Someone’s fucking in there.
“What’s happening?” Sarah whispers behind me, making me jump.
“I told you to stay put,” I whisper in her ear and pull her back away from the door.
“I called the police, and they’re on the way. Is someone out there? I don’t see a car.”
“No car, but there’s someone in the house.”
“Oh my God, Tanner.”
I can hear the sirens down the block and rub my hand soothingly over Sarah’s back. “Police will be here any second, and they’ll take care of it.”
There’s a knock on the back door, and I don’t even bother to tell her to stay put while I go answer it.
“Hawk,” I say in surprise. “You guys work around the clock?”
“Shift work,” he says shortly. “Whoever was in there is gone now.”
“Impossible.” I shake my head and step outside with him. “The alarm went off less than ten minutes ago. I saw someone walking around in the house with a flashlight. There’s no way they’ve already left.”
“Well, they did,” he says grimly. “Left the door open again, though, and I’m hoping we’ll find prints. There were none from the last sweep that weren’t supposed to be there, which tells me they glove up.”
“Who the hell would want to steal anything from me?” Sarah demands as she joins us. “I don’t have much of anything, Hawk. Honestly, if they just asked me, I’d likely give them whatever they want. I don’t have anything of value.”
“Have you pissed someone off lately, Sarah?” Cullen asks as he walks out of the house and joins us.
“I don’t think so. Why?”
He passes her a sheet of paper that’s been placed in a clear evidence bag, and she reads aloud.
Bitch,
Where the hell are you? We need to talk. You have some explaining and apologizing to do, and I’m sick of waiting.
I’ll be back.
“There’s no signature. And it’s typed, so no handwriting for me to obsesses over.”
“That would have been too easy. Who’s mad at you?” Hawk asks her.
“I don’t—” But then she frowns and starts to shake her head slowly. “No way. That can’t be it.”
“It could be. Tell us,” Cullen replies, and takes out a notebook to jot down notes.
As Sarah relays an incident between herself and a coworker named Angela, I feel myself get more and more pissed off. She didn’t tell me about this, although she did say she had a run in with a coworker.
“I basically told her to kiss my ass, in way nicer words,” she finishes. “And then I found out that the whole thing was a lie. She wanted to go to a concert. Her kid was at her mom’s house.”
“So, she wanted you to fill in for her, and you said no,” Hawk summarizes. “That sounds pretty ordinary to me. It’s not like you slept with her husband, or you have a kid bullying hers or anything.”
“No, nothing like that. But she wasmad.She’s still not speaking to me, not that I really care. I needed the day off.”
“Anyone else that has a grudge?” Cullen asks. “Ex-boyfriend, or maybe your ex-husband?”
“My one and only ex-boyfriend is right here,” she says, pointing to me.
“No longerex.” I grin toothily.