“You definitely have,” I agreed. “Since I know you’re exhausted, do you want me to take you to your house and have one of the guys drop off your car?”
“Yes, to taking us home,” she said. “But don’t worry about my car. Ariel and I can go get it tomorrow.”
“Are you sure? It’s no trouble.”
“I’m sure, but thank you for offering.”
When I pulled into Presley’s driveway, the headlights illuminated the front of her dark house, revealing the wide-open front door.
Before I could ask if she accidentally left the door open, Presley gasped. “What the hell?”
“I’m guessing that wasn’t an accident.”
“No. I went out the garage door when I left earlier. And I know the front door was locked because I’m weird about checking and double-checking locks.”
“Stay here and lock the doors. I’ll go check it out. If something happens, get in the driver’s seat and drive away.”
“What? We can’t leave you here,” Presley protested.
“If it means your safety, yes, you can,” I said and opened the door to get out. “If I’m not back in five minutes, drive away and call Phoenix.”
“I don’t like this.”
Reaching under my seat, I retrieved my gun and chambered a round. “I’ll be right back.”
Presley glanced at the gun in my hand before her eyes met mine. “Please be careful.”
“I will,” I promised and headed for her front door. I knew the chances of anyone being in the house were slim to none, but I’d also found myself on the unfavorable side of narrow statistics numerous times.
Entering the house cautiously, I methodically cleared each room, flipping on the lights as I went. As I suspected, no one was in the house, but it was clear that someone had been there.
Presley unlocked the doors when she saw me walking back to the SUV. I climbed inside and locked the doors before telling her what I found. “The house is clear, but someone was in there. The kitchen and what I assume is Ariel’s bedroom were rifled through.”
“What?” Ariel shrieked, scaring the hell out of me. I thought she was still asleep. “Why would someone go through my room?”
“I don’t know,” Presley said and returned her attention to me. “What do you think I should do?”
“I think you should call the police. When they’re finished processing the scene, I want you two to come with me. You can stay at my house or the clubhouse tonight, but I don’t think you should stay here.”
“Okay,” Presley agreed and pulled out her phone. I’d expected her to protest and was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t.
“Can we go inside while we wait for them to get here?” Ariel asked.
“They said not to,” Presley told her.
“I’m worried about Sir Pickles,” Ariel cried.
“Who?” I blurted.
“Sir Pickles von Gherkin,” Presley said seriously. “Ariel’s bearded dragon.”
“Is he in the big rectangle thing on the far side of her room?”
“Yes!” they answered at the same time.
“I thought that was a big dollhouse or something. I didn’t see your lizard, but the box thing didn’t look disturbed,” I told them.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the police to arrive. I got out of the SUV to greet them.
