Page 656 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“FAITHFUL ARE THE WOUNDS OF A FRIEND; BUT THE KISSES OF AN ENEMY ARE DECEITFUL.” —PROVERBS 27:6

Sydney’s mind saidrun, but her feet stood rooted to the ground. Her skin crawled like living ants. She strained to hear. There it was again—the rustling in the woods. The empty space around her loomed large and she anticipated an attack from any direction. Her pace quickened to a trot, and it was all she could to keep from breaking into a sprint to get to the jeep.

She fumbled with her keys. The second it took to unlock the door seemed like an eternity. She opened the door and plunged into the safety of the vehicle.

Had someone been in the woods or was she jumping at her own shadow, afraid of the boogeyman? One thing was for sure, she wasn’t going to hang around to find out.

She drove out of the woodlands and glanced at her phone. She had one message. It was Sean, explaining that he’d been at the gym and had left his phone in his locker. Why was she not surprised?

“Ms. Lassiter, Ms. Lassiter.”The police officer repeated Sydney’s name louder, as if he were speaking to a child. “Do you know what’s missing?”

Yes, I know what’s missing—my most prized possession!She waited for the officer to react to her statement and then realized that she’d not said anything, only thought it.

The officer’s brown hair was cropped close to his head. So close that Sydney could see his scalp when he bent his head to study his pad. He was young, barely past his teens, and still wet behind the ears, looking more like a Boy Scout than a police officer. He cleared his throat. “What did you say is missing ma’am?”

She looked at his exasperated expression. He repeated the question again, this time louder. “What—is—missing?”

The words exploded from her mouth. “I don’t know! Officer, I’m not sure what all is missing right now. As you can see, this has been a shock for me,” she said, adopting the same smug tone she’d heard Judith use.

“Just tell me again what happened.”

Sydney sighed, not trying to mask her frustration. “I’ve already told you.” She ran her fingers through her hair, hating the way it felt dirty and stringy. “I came home from work later than usual because I had to go and check on a problem. The front door was locked, and everything looked fine from the outside. When I went inside, I noticed that the middle drawer of my desk had been tampered with. My things were all shuffled around.”

“Shuffled around? How?”

She could feel the fingers of hysteria clawing the edges of her mind. “Things were moved. I keep everything in order.”

He pushed up his glasses and gave a quirky smile. “Are you sure?”

Her eyes met his in defiance. “I know when my things have been moved.”

“Tell me about the desk drawer. How do you know for sure that it has been tampered with?”

“Because it was locked and now it’s open.”

He nodded and scribbled on his pad. His glasses slipped again, but this time he left them there and peered over them. “Then what happened?”

“I saw the broken pot and realized that someone had forced his way in through the patio door.”

“His way?”

Sydney’s face was a blank. “What?”

“You saidhis way in. Why did you say that?”

A hysterical laugh forced its way up her throat, and she swallowed it down. “His, her—I don’t know.”

“Is there anything else you can tell me?”

Sydney looked him straight in the eye. “No.”

The officer studied her for a moment with furrowed brows. He closed his pad and stood. “Ms. Lassiter, if you think of anything else …” He left the sentence hanging and handed her his card. “You will have to come down to the station tomorrow and fill out some paperwork.” He looked at her strained expression. “Is there anyone we should call?”

“No!” She softened the outburst with a forced smile. “I’ll be fine.”

“In that case, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Sydney nodded and locked the door behind him. She looked around the room of the cozy home she’d grown to love. Now everything was colored with fear. Her gaze went to the large bay window, one of the features that made her choose this place. Herblinds were pulled up, the huge black squares of night staring menacingly through the panes.

---