Letters From Al by Pieper, Kathleen (ebook audio reader TXT) 📕

up stairs and let us out!" Maddy yelled. He nodded and they waited patiently, the sounds of something heavy scraped against the door and then it opened.

"Hi, you guys. What are you doing locked in the attic?" Tommy stood grinning at them.

"Tommy, you're a lifesaver." Alec rushed past him, patting his arm.

"I am? Cool." Tommy's grin grew. Maddy agreed and ushered him down behind Alec. A heavy chair was beside the door, it had been propped under the door knob locking them in. This was no accident.

"How'd you get the chair under the doorknob and still be inside, Maddy?" Tommy asked innocently. Suddenly another thought hit her. What if Tommy had come over earlier and confronted the strange man? The thought of anyone hurting him sickened her.

"Oh, it was kind of a game, Tommy. Someone tricked us, is all. But it wasn't very nice. Just forget it and get started on the lawn, okay? You know where the mower is?"

"Yeah, I used the same one for Miss Madeline." The sounds of the mower buzzing softly in the distance could be heard a few minutes later.

"Maddy, check and see if anything else is missing besides the briefcase." Alec said in a professional tone.

After checking to make sure no one else was in the house, he picked up the phone and called his office. Maddy was still frightened at the brazenness of the burglar.

"He went through things, I can see that. But I don't think he took anything else. Oh, my goodness." Maddy looked in her bedroom. The dresser drawers hung with clothes draped over them, her suitcases were thrown about the room with linings ripped out. The dressing table drawers lay on the bed upside down, books, papers and even the mattress had been pulled off. Aghast, Maddy looked around, stepping gingerly around the shambles in shock.

The little red costume jewelry box was empty and open and she bent to pick it up.

"Don't touch anything." Alec barked and her hand stopped in mid-air. "I called the office. They'll be right over. Maybe we'll get lucky and there will be some fingerprints." She nodded and stepped back, rubbing her arms. Suddenly she felt very cold.

"I don't think anything else is missing, but I'm not sure. I found my purse, cash and credit cards are gone. I don't know, Alec, there could be more missing."

"Well, he definitely was looking for something in particular. But I don't think he found it. I think he tried to make it look like he was after the money." Alec gave her a reassuring look, cradling the phone on his shoulder.

The rest of the afternoon, the officers spent going through her home, filing reports and forms, talking with both of them. Tommy enjoyed all the excitement and Aunt Polly came running over with a towel wrapped around her freshly washed head to see what was wrong. Even the weather grew unfriendly, thick and muggy, clouds boiled up over the horizon as a storm brewed.

"I've got to go to the office for a little while." Alec tapped his notebook on his hand and looked soberly at her. "I sure wish I knew what they wanted. Those missing stock certificates are the best bet. Nobody could have known about the diary and letters, but who could have known about them?"

"I don’t know. But, it's pretty brazen. It's like they waited for us to go up to the attic, snuck up and barricaded the door. That was awful risky, and in broad daylight too. Don't make sense." Alec wasn't convinced. "Are you going to be all right? You look a little pale." His strong fingers massaged her neck and shoulder lightly.

"I'm okay. Just a little spooked. When can I get in my bedroom and disinfect after that creep touched everything."

"Soon as they all clear out. I know I sound like a broken record but I sure hate leaving you alone. Would you want to come to the office with me?"

"Thanks but, I'm not running." Maddy said firmly.

"I forgot. You're Miss Independence." He said drily.

"I'll be here, Alec." Tommy spoke up, his innocent face intent. "Nobody will bother Maddy when I'm here."

Maddy put an arm around Tommy's shoulder and squeezed it. "Hey, don't worry. I'll lock up after you leave."

"Okay, but I'll have a patrol car drive by later. If anything happens, call me. Maybe you should think about staying somewhere else tonight. Seriously, this is not just a prank. I've got a spare room."

"I'll just bet you do. But no, nobody's going run me out of my home now that I've finally got one. I told you that. But thanks for the offer."

He sighed and shrugged but he wasn't convinced.

Alec left with an uneasiness he couldn't describe. Right now, Maddy seemed very vulnerable. He'd been in law enforcement for a while and enjoyed the lack of serious crime in the small town he'd grown up in. He'd been involved in some dangerous situations before, but nothing that racked up the doubt and fears he was beginning to have with this. Coupled with Maddy being so independent it worried him even more.

He'd gone on with his life after his divorce with the attitude that he'd never get involved again. That all went out the window when Maddy came back to town. He'd thought of her often over the years, she'd been his girl since the first time they'd met in junior high. When she left he was crushed, but life went on. Only weeks before she blew back into Nielsen, he stood with a beer in one hand and Bubba at his side and vowed he would never get tangled up seriously with any woman again. Well, so much for that.

There was an aura around the independent, strong-willed little redhead that captivated him, as if he'd just been waiting for her to return. Maddy was right to proceed slowly, but the ease with which he felt drawn to her blocked out his caution. She was back and everything felt right. At night