Page 36 of Secret Triplets for Christmas

“Oh, right.”

“You’ve got your work cut out for you. How about a hand?”

“I’m sure you have other work.”

“This will be double duty. It’s still possible we’ll get something that will help solve who did this and you’ll get your home cleaned up.”

"I guess I wouldn’t mind the help, if you’re sure?” I figured he could easily identify the broken and torn items that needed to be tossed or fixed.

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure.”

Together, we sifted through the debris, this time placing broken belongings into piles for trash and salvage. It seemed to me that everything in the house needed to be dealt with. Utensils and food in the kitchen. Cushions and decorative items in the living room. Toys and sheets in the girls’ room. The only items not touched in the house were wall hangings.

We worked in companionable silence, the sound of sorting and cleaning filling the air. I was grateful for Flynn’s presence as it made the task before me feel a little more bearable, and of course, safer.

We made it to my bedroom, where I folded clothes strewn about and returned bedside table items back to the drawer, giving a silent thank you that I had already tossed out my vibrator when a year ago, Georgie had found it and ran with it through the house.

I sighed as I looked at the picture my dad and Mira had gotten for me hanging on the wall. It was slightly askew, so I straightened it. "Have you noticed that the only things the intruder didn’t touch were the items hanging on the wall?” I asked Flynn.

He stopped, glancing at the picture. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Do you think that means anything?”

“That whatever it is our intruder is looking for can’t be hidden in a picture.” He sighed as he surveyed the room. "Getting closer to the bottom of this mess."

"Feels like it's never-ending."

"Look at it this way. Every item we deal with is one step closer to normalcy."

“You’re an optimist.”

He shrugged as he grinned. “The thing about a job like this is that you can see your progress, which helps motivate you to keep going. If only other parts of life were like that, right?”

I supposed. Or maybe I was a pessimist because all I could see were lots of piles that needed to be managed.

That night,I came home to Dad’s exhausted. Even so, I made dinner as a thank you to my dad and Mira. After our meal, we all congregated in the living room where Mira had Christmas crafts for the kids. I joined in, loving that we had joined the holiday traditions my father started with Mira’s new traditions.

My phone rang and immediately, I tensed. Was my intruder stalking me? I pulled out my phone and saw it was Oliver. I wondered if he got a text today too.

“I need to get this.” I stood and headed to the kitchen.

“Lindsay, hi.”

“Is something wrong?”

"I got a text today. Did you too?”

“Yes. They still want whatever Liam had.” I couldn’t say I was relieved that Oliver got a text, but I was glad I wasn’t alone.

“I was hoping you’d agree to meet with me again. I got some new information and I think we need to put our heads together to piece together Liam’s last few months. If it would be easier, I can come to you.”

No. He couldn’t come here where the girls were. “I can come to your hotel. It’s not a problem.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I can be there in twenty minutes.” The call ended, and I scrambled with an excuse to tell my family.

"Everything alright, Linds?" My father entered the kitchen, concern on his face.

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