Page 82 of All Along The Watchtower

“Any idea what they could’ve been looking for? Is anything missing?”

Once I’d been given permission to look, I moved through the house, checking where I knew Pop kept anything worth anything. The spare cash in his top dresser drawer was gone, but the TV and all the easily moved electronics were still there, including his laptop and tablet.

“Possibly his spare cash, but I can’t say whether Pop took that himself. I can’t exactly ask him right now.”

Ford wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

Chris offered a sympathetic smile. “That’s tough. We’re all rooting for Ed to make a full recovery.”

“I appreciate that.”

He rocked back on his heels, hooking his fingers into his duty belt. “There was no sign of forced entry. Is Ed in the habit of leaving the door unlocked?”

“Unfortunately, it happens more often than I’d like.”

I watched as Chris considered his words and knew I wasn’t going to like what he said next.

“Is it possible that Ed himself is the one who did this?”

I wanted to argue, but I hadn’t been over here in the days before his AFib attack. What if he’d been having smaller episodes, and I hadn’t seen?

I looked around the house again. Noting all the tiny things that were just… wrong. “No. He was meticulous about how he kept his books and his desk.”

Chris just nodded. “Fair enough. We’ll write up a report, but with nothing else to go on, it’s looking like a crime of convenience. Somebody found the place unlocked, grabbed the cash and dashed.”

“What if somebody was looking for his research?” Peyton suggested.

“What kind of research?” Chris asked.

“He was helping me with a school project on piracy in the area and found some inconsistencies between maps.”

Chris flashed an indulgent smile. “Ah, yeah. Everybody on the island has to go through a pirate phase. But nobody’s found anything in thirty years.”

“Doesn’t mean something isn’t there,” Peyton pointed out.

“True. Are his research notes missing?”

“No. I’ve got them. He had them at the Brewhouse the night he… well, when he got sick.”

“I’ll make a note in my report. But truthfully, Bree, we don’t have a lot to go on here.”

Ford’s arm tightened around my shoulders. “So that’s it?”

“We can pick up patrols in the area, but in all likelihood, nobody’s coming back. If you find out later something is missing, we’ll certainly add that in, but there’s not much else we can do. I understand you’re upset and probably rattled, what with everything else happening lately. Chief thinks some folks are taking advantage of everybody being unsettled to cause trouble. This is probably more of that.”

I didn’t like that as an answer, but I saw his point. The best we could do for now was set things to rights and lock up after ourselves.

Once Chris had gone, I began to do just that, straightening books and closing cabinets and drawers.

Ford interrupted me, taking me by the shoulders. “I think you should move in with us until all this is sorted.”

“Ford…”

“Seriously. I’ll worry less. Please.”

“Yeah, if it’s safer for me to be with somebody all the time, the same is true for you,” Peyton insisted.

I split a look between them. “Really? You’re both going to railroad me?”

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