“I saw you head this way and thought maybe I could take you to lunch. We still have a lot to discuss.”
She tried to comprehend his words, but nothing made sense in light of what had happened. “Who would do this? Who would break into my house and tear it apart?”
“I don’t know.” Isaac glanced around the room. “But they certainly did a thorough job.”
“There ... there wasn’t any reason to think I had wealth in here.”
“Well, you only just took the place. Maybe the older women who owned it before were known to have valuables. Who can say? It might have just been a random thing. The expo has brought out plenty of thieves and pickpockets. Crime has been reported up in the area.”
“I just don’t understand. To imagine there was a person in here who wanted to rob me...” She shook her head and looked around again. “It makes me feel very unsafe. What if they return?”
“Look, we need to get the police involved. I don’t want to leave you alone, so you’ll have to come with me.”
“Addie?” a voice called from the front door.
“That’s Mary.” Addie got up and went to the open door. Mary was standing on the porch, looking rather confused.
“Come in, Mary. Someone tried to rob my house.”
“They tried?” She looked around the room and then to Addie. “It looks like they did.”
“I don’t see anything in particular that’s missing. There wasn’t anything of real value. I had no silver or fancy jewelry. There weren’t even any nice figurines or clocks.”
“Oh, Addie, I’m so sorry.” It was only then that Mary seemed to notice Isaac. “Who is this?”
“Mr. Hanson. Remember? He was the one who asked you to let me take his class’s picture.”
“Oh yes, the man you knew from the Yukon.” She eyed him suspiciously even though Addie had explained about him.
“I’m going to go for the police. Can you stay with Addie?” he asked Mary.
“I can and will. I’ll help you to get things back in place.” Mary reached for one of the chairs.
“No!” Isaac’s voice startled both women. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare anyone. It’s just that the police will want everything left as it was by the thief. Don’t clean up yet.”
He left Mary and Addie and hurried from the cottage. Addie could hardly think clearly as it was, but his demanding “No!” left her feeling completely shaken.
“Do you know anyone who would want to hurt you this way?” Mary asked.
“No.” Addie shook her head. “Isaac said that crime wasup in the neighborhood because of the expo. It could have been almost anyone. It was probably just some random act to see what they could get. Isaac even said that maybe the old ladies who lived here before me might have been known to have wealth and valuables in the house.”
Mary brought the chair close to Addie and sat down. “I’ll remember where this was and can put it back when the police get here.” She took hold of Addie’s hand. “I’m so sorry that this happened to you. It’s a terrible thing.”
“I feel as if someone had caught me alone on the street and robbed me. It feels so personal.”
Mary nodded. “I can imagine it does. To come into your home—to break in past your locks—it feels terrible.”
It did indeed, and Addie wasn’t sure she’d ever feel safe again.
Isaac hadn’t wanted to say anything to Addie, but his first thought had been of her brothers and their style of dealing with things. If they had found out where she was, they wouldn’t have cared at all about her and her things. They would have considered her property theirs.
He tried to remember when their sentence was up. He’d been there two years ago, and they still had some years to go. But there were all sorts of programs that prisoners could be involved in that would reduce their time spent behind bars. What if they’d been released early? On good behavior or because of some other deed that merited the forgiving of their sentence.
Still, it would require them finding Addie. No, it was probablysome random thief. Maybe someone had watched her routine and knew when she’d be away. He could imagine them keeping an eye on her until she went to work, then sneaking in to see what valuables they could obtain.
The idea of Addie being vulnerable didn’t sit well with him. What if she’d been there when they struck? Or what if she’d come home early to interrupt the attack? What might the person have done to her? He couldn’t bear the thoughts that went through his mind. Maybe the culprit was interrupted and would return.
He spied a policeman and waved him over. Meeting him halfway, Isaac began to tell him what had happened.
