Page 2 of Tide and Seek
“Apparently they forced the lock on the door.Other than that, I don’t know.The alarm company didn’t tell me much.They said the police will process the scene and get back to me.Is that normal?Do they usually just call you with horrible news and then you’re on your own?”I groused.
“Pretty much.”Royce nodded.“The average security company is really just monitoring the situation as it happens.The police will conduct an initial investigation, looking for signs of forced entry.They’ll check surveillance footage if possible, and they might search for any suspects in the area.”
“Okay.God.I need to call the insurance company.”I rubbed the back of my neck, anxiety eating at me.“But I don’t know if anything has been taken yet, or if there’s any real damage.Should I even call my insurance lady until I know that stuff?I’m so far away.Should I fly there tonight?”
Giving me a patient smile, Royce moved to me, slipping his arms around me.“Take a deep breath, Max.It’s going to be okay.You don’t have to fly there tonight, okay?”
I hugged him back, grateful for his quiet strength.“I have a lot of treasured stuff in that house,” I muttered.
“Do you?”He pulled back, brows lifted in surprise.“Treasured as in sentimentally?”
I wasn’t insulted by his obvious disbelief I might have had a sentimental bone in my body when I’d lived in LA.I barely had one now.“No.I, uh… I meant treasured as in monetarily valuable.I have some select art pieces and old antique medical equipment there.”
“Antique medical equipment?”He grimaced.“Is that a thing people collect?”
“Of course,” I said enthusiastically.“My prized possession is an antique, circa-1800s brass binocular microscope.”
He drawled, “You don’t say?”
“I do say.”I moved away from him, feeling antsy.“I bought it off eBay.That microscope is very valuable.I paid almost six thousand dollars for it.”
He gave a low whistle.“That’s a pretty penny to spend on something that just gathers dust.”
“I know.”I sighed.“But I made very good money back then as a surgeon.Most of it I invested, but I enjoyed buying little gifts for myself too.”
“Well, hopefully you have an inventory list of what was in the beach house.The police should create a report detailing the incident.You’ll need that for your insurance and any further legal actions.I think you should call an emergency restoration company to secure the scene.Wouldn’t want anyone running off with your beloved brass microscope.”
“Good heavens, no.That would be a disaster.”
His lips twitched.“Your insurance company might have a contract with someone.They could point you in the right direction.”
“Good idea.I’ll ask them.Will the police have a real detective investigate the break-in?”I grimaced.“Or is something like this not important enough?”
“It’s possible a detective may be assigned to follow up on the case.If so, they’d most likely want to interview witnesses, maybe talk to known burglary suspects in the area.”Royce gave me an apologetic smile.“Of course, I’m just guessing.I don’t know anything about how the Malibu Police Department operates.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
He rubbed his jaw.“I can call them tomorrow morning, if you’d like—follow up with them.They might talk to me as a professional courtesy.”
“Oh, that might be helpful.”I perked up.“You could get the scoop from your cop buddies.”
He smiled and moved to sit on the edge of the bed.“Not sure they’ll share everything with me.But they might be receptive to a fellow officer of the law.Can’t hurt to try.”
“That would be great.”I joined him on the bed, clasping my hands in my lap.“What should I do next?I feel helpless being so far away.”
“Calling your insurance company is the priority.I don’t think you need to fly out there tonight, but it might be useful to go in the next couple of days.You could maybe meet with the police, see what they can tell you.You might want to upgrade your security system too.”
“Upgrade?”I laughed humorlessly.“Why?All the alarm company really did was tell me I’d been broken into.It didn’t keep those ruffians out.I’d have done better to hire a college student to live there while I’m away.”
He gave me a tolerant smile.“I understand your frustration, but if the alarm company hadn’t alerted the police, it’s possible the perps might have stuck around longer and done more damage.It’s good you had a security company monitoring the property, Max.”
“I guess.”I exhaled tiredly.“God, I’ve been so busy lately.I really don’t want to fly out to LA.”
“You could probably handle a lot of this remotely.But personally, if it were me, I’d go there in person.It’s harder for the police to ignore you if you’re there in their face.Not that I think they want to ignore you, but you know how it is—the squeaky wheel and all that.”
I groaned.“I have so many patients to see this week.Why couldn’t this have happened when I had more free time?”
Royce shrugged.“Ain’t that just how life goes?”
