Joker in the Pack (Romantic Suspense, Completed, Watty Winner)

Chapter 14

I'd closed that door.

I knew I'd closed that door.

Maddie may have made fun of my OCD tendencies, but they meant I always checked the house was firmly locked at least twice every time I left.

My heart hammered as I crept closer and squinted in the dim moonlight. Was it my imagination, or... Yes, the door frame was splintered around the lock.

A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead as I froze, peering into the dark hallway. Could the burglar still be inside? What should I do?

My brain screamed at me to run, and eventually, my feet got the message. I narrowly avoided face-planting as I tripped over a tree root on my sprint next door. Breathless, I jabbed my finger at Yvonne's doorbell.

The tinny sound of "Auld Lang Syne" rang out into the night, the best part of a month too late, and I uncurled my clenched fists as footsteps sounded in the hallway.

"Who are you?"

The man who answered the door didn't look thrilled to see me, and understandably so. I must have looked a fright.

"I'm so sorry for disturbing you. I live next door, and I think I've been burgled."

His glower didn't shift, but he swung the door open wide enough for me to squeeze past him. "Well, you'd better come in."

I followed him through to the kitchen, where Yvonne was elbow-deep in the washing up. Her eyes widened as she took in my appearance.

"She's been burgled," her husband said.

Yvonne dried her hands and rushed over. "Oh, you poor dear. Did they take much?"

"I don't know yet. The door...open... I'm too scared to go inside." I clutched at the back of a chair as I began shaking. "What if someone's still in there?"

"Have you called the police?"

I shook my head. "I just ran here."

"Bob, don't just stand there! Call Graham."

Bob moved slowly into action, reaching for the phone on the wall by the door while tutting about missing his fishing programme.

"I'm so sorry I came here. I didn't know where else to go."

Yvonne glared at Bob. "Don't mind him. He always falls asleep in the middle of that show, anyway."

Graham's enthusiasm rivalled Bob's when he ambled in with a colleague the best part of an hour later.

"There's nobody there."

"But somebody was inside, right? I mean, the door was open."

The other policeman grimaced. "Not sure you'll want to see inside, love."

"Why? How bad is it?"

"Your visitor's left a bit of a mess."

My visitor? Good grief, he made it sound as if I'd invited the burglar in. "How much of a mess?"

Yvonne put an arm around my shoulders. "Why don't we all go and take a look?"

The tears came a few seconds after I stepped through what was left of my front door. A hurricane had rampaged through downstairs, leaving a trail of crumpled boxes and broken ornaments, knee-deep in places. Why had somebody done this? I'd tried so hard to fit into the village, and now my new start in life had been pushed under a bus.

Yvonne gave me a squeeze. "I'm so sorry, Olivia. Why don't you stay at ours for the rest of the night? We can come back here in the morning."

"But the house... I can't even lock it."