The emotional charge of the night subsides as I lie on Lori’s couch in the darkness.
Until this moment, I’ve been running full steam and can now calmly replay the events in my mind. I was a beat cop in the city and spent most of my time writing tickets and doing paperwork. When the opportunity to run my own department became available, I jumped at the chance, hoping I might see a little more action.
Sadly, in this sleepy town, the most action I’ve seen so far has been bar fights and bears accosting people’s trash cans. This call was different.
I’ve spent the last few months getting to know the locals and building a foundation of trust, so finding out someone is living here that I didn’t know was my first surprise. Finding out it was a home invasion call was my second surprise and the one that gave me the adrenaline high I’d been craving. I’ll never wish any harm to my community, but it’s hard to protect and serve when nothing ever happens.
Then, I see Lori.
She may have had the guts to swing a bat at me, but that doesn’t change the fact that she’s so tiny and helpless. She’s young and sweet, but when I look into her eyes, I can see she’s been through something difficult. There’s a deeply rooted pain in her that makes me want to scoop her up and carry her off to a better place.
The fact that this perfect little girl is lying in bed right above me makes it impossible for me to sleep, so I toss off the blanket and get up to walk the perimeter.
I have to check on Deputy Bush anyway. I won’t be surprised if he’s catching a nap in his patrol car. I go out the back door and walk around the side of the house to the front. As I check the windows, I hear a branch crack behind me and pull my weapon. I spin around to find Bush standing behind me.
“Jesus, man. You can’t just walk up on me like that. You’re gonna get yourself shot one of these days.”
“I’m sorry, Sir,” he says, still holding his hands out.
“What are you doing out here?”
“I was sitting in my car, and I thought I saw something.”
“More specific. What did you see?”
“A shadow. Maybe someone creeping around over here.”
“Where? Show me.”
The deputy steps toward the hedges that border the property.
“Over here.”
I pull out my light and shine it on the ground. The morning dew has covered the long grass, making it easy to see the depressions in the uncut grass.
“Look at that. You see it?” I ask him.
“Footprints. They’re fresh, right?”
“Yes, they are. You did see someone.”
“I guess I must have scared them off.”
“Yeah, I think you did.” I shine my light into the woods but see nothing else.
“What are you thinking, Sheriff?”
“I’m thinking something isn’t right here. Why would a burglar come back to the scene of a botched robbery? You’ve been in that house. Did you see anything valuable enough to bring this guy back here?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Still, he must be after something specific to this location.”
“What do you think? Drugs maybe?”
“No. It’s hard to imagine the old lady having enough painkillers to make it worth risking a trip to jail.”
“What about the girl? She’s from the city. She could be carrying some expensive street drugs.”
