[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.What about dinner?”“Sure.Dinner would be fine.Six o’clock again?”Nodding, Jessica turned the doorknob and pushed open the door.“Thanks again for dinner, Alex.”“Remember, Jessica.I love you.”“I love you too.” Though she wasn’t certain if she felt the same about him as she once had, she decided it wouldn’t hurt to say the phrase she had told him so many times in the past.“Good-night.”Once he left, she locked the door behind him and went up to her room.Hudson was stretched out on her bed, evidently waiting for her to come home and pet him.She flopped onto the bed next to him and began petting his long fur.“Guess what, big guy? Alex proposed to me tonight.” Hudson purred in response as Jessica held out her left arm and studied the engagement ring on her finger.“Now, I know it was just a couple of weeks ago that I told you he wasn’t good for us, but he really seems sorry for what happened, and I do care about him.Plus he really loves me.”Hudson stood up and rubbed against Jessica’s outstretched arm.“So why am I not jumping all over this proposal? What is it I need to think about?” Stroking Hudson’s back, Jessica chewed on her lip.“It’s Kyle.Of course it is.As long as he’s around I can’t move forward.” She sat up.“Damn him!”When I go see Aunt Ellen tomorrow I’ll see what advice she has, Jessica thought.She usually comes up with an angle I haven’t thought of.And she’ll be so excited to read William’s letter.Jessica moved to the nightstand and pulled open the drawer, but gasped at what she saw.Chapter Twenty-FourAll the love letters, plus William’s letter and the newspaper photo, were gone.Anger, disappointment, and fear competed to be the strongest emotion.Someone had come into her room and taken the letters, and now she wouldn’t be able to show her aunt.But most importantly, someone had been in her room.Could the thief still be in the house?Jessica scrambled for her cell phone and punched in 911.When the dispatcher asked what her emergency was, Jessica forced herself to calm down so she could speak clearly.“Someone was in my house and I don’t know if he’s still here.”“What is your address?”Jessica grasped for her aunt’s address, but after a moment was able to come up with it and told the dispatcher.“Are you in a safe place?” the woman asked.“I think so.I don’t know.I’m in my bedroom.” Jessica walked to her door as she spoke and quickly closed it, then pushed one of the chairs in front of it.“Is anyone else there with you?”“No.”“The police are on their way, but I want you to stay on the phone with me until they get there.”“Okay.”“Do you see or hear anything unusual?”Jessica listened intently, but the only sound was Hudson’s purring.“No.”The dispatcher continued talking to her and within a few minutes Jessica heard the wailing of sirens.She looked out the bedroom window and saw two police cars pulling up to the house.“The police are here,” Jessica told the dispatcher as she watched them get out of their cars and walk up the porch steps and out of sight.She heard knocking on the front door.She shoved the chair out of the way, then opened her door and raced down the stairs.She flung the door open, relieved to have them there.After hanging up with the dispatcher, Jessica invited the officers in.“I understand there’s been a break-in and you’re not sure if the intruder is still here,” one of the officers said.“Yes.I was out this evening and when I got home I discovered that some letters were missing.”“Was anything else taken?”“I don’t know.I didn’t realize there had been a break-in until I saw the letters were gone.”The first officer glanced at the other officer before looking back at Jessica.“If it’s all right with you, ma’am, I’m going to look around and make sure the house is secure.Officer Brighton will stay with you while you check to see if anything else appears to be missing.”“Okay.” Jessica went into each of the downstairs rooms with Officer Brighton and looked around while he checked to make sure no one was hiding.Nothing else seemed to be missing, although some items seemed to be moved around, like someone had rummaged through things.But it wasn’t her house and she couldn’t be sure.“The house is secure,” the first officer said as he found Jessica and Officer Brighton in the sunroom.“Did you find anything else missing?”“No, just the letters.” She hesitated.“But, well I can’t be sure, but it seems like some things are out of place.”“But nothing’s missing except some letters?” He paused.“Are you sure you didn’t just misplace them?”“I remember putting them in my nightstand drawer this afternoon.” She was certain of it.“What kind of letters were these?” Office Brighton asked.“Well, they were, uh, just some old family letters.”“Okay.Well, if you see or hear anything suspicious, give us a call.”Jessica nodded and walked them to the door.They left a moment later and she had the impression that they thought she was just some flighty woman who had misplaced the letters.When she looked at it from their point of view she couldn’t blame them.After all, why would someone risk a breaking and entering charge just to take some old letters?Jessica wondered who had taken them and how the person had gotten in.She was pretty sure she had locked the door when she and Alex had left for dinner, but she wasn’t positive.Thinking back, the last time she had seen the letters was when she had put William’s letter and the newspaper photo into the drawer that afternoon [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]