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“Up?” He gave me those big eyes, and I couldn’t resist. “Spin me like you did before.”
“Oh, you want the airplane?” He nodded, and I leaned down so he could get on my back.
“Ready for take-off, captain!” he shouted. I held out my arms and raced down the hill, making airplane noises, and when we got to flat ground, I spun him around, and all I could hear was his laughter.
“Hang on, captain, one of the wings broke! Mayday, mayday!” I acted like I had a radio.
“Quick, call Blackstone! Daddy will save us!” He giggled with pride. The wind and colors whipped around us, and I felt for just a moment that I was in his head inside his imaginary world with him.
“Ivy.” Frank’s voice pulled me from our fun, and I slowly stopped spinning as I saw his dark expression. Little did I know the spins were only the start of what was to come.
* * *
The next twelve hours were exhausting. I searched every face that crossed my path. The plane ride was a blur. I sat between my uncle and Frank, and though I appreciated the first-class ticket, I could have been stuck in the back of the plane by the restrooms for all I cared. I had no idea what I would walk into when I landed in Washington. I just knew I needed to see things myself.
“Are you sure?” Frank looked over my head at my uncle then back at me.
“It’s my home.” I swallowed the lump in my throat and pressed my hands flat to my thighs as I looked up at my townhouse from the street.
“Ivy.”
“I know my limits, Uncle Reid,” I tossed over my shoulder as I climbed the steps to the one place that used to provide such protection for me. My fingers pulled up the police tape so I could duck underneath. A few police officers gave me a nod as I took in my battered home.
I knew I’d left my place basically stripped of my things. I’d even arranged for a friend from Barbados who needed a place while she got settled in her new job to stay here. We thought it might be good for someone to be here, at least for a few weeks, to make it look like the place was occupied. The few pieces of furniture I’d left for her and some of her own things were strewn about.
“Is Kylee all right?” I wouldn’t forgive myself if she got hurt.
“He was long gone before Kylee got here. She called the police, and they passed the information on to me. She’s at a hotel tonight.”
“I’ll call her later.” I was relieved she was okay.
“We think he came in through the kitchen window.” Frank walked by me, and I followed him down the narrow hall to my sweet little farmhouse-themed kitchen. I remembered how much fun I’d had choosing decorations to make it homey.
The window was smashed, and dirt smudged the edges of the sill. I leaned down and picked up the broken jar that had held my basil. I could smell the aroma of it as I scooped up the poor plant and held it gently in my hand. It roots were still intact. The water system that I had bought online seemed to have worked, and I was happy my friend continued to fill it with water. I tucked it and the rest of its soil into a new container and held on to it like an anchor.
“He dug through that.” He pointed to my mail that was scattered over the table and on the floor around it. We hadn’t wanted to cancel my mail right away either. Kylee emptied the box each day and brought it inside to make it look like I was still there. Though she knew the danger of staying here from the little I could share, she was trained in jujitsu and felt confident she could handle things. “Whoever it was opened a few things. We’ll try to get some prints to compare later. It’ll take a bit of time.”
“What else?” I whispered.
“He listened to your messages.” He pointed to the recorder that had been planted the morning before I left. The blinking light from the message my friend had left was now gone. We had purposely set it up that way to see if anyone would check it.
“We’re hoping he took the bait. From here, we think he sat on your couch.” He pointed at some mail strewn on the floor near the couch. Then he moved to the stairs that led to my bathroom and bedroom. I suddenly felt sick and willed my feet to follow.
Frank cleared his throat as we entered my destroyed bathroom. “Do you see anything missing? I know most of your stuff is gone, but still.” I looked around and noticed a couple of my old perfumes I’d left on the shelf were missing.
“Nothing worth mentioning.”
“No, it is worth mentioning.” Frank bent down. “Ivy, we need to know where his head’s at. Is he simply hunting you down to silence you? Or,” his face slipped, “is it more than that?”
My stomach twisted into a knot, and I felt tears prickle the back of my eyes.
“My Coco Chanel and coconut body spray appear to be missing. Those other things are my friend’s, so I couldn’t tell you if anything of hers is gone.”
“Okay, we can check that.” He nodded at the detective who was shadowing us. I turned around and headed for my bedroom. “I’ll have her do a walkthrough myself. She was quick to let us know about the break-in. I have her staying at the Marriott.” I nodded, glad he repeated himself so I could take it all in.
“Perhaps,” my uncle stepped in front of me and placed a hand on my shoulder, “we could maybe skip your bedroom.”
“I flew across country to face this, Uncle Reid. I appreciate you wanting to protect me, but please let me do this.” He waited a beat then stepped out of my way with a shake of his head. I braced myself and stepped inside to take in the scene.
