“I’m going to check for the point of entry and dust that area for fingerprints, but I’ve got to tell you, we generally don’t have a lot of luck finding the perps in these cases. Our best chance is if we catch them in the act somewhere else, or fencing the stolen property. Of course, we’ll ask your neighbors if they saw or heard anyone or noticed an unfamiliar vehicle. We’ll cover all the usual bases, but after that…”
Laura felt her stomach plummet. In her books the cops always had sufficient resources and the determination to solve every crime. But this was real life, and too often victims were just that—victims. The label made her angry. Someone had broken into her home and turned her life into chaos, and she was supposed to just shrug it off?
Burke came to stand beside her. It was a small gesture, but one she appreciated. He had a commanding presence about him that she found oddly reassuring.
“What you can do is figure out how to get your life back to normal—fast,” Burke advised. “For starters, you’ll need to have dead bolts installed and a good, solid back door. I think the burglar was able to kick it in because it wasn’t constructed to stand up to punishment. Learn from this and you can keep it from ever happening again.”
“And who knows?” the officer agreed. “We may get lucky and catch the perp and recover whatever he stole from you.”
“For now, let’s finish going through the house and see what that could be,” Burke said. “You’ll need to make a list.”
It was like walking through a nightmare. Laura went down the hall with the men and, as they passed the closet containing the gas furnace, Burke stopped and crouched down beside it. The metal panel had been ripped off the heater.
“From the marks I see, it looks like they were trying to search the space between the furnace and wall,” Burke said. “Of course, in doing that, the intruder moved the furnace enough to extinguish the pilot light and break the gas connection. It looks like he damaged the furnace as well.”
As they entered Elena’s room, Laura saw a tiny silver pendant Elena cherished on the floor, along with other items from the top of her dresser. She picked the pendant up, grateful that it hadn’t been stepped on. It had been the last gift Elena had received from her husband before he died. Laura placed it inside her jacket pocket in an attempt to protect this one special thing.
As her thoughts turned to her godmother, Laura began to worry. Elena was in her late sixties and had a weak heart. The last thing she needed was to come home to a disaster like this, and then be forced to spend the night in an unheated house. Lately, the nighttime temperatures had been in the low forties here in the desert. They’d have to find a motel.
“I’ve got to start cleaning up and making arrangements for a place to spend the night,” Laura said.
“I’m going to need a list and description of what’s missing first,” the officer said.
“I haven’t found anything missing yet,” she answered.
With obvious reluctance, Laura headed back to her office. It was here, where she created her stories, that the chaos the intruder had left behind bit into her heart the most. In this room, alone with the ghosts who peopled a writer’s imagination, she’d found peace. But now all there was in here was confusion. The sense that the dearest part of herself had been violated almost brought her to tears.
It would take days to get everything back in order. Thank goodness she’d just ended a project rather than being in the middle of one.
“Was this someone’s idea of a sick joke? They must have looked through every page in here,” Laura murmured, her spirits sagging.
“It appears that they were searching for something in particular, perhaps a letter or document,” Burke said. “Can you think of what that might have been?”
Hearing a familiar but frightened voice calling out from the front of the house, Laura spun around. “Oh, no! Elena’s back early.”
Laura rushed to intercept her godmother. She’d hoped to find a way to soften the blow before Elena returned. As Laura reached the front door, she saw her frozen there, terror and shock on her face.
“It’s all right,” Laura said gently. “No one’s been hurt. We can always replace things.”
Elena was a petite, well-rounded woman with an affable manner and an easy smile that made friends almost anywhere. Now she looked as if she’d just witnessed the death of a loved one.
“Someone broke into the house. In the process, they created this mess and even managed to break off the valve on the furnace,” Laura said calmly. “But the gas is turned off now, so it’s just a matter of cleaning up and repairing or replacing the furnace. And believe it or not, I haven’t discovered anything missing.”
“That’s a blessing. But without heat, how will we stay warm tonight?” Elena asked. “And just look at what they did to our beautiful home!”
“We’ll be fine. We can stay at a motel until everything is back to normal again. It’ll work out.”
“We’ll need someplace close, Laura. We’ll have to be here daily. We can’t just leave everything in the hands of repairmen,” she countered.
“The motels along the main highway aren’t too far away. We’ll make do.”
“I have an idea, ladies,” Burke interjected. “You know I bought the large three-bedroom next door, and it’s much too big for just me and my dog. Why don’t you both come stay with me until your house is repaired?”
Laura felt a prickle of excitement as she heard his offer. But, of course, it was out of the question. Sharing the home of a drop-dead-gorgeous guy was not her idea of a safe haven. Before she could say anything, however, Elena spoke.
“Such a nice offer! We accept,” she said, looking up at him with a smile. “Okay, Laura?”
Laura nearly choked. “Wait a sec.”
Seeing the police officer coming toward them, Burke turned to him. “Why don’t I go speak with the officer while you two talk things over?”
As soon as he’d moved out of earshot, Laura glowered at Elena, but the older woman beamed a wide smile.
“God always makes something good come out of even the worst of times,” she said. “That young man is single and very attractive. And with me there, he will behave. In the meantime, you two can get to know each other. Before long, you might find out that he’s perfect for you.”
“How can you say that? We don’t know a thing about him! I haven’t even figured out if Burke is his first or last name!”
“That’s one of the things you can ask him,” Elena replied, undaunted. “And we do know quite a bit about him. We know that he always dresses like a gentleman and that he pays attention to details. He heard Mr. Romero call me Doña Elena once, and ever since then he’s addressed me the same way. On a practical side, his offer means we can be close by to let repairmen in and out. I think we should take advantage of his hospitality.”
Seeing that Laura was still hesitant, she played her trump card. “And my heart…well, this has all been quite a shock. I’d like to stay close to home, because here is where I feel the most comfortable.”
Laura’s eyes narrowed. “Do you realize that you never mention your heart unless you want me to do something?” Seeing the crestfallen look on her godmother’s face, she laughed. “All right. You win. We’ll accept his offer.”
“Laura!” A male voice suddenly boomed out from near the front door.
Laura looked up and expelled her breath in a whoosh. “Not him again,” she said softly. “Ken Springer is the last person I want to see here now.”
The police officer who was packing away his fingerprint kit looked up and, seeing Laura’s expression, went to head off the