could have been a prank… I didn’t want to worry you and James.”
“And you don’t think your new boyfriend has anything to do with it?” Luke cast a dark look in Wes’s direction, where he stood in a pool of light by the house, a resigned expression on his face.
“Wes isn’t my boyfriend, and I trust him. The cameras Wes installed caught the person breaking in, but he was in a hoodie and mask. Wes has been helping me.”
Luke frowned, reaching out to twitch the sleeve of Wes’s jacket. Wes had insisted she put it on properly while they waited for the police because of the cool air. “Right.”
A detective eventually arrived, and Cara told her story for the third time. It was another two hours before an officer brought their things out to them and they were able to leave.
“Do you think it’s the same person?” Cara asked, though in her gut she knew it was.
“Could be.” The detective hedged. “The scene looks staged. There are thousands of dollars’ worth of computer equipment he could have walked off with, and if it was a vandal, they would have destroyed more stuff. Other than your glassware, nothing was broken. Could be he was hoping to find you here, and when you weren’t, he made his presence known. You have some place to go?”
“I’m leaving the country for a few days.”
The detective nodded. “That’s probably a good idea. When you get back, you might consider upgrading this system to a monitored one.”
“She won’t be coming back here,” Luke interrupted, ignoring Cara’s glare.
