The Devil's Labyrinth

CHAPTER 42

THE MOMENT TERI MCINTYRE opened the front door of her house, she knew that something was wrong. She stopped at the threshold so suddenly that Tom bumped into her from behind.

“What’s—” he began, but Teri silenced him with a gesture.

“Something’s not right,” she whispered. “Someone’s been here.”

Tom pushed past her into the living room, turning on lights, but nothing looked amiss. “I think you’re just upset about Ryan.”

Teri shook her head, not moving from the front door, certain that whatever had happened had nothing at all to do with Ryan’s going back to St. Isaac’s instead of coming home.

This was something else. Something in the house was different. It was as if there was a change in the air, or the smell, or just the feeling of the place. That was it — it just didn’t feel right. As Tom moved through the living room and dining room into the kitchen, she stepped inside but couldn’t quite bring herself to close the door behind her.

“Oh, boy,” Tom called from the kitchen. “We’d better call the police.”

Terry’s blood suddenly ran cold. “What is it? What did you find?”

“Someone’s broken in.”

Teri picked up the cordless phone on the way to the kitchen and punched in 911. “What if they’re still here?” she whispered, rolling her eyes toward the floor above.

Before she could stop him, Tom had taken the baseball bat she’d started keeping in the hall closet after Bill had died, and started up the stairs. “What if there’s more than one of them?” she called after him, then shifted her attention to the 911 operator, suddenly blanking on her own address. And not just the number — she couldn’t even remember the street.

“It’s all right,” the operator assured her. “All that information comes up on my screen even before I’ve answered. I’ll send a couple of cars over right away.”

“Well, whoever it was, they’re gone now,” Tom said as he came back down the stairs. “Looks like they took your jewelry, and maybe some other stuff.”

Teri’s hands trembled as she passed the information on to the 911 operator, then clicked the phone off. Suddenly her knees began to buckle and she leaned on the kitchen counter. “I think I need to sit down,” she said as a wave of nausea suddenly rose in her stomach.

Tom guided her into one of the kitchen chairs and she gazed mutely at the broken pane in the kitchen door. Then her eyes shifted to the shattered glass on the floor. One thought kept running through her mind: Thank God, Ryan wasn’t here alone when this happened.

“You look like you could use a drink,” Tom said.

Finally her eyes left the hole in the window and the broken glass on the floor and she shook her head. “No,” she said as the threat of nausea passed and her fear began giving way to anger. “At least not right now — certainly not until the police have been here.”

“Maybe we’d better go upstairs to see what’s missing,” Tom suggested. “We should be able to tell the police everything that’s gone. Or at least everything you can see right away.”

Missing…gone…

The words echoed in her mind. Someone had come into her house and taken her things. Just the thought of it was enough to drive away the last tendrils of the near-panic she’d just felt. “You’re right,” she said, rising to her feet. “Not that there’s anything here worth stealing. But let’s take a look.” She quickly assessed the kitchen, which looked utterly untouched except for the broken glass, then slowly toured the dining room and living room.

Nothing seemed disturbed. Nothing at all.

Tom moved the fireplace poker from where it always leaned against the brick wall and set it in its stand.

Teri folded the afghan and draped it over the arm of the sofa. The house looked neat.

With Tom following close behind, she slowly mounted the stairs. He had turned on every light in every room, and opened all the closet doors.

Or the intruder had.

When they came to the landing, she looked at him questioningly. “Were they in every room?”

“It doesn’t look like it,” Tom replied. “Just your room, as far as I could see.”

Teri saw three things the moment she entered the master bedroom: the broken photograph of Ryan on the floor, her underwear hanging out of a drawer, and the open lid of her jewelry box. As she reached down to pick up the picture, Tom put a gently restraining hand on her arm.

“The police need to see everything exactly as it is,” he told her, his voice thick with sympathy.

How dare they come into my home? How dare they touch my things? How dare they—

She glared at the mess with impotent fury, knowing she’d never again be able to wear any of the clothes they had touched, no matter how many times she washed them. And the jewelry box had contained nothing but junk! The only thing she owned of any value was her engagement ring, and it was now on her right hand; she still always wore it.

The rest was worthless!

And the photograph of Ryan…its glass and frame broken.

“What else is there besides what we can see?” Tom pressed, pulling her attention from the ruined photograph. “Look around.”

Reluctantly — afraid of what she might find at every step — Teri moved through the rest of the upstairs rooms: Ryan’s room, the study, the bathrooms.

Nothing else seemed amiss.

She came back into her room and stood looking down into her jewelry box.

“It seems like they just wanted jewelry or money,” she finally said. “But it was just junk jewelry. Costume stuff.” Unbidden, her lips twisted into a rueful smile. “And I sure don’t have enough money to keep cash hidden in my lingerie drawer.”

“You should still try to give the police a list of everything that’s gone,” Tom said, his voice tinged with indignation. “It doesn’t matter how much any of it was worth — it was yours!”

Teri chuckled bitterly. “Look at this,” she said, pointing. “They took the turquoise necklace — which was nothing but ground turquoise in resin, but left the earrings. And they’re at least real! It doesn’t make sense.”

“Probably junkies,” Tom said. “All they’d do is grab whatever looked like it might be easy to sell.”

Teri sank down on the bed and put her head in her hands. “First, Ryan is mad at me, and now this.” She sighed, then felt the bed depress as Tom sat next to her.

“Not the best of evenings,” he agreed.

Nodding tiredly, she laid her head on his shoulder, and he put a comforting arm around her. “Why me?” she asked hollowly. “What could they have been looking for?”

“Cash. And all they need to see is an empty house — doesn’t matter which one. It could have been anyone. It’s not personal. I’m just glad you weren’t home alone when it happened.”

Teri looked up at him, emotions swirling so fast she couldn’t put words to them.

Tom hugged her close. “You won’t ever need to be home alone again. Not if I’m here.”

A sob rose up to choke Teri. “Ryan—” was all she could manage to say.

“Ryan’s not here, honey. You need someone to be here with you. To protect you.” He kissed her temple. “And I need you.”

Teri took a ragged breath.

“Shh,” he soothed her. “Everything’s going to be all right.”

With all her heart, Teri wished she could believe him.