“Yeah, did you forget something?” she asked.
“No. I wanted to make sure you remembered it,” he said, sounding out of sorts.
Leslie rose from her bed and turned on the light .
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing. Take care of my boys, Leslie. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I love you, all of you,” he said before the phone went dead.
When she called him back, he didn’t answer. Knowing Jeremiah talked in his sleep, she chalked it up to one of his crazy dreams. Little did she know she’d never speak to him again.
“Do you know of anyone who might do this?” the officer asked as they took photos and made a report.
Shaking her head, she answered, “No.”
“Do you owe anyone any money or have a disagreement with someone who might want to scare you?” his partner asked.
“No.”
“What do you do for a living?”
“I’m an auditor for the Chalet Resort. What does my job have to do with someone breaking into my house?” she asked.
“Maybe one of your customers got mad and found out where you lived,” he suggested. “We’re only trying to find a reason why they’d rob someone way out here.”
“I’ve taken a leave. My son’s grandfather recently passed away, and I’m caring for his son. I doubt customers even know I exist,” she explained. “He rifled through my desk and threw papers all over my house. Did you see my furniture?” she asked, pointing to the slashed cushions.
“He most likely searched for money,” the officer suggested. “Did you find anything missing?”
“I didn’t check. I spent my time fighting off an intruder,” she spat angrily. “If my son, Tucker, didn’t hear us and hit him with a baseball bat, I might be dead,” she hissed to avoid the boys overhearing her.
“We’ll take the report. Did you get the make of his car?” the officer asked, sounding bored with her hysterics.
Biting her tongue, she counted to ten. “No. I didn’t. As you can tell, we don’t have any streetlights out here.”
“Here’s my card. If you think of anything else, you can reach me at this number. In the meantime, lock the doors and windows. I’m sure he won’t return anytime soon,” he assured her, not making her feel any better.
“Thanks,” she said, taking his card.
As soon as they left, she entered the kitchen. Conner gazed up at her with teary eyes. Tucker ran and hugged her around her waist, and she held her throbbing arm out for Conner. Kissing them both onthe head, she hurried them to put their cups in the sink.
Opening the door, she scanned the dark yard and the wooded area before motioning for the boys to get into her truck. Locking the door, she jogged to the vehicle and locked the doors. She turned the key, and the engine didn’t crank. Placing her head on the steering wheel, she murmured a little prayer before she tried again. The truck refused to start.
“What will we do now?” Conner whispered fearfully.
“How do you feel about taking a bike ride adventure?” she asked, excitedly, trying to keep them from worrying.
“It’s dark. We can’t see,” Conner pointed out.
“Do you recall when we played flashlight tag? We’ll use them to stay on the road,” she explained. “You can ride your bike, or I can hook the wagon to mine. It’ll be an adventure.”
“I’ll ride mine,” he said. “What if the bad guy’s out there?”
“He overheard the policeman,” Tucker informed her. “I’ll get them out of the shed.”
“No. Stay in the truck. I’ll bring them out and run inside for the flashlights. Lock the door after I get out and stay down until I return,” she instructed. “You heard the officer. He said the man got lost. We’ve ridden to Grandpa’s plenty of times. We can probably do it in our sleep,” she said, attempting to soundpositive. “Tucker will lead the way, and you’ll stay in the middle of us. I’ll be the caboose.”
Conner glanced at Tucker, who nodded his agreement. “We might even see a couple of animals who only come out at night. Whoever spots a possum first has to make breakfast in the morning.”
