He shrugged and did so, but with the same results. “Sorry, ma’am. You have another card?”
“Um? Here.” She pulled a fifty-dollar bill from the zippered compartment of her purse. “Here you go. Sorry. I was out of the country. Those fraud algorithms can be as much a nuisance as a help.” It was the card they’d been using in Mexico. Maybe it had to do with being in two countries in one day. She tucked her credit card back into her wallet and got out.
The driver followed, wheeling her bags up the sidewalk.
She was so happy with how pretty everything looked. A little landscape love went a long way to improve the curb appeal of their home.
The driver hoisted the bags onto the porch.
“I can get those from here,” she said.
“Have a good day, ma’am.”
“Thanks for the safe travel.” She put her carry-on bag on top of her big suitcase, then made her way to the tall double doors with an extra snap in her stride.
Natalie unlocked the doors, then stepped inside.
She sucked in a breath. Her eyes darted left, then right, trying to make sense of what she saw. “What?” It was more of a shriek than a question.
Her suitcase slipped from her hand and fell backward with a thud.
The taxi driver was at her side in an instant. “Ma’am. Are you okay?”
She spun toward his voice, still trying to take in the situation. Twisting back toward the foyer. The shiny floors still reflected nothing but sunlight.
The house was empty.
“No!” She swung her arms in the air. “Look.” Her heart raced. “Everything is gone. Something is very wrong. It’s not okay!” She didn’t wait for his response, instead rushing inside, overwhelmed with concern. Had she fallen asleep and this was all nothing but a dream? She opened the hall closet door. Not even a dust bunny.
“Marc?” She called out more in desperation than anything, because if he’d been here she’d have seen him by now. There was nowhere to hide. Not even a place to sit. How does a lifetime of furniture and memories, two really, his and hers, all just go missing?
She grabbed her phone and called Marc. No answer, and she didn’t wait for voice mail.
“Ma’am. Are you sure this is the right house? Maybe I put it in my GPS wrong.”
The cab driver’s voice was slow and steady, but his eyes were wide. He was giving her that slow, over-polite treatment as if she might explode.I’m not crazy.
“I used my key.” Natalie ran to the porch. The Cancún sun hadn’t baked her brain, causing it to misfire and fail her; this was her house. The numbers on the front pillar not only matched, but they were the ones she’d hand-painted on tiles and hung herself.
“I made those.” She stabbed her finger in the air toward them. “What is going on?”
The driver pulled his phone from his shirt pocket. “We have a problem at 4410 Landover Lane.”
“Who are you calling?” she asked.
“The police.” He stepped away, turning his attention to the phone. “I don’t really know for sure. A robbery, I think?” He shrugged, looking to her for concurrence.
“I guess.” Her mind clicked through a virtual slideshow of everything she owned that had been here. From the cherry dining room hutch that had been her grandparents’ to the blond mahogany dresser she’d splurged on with her first real paycheck. Her favorite handbag. More importantly, the things that couldn’t be replaced. The silver frame that held the picture of Jeremy asking her to marry him that stayed tucked in the bottom of her lingerie drawer. Mom’s Bible, and Daddy’s watch that his father had given him when he graduated college.
A tear slipped down her cheek.
Through the cloud of confusion, a moment of clarity flooded her with fear. Things were things, but where was Marc and why hadn’t he answered? Was he in trouble?
Chapter Two
NO LOGICALexplanation came to Natalie’s mind. It had taken weeks to move everything in.
She walked back inside. “This is mind-boggling. I just don’t get it.”
