Page 27 of Closer Than You Know

Plus she needed her free hand for her daddy’s shotgun, which she hefted under her arm as she started a walk-through of the house.

“Do you know what time it is?” Eve demanded rather than saying hello.

It wasn’t that late, but Eve sometimes had very early-morning starts at the funeral home.

“Did you come to the house today?” Vera asked, ignoring her question.

“What? No. I didn’t leave the funeral home until an hour ago. I had to eat both lunch and dinner in the mortuary room.”

Vera suppressed a gag. How her sister could eat while preparing a body was beyond all reason. “Someone was here.”

“Maybe Luna came over. Did you ask her?” She yawned, as if the conversation couldn’t be over quickly enough.

“I will, but I called you first.” The living room and library were clear. The bathroom under the stairs too. That left the second floor. She started up the stairs.

“Why do you think someone was in the house?”

“The window in the laundry room was open, like someone used it for climbing in.”

At the top of the stairs, Vera used her cheek and shoulder to hold the phone so she could position the shotgun properly in the event she had to shoot at an intruder.

“You really think someone’s been in the house?” Eve’s voice was suddenly at full attention.

“I hope not,” Vera said, “but I can’t think of another explanation.”

“Call Bent,” Eve practically shouted. “Do you have Daddy’s shotgun?”

“I do.” Her room looked clear, but just in case she checked the closet and under the bed. Not an easy task while holding the shotgun and keeping her phone in place.

“I’m hanging up and calling Bent.”

“No,” Vera growled. “Just stay on the line until I’ve checked all the bedrooms.”

Eve’s room was next. All clear there too. Hall bathroom was as well. The same in Luna’s room.

“Going in Mama and Daddy’s room now,” she said, her heart beating faster.

The sound of her sister breathing on the other end of the line kept Vera steady. That and the shotgun in her hands.

Under the bed ... in the closet. All clear.

“Okay.” Vera let out a breath. “No one’s in the house.”

“I swear to God, if you go poking around outside without calling Bent ...”

“There were tracks in the snow this morning.” Vera sat down on the end of her parents’ bed. The Jack had kicked in and given her a light buzz, considering she’d had no food in more than twelve hours. “They came from the area of the barn all the way to the back door and that window next to it. Looked as if whoever was out there stood aroundfor a while, packing down the snow under that window. Just looking inside, I guess.”

“Are you kidding me? I am calling Bent.”

“Eve, I checked it out.” Vera considered again that she hadn’t seen tire tracks by the barn. So whoever was here had come from the woods beyond the barn. A long walk in all that snow.

And, as she had pondered this morning, maybe he parked on the road, walked to the barn and waited for the snow ... but then how had he gotten back to the road or anywhere else without her seeing his return tracks? If he’d walked in the same tracks, it would have been obvious ... unless he’d been very, very good at walking backward.

It could be only one of two ways—he either sprouted wings and flew or he’d gone through the house. The thought settled deep in her gut and started to swell. Why would anyone go to all that trouble? While she was asleep inside? He would have had to remove his boots to prevent leaving a telltale mess, climb into her house, make it to the front, and go out ... a window. Opening the door would have set off the alarm.

The idea made her throat tighten.

“You can call him, or I’m calling him,” Eve threatened.

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