Family Bonds- Ava and Seth (Amore Island Book 5), Natalie Ann [world of reading TXT] 📗

has the bed in it and nothing else. The closet doors were all shut the way you described you normally do with the exception of Kayla’s. That one was opened a bit more.”

“Like someone thought there might be something in there?” she asked.

“Could be. It’s the only room up there with furniture in it. My guess is if someone was looking, they didn’t realize you would notice the quirk about the doors and opened them and shut them when there was nothing to find.”

“There isn’t anything. I don’t keep anything in my room either.”

“When Griffin gets here I’ll have you touch things and check if anything is missing. Let’s go look around your office and see if you notice anything moved or touched.”

They walked into her dining room where she had her office and she looked around, but she didn’t see where anything was touched by sight alone.

Then they went to her room and she did the same thing. “Everything looks fine,” she said. “This is so odd. I feel silly.”

“Don’t feel silly,” he said. “I want to ask if you are sure about the doors. Is it possible that your brothers or someone could have shut them upstairs when you moved in?”

“No. After everyone left, I went upstairs and set the doors that way. I did it because I put some winter clothes in Kayla’s old room. It was one of the last boxes I unpacked and figured I’d remember that was the closet I put them in since it’s the only one with furniture. I would have taken care of the doors at that point. It was after everyone left. I haven’t been in any of those rooms since. I just go upstairs and sweep the floor for dust in the hallway.”

“Okay. Well, how about that coffee?” he asked.

“You want me to touch something?”

He smiled. She always thought her cousin Mac was good looking when he smiled, it was just he rarely did. Or he didn’t before he met Sidney. Now he seemed to be a changed man.

“I doubt anyone was here making coffee other than you, but I could be wrong.”

“No. You’re not. What a rotten way to end the day. Sorry if you had plans.”

“No plans. Sidney is working and I was puttering around the house,” he said.

By the time she had the coffee poured and placed in front of him, the doorbell went off and Mac got up to go answer it. She heard the two of them talking but couldn’t understand the words. They were obviously keeping quiet for her.

“Let me get you some coffee too,” she said, then turned to look at Griffin. He was in black dress pants and a tailored blue shirt. No tie, but nice pricy shoes. He dressed similar to Eli when he was working. Sometimes he had a jacket on, but not right now.

“That would be great. Fill me in, Mac.”

She sat down and listened while the two of them talked, then she watched as Griffin started to put some fancy tape on all the doorknobs and all the way around. “What are you doing?”

“Pulling prints,” Griffin said.

“Why didn’t Mac do that?” she asked, looking at her cousin.

“Do you want this on record?” Mac asked.

“I’d prefer not.”

“Then let Griffin take care of it. He will eliminate your prints from things. You’ve touched it all, but the key is to see if there is someone else other than yours. Have you had anyone else here that might have touched your doorknobs other than your brothers?”

She thought for a second. “No. Seth was here with Adele a few weeks ago but I’ve cleaned since. I’m kind of a neat freak and wipe down all the handles once a week.”

“Which is good for us,” Griffin said. “When did you do it last?”

“This morning,” she said, smiling. “Sunday morning is my disinfecting day. I did the upstairs weeks ago and, as I told Mac, all I’ve done is sweep the hallway for dust.”

“Even better,” Griffin said. Once he was done, he did the same to the back door. She was quietly watching everything and feeling like she was on some crime show. “There are smudges upstairs. If you are saying you wiped them down they should be clean. Not sure I can get a print off of them, but it’s something. Down here I’ve got to eliminate yours and go from there.”

“Which doesn’t make me feel any better,” she said. “I’m not sure how anyone could get in.”

“I checked and noticed that your kitchen window looks loose. It’s not very big, but a small person could get in if they wanted to. There is no screen on it either and it’s on the back of the house where no one would see them.”

“Just great,” she said.

“Let’s go check and see if anything is missing in your room,” Mac said.

She walked around her room, looked over everything, and she didn’t notice where anything was taken. They went through her desk too. The same thing. “Nothing seems to be gone. After getting my identity stolen I don’t get or keep any bank statements here. It’s all in my mother’s name. I had my purse with me so that has the only debit and credit card that I’ve got. There is no cash here and my jewelry is still here. The little I’ve got. Most of it is in a safe deposit box at the bank. After this happened I decided to make sure it was all secure there. Seth suggested that.”

“Smart,” Griffin said. “I’m going to go back and see what I can find out from this. I’m assuming you’ve got somewhere to stay tonight?”

“I can’t stay here?” she asked looking over at her bed. “That’s odd.”

“What?”

“My bedspread is messed up. I didn’t notice it before. But it’s picked up on one side. See.”

Both men looked and nodded. “Maybe someone sat down on it?” Mac asked.

“Or maybe they tripped on it not paying attention?” she asked. “But I’m washing it.”

“You need to stay somewhere