by K M Gaffney
“These things happen sometimes,” she told him, trying to think positively while battling an internal uneasy feeling.
She slid her house key into the deadbolt, disengaged it, and entered her home. Once inside, she immediately noticed the wedding portrait hanging in the foyer was slightly askew and the powder room door, which was always kept closed, was now ajar.
Shuddering, Olivia murmured, “The boy’s wild imaginations must be contagious.”
With hopes of subduing her anxiety, she habitually hurried into the kitchen to check the answering machine for messages. But as she strode by the kitchen island all hopes of her own wild imagination having shifted into overdrive, were dashed by a glint of light reflecting off the granite surface. Instinctively, she sucked in air before spinning around to ensure that her eyes were not playing tricks on her.
Unfortunately, they weren’t.
The missing spare key was now laying dead center, in the middle of the kitchen island. Eyes wide with shock, she swallowed hard against the bitter bile threatening to rise up in her throat.
Unnerved, she whispered, “Someone’s been in my house.”
Officer Ron Barton received the call from Olivia Jones and within minutes, was sliding behind the wheel of his police cruiser. Gavin, having seen his friend’s hasty departure, strode over to Ron’s driver side window and rapped his knuckles against the glass.
“You leaving on a call?” he asked as Ron put down his window. “Yeah!” Ron cocked his thumb toward the precinct. “Just got a call from Olivia Jones, she claims someone broke into her house.”
“No kidding?” Already rounding the rear of the cruiser, Gavin threw open the passenger door and climbed in.
“Guess your coming with me then?” Ron asked dryly, shifting the car into reverse. “She’s probably just spooked living out in those woods by herself with all those kids.”
“I don’t know,” Gavin replied, remembering the stubborn lift of her chin. “I don’t think Olivia Jones is the type of woman who scares easily.”
She had tried soothing her nerves with a glass of white wine as she cleaned up dinner. It didn’t help. She’d also felt compelled to travel throughout the entire first floor of the house, glancing out the windows, not even sure what she was searching for. And as the sun went down, Olivia kept checking and double checking the locks on the doors and windows.
So when the doorbell finally rang, it startled her and she gasped aloud.
Tommy called out from the family room, “Mom, you ok?”
“Oh yes! Boys, keep on watching your movie. I’ve been expecting company,” she replied, being sure to sound cheerful. Then she kicked back the remaining wine in her glass before heading for the door.
Olivia swung open the front door, not realizing how relieved she was to see Officer Ron Barton’s familiar face; she proceeded to lean forward and embrace him.
“Oh Ron, I’m so glad to see you,” she breathed out.
Uncomfortable with her physical greeting, he hesitated before placing his arms around her and then cast a quick, speculative glance at his partner crossing the threshold. Olivia followed Ron’s gaze, noticed Officer Rafferty and promptly stiffened in response.
Abruptly pulling away from Ron, she glared up into Gavin’s face.
“Officer Barton can investigate my breaking and entering without your presence, Officer Rafferty,” she hissed.
“Well, Officer Barton, I guess that means no welcoming hug for me,” Gavin sarcastically drawled, enunciating each word. Then he arched an eyebrow at Ron. “Do you want me to wait for you in the car?”
Briefly wondering why Olivia would respond to his partner so vehemently, Ron stated,
“Officer Rafferty and I will be investigating, together. Now let’s hear it, Olivia. What happened?”
Resigning herself to the fact that Officer Rafferty was here to stay, she turned to face both men.
“I prefer to talk in here, away from the kids,” she said, leading them into the kitchen. “I don’t want to scare them.”
Olivia began by explaining how the boys were locked out this afternoon because the spare key was mysteriously missing. Disgruntled by the officers’ subtle exchange of doubtful eye contact, she stressed the fact that she’d checked on the key before leaving for work this morning. She deliberately hammered home the fact that she’d tested the front door before she’d left and it had been securely locked. Then she described finding her home with subtle changes and the shock of finding the missing key brazenly placed in the middle of her kitchen island.
Both men listened, in silence, without interruption.
Before she’d even finished, Officer Barton had already drawn his conclusion. He’d decided she must be one really stressed out woman. She’s probably run ragged and stretched thin by the demands of single parenthood, all the time. She probably misplaces things very easily, especially with all these kids running around.
However, as Officer Rafferty listened to her recant the entire experience and glanced around the room, he instantly surmised that Olivia Jones was an organized woman. And he figured, if she truly believes someone entered her home then that must be the case.
Unfortunately, Ron spoke first.
He chose to use a childhood endearment, hoping to soften the blow.
“Listen Livvie, you’re a single mom with four active boys, either you or one of them, probably just moved the key.”
Clenching her fists, Olivia angrily narrowed her eyes and fired back at him.
“Don’t tell me to listen, Ron! Or shall I call you Officer Barton?” She paused briefly and closed her eyes, trying to gain control of her temper. Then she drew in a deep breath and lowered her voice so as not to distract her sons. “Look, it’s obvious to me that you’re already through investigating my claim that someone was in my home. Believe me, I know when my house as been violated. And I definitely know when I’m the last person to leave my home, exactly where a key has been left!”
“Livvie…,” barely passed Ron’s lips before her thinly controlled temper began to erupt. Olivia reared back fully prepared to unleash it on him when she heard her own name, spoken fiercely.
She whirled around, leveling her eyes on the man she hadn’t even wanted in her home to begin with. “Officer Rafferty, please do enlighten me with your conclusions about my suspicions.”
Although his tone was softer when he spoke, he did so with complete authority, looking over Olivia’s head at Ron Barton and then back at her. “I believe you. I honestly do. I believe someone’s been in your house.”
Then he addressed his partner. “Barton, why don’t you take a look around the premises? I want to speak with Olivia, alone.”
Officer Barton nodded, and then stalked outside to begin a search of the perimeter of the property.
Silently, Olivia studied Gavin’s face and then, after much deliberation, finally decided she at least owed it to him to be congenial. “Do you want a cup of coffee?”
“Sure,” he replied, having sensed her reservations.
He took his turn at remaining silent while he watched her move around the kitchen, preparing to brew the coffee. Then, he asked her, “You didn’t say anything to your boys yet, not even to warn them?”
She glanced up at him before filling the water reservoir. “I decided I should talk to the police first,” she said, flipping on the automatic coffee maker.
She’d told herself she wasn’t going to ask, but sheer curiosity forced her to do so anyway. “Why did you believe me when Ron, a childhood friend, didn’t?”
Gavin’s blue eyes captured hers as he spoke casually. “Well, I quickly surveyed how orderly your house is and I realized you’re not the type of woman to readily misplace things. I also don’t like to jump to conclusions.”
His voice dropped lower, followed by his gaze as he indulged himself in a lengthy perusal of her mouth.
“I don’t think you spook easily, Olivia,” he said, his voice rougher.
A fluttery respo
nse within her stomach caught her off guard, prompting a sudden desperate need to keep busy. Not wanting him to recognize her response to him, she initiated a search for coffee cups stored within the kitchen cabinet behind her.
I need to stop reacting to him like this.
But when she turned around to face him again, she found his striking blue eyes watching her with a fierce intensity. Heat evident in his hard gaze.
Casually swinging his flashlight as he strolled back toward the kitchen, Officer Barton paused at the doorway. His interest piqued as he evaluated the expression on his partner’s face.
Well, well, what do we have here? Ron wondered to himself as he reentered the kitchen. He kept his voice subdued as he glanced toward the family room.
“There’s no sign of forced entry or vandalism. But Liv, I did find a set of large footprints with deep treads, looks like boots, out in the woods behind your house. They seem to trail off deeper into the forest.” Ron shrugged casually. “They didn’t look fresh though.”
Olivia paled slightly. “Thank you for following up on this for me. Nothing seems to be missing. I just thought I should probably report this incident.”
Gavin, having been closely watching her, noted how her face had registered a look of alarm, and wondered what she wasn’t telling them.
He pinned her with a stare. “Anything else you’d like to share with us, Olivia?”
She made an honest attempt to reply casually as she reached for the coffee pot, “No, nothing at all.”
“We’re going to have to take a rain check on the coffee, Liv,” Ron said apologetically as he checked the screen on his cell phone.
He was anxious to leave, already looking forward to brow beating his friend about Olivia Jones.
“We gotta get back to the station, Gav.”
“Oh certainly, I’ll see you out.”
She turned in time to see Michael galloping into the kitchen.
“Hey Mom, can we have more popcorn?” he asked, studying their company with a curious tilt of his head. “What’s with the cops?”
He didn’t wait for his mother to answer.
After noticing Gavin, he grinned with recognition. “Hey you were the ref at our last basketball game!”
Gavin smiled and introduced himself, gripping Michael’s hand within his own with a firm handshake. “You’re right. You’re on Bob Rathton’s team. You played a good game last Saturday.”
Michael beamed from the praise.
“Thanks! I’ll see you at the next game, Officer Rafferty,” he said before running off to await his popcorn.
Olivia glanced up at Gavin and, for the first time since he’d strode through her front door, she felt herself soften toward him just a little bit. Then she led the two men toward the front door and stepped back, waiting for Ron to pass through. Once he did, she angled her face and offered Gavin a genuine smile.
His first thought was, damn she’s pretty. He acted on his second thought. Leaning over, he firmly placed his hand upon her arm and lowered his head, dropping his voice so only she could hear him.
His face was so close she was forced to stare up into his icy blue eyes. “You’re a terrible liar, Olivia.”
For a split second, what he’d said did not even register. Once it did, she tensed up and glared at him, hissing furiously, “What are you insinuating, Officer Rafferty?”
“Don’t get all fired up again,” he murmured. “I know you weren’t completely forthright tonight. Barton mentioning those footprints bothered you. I can guarantee you that I’ll be returning at a later time, without Officer Barton, to find out what you’re omitting.”
He released her arm and grinned.
“Good evening, Olivia Jones. I’ll see you soon.”
As he descended the front steps, his grin widened even more as the front door slammed so hard he could feel the steps reverberate underneath him. Then he strode out to the police cruiser and climbed in beside his visibly amused partner.
“So, that’s why you pulled up the Jones report the other night,” Barton smirked as he gnawed on a coffee stirrer. “Spill it, Gav.”
Olivia stood in the kitchen, surveying the damage created by the boys popping their own popcorn, and then bent over to pick up the scattered pieces which trailed into the family room. Disgusted, she admonished herself. I can’t believe that I actually started to like him for a minute. As she gathered up the plastic cellophane wrappers someone left on the counter, she vowed she’d never drop her defenses with Gavin Rafferty again.
Feeling exhausted, she wandered into the family room and cuddled up with her sons to finish watching their movie with them.
He was highly pissed off and chased his foul mood with a double shot of whiskey. Tom Jones’s house had been a dead end. But he knew, without a shred of doubt, that Tom had kept copies of all their client’s insurance policies.
“Where the hell are they?” he growled and poured himself another shot of whiskey. Then, before his cell phone even indicated an incoming call, he lifted it and sneered.
“Prompt as always.”
After kicking back his shot glass and welcoming the familiar burn, he slammed it down with a heavy thud against the surface of the hotel night stand.
“I didn’t locate the policies yet,” he stated. “So I figured that I'm going to have to talk to the wife.”
The way he pronounced the word, talk, insinuated it held an entirely different meaning than its true definition.
“Don’t worry. I’ll locate them and destroy them before Tom Jones manages to incriminate us from the grave,” he angrily promised before abruptly terminating the call. His final shot of whiskey prompted a sardonic smile; he anticipated his meeting with the attractive Mrs. Jones.
Olivia lay wide awake, listening to the wind as it whipped through the trees and violently slammed against the side of the house. Unable to sleep, she slipped out of bed and padded soundlessly down the hall. Careful to not awaken her sons, she quietly opened Tommy’s bedroom door wider and peeked in on him. He was haphazardly sprawled across his bed, sleeping on his stomach. Following the urge to mother him, she smoothed back his hair to kiss his forehead and noted that the twin size mattress he was lying on was starting to look rather small for her almost twelve year old son.
She snuck into Michael’s room next. He was flat on his back with his head under the covers, grinding his teeth in his sleep. Pulling back his quilt, she placed her lips on his hair and inhaled deeply. With a smile she realized Michael was just as high strung as Tom had once been, manifesting his stress nocturnally. Then she readjusted his covers and went to check on the twins. After successfully tiptoeing through the minefield of toys on James and Luke’s bedroom floor, she kissed each of their cheeks and snugly tucked their blankets in around them.
Then she stopped by her own bedroom to collect her pillow and alarm clock before proceeding down the stairs. Not wanting to feel trapped in her second floor bedroom, Olivia decided she’d sleep on the living room couch for the next few nights.
Chapter Four
Humming happily while she strolled through the supermarket, Maddy wished she could be a fly on the wall as she wondered how Olivia would respond after listening to the voicemail she’d just left. Having decided that Thad Wolfe, the long term sub, would be a much better choice to re-enter the world of dating with, as opposed to Jeff Masters, she’d taken the liberty of setting the plan in motion. Although she did feel a small amount of guilt about manipulating her own sister, she shrugged, figuring Olivia would get over it.
“It’s for her own good,” Maddy muttered aloud.
She truly couldn’t comprehend her sister’s way of thinking. Maddy was the type of woman who thoroughly enjoyed men. Never wanting to be tied down to just one man, she believed it was her sisterly duty to help Olivia through this dry spell.
I guess I’ll just never understand her, she decided as she rushed into the express lane, fully aware that the basket hanging heavily on her arm held more than the t
en allotted items.
“Excuse me,” an unfamiliar male stated from behind her.
Maddy slowly turned around to face the owner of the voice, completely prepared to dazzle him with her most jaw dropping smile.
“You‘re Olivia Jones’s sister, right?”
She had to tilt her head back in order to completely view the handsome masculine face, recognizing him she offered him a flirtatious smile.
“Yes, I’m Maddy Spangler,” she purred. Demurely dropping her voice, she glanced up at him through veiled lashes. “How are you, Gavin Rafferty?”
“I’m fine. Actually, I was just wondering how Olivia faired after last night?”
As he’d spoken, he peered into her basket and noted she had about twenty items shoved in there.
“This is the express lane,” he grumbled before Maddy had the chance to answer him.
“Oh Gavin, you’re so observant.” Maddy smiled widely, placing a hand on his arm. “Did you see my sister last night?” She pretended to pout. “Is she withholding steamy information from me?”
“Oh your sister’s withholding something,” he muttered, moving his arm out of her reach. Then he narrowed his eyes. “She didn’t tell you about someone just walking right into her house yesterday, while she was at work?”
That’s incredible, he thought irritably, Olivia Jones doesn’t even open up with her own sister.
“What are you talking about?” Maddy demanded.
Her delicate brows furrowed with consternation as she altogether dropped her flirtatious demeanor. Now her sole purpose was no longer attracting his attention, but completely focused on getting answers.
Gavin curiously watched her transformation, noting she was definitely peeved.
“Sorry, I just assumed she would’ve called you after Barton and I left,” Gavin replied. “Everyone’s okay, nothing was missing, but whoever it was, walked right in by swiping the house key off the front porch.”
