“She is still over at Blue Falls Hospital,” Carter said. “The doctors are keeping her quiet for now, letting the medicine do its work.”
He gestured toward the kitchen with his silver pen. “We had a patrol car out here after the neighbor called it in, but there was not much left to secure.”
“What happened in here?” I asked. My words felt dry, like sawdust in my throat.
“Looks like a simple robbery,” Carter said. “A quick in and out. Someone wanted electronics, maybe some jewelry.”
I looked around the tidy room, my eyes scanning the television, the silver candlesticks on the sideboard, the laptop sitting on the desk. “Nothing is missing from the main room.”
“That is the thing,” Carter said. He turned a page in his notebook, his fingers moving slowly. “The house was found unlocked.”
My thumb found my bare wrist again, rubbing the skin. “Tessa never leaves the doors unlocked, Carter. She is a martial arts instructor. She is careful.”
“People forget,” Carter said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Especially when they are in a hurry.”
“Was the back door forced open?” I asked.
“No sign of it,” Carter said. “No pry marks on the wood, no broken glass. Whoever came in just turned the knob and walked right through.”
He wrote something in his notebook, his pen scratching against the paper.
“The patrolman checked the perimeter,” Carter said. “Everything was clear.”
“What about the security system?” I asked.
“It was off when we got here,” Carter said. “Probably a power surge. We get those sometimes when the mountain winds pick up.”
“The power is on right now,” I said. “The microwave clock is not even blinking.”
“Systems fail, John,” Carter said. “The county has older grids than what you are used to.”
