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“I’ll walk you home,” said Killian to the college-age young woman staring at him with wide eyes. “If that’s all right with you.”
She nodded, and he noticed some color returning to her cheeks. Killian hoped he had some positive thoughts to pass on. The situation had to scare the bejesus out of her.
The sitter’s name was Sarah, and she lived a few doors down. “You kept a level head and did a great job keeping you and Silas safe,” he said as they walked down the street.
“I’m interested in a career in law enforcement or security,” she said. “My friends and I practice different scenarios.” They walked a few feet, and Sarah stopped to look at him. “Although I confess, I was terrified tonight. Real life is a whole lot different from pretend.”
“Yes, it is. But anyone would be scared, especially if this was their first time dealing with danger,” said Killian.
After dropping Sarah home, Killian returned to Anne’s house, wondering if Joe and Logan had uncovered anything. He’d call Phil later.
“Killian,” Logan called. He and Joe were inside the garage by the window. “We have footprints here.” Logan pointed by the window. “But the grass is dry so we couldn’t tell where he came from or returned to.” Logan looked around the area. “It’s hard to tell if someone was here to steal something or trying to break into the house.” He peered around the garage. “Although there isn’t much to steal in this garage.”
Anne had a few boxes on shelves, the lawnmower, Silas’s bike, and some miscellaneous tools and paint—nothing of value except the bike and maybe the lawnmower if someone was desperate for one.
“Damn.” Killian shook his head. “I’m going to check on Silas and Anne.”
He walked into the small mudroom attached to the garage and down the hall to Silas’s bedroom, where Silas was still clinging to Anne. She had stopped crying and was whispering to him.
“Mr. Killian. Did you catch the burglar?” Silas looked at Killian with wide eyes. “Sarah and I were scared. I told her I’d protect her if he got into the bathroom.”
Anne let out a little moan and rolled her eyes. Killian smiled at the courageous little boy. “I’m proud of you, but it’s better to run away if possible.”
“I know,” said Silas. “Sarah found some hair spray, and we hid in the tub with the curtain closed.”
“Smart move.” He heard movement in the kitchen. “I’m going to talk with Logan and Joe. Are you two all right here?”
Anne nodded.
As he returned to the kitchen, the house was full of light, looking undisturbed and innocent.
“Did you find anything else?” he asked.
Joe shook his head.
“Why didn’t the alarm go off?” asked Killian. “Turning off the electricity shouldn’t have affected it.”
“The alarm didn’t go off because this guy was smart and took a chance on the window. He broke the glass so he didn’t have to lift the window. Smart move. The alarm was only set to respond if the window was opened. We might be dealing with a professional. We should’ve installed glass break protectors when we put in the cameras.”
Damn. That hadn’t occurred to him, but tomorrow, all the windows in Anne’s house would have protectors.
“I need to call Phil and see what he found,” said Killian. “Do you want a beer?”
“Sounds good,” said Logan. “Then I have to get home.”
“Ditto,” said Joe. “The baby’s still finicky, and I want to relieve Claire.”
Killian handed them beers, sat at the table, and took a swig of his before dialing Phil.
The phone rang, and Phil picked up on the second ring. “What do you have for us?” asked Killian.
“Well, hello to you too,” replied Phil. “Are Joe and Logan still there?”
“Yeah. What did you find out?”
Silence. “Okay, it was hard to see the guy. He was dressed from head to toe in black. He came in through the backyard, taped and broke the window.”
Killian groaned. He mentally added a backyard fence to the list. It wouldn’t keep anyone out but would deter them. That is, unless he electrified it. No. He couldn’t do that with a small boy around.
