Page 51 of Further To Fall

Taylor:You’ve been working too hard lately. You’re probably just exhausted and put something somewhere you usually don’t.

I didn’t want to worry Taylor on her trip, so I agreed with her and didn’t mention my pictures and nightstand.

Me:You’re probably right. Have fun with your mom and give her a squeeze for me!

Taylor:Will do! <3

I jumped when I heard the buzzer for the gate and rushed to the intercom by the front door. “Hello?” I hated that my voice sounded just a little shaky.

“It’s me.” My shoulders slumped in relief at the sound of Austin’s voice, and I buzzed him in, opening the front door before he could even knock.

He came up short on the front step. “Why are you in a towel?” he choked out.

My cheeks heated. “I had just gotten out of the shower when I realized things weren’t where I left them.”

“Go put on a robe while I go check the rest of the house.”

I nodded and bolted for my room. I opened the top drawer of my dresser in search of my favorite pair of panties. They were the softest silk, and I wanted my comfiest things at the moment. I picked through the drawer, not seeing them. I had just done laundry yesterday and knew I had put them in here. I searched again. Nothing. Dread hit my stomach like a heavy stone. I abandoned my underwear drawer and threw on my robe. The big, fluffy one, not the sexy, skimpy one. I needed all the protection I could get. I made a beeline for the living room and almost collided with Austin. Shrieking, I reeled back and almost landed on my butt before Austin caught me.

“Jesus! Are you okay?”

“My favorite pair of underwear is missing.”

Austin cursed and pulled out his phone. “I’m calling the cops, this is too weird.”

I listened in a daze as Austin answered questions a dispatcher asked, providing my address and saying that we thought there had been an intruder. He kept an arm around me the whole time he talked. When he hung up, I started word vomiting. “I want to put clothes on, but I don’t want to put anything on that some creepy intruder touched. I just keep imagining all the germs he might have had on his hands. I mean, it’s got to be a guy if he stole my panties. I guess that’s sexist, it could be a girl intruder, maybe she’s a lesbian or just has really good taste in lingerie, they were made of the nicest silk.”

Austin clamped a hand over my mouth. “Take a deep breath, Firecracker.” He slowly removed his hand, making sure my diatribe wouldn’t start up again.

I inhaled deeply through my nose and out through my mouth like they taught in the one yoga class I’d gone to. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, you’re freaked. Sit down on the couch, and I’ll get you a glass of water.” I did as he instructed and continued the yoga breathing, trying to calm my nerves. Austin brought over the glass of water and rubbed my back. “Did you get in touch with Taylor?”

“Yes, she said she wasn’t in my room today, and she knows I would murder her if she borrowed my favorite pair of panties. Plus, we are not the kind of roommates who borrow each other’s underwear, that’s crossing a line.”

“Okay, what time did she leave for the airport?”

“She had a car picking her up at 3 p.m.”

The buzzer sounded, and Austin rose to answer it. I could hear the muffled conversation of the police identifying themselves and smoothed my sweaty palms over my robe to dry them. I stood as Austin led the two police officers into the living room. There was an older officer with graying hair and a bit of a paunch, and a younger one who was reed-thin and looked to barely be twenty-one. The older man, who introduced himself as Officer MacMillan, was clearly in charge. The younger man, Officer Garcia, kept glancing at Austin, apparently star-struck by the UFL superstar.

“So, Miss McCarthy, you believe there was an intruder in your home?” Officer MacMillan said as he looked up from his notepad. I talked the officers through what I had discovered, blushing crimson when it came to telling them about my missing undies. Officer MacMillan took a few notes but seemed to grow more and more skeptical. “We’re going to take a look around, and then we’ll come back to talk with you some more.”

I nodded as Officer MacMillan headed to my bedroom, and Officer Garcia went outside. I turned to Austin, who was seated next to me. “They don’t believe me.”

He rubbed a hand up and down my back and then started kneading my shoulders. “You don’t know that for sure. Let’s just wait and see what they have to say after they’ve looked around.” I let myself collapse into Austin’s side as he continued his ministrations.

Ten minutes later, the officers returned following a brief confab in the entryway. “Now, Miss McCarthy, are you sure you didn’t just misplace this pair of underwear?” Officer MacMillan asked, eyebrows lifted.

My hackles raised at his condescending tone. I took a deep breath, reminding myself that this guy didn’t know me or my character. “I’m sure, sir. And there were things moved around in my room.”

The older officer tapped his notepad on his thigh. “Well, there is zero sign of forced entry. You got a lot of spare keys floating around?”

“Just me, my roommate, and our housekeeper, who has worked for Taylor for over three years.”

“Well, maybe your roommate was nosing around and is too embarrassed to admit it. We’ll file a report, but there’s nothing else we can do.”

I squeezed Austin’s knee in frustration. “Couldn’t you at least dust for fingerprints?”

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