Magnum looked around the parking lot.“I’ve got the back.”
“I’ll watch the front,” Hodge replied.
I looked at Goldie.“You stay with me.”
She nodded.“I wasn’t planning on leaving you.”Again, I liked hearing that.
We climbed the outside staircase together.Each step creaked beneath our boots.
Goldie slowed as we reached the second-floor walkway.“There.”
She pointed toward the last apartment.Unit 214.
Everything looked untouched.Flowerpot beside the door.Welcome mat.Nothing broken.No signs of forced entry.
She pulled her keys from her pocket.“I don’t remember...”
“What?”
“...leaving the porch light on.”
It was broad daylight.
The porch light was definitely on.
I looked at Magnum, and he noticed it too.
Goldie slid her key into the lock, then the knob turned immediately afterward.She froze.“It’s unlocked.”
Magnum stepped closer.“You sure you locked it?”
She frowned.“I...”Her forehead wrinkled.“I left in a panic.”
Magnum shrugged.“Maybe you forgot.”
She nodded slowly.“Maybe.”
I wasn’t convinced.
Neither was Magnum.
I moved slightly in front of Goldie.“I’ll go first.”
She didn’t argue.
The apartment door swung open, and there was silence.
No movement.No voices.No alarms.Everything looked fine.
Almost too fine.
Nothing overturned.
No broken furniture.
No drawers dumped out.
No shattered glass.
