3 The Chain of Lies by Debra Burroughs Read Free Book Online Page B

Valley, but this one didn’t look familiar to her. She looked past him and saw his cruiser parked in front of her house, then she looked for the familiar police badge on his uniform before agreeing.
    These days she was suspicious of just about everyone. She backed up, opening the door all the way for him and he stepped inside the entry.
    “What is this about?” Emily pulled her robe a little tighter around her chest.
    “We got a call a little while ago from one of your neighbors who said he saw a man peeking in your windows. We just wanted to make sure you knew about it and that you were okay. Are you all right?”
    “I’m fine. I was sleeping.” She wondered if the peeping Tom could have been the same person who’d been breaking in. “What neighbor called it in?”
    “The report said anonymous, but the dispatcher said it sounded like an elderly man.”
    “Mr. Cooke, next door.” She motioned toward his house with her thumb. “That was kind of him to look out for me.” She thought for a second about reporting the other break-ins, but then she would have to explain the entire story of Evan and his mysterious past. She decided she’d rather leave that investigation to the Feds. “Did the man see Mr. Cooke?”
    “I believe he did. The report said the man ran off when he saw he’d been spotted.”
    She wondered if Mr. Cooke would be in danger now. Emily decided to pay him a visit, see if he could describe the man.
    “I’ll go have a talk with Mr. Cooke. I appreciate you stopping by, Officer, but as you can see, I’m fine.”
    “You should make sure your doors and windows are locked when you go to bed, ma’am, just to be safe. You might also think about investing in an alarm system or at least a big dog.”
    “I appreciate your suggestions,” she said, opening the door for him to leave. “I’ll give them some thought.”
    As soon as the officer was gone, she went to her bedroom and threw on jeans and a red pullover sweater. She ran her hands through her hair and fingered it into place. After shoving her phone in her pocket, she stuck her gun in the back of her waistband and pulled her sweater down over it. She stepped into her flats and headed out the door to see her neighbor.
    Knocking briskly on the front door, Emily could hear Mr. Cooke’s German Shepherd bark ferociously in response. She listened to the elderly man holler at the dog to be quiet right before he opened the door.
    “Hello, Emily,” the short and stocky old man said with a grin. His eyes twinkled behind his glasses and the sunlight reflected off his shiny bald head. “Are you okay?”
    “Yes, I’m fine. The police stopped by my place and told me you’d reported a peeping Tom at my house.”
    “I never gave them my name. How’d they know it was me?”
    “They didn’t. I figured it out. Do you mind if we talk for a minute?”
    “Oh, sure, sure.” He shuffled a couple of steps back and opened the door wide. “Come on in.”
    The dog growled and Emily hesitated to go inside.
    “Rocky!” the man yelled.
    The dog quieted and Emily stepped in.
    “Here, let me move those newspapers. Have a seat.” He gestured toward the sofa and picked up the papers before he dropped down onto his leather recliner.
    “I appreciate your looking out for me, Mr. Cooke. Could you tell me what happened exactly?”
    “Well, I was coming back from taking Rocky here for a walk. I saw the man looking into a window on the side of your house and I hollered at him, ‘Hey, what are you doing there?’ The man took off, jumped in his car, and drove off.”
    “What kind of car was it?”
    “It was black. One of those foreign jobs.”
    “Could you describe him?”
    “Older white guy, or maybe Latino, full head of gray hair. Not as old as me, though.”
    “Is there any way he would know you lived next door?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I just want to make sure you’re safe, in case he’s the type to pay someone back for being a witness to him trying