the phone to her ear.
“She’s lucky to have you, Emily.”
Emily climbed out of her car. “Not just me, Isabel and Camille, too.”
With the wide front porch illuminated by the lamplights on either side of the front door, Emily stuck her key in the lock and went inside her bungalow.
“They were all there for me when Evan died, and we’ll all be there for Maggie—however this thing turns out.” She flipped on the inside foyer light and kicked her shoes off as she went to the kitchen.
“If there’s anything I can do to help, just ask,” Colin offered.
Emily turned on the kitchen light and pulled the wig and glasses off with her free hand. As she laid them on the breakfast bar, she noticed the back door was unlocked and partly open. Her heart began to beat hard at the realization.
“Colin, I think someone’s been in my house.” She closed and locked the door, then pulled her gun out of the back of her waistband.
“What makes you think that?”
“The back door was ajar. I’m sure I locked it before I left. I always lock it. I’m going to set the phone down and check the house. Stay on the line.”
“Wait!” She heard Colin holler into the phone, but she had already set it on the counter.
Emily drew her gun and crept from room to room, peeking around corners, behind shower curtains, and into closets. After a thorough search, she felt confident whoever had been there was gone.
She picked up the phone. “All’s clear.”
“Emily! You should have stepped outside and called the police to come and search the house. The perp could still have been in the house and you’d be dead.”
“You forget, Colin, I’m not just any helpless woman. Please don’t treat me like I am.” Emily knew Colin was just being protective, but she didn’t appreciate it.
Even though he had lost a fiancée to gunshot wounds, and she had lost her husband to a bullet, Colin needed to remember that she was a gun-carrying private investigator who’d decided a long time ago not to shrink from danger.
Emily had read his over-the-top protectiveness early on in their relationship as a lack of respect. She had suggested to him that maybe they should both date other people—people with safe, boring jobs.
His response was to grab her and kiss her so deeply that her body melted against him and he had to support her as her knees went weak.
Even though they had both been in dangerous situations since that pivotal kiss, with him as a police detective and her as a private eye, they had never discussed fears about each other’s safety again—until now. Perhaps it was the distance that made Colin feel so out of control, of no help to her at all.
Emily padded to the living room and sunk down the sofa. She laid her gun down on the coffee table before drawing her feet up under her.
“I know you’re not just any woman—you’re lovely and sweet and kind—but you’re also stubborn and pigheaded and ugh! I care for you, Emily. I—”
“Hold that thought.”
The photo of Evan and the mystery woman was missing from the coffee table. She glanced around the floor. Had it fallen? No.
She remembered clearing the food and drinks after her guests left. The photo was the only thing she purposely had not cleared away.
“It’s gone!”
“What’s gone?”
“The photo.”
~*~
Distraught over the missing photo, Emily phoned Isabel once she’d hung up with Colin. Apologizing for the lateness of the hour, she told her friend about the break-in and the stolen photo.
“Oh, Emily! Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Yes. I called Colin’s friend, Ernie, after I checked to see if anything else was missing. Seems like the photo was all they took. I told Ernie just to file a report, no need to come over.”
“I wonder why someone would want that old photo.”
“Do you know if anyone besides Jethro knows about it?”
“Maybe he made a few calls or sent some emails about it already,
“She’s lucky to have you, Emily.”
Emily climbed out of her car. “Not just me, Isabel and Camille, too.”
With the wide front porch illuminated by the lamplights on either side of the front door, Emily stuck her key in the lock and went inside her bungalow.
“They were all there for me when Evan died, and we’ll all be there for Maggie—however this thing turns out.” She flipped on the inside foyer light and kicked her shoes off as she went to the kitchen.
“If there’s anything I can do to help, just ask,” Colin offered.
Emily turned on the kitchen light and pulled the wig and glasses off with her free hand. As she laid them on the breakfast bar, she noticed the back door was unlocked and partly open. Her heart began to beat hard at the realization.
“Colin, I think someone’s been in my house.” She closed and locked the door, then pulled her gun out of the back of her waistband.
“What makes you think that?”
“The back door was ajar. I’m sure I locked it before I left. I always lock it. I’m going to set the phone down and check the house. Stay on the line.”
“Wait!” She heard Colin holler into the phone, but she had already set it on the counter.
Emily drew her gun and crept from room to room, peeking around corners, behind shower curtains, and into closets. After a thorough search, she felt confident whoever had been there was gone.
She picked up the phone. “All’s clear.”
“Emily! You should have stepped outside and called the police to come and search the house. The perp could still have been in the house and you’d be dead.”
“You forget, Colin, I’m not just any helpless woman. Please don’t treat me like I am.” Emily knew Colin was just being protective, but she didn’t appreciate it.
Even though he had lost a fiancée to gunshot wounds, and she had lost her husband to a bullet, Colin needed to remember that she was a gun-carrying private investigator who’d decided a long time ago not to shrink from danger.
Emily had read his over-the-top protectiveness early on in their relationship as a lack of respect. She had suggested to him that maybe they should both date other people—people with safe, boring jobs.
His response was to grab her and kiss her so deeply that her body melted against him and he had to support her as her knees went weak.
Even though they had both been in dangerous situations since that pivotal kiss, with him as a police detective and her as a private eye, they had never discussed fears about each other’s safety again—until now. Perhaps it was the distance that made Colin feel so out of control, of no help to her at all.
Emily padded to the living room and sunk down the sofa. She laid her gun down on the coffee table before drawing her feet up under her.
“I know you’re not just any woman—you’re lovely and sweet and kind—but you’re also stubborn and pigheaded and ugh! I care for you, Emily. I—”
“Hold that thought.”
The photo of Evan and the mystery woman was missing from the coffee table. She glanced around the floor. Had it fallen? No.
She remembered clearing the food and drinks after her guests left. The photo was the only thing she purposely had not cleared away.
“It’s gone!”
“What’s gone?”
“The photo.”
~*~
Distraught over the missing photo, Emily phoned Isabel once she’d hung up with Colin. Apologizing for the lateness of the hour, she told her friend about the break-in and the stolen photo.
“Oh, Emily! Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Yes. I called Colin’s friend, Ernie, after I checked to see if anything else was missing. Seems like the photo was all they took. I told Ernie just to file a report, no need to come over.”
“I wonder why someone would want that old photo.”
“Do you know if anyone besides Jethro knows about it?”
“Maybe he made a few calls or sent some emails about it already,
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