Page 19 of A Colby Christmas Rescue

10:20 a.m.

LUKE’SCONDOWASa wreck. And as much as Luke despised housecleaning, this was more than just his indifference to chores. The place had been ransacked. She shouldn’t be surprised, and she wasn’t. Not really. More unsettled. This was Luke’s place. His things.

Jamie moved through the condo slowly, taking her time to look at any and all items. The space wasn’t that large so with both Poe and Abi prowling around it was on the cramped side.

She tidied the place as she went. Touching Luke’s things relieved her somehow. Relaxed her to a degree. He was her little brother. She loved him. She’d always taken care of him.

“There were three of them,” Poe said. “Two who pilfered through his things, one who interrogated him.”

Jamie hoped the interrogation hadn’t included any torture. “I haven’t spotted any blood.”

Poe shook his head. “Me either.”

This was good. She watched as Poe moved around the space, pausing to linger and then tracing his fingers over an item. Poe read crime scenes like no one she had ever met. Just being in the room and touching the victim’s things could pull him in deep enough to practically see through the eyes of the victim.

It was an uncanny gift.

Jamie moved on to her brother’s bedroom and picked through his things. She tidied what she could and made a pile of what should be in the laundry hamper.

“Finding anything relevant?”

She turned to find Abi propped in the open doorway. “Nothing yet.”

“It doesn’t appear anything—including your brother—was damaged in the search.”

“The question is, why did they need to search? If my brother was simply leverage, what were they looking for?”

“Perhaps—” Abi pushed away from the door and walked deeper into the room “—he refused to cooperate with their questions about you.”

“So they were looking through his underwear drawers for information on my whereabouts?”

A smirk twitched Abi’s lips. “One never knows about siblings.”

“Ha ha.” She smiled at the framed photo on the dresser. The fam—their mom and dad and the two of them. If anything had happened to Luke...

No, she couldn’t go there.

“I’m sure you knew how to find me,” she said as she exited the room.

Abi followed. “I suppose I should have mentioned as much.”

“You weren’t here when they picked up Luke?”

“I’m afraid not.”

That explained the search.

“Did you suggest they use my brother as leverage?” The thought made her furious. She clamped her jaw shut to prevent saying more than she should. Staying on good terms was imperative—at least for now. She could punch him in the face later. When this was done.

He made a big deal of appearing to consider her question. “I may have suggested the concept.”

She so wanted to kick his butt.

“Well, at least now I know who ruined my Christmas.”

She put the pile of soiled clothes in the hamper and walked to the kitchen. She took her time and had a look around. She didn’t really expect to find anything useful here, but she would be remiss if she didn’t go through the steps. At the front door, she paused to open the coat closet. She picked through the offerings until she found something suitable for Poe.

“You need this more than the windbreaker.” She passed the leather coat to him.

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