Page 30 of Evidence of Truth

Sam patted Silas on the shoulder. “Why don’t you turn on cartoons while we look around.”

She turned to Joe and Danny. “Let’s check the house and try to determine what happened.”

The fight must have started here, Sam surmised as they walked by the bathroom. The door was half off its hinges, and toiletries were strewn about. They walked into Silas’s bedroom.

Anne had decorated the room in blues and reds. Superhero pictures that had been on the wall were thrown haphazardly on the floor. Sam remembered how excited Anne was to get bunk beds so Silas could have friends over. Those, too, were tossed, the mattresses sliced. His beanbag chair and cubbies for his toys—ruined. The bureau drawers were tossed on the floor, all his special things on the shelves swept off, and the clothes in his closet thrown on the floor. The room was a disaster.

“Fuck, what the hell was this guy looking for?” said Joe. He looked around the room. The muscles in his neck tightened. “This is a mess.”

Danny picked up a bunch of Legos that once was something. “Poor kid. I would be traumatized if this happened to me.”

Sam closed her eyes. She drew in a slow, steady breath, let it out. It didn’t help. She rubbed her forehead, trying to get around the scene before her.

The violence in the room was overwhelming, and they hadn’t reached the office or Anne’s bedroom. Plus, she couldn’t forget the blood trail on the wall in the hallway.

She sighed. “I’ll have a contractor fix the door and whatever needs painting. I can’t have Anne coming back to this. My cleaning crew can put everything back and make it right.”

“Anne needs a security system,” said Danny. “I know she won’t feel safe for a while, and that’ll help.”

Decisions made, the group made its way out to the living room.

“Silas, I’d love to have you stay with me for a few days. You know my daughter Alex, right?” asked Sam.

He nodded.

“She’d love the company. Is that all right with you?”

“Yes,” he replied in a small voice. He looked at her with worried eyes. “When can we see Miss Anne?”

“Hmmm.” Sam thought for a minute. She’d check on Anne as soon as she got Silas settled. Maybe Marlee could sit with him until Alex got home. Then she’d go to the hospital and see how Anne was doing. No way did she want Anne to wake up and worry.

Whoever did this was in a world of pain if she ever caught them. No one hurt her friends ever—and got away with it.

The big question was, what was this guy looking for? It had to be something specific. No other house on the street was broken into. When she returned to the office, maybe Phil could pull up some cameras and get a sense of what happened. Was this guy alone? Did he have a car? How did he find Anne? Silas?

What was his motive for breaking in and trying to kidnap Silas?

So many questions but no answers.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Anne hurt. She lay still, her body throbbing with pain. Her head was pounding, and she felt like it was going to explode. Her eyes were heavy. She didn’t want to open them yet; she was afraid. Of what?

She struggled to recall what happened. Anne remembered Silas was sick, and she brought him home.

They entered the house. She went to turn on the shower. Then what?

What?

Fragments of scenes flashed through her mind—a man standing in the doorway. Silas in his bedroom looking at her with fear. Then pain—so much pain.

Subdued voices came from somewhere, and there were footsteps. Who did they belong to?

She needed to get up and save Silas. First, she had to open her eyes and see where she was. Her lids felt like cement, but Silas needed her help. She forced her eyes open and squinted. Anne could see out of one but not the other.

She wasn’t home.

Anne screamed. It came out like a whimper.

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