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Finally, exhaustion caught up with me, and I crawled into the huge king-sized bed, praying for sleep to take over. Instead, I tossed and turned as an owl hooted outside my window. Unable to take it any longer, I got up to check on Ava, gently scooping her up and bringing her into my bedroom. Carefully arranging the covers and making sure her binky was within reach, I snuggled next to her, comforted by the presence of a piece of Mitch beside me. Gradually, the hooting retreated into the night, and sleep embraced me at last.
Mitch
As I stood there, watching Amy and Ava being driven away in the FBI sedan, I felt like everything was going wrong. I couldn't forget the tears in Amy's eyes or the scared look on Ava's face. I knew I had to do something to protect my family and figure out what was going on with this crazy situation. The cops seemed like they wanted to help, but nothing was really getting fixed. I was getting more and more stuck in this mess Amy called the Rosedale curse.
Suddenly, I heard sirens in the distance, and they snapped me out of my thoughts. They got louder, and I realized the cop cars were coming to my house, just a block or two away. My heart started racing, and I was totally confused and worried. "What's going on?" I asked the cop, who was still writing down what happened with Amy and the cyclist.
"Looks like your home security company called about someone trespassing on your property," the officer said, glancing at his watch. "It happened just a few minutes after this whole thing went down!"
I hopped in my car and rushed to my house, only to find the security gate wide open and a bunch of cops all over the place. I couldn't believe it – how could things get even worse so fast?
"Agent Carter!" I shouted, surprised to see him. "You must've been nearby to get here so quickly!"
"Actually, I was talking to a witness for another case just a mile or two from here. When I heard your name and address on the radio, I hurried over to see what was happening."
I didn't bother shaking his hand. Agent Carter, also known as Carter Brown, was the detective from the San Diego Police Department who had been working on the Rosedale case from the start. He'd even been attacked himself, but he wasn't really the best detective. So, instead of chatting with him, I went to the officer who was taking pictures of a footprint under Ava's nursery window.
"Hey, officer, can you tell me what happened here?” I asked, trying not to freak out.
"Alright, so it looks like some dude wearing a ball cap just walked into your yard through the open front gate. Your security cameras caught him trying to get into your house.
Lucky for you, he took off on a bike when he heard the sirens coming."
My heart dropped, and my stomach was all twisted up. Great, now my family was on the radar of the Rosedale psycho who tried breaking into our home. I turned back to Carter, getting all worked up.
"Agent Carter, what's up with my security gate being wide open? And why would someone try to break in while everything's going nuts?"
Carter hesitated, "Well, Mitch, the guy probably saw a chance with all the crazy stuff happening. As for the open gate, it could be a glitch, or someone messed up. We gotta look into it more."
I clenched my fists, super angry. "This is so unacceptable, Carter. These weird things are tearing my family apart, and now my home's a target. What's your department doing to stop this madness?"
Carter sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Mitch, I get you're mad, but we're doing all we can to figure it out. We're checking the security footage, talking to witnesses, and looking at any evidence we find. I promise you, we're not gonna stop until we solve this."
I shook my head. "Ugh, every time you talk, it's the same stuff... I promise you, blah, blah, blah..."
While I was giving Carter a piece of my mind, another officer came up with a tablet. "Mr. Detwiler, we got a picture from the security footage of the guy. You should check this out."
I took the tablet, and my eyes went wide. "Carter, get over here. You need to see this."
He hesitated, then came closer. On the screen was a fuzzy pic of a guy in a ball cap, his face hidden by the brim. "Could this be the same dude who messed with Amy at the gazebo?"
Carter looked at me and frowned. "Could be!"
I threw my hands up like I was asking for some kind of help from above. "So, why's everyone just hanging around instead of searching for this dude? C'mon, he's on a bike!"
Carter caught on and started giving orders to the cops. "You heard him! Let's get moving and find this intruder! Check the security videos to see how he got away and start looking around the neighborhood. We need to catch this guy before he causes more trouble."
The officers rushed away, leaving my place to track down the mysterious trespasser. Agent Carter gave me a quick nod before following his team.
As soon as everyone was gone, I hit the remote to close the gate, making sure my home was safe again. I couldn't help but feel something was off, and I knew I had to do some snooping on my own. I hurried inside, locked everything up, and went straight to the basement.
In the basement, stashed in an old desk, was my laptop. I'd been using it to help Brad with research on the new app. I hadn't shown him what I'd found yet. But now, with everything that happened today, I felt like it was time to figure out who was behind this whole Rosedale curse thing Amy mentioned.
I opened the desk drawer, and there it was, just like I had left it. I quickly turned on the laptop, checked the main directory, and made sure no one else had used it. Once I was sure no one had messed with it, I put the laptop back and saw that I'd missed a text from Courtney. I took a quick breath.
Courtney: Mr. Detwiler. Amy's dad, Giuseppe Russo, has been calling her all day with no luck. He's really worried and wants you to call him as soon as you can!
Me: Thanks, Courtney. I'll give him a call.
