Page 8 of An Unexpected Home

“Might as well get this over with,” he heard Leah say before she walked into the living room. She sat on the couch and he sat opposite her on a chair.

He wanted to ask her about the past she had mentioned and that Carly obviously knew about. But not knowing if it was relevant, he wasn’t really able to.

He cleared his throat. “As Carly said, there was a break-in at a store in town last night. It happened somewhere in the hours between midnight and four. Since I know you got in a little after three and a witness saw your car drive by, I just wanted to find out if you saw anything.”

She hadn’t been looking at him while he talked but when he finished, she looked right into his eyes. “That’s it? You just want to know if I saw anything?”

“For now yeah.” He stopped and realized that he needed to be honest with her. “Here’s the thing, Leah. You’re new in town. Nobody but Carly and Melanie know you and on the same night you drive through town we have a break-in. This town hasn’t had a break-in in like fifteen years.” He put up his hand to stop her from talking because he could tell she wanted to butt in. “And I am not saying you are involved. But if you were me, wouldn’t you feel like you had to dig a little deeper?”

He saw a slight side-to-side shake of her head. “You make a good point. Go ahead and ask all your questions. I’ll answer them.”

Relieved he asked. “What time did you leave New York?”

“Around six,” she answered. “I texted Carly right as I was getting in my car.”

Figuring he could check with Carly on the exact time, he went on. “And did you make any stops along the way?”

“As soon as I got out of the city, I stopped for gas. I have the receipt in my purse.”

“And about how long was that after you left?”

“Maybe an hour,” she shrugged.

“Any more stops?”

“I stopped at a McDonald's somewhere along the way and I know it was before eleven because I remember being thankful they were still open inside so that I could go to the bathroom. I should have that receipt, too.”

“That’s it then?” he asked.

“I stopped one more time for gas and I know I was in Ohio but I am not sure where. Again,” she said, “I have the receipt.”

“I’ll have you get those in a minute,” he told her. “Do you remember what time you drove through town?”

She nodded. “I do and only because I was having a conversation with myself.” She looked him directly in the eyes. “And yeah I talk to myself sometimes and this time was about how this was going to be my home now.”

“And you didn’t stop at all?”

“No.” She pursed her lips. “I had my GPS on but since I have been here twice before and it’s a pretty small town, I vaguely remembered where I was going.”

“You’ve been here before? To Cedarville?” This was news to him. He had lived in Cedarville all his life except for the four years he’d gone away to school.

“Yeah,” she said. “The summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college and again for Spring break junior year.”

He quickly did the math in his head figuring that she was the same age as Carly which made her five years younger than him. He figured she must have been in town the week he was away at the academy the first time but the Spring Break one he couldn’t place. Something to think about later.

Continuing with his questioning he asked, “And then you pulled in here?”

“Yep. And you know the story from there.”

“And you don’t remember seeing anything when you drove through town. Nothing weird or out of place?”

“I hate to tell a cop that I wasn’t paying attention, but honestly...I wasn’t paying attention. I was sorta in my own little world.”

“Okay then.” He stood. “If you could get me those receipts, I’ll leave you to your dinner.”

She didn’t stand, instead, she just sat there twisting her hands in her lap. “That’s it? You’re not gonna ask about my past?” She looked up at him through long lashes.

“Is it relevant to this?”

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