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I opened the door wider. “Why don’t you come in and say hello to him? I’m sure he’d be happy to see you. Then you can see how well he’s doing.”
Kody would be more excited to see her if she’d brought Oreo over with her. He loved that dog.
Mrs. Travis stepped inside and I closed the door behind her. I called for Kody and he came out of his playroom. “Mrs. Travis stopped by to see how you were doing.”
“Hi, Kody. I heard you broke your arm, so I decided to bake you some brownies to help you feel better.”
I took the plate from her hands. “Thank you, Mrs. Travis. That was very kind of you. I’m sure that will cheer him up. What do you say, Kody?”
Kody raised his fist in the air. “I love brownies!”
I pinned him with a dad look. “And what else do you say?”
He giggled. “Thank you, Mrs. Travis.”
It was nice to see him smiling and laughing again. If it took a plate full of sugar and cavities to do it, so be it.
Mrs. Travis beamed. “You’re welcome, Kody. I’m so glad you’re feeling better and you’ll get that cast off your arm in no time.”
Kody glanced at his cast and frowned, but then he looked at me. “I’m gonna go play cars, Dad.”
He was running back to the playroom before I could respond.
Mrs. Travis put her hand on my arm. “Thank goodness he’s okay. I’ve been laying awake at night wondering what happened to that poor boy. I’m relieved to see he’s doing so well.”
Squeezing her hand briefly, I started leading her to the door. “I’m sorry that you were so worried. You should have stopped by earlier.”
She shrugged it off. “I didn’t want to intrude. Mr. Travis already yells at me for being too nosey. I was already keeping an eye out when I saw that man hanging around the neighborhood. Your babysitter was talking to him, so I figured he must be okay. But when the ambulance came, well, I was really worried. I wanted to rush right over here, but Mr. Travis stopped me.”
“Wait...” I pulled my hand back from the doorknob. “Lacey? She was talking to a man? The day Kody got hurt?”
Mrs. Travis looked guilty. “I noticed him because he parked down the street. In front of the Miller’s house. He sat there in his car for a long time, so I decided to keep my eye on him. You’ve heard about the recent break-ins in the neighborhood?”
I shook my head.
“Well, two houses were broken into when the owners were away. That beautiful craftsman-style house on the corner of Pine and Jackson. And one behind me on Adams. There was also a car break-in. Mr. Gradola said that someone stole all the change out of his car, but I suspect he’s getting a little senile. He probably emptied it out himself and forgot.”
I waited patiently for her to finish. “But what about the guy you saw talking to Lacey?”
“Is she the blonde lady that was here? Kody’s babysitter?” she asked.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “What happened?”
“Well, the guy got out of his car and walked straight up to your door. I thought it was strange that he was parked down the street.” She paused for a moment, waiting for me to comment, but when I didn’t, she continued. “He was just talking to the blonde lady. Then my phone rang, so I went into the kitchen to answer it. It was my sister, and I got distracted talking to her. The next thing I know, there’s an ambulance in front of your house. It was frightening because I didn’t know if the man was somehow involved in whatever happened, but his car was gone. Then I saw Kody being wheeled out on the stretcher.”
My stomach was twisting up in knots. Lacey had been talking to a man when Kody got hurt? Why hadn’t she mentioned that?
I tried to keep my tone casual, even though a warning signal was blaring in my head. “Can you tell me what this man looked like?”
“I made sure to get a good look at him in case he was up to no good. When he was walking up the street heading this way — before he put his baseball cap on — I got a pretty good look at him.”
I shifted on my feet and nodded for her to continue.
She rattled off a description so quickly it sounded rehearsed. “He was young and strong-looking like he went to the gym and worked out a lot. Probably around your age, but maybe a tad taller than you. He had light brown hair with some lighter streaks in it, but it was on the long side, kind of unkempt looking. He looked like he spent a lot of time outdoors and he was wearing jeans and a gray, short-sleeved shirt. Do you think I should make a report to the police about him?”
As she described the guy, right away, I thought of that guy from the pier, Liam. Her description matched him right down to the longish hair.
“He didn’t have anything to do with Kody’s accident, Mrs. Travis. But it’s nice to know you’re keeping an eye on the neighborhood,” I reassured her as I opened the door.
