Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 135696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
“You were with the sheriff when I called?”
“I was giving him a heads up about someone fucking with you.” Since he’d learned from the last time about keeping shit from her, he continued when he didn’t want to. “And I was asking about the Whitaker brothers.”
He was instantly glad he shared since her expression lost some of its fright and her eyes lit with interest.
“You talked to him about that?”
“Yup.”
“What’d he say?”
“First, you wanna come inside and have a shot of tequila then tell me what you saw when you got to your place?” he offered.
“Sure, sans the tequila. It’s barely eleven, Riggs.”
“Right,” he muttered, throwing an arm around her shoulders and guiding her inside.
He took her right to kitchen, sat her ass on the stool, rounded the counter and leaned into his forearms across from her.
“Want coffee or something else?” he offered.
“I’m good.”
“Okay, then, tell me. Did you see someone?”
“No, I came in the front and saw the back door open. There was a slash in the screen door. I didn’t leave the back door open, and I made sure the lock was hooked on the screen door when I left. Obviously, I can’t do that on the front door.”
It was good he got contractor rates on all sorts of shit, because not only was she going to get surveillance cameras on every side of her house and pointed toward where the stables used to be, she was getting security doors.
“And you locked the back door?”
She nodded. “I got home and headed that way, and I was feeling creeped out, Riggs. You know, like, it was weird, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.”
He felt his muscles get solid all over when he asked, “Again, did you see someone?”
“No. I’ve been thinking about it, and it was just a feeling. Like, I felt someone had been there who shouldn’t have been. I didn’t get very far before I saw that there was some damage around the doorframe. Like someone pried it open or kicked it in.”
And they could do that because they slashed her screen and unhooked the lock so they could get to the door.
“That’s when I ran to my car and came to your house,” she finished.
“What was the inside like?”
“That’s what’s weird, because, except for the back door, everything seemed like it was as I left it.”
Yeah.
That was weird.
“Did you notice anything taken?”
She shook her head. “That said, I didn’t get a good look.”
“Sure you don’t want a shot of tequila?”
She nodded her head.
“Anyone do any shit to you last night? Scratching. That rock bullshit?”
“I didn’t hear anything,” she replied as his phone vibrated in his pocket.
He pulled it out and looked at it.
“Harry,” he told her.
More nodding from Nadia as he took the call.
“Yo, Harry.”
“We’re here. It’s clear. Called the team in to see if we can get prints or anything. But the place looks perfect, except someone fucked up the back door in a big way in order to get in.”
“Yeah?” he prompted, without saying the words that would push Harry to give more because he didn’t want to tweak Nadia…or tweak her further.
But Harry got him, and he gave more.
“Whoever wanted in, really wanted in, Riggs. And from what I’m seeing, they didn’t know how much time they had, so they made a mess of it. But this doesn’t jibe, since it doesn’t look like they ransacked the place. The state of the doorframe and the house contradict each other. ’Fraid I’m gonna need you to ask Nadia to come back and look around so we know what we’re dealing with.”
“I’ll talk to Nadia. It’ll be me bringing her back.”
“See you soon.”
“Yeah.”
They disconnected and Riggs said to Nadia, “They’re there, and it’s all clear, but they need you to come and have a look because they can’t tell if anything’s missing. You okay to do that, or do you want me to call Harry and tell him you need some time?”
She shook her head. “I’m okay to do it.”
“While we’re there, want you to pack a bag.”
She was moving off her stool, but at what he said, she stopped.
“For what?” she asked.
“You’re staying with Ledge and me tonight. Tomorrow, I’m gonna fix your door, put security storm doors in and install the cameras. Depending on the damage to the frame, all that might take me more than a day. So pack for two nights, it shouldn’t take more than that.”
“I can check into a hotel.”
“Yeah. You can. And if that’s the way you wanna go, it’s your call. But I’d feel better, and if Ledge hears word of this, and just sayin’, in a small town, word travels fast, so he’d feel better if we had eyes on you.”
“That really isn’t—”
“I got a guest room, so it isn’t like you’d be sleeping on the couch. It has its own bathroom. It’s like a hotel, but the room service is shitty.”