I photograph both without touching them. Bag them with gloves from my kit.
"I found the entry point. Basement window. East side. Broken latch."
Kari nods. Her arms don't loosen.
"He came through the basement. While we were here."
"Yes."
"Every time."
"I think so."
She sits on the edge of the bed. Her thumb finds her teeth.
"The utility closet. Next to the kitchen." A pause. "I hung my apron in there last week." The laugh that comes out is thin, stripped of everything that usually makes her laughter sound like sunlight hitting a window. "He was walking through my apron closet."
I do the full sweep. Every room, every closet. When I come back, Kari is in the kitchen making tea. Not because she wants tea. Because her hands need something to do that isn't shaking.
I call Vance.
Evie is already on the line. Conference call — the kind Vance arranges when he wants information delivered once.
"We've got him," Evie says. No preamble. The Mid-Atlantic accent clipping each word like a currency exchange. "Novak's personal cell pinged off the tower closest to Sycamore Lane during two incidents. The bird and the wall. His work phone was at his rental during both — left there deliberately."
Kari sits at the table with her tea, close enough to hear. I don't ask her to leave.
"Three payments to a locksmith in Dover," Evie continues. "Delaware business license, specializes in residential security. Invoices listed as consultation fees, but the amounts match bypass tool procurement."
"He bought his way into the house," I say.
"He bought the knowledge. Building plans for 412 Sycamore Lane are public record. Novak pulled them four months ago."
My jaw ticks. Kari watches me from the table.
"Is it enough?"
Vance takes this one. "Enough to confront. Not enough to prosecute — not yet. But for a direct conversation with Novak about his extracurricular activities, we have grounds."
"I'll handle it."
The silence has weight.
"No," Vance says. "You won't."
"Vance—"
"You're compromised, Cade."
The word sits in the kitchen like a third person. Kari's thumb pauses against her teeth.
I don't deny it.
"Reese takes point," Vance says. "Tanaka on the vehicle. You're on-site with Kari. That's where you're useful."
"Tomorrow?" Evie asks.
"Tomorrow," Vance confirms.
