Forever Hers Walters, Ednah (best novels for teenagers .TXT) 📖

ass. No one would believe anything she said. No one, except Eddie.

Too agitated to sit, she jumped up and went to the bathroom to splash water on her face. She pinched her cheeks to put color back on her face then checked in on Raelynn. Her daughter was mesmerized by whatever she was watching. Amy closed the door and her heart leaped when something yanked at her hand.

“Jimmy, you gave me such a fright. What are you doing here?”

“Can Raelynn come outside and play?”

“Not right now, Jimmy. Maybe after lunch.” She nudged the boy toward the back door. “Yeah, definitely after lunch.”

“Why are the police at your house? What happened to your cars? Is Raelynn still scared of the police? Is that why she can’t come outside and play? She said she was, but I told her they’re the good guys. She said they’re mean.”

Amy looked over her shoulder as she practically pushed the child out the door and closed it behind them. “Raelynn didn’t mean it like that, Jimmy.”

“But she said—”

“Go home, Jimmy,” she said firmly. “Raelynn is not feeling well.”

He stuck out his lower lip, the gesture so much like Raelynn’s, Amy heart squeezed. She waited until he crossed the lawn and entered his grandmother’s house before she stepped back inside, locked the door and went toward the front door.

The door opened before she reached it and Eddie and a heavy-set older man with a crutch walked in. White hair and a beard gave the man an absentminded professor look.

“Ms. Kincaid,” he said, extending his hand toward her. “Captain Briggs. We’re here to catch this man that’s been botherin’ yah. May I see the footage of the vandalism?”

CHAPTER 15

“I should be helping process the scene,” Eddie said, pacing. He’d been doing that ever since Captain Briggs left after viewing the surveillance recording.

“It wouldn’t be admissible in court.”

Eddie glowered, scrubbed his face and cursed.

“No.” He yanked the door and went outside. Within minutes he was back. “They finally found the crowbar and are dusting it for fingerprints. Talk about doing things at a snail’s pace.”

The morning crawled past too slowly for Amy. Eddie’s back and forth pacing and constant trips in and out weren’t helping either. It was obvious he wasn’t used to depending on others.

“They found motorcycle tire treads,” he said, coming back inside for the umpteenth time. “One of their forensic guys is taking pictures and measurements, so they can use the Treadmate database later and find a match. I know bikes and treads. I told the guy it’s a Dunlop K81 with a width of 4.25 but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Have they checked the glove for fingerprints?”

“No, they plan to send it to a crime lab.” He ran his fingers through his hair.

Just as she’d suspected, he was getting in the way of the local cops and interfering with their job. She just didn’t know what to do to keep him busy and away from the crime scene. She was sure the local cops were just as good as the ones in L.A. Hadn’t he even said Captain Briggs was a legend? “Where is Captain Briggs?”

“Out there barking orders at his deputies over the phone. He e-mailed them a picture of the Eye of Horus and wants them to show it to every hotel and rental companies from here to Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort. Nolan’s man has to be staying somewhere close by. When does the sprinkler system turn on?”

“Every Saturday.”

“That’s yesterday. The ground might still be soft and wet enough for him to have left footprints too. And the neighbor’s?”

According to the video footage they’d watched, the guy had walked toward the road and might have crossed over to the Mulligan’s lawn.

“I don’t know,” Amy said. “We may have to check with them.”

Eddie disappeared outside again. He was beginning to drive her crazy. She checked on Raelynn, got her some cookies and milk then went back to watching the cops work through the surveillance tablet. She was just as anxious as Eddie but for a different reason—she wanted the cops to be done so they could remove their yellow crime scene tape, which had replaced the make-shift, toilet paper one. Raelynn would soon get bored of watching TV and want to play outside. Seeing the tape would bring back memories she didn’t want her daughter to deal with. Then there were gawkers. They had trickled in from the neighboring homes, until there was now a crowd.

Amy’s cell phone rang. She put the tablet down and reached for it. Lauren. “Hey.”

“Are you okay? Word around town is your house was attacked by the lakeside burglars and it’s swarming with the police.”

The joys of living in a small town. Amy sighed, then quickly explained what happened.

“At least you’re fine. Listen, Amy,” she whispered. “I’m not supposed to say anything, but I have to tell you. The police were here and I think I did something terrible.”

Amy’s stomach hollowed out. She didn’t think she could handle any more bad news. “What is it?”

“They had a picture of an eye, which they said is the tattoo on the wrist of the guy they’re looking for. I think I rented a house to him.”

Amy jumped to her feet. “What? When?”

“Almost a month ago. He looked normal. I mean he wore a nice suit and drove a nice car, and paid for an entire month in cash. That should have warned me, right?”

You think, Amy wanted to retort. “What did he look like?”

“Black hair, skinny, moustache. I gave the police his description. So if you see a skinny-ish, dark-haired guy with a tattoo of an eye on his wrist, that’s your burglar.”

Amy bit her inner cheek to stop herself from telling Lauren she and Eddie were the ones who’d given the police the information. It was obvious Lauren didn’t know there were two different sets of burglars involved.

“Thanks for the warning, Lauren. Where’s the house they rented?”

“Across the lake from your place. This is my fault,” she