colored Caren’s eyes. “You sure?”
Lilly nodded. “I am. Come down anytime and see the garden. You can even come to the garden and help pull the carrots or harvest the tomatoes yourself. I know my daughter loves to come to the garden and harvest vegetables. It’s work, but it’s fun and you’ll enjoy it.”
The twins glanced at each other. “Okay,” they said in unison.
Lilly smiled at Jon. From his expression, she could tell that he wasn’t satisfied with her answer to what they were talking about. She didn’t want him to know they’d been talking about his wife and daughters.
Jon studied each girl. Caren calmly ate her pizza, the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile. Connie giggled as she ate.
“It’s a girl thing,” Lilly whispered. “You don’t want to know what we were talking about.”
Jon cocked his head.
“The pizza’s good. Try some,” Lilly said.
After a few moments, Jon shrugged and started eating pizza.
As the evening progressed, the twins retreated to the restaurant’s video game arcade. They pulled Jon from one machine to the next. He was happy to help bowl on a screen or drive a digital car.
“Mom, Mom, c’mon,” Caren called.
Marta joined her daughters.
Dave studied Lilly, who was still sitting at the table. “I’m sure the girls asked you a million questions about your personal life. I hope the girls haven’t offended you.”
She shrugged. “They’re just curious.”
“Speaking of girls, your daughter wasn’t with you at your house, was she?”
“No, I let her stay with my cousin after what happened at Pete’s place.”
He nodded and looked at his partner.
“I didn’t ask Jon to bring me here tonight,” she added, trying to reassure Dave.
His gaze returned to her. Sighing, he glanced down at the table. “I believe you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. He loves the girls, but—”
She nodded her head.
“They told you about his family, huh?”
“Caren wanted to make sure I wouldn’t hurt her uncle Jon. They love him and are very protective.”
The love Dave had for his daughters shone in his eyes. “My little warriors.” He shook his head. “Jon’s been through a lot. I didn’t think he’d make it. God reached down and sent a little angel, Caren, to get him to church. She might be a missionary when she grows up.”
“What are you doing?” Marta asked, sitting next to her husband.
“Finding out what caring children I have.”
Jon parked his car in front of Lilly’s house. He turned off the engine and got out.
“You don’t have to walk me to the door,” Lilly said, climbing out of the front seat.
“I do, and I’d like to make sure that everything inside is okay.”
She nodded and he thought he saw relief in her eyes. Unlocking the front door, they walked inside. He checked all the windows and the sliding glass door in her bedroom.
“You probably should also get window locks. They are very simple to install and will prevent anyone from opening a window,” he said as they entered the living room. “They rest in the track, then the window can only be opened up to the lock. If someone wants in, they can’t force the window up and the only alternative is to break the glass. Most thieves won’t do that. They need secrecy and breaking glass won’t provide that.”
“I’ll buy those tomorrow.”
He looked around her house one last time. “After thinking about it, has anything else occurred to you as to why someone would break into your place and your ex-husband’s place?”
“No. This was my parents’ place. When Dad and Mom moved to Florida, they let me buy it from them. I work for San Mateo Street Community Church. I’ve been there for almost eight years. There is nothing here in this house that someone would want. My TVs are almost ten years old and my daughter doesn’t have any computer games.”
He nodded. “Call me if you can think of anything.”
As he drove home, he realized that going to the twins’ birthday party had been an enjoyable experience. He wondered what had been different this time.
Jon walked into the squad room. “What do you have?” he asked Dave, who sat behind his desk.
“Well, I’ve run a credit check on our victim. He didn’t spend wildly. He paid his bills and drove a five-year-old pickup. He got paid well for driving the armored car.” Looking up, Dave added, “I think I might be in the wrong business. I know Marta would like a little more take-home pay in my envelope.”
Jon ignored his partner’s comment. Dave wouldn’t trade being a cop for three times the pay. “Did Peter Burkstrom have any saving accounts that we know of?” Jon asked.
“Nothing at any bank here in Albuquerque.”
“It’s time that we started interviewing his old bosses and his last colleagues.”
“Let’s go,” Dave replied.
Their first stop was Sunbelt Securities. Dave’s team and their armored car were on their route. Jon and Dave were told to come back around four in the afternoon.
“They seemed mighty unfriendly,” Dave grumbled as he climbed into the passenger seat of the patrol car.
“I noticed that, too. Be interesting to see if Peter’s colleagues are warned about the pending interview with us.” Jon pulled out into traffic. “Let’s make a little trip to our victim’s apartment. Maybe someone saw something. Or knows something.”
As they drove to the apartment complex on the west side of the city, they passed by San Mateo Street Community Church. The garden took up an entire side of the church and wrapped around the back of the main structure.
Dave nodded toward the garden. “The girls want to see this garden. They talked about it all the way home after the party.”
Jon threw him a startled look. “Really? You’re telling me that Miss Caren, who can’t stand any dirt on her person, who doesn’t want to play outside because she might get dirty, wants to garden?”
“That’s what I’m saying.
