“He’s frightened,” I said. “Could we talk in the kitchen?”
The officer stepped back immediately.
I followed him out, leaving Gus an open path to the closet.
While his partner photographed the damage, I sat at my kitchen table and answered questions.
Had anything been stolen?
I didn’t think so.
Did anyone know my schedule?
Probably half the town. I had walked the same route for years.
Did I keep cash in the house?
“Enough for groceries if the card machine’s down.”
The officer glanced up.
There had apparently been talk that I had money from selling my parents’ property.
I knew the rumor. In a small town, people sometimes decide what you own before you do.
Most of that money had gone toward expenses years earlier.
Whoever broke in had come looking for something that wasn’t there.
But that still didn’t explain why they had left so quickly.
