Chapter Seven
Jake’s heart thudded hard in his chest the instant the back door slammed shut. Axel bobbled his flashlight, managing to catch it before it hit the ground.
“That scared the bejesus out of me,” he said. “Was someone in here?”
“I don’t know, but I know for a fact that I never leave that door open.” Jake couldn’t seem to move. He was frozen in place.
“Hang on.” Axel left Jake in the open doorway to the house, taking his flashlight with him. A few seconds later, the sound of a switch flipping echoed though the empty garage. Abruptly, the lights in the house came on, throwing Jake’s shadow on the floor of the empty garage.
He flipped the switch for the overhead lights, flooding the empty space. Without discussing it, Jake and Axel approached the door to his backyard.
The door was unlocked, which was a bright red flag to Jake that someone had been here and opened it. They looked closer at the door and the lock. It was clear someone had jimmied the lock with a screwdriver or a metal something. There were scratches all over it.
Axel pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’m calling the police. We need to report this.”
Jake nodded. He wondered who had been here and what they had wanted.
Axel finished his call, hung up and said, “They’re sending someone over to look around and take an official report.”
“Who do you think it was?”
“Probably foolish kids doing stupid things that kids do.” Axel didn’t seem worried; Jake was rather shaken. He was doing his best not to show it, but he was grateful that Axel had accompanied him inside.
What if Jake had gone in alone? Would the intruder have run out of the garage or stayed and tried to engage him? He didn’t know where he’d come up with such a ridiculous notion. Well, it was his mistrustful gut acting up again.
“Do you smell that?” Axel asked.
Jake took a deep breath and with it came the scent of basically musty garage.
There was the slight fragrance of oil from a leaky can he’d spilled last week and clearly hadn’t cleaned up well enough.
But there was also the scent of something else.
He took another deep breath, closer to the door to the yard. He smelled something slightly spicy.
“What is that?” he asked, more to himself than Axel as he tried to figure it out.
“I think it smells like cinnamon,” Axel said.
Jake snapped his fingers. “Yes. Right. I smell it, too.”
“Any reason you’d have cinnamon out here in the garage?”
Jake shook his head. “Nope. I only spill leaky cans of oil. At least, that’s all I remember with my awesome two weeks’ worth of memories.”
Axel grinned. “Oh, right. I keep forgetting.”
“Funny,” Jake said. “Did we ever hang out before?” He didn’t know why the question hadn’t come up before. He’d only seen Axel a couple of times since he’d returned from the hospital.
Axel shrugged. “Not really. Don’t get me wrong—you were always friendly whenever we saw each other. You waved when you drove by, but that was about it.”
Jake nodded. This wasn’t the first time someone had said almost the same thing. Friendly, but he didn’t seem to hang out with anyone. “Well, thank you for coming into my house with me and for bringing your handy flashlight.”
“Sure thing. We can certainly start hanging out if you want to. Do you read books? I have an informal book club with a few family members. You’d be welcome, if you’re interested.”
Before Jake could answer, they heard a vehicle pull into the driveway outside. Jake walked over and pushed the button to raise the garage door. An officer was getting out of a patrol car.
Axel said, “Hey, Wyatt. Didn’t expect to see you here tonight.”
Wyatt said, “The end of this cul-de-sac in in my jurisdiction. I know it’s odd, but the lines drawn in Alienn, Skeeter Bite and the rest of the tri-city area sometimes don’t make sense.”
“So if I called in a suspicious intruder for my house—” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder toward his home.
“You would not have to deal with me.” Wyatt smiled.
“Interesting. I mean, I wouldn’t mind dealing with you.”
“Good to hear.”
“Sheriff Wyatt Campbell here is my very favorite brother-in-law,” Axel told Jake, who must have appeared confused.
Wyatt stared up at the sky as if exasperated. “That’s because I’m your only brother-in-law, Axel.”
“That doesn’t mean it isn’t true.”
“Thanks. So, Jake, what’s up tonight?” He looked at Jake, eyebrows raised slightly.
“Well, my circuit box was off when I got home and the house was dark. Axel noticed the lights were out and came down to help. When we went inside and headed for the circuit box in the garage, we heard the back garage door slam like someone had left in a hurry when they saw our flashlight. It looks like someone jimmied the door.”
“Anything missing?”
Jake shrugged. “No idea. Haven’t had a chance to look around.”
Nodding, Wyatt walked into the garage, went straight to the back garage door and inspected the scratched-up lock. “That’s what it looks like to me, as well.”
He pulled out a flashlight of his own and shone the light around the area and up and down the door. About a foot from the bottom of the door, there was what looked like a drip of purple paint. “What’s this?”
Jake leaned closer and shrugged. “Don’t know. Looks like purple paint but I don’t think I have any. Purple’s not really my shade.”
“I’m going to have the crime lab out to see if there are any fingerprints and to get a sample of the purple drip.”
“Thanks, Wyatt.”
“Sure thing.” He walked back out to his car and made a call on the radio. When he returned, he said, “The tech is on her way. Once she gets here, it shouldn’t take too long to get what we need and then we’ll be out of your hair.”
“No worries. Take your time. Thank you for taking it seriously. Axel and I wondered if it’s just kids doing stupid kid things.”
Wyatt made a sound of agreement. “That’s a possibility, of course. But best to check it out anyway.”
Jake nodded.
Axel got a text from his wife, Lucy, and said he had to go. “Call me if you need anything, Jake?”
“Thanks, Axel.”
The crime scene tech arrived and was introduced as Becky Jamison.
She smiled briefly and got right to work.
Wyatt showed her the area by the back door and the splotch of what looked like purple paint.
He also told her to test the gate in the back fence that separated Jake’s yard from the green space behind his home.
Jake liked not having any other houses behind him and wondered if that was why he’d bought this place. For privacy. Then he wondered, Did I buy this place or do I rent it?
“Sheriff,” Jake asked. “Maybe you don’t even know the answer, but do I own this property or do I rent it?”
Wyatt narrowed his eyes for a second and then lifted his head. “You rent it.”
“Who owns it?” Jake asked.
“Marvin Delancy. It used to be his parents’ house, Abe and Sheila Delancy, before they moved to a nursing home out of state to be closer to Sheila’s sister.”
Jake gave him a wan smile. “Guess I know who to send my rent payment to then. Thanks.”
“Sure thing.” Wyatt’s expression seemed dark.
“What are you thinking?”
Wyatt shook his head as if he wasn’t going to answer, then said, “I was just thinking that if you were in an altercation before you lost your memory, maybe someone came back to finish the job.”
Jake gasped. But deep down inside, his gut roiled. That was an idea that spent a lot of time taking up space in his head.
“Don’t worry,” Wyatt said. “I have to consider everything, but that isn’t what I think happened here.”
“What do you think?”
“I think some kids broke in looking for something to steal and sell for cash, and you happened to come home at an inconvenient time for their plans.”
“Why did they turn off the power at the circuit box?”
“Who says they did? Maybe it popped for its own reason. That’s just one theory.”
Wyatt nodded. “However, if they did it, then you wouldn’t be able to pop open the garage door and possibly catch them. Truth is, I’ve seen it done before.”
“Have you?”
He nodded. “If you turn the power off at the box, that can thwart some security measures that need electricity to work.”
Jake felt marginally better. “Okay. Thanks. I know it’s foolish, but I’m hoping for stupid kids doing stupid things rather than someone lying in wait to finish me off when I least suspect it.”
Wyatt smiled. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No. I like to be informed. I have so few memories that I want to know all I can.”
“Understandable.”
The crime tech, Becky, continued doing her thing.
She had been quiet and seemed efficient, since it didn’t take her long.
She worked around the back door, taking pictures from several angles, taking samples of anything that looked suspicious, dusting for fingerprints at the circuit breaker box, around the back door and several places inside Jake’s home where the culprit might have entered or exited or looked for valuables.
Becky headed across the yard to his back gate. She repeated the same steps, taking photos, swabbing areas to collect samples of Jake knew not what and then dusting for prints.
Once Becky was finished, she packed up her kit, told the sheriff she’d be in touch and left.
Wyatt reassured Jake once more before he also took off, leaving behind his card with his number and an invitation for Jake to call anytime, day or night. Jake appreciated his earnestness.
Once he was alone, Jake searched his entire home, not sure what he was looking for. Perhaps he just wanted to reassure himself that he was truly alone.
He didn’t find anything out of place, but it didn’t relieve the roiling unease in his gut one single bit. His gut didn’t trust anyone, even stupid kids being stupid.
After feeling like his world was very small since waking up in the hospital, he took comfort in all those folks he had gotten to know who were on his side, willing to help him, offering not only aid of all kinds, but friendship.
Jake valued the friendships especially.
However he came to choose Alienn, Arkansas, as his home, he’d chosen well.