was a little shorter than me, so six foot sounds about right,” Garret confirmed.
“Medium build,” Megan suggested.
“Did you see a vehicle?” Lieutenant Conrad asked Garret.
Garret shook his head. “I lost him while he was on foot. Those dark clothes were hard to see at night. I didn’t see a vehicle speeding away, but the town’s pretty busy. Lots of traffic out there.”
“Let me get this info out.” Lieutenant Conrad pulled out his phone and, stepping away, began to relay what they’d told him.
Megan glanced out the window, looking at the blur of flashing emergency lights and the busy street. “Do you think the break-in was related to the holiday weekend?” she ventured quietly. Although she didn’t really think so. Why would a random burglar be so intent on killing her?
Garret frowned. “Hard to say.”
“I do remember how our little town could get sort of wild during tourist season.” She knew she was just making idle chatter now, trying to wrap her head around all that had happened and feeling pretty lost.
Lieutenant Conrad finished his call and returned to them. “They’ll be watching for the perpetrator all over town,” he assured them. And then he asked a few more questions. They both answered them as best they could.
“And you feel certain he intended to kill you?”
She just nodded. “His knife was ready. Garret got here just in time.”
“Could you see if anything was stolen?” Lieutenant Conrad asked. “Anything missing?”
“I didn’t have a chance to look around, but it’s not like there’s much to steal in here,” she said. “Dad never kept much cash in the office. And that would be in Barb’s desk up in front. Besides, the guy didn’t seem interested in money.” She pointed to the other end of the building. “But it looks like he could’ve been in my dad’s office. The light’s on in there.”
“Did you look in there yet?”
“No, not yet.” Megan swallowed hard. That was why she’d come here tonight...to sit in Dad’s old leather chair, to breathe in the dusty, musty air, to feel his presence one more time. She bit her lip, determined not to cry again.
“How about we take a look around,” Lieutenant Conrad said as he led the way back there.
As they walked past the area where she’d been pinned on the floor, Megan felt a little weak-kneed and off balance. But Garret, seeming to sense this, put his hand on her back as if to steady her.
Lieutenant Conrad used his elbow to nudge the door open, warning them not to touch anything. But to Megan’s dismay, the office looked nothing like it should’ve looked. It was as if someone had turned it upside down. All the drawers in the desk and file cabinet were opened and dumped out. Even the pictures had been removed from the wall, many of them lying in broken shards on the floor. The place was a shambles.
Megan’s hand flew to her mouth. She was unable to speak or even think. Why would anyone do this? What could he have been looking for?
“What about your dad’s computer?” Lieutenant Conrad asked her.
“Computer?” She made a choked laugh. “Dad never used a computer. I thought everyone in Cape Perpetua knew that.”
“I know Rory hated electronics, but how did he run a newspaper without one?” Lieutenant Conrad carefully poked around beneath a pile of papers on the desk.
“Dad’s writers had computers. But he always insisted on hard copies. For everything—from obits to advertisements. He ran this paper the same way his dad and grandpa had.”
Garret nodded. “Yeah, I thought that was pretty cool.”
“I used to give him a bad time about wasting trees,” she said sadly. “And he would just remind me that they were a renewable resource.”
“What do you think the perpetrator was looking for?” Lieutenant Conrad asked her.
“I have no idea.” Megan slowly shook her head. She didn’t like to be such a weakling, but this whole thing was making her feel sick to her stomach. “I—I think I need some air,” she said quietly. “Please excuse me.”
She rushed out of the office, trying to compose herself. If losing Dad wasn’t hard enough, why did someone have to do this—to break in and make such a big mess? And to threaten her life? It all felt like such a cruel violation...nothing made sense.
“Are you okay?” Garret joined her out by the staff writers’ desks.
“Not really.” She scowled. “I’m scared and I’m angry...and I’m exhausted.” She sat down on one of the desks and folded her arms in front of her in exasperation. “I hardly slept after the call about Dad late last night. Then I went into work early this morning. Just to manage some things so I could get out of there. And then I drove nearly nine hours to get here.” She pursed her lips, willing herself not to cry again. “I—I just want to go home.”
“To your dad’s place?” he asked gently.
“Yeah.” She sniffed, desperately trying not to fall apart again.
“Do you think you’ll be safe out there?” Garret made a concerned frown. “I mean, considering what just happened here. Aren’t you worried?”
Lieutenant Conrad was coming out of the office with his cell phone in hand again. “I’ve got a couple more officers on their way,” he told them. “We’ll go over everything in here and then secure the place before we leave.” He peered at Megan. “Feel free to go. You look pretty worn out.”
“I’ll get you a key, Lieutenant Conrad,” she said. “Thanks.”
“You’re old enough to call me by my first name, Megan.” His smile looked sad.
“Okay. Thanks... Michael.”
She sighed as they walked to the front of the building, still trying to wrap her head around all that had happened, realizing once again how she might’ve been dead right now. They could’ve held a double funeral—her and Dad. An involuntary shiver ran down her spine as she picked up her purse from Barb’s desk. Then, remembering Michael would need to lock up, she opened the top drawer of Barb’s desk and, just like always, the spare key was in the far right-hand corner, right beneath the paper clips.
“Please keep me in the loop about this.” She removed one of her business cards from a side pocket of her purse, handing it over with the key. “This has my cell number on it.”
“Thanks.” Michael slipped them into his pocket. “I’ll be in touch.”
As they stood at the door, Megan noticed what appeared to be a recently installed security system panel. “This is new to me.” She pointed to the sleek stainless keypad.
“Was it activated when you arrived?” Michael asked her. “Did you have to put in a passcode?”
“No.
