figure you left it a mess. And I know Lawton was a stickler for neatness. Someone was looking for something in the filing cabinet. It’s pried open. Funny, because I’m not seeing anything but feed bills and farm equipment receipts.”
“That’s really all that we kept in here.”
“Anything in the house that someone would want?”
“I guess there could still be paperwork or research in Lawton’s office. He took most of his work to Austin but sometimes he worked at home,” Jake responded. He tried to remember anything Lawton had said or even hinted at. Had they had prowlers before? It wasn’t unheard-of these days.
The country used to be safe. They hadn’t locked their doors for more years than he could remember. Yeah, life had changed. People didn’t mind stealing from neighbors. Worse than that, now they even stole from the church if they got a chance.
What had happened to respect? Leaning against the door frame, he shook his head at the turn of his thoughts. “I’ll take a look around, and see if I can find anything that might have been interesting to a burglar.”
“Could be it isn’t a burglar, Jake.” The deputy closed the filing cabinet drawer and walked out of the office. “Could be they’re searching for something and it isn’t a random break-in. Lawton developed some pretty serious financial software. Could he have left something around here that he was working on? Something new?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Jake agreed, trying hard not to think about how this put the twins, and Breezy, in danger. If someone was searching for Lawton’s latest project, what would they do to get their hands on it?
“I’ll make sure we send a patrol by here a couple of times a day, and you all keep the alarm system activated.” The deputy gave Breezy a look this time. “And keep the doors locked.”
Jake walked Aaron out. They discussed the odds of it being someone they knew. They talked about the weather and Christmas. As they talked, Breezy walked out of the barn, closing the door behind her. She told Jake she’d meet him at the house.
She was still wearing his jacket. He watched her walk down the driveway, his dog next to her. He knew her scent would linger on his jacket. Every time he pulled it on, he’d smell that light spring fragrance.
Jake had been around awhile. He knew temptation when he saw it, when it walked away with his dog and his coat. And maybe took a little of his common sense with it.
It had been years since he’d met temptation head-on like this, but he still recognized it for what it was. And he still knew where that road led. He knew he wasn’t going there.
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