Page 76 of Make No Mistake

“Want me to?”

I nodded and didn’t look up. Even when I felt him take his phone from his pocket and greet Detective Larson.

I listened to him tell Larson that my apartment had been broken into and he asked the detective to come over.

He hung up and stepped away, forcing me to stand on my own.

“He’s on his way, but he asked us not to go back in. He’s coming with a team to get prints and take pictures.”

I nodded, and he led me to the front of the building to wait.

An hour later, Detective Larson left my apartment and started down the stairs. I stood from the curb Jay and I were sitting on and met him on the sidewalk. I crossed my arms, hoping to hide how badly I was shaking.

Watching a dozen or so police officers walk in and out of my home was unnerving. None of them said anything and only two had offered a nod in our direction.

I blew out a breath and waited for him to tell us what was going on.

“I’m sorry for the delay, Mckayla. You should be able to go back in soon.” He paused and looked to Jay for a moment before focusing back on me. “How much of your apartment did you see when you walked in?”

“Just the kitchen and living room. Once I realized that someone had been there, I left. I didn’t go all the way inside.”

He nodded. “There was a note left in your room.”

I cringed at the thought of this person in my private space. Jay took a step forward and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

Larson pulled his phone from his pocket and showed us the screen. It was a typed note that said, “Stop searching and I’ll stop.”

Both Larson and Jay were watching me when I looked up. Larson waited for a beat before speaking.

“Do you know what this is supposed to mean?”

I met Jay’s eyes and shook my head. “There are several possibilities.”

Jay placed his hand on my shoulder. “Mac, you know what it means.”

I did. I knew Larson and Jay did too. I just didn’t want to admit it. “It’s my project.”

Larson nodded. “Your interviews with the victims, working with us …”

“The blog.”

Larson’s eyebrows rose just a bit. “What blog?”

“I put together a site with information on the attacks, portions of the interviews, and created some pages for people to comment.”

The detective nodded and pulled out his notebook and began asking questions. I gave him the web address and details about what was on the site.

“You wrote this anonymously?”

I nodded.

“Who knew it was you?”

“Just a few people. Jay, Aubrey, Carter …” My mouth stopped when my brain caught up. More than just a few people. I looked to Jay and he looked grim.

“And most of the newspaper staff.”

Larson looked up and met my eyes. “I’ll need a list with each person.” He reached up and rubbed his face. “Hopefully they didn’t tell anyone, or we’re going to have quite the list to go through.”

I leaned against Jay and tried to keep a brave face on.

We had a suspect list and it looked like it was someone I knew. And trusted.