Chapter 11 - SOMEONE ON THE PROPERTY
Leah met me at the estate driveway before I could get the twins out of their car seats.
"I saw the photograph," she said. "We've checked every camera. Nobody entered through the front gate."
"Then find the way they did."
We walked the perimeter while a second officer stayed with Mom and the children. A narrow footpath ran behind the greenhouse, where the old orchard met a municipal walking trail. One section of wire fencing had been clipped and carefully pushed back into place.
My stomach turned. Ryan had sent somebody close enough to watch my kids.
"Preserve the footage," I told Leah. "And contact the police. No confrontations."
A camera above the greenhouse caught a man in a dark jacket at 8:42 a.m. His face was concealed by a baseball cap. He carried a compact toolbox and left by the same cut fence.
Ryan had displayed the photograph at 9:17.
Detective Mills examined the images that afternoon. "A strong lead," she said. "Not an identification yet."
"He knew where my mother was sitting."
"That's why we're treating it seriously."
Mom refused to leave the sunroom. "I'm tired of living like someone else's fear belongs in my house," she said.
"You're allowed to be scared."
"I'm scared," she answered. "I'm just done obeying it."
That evening, June called with worse news. The county clerk had received a request to transfer Mom's cabin, supported by the disputed power of attorney. The recording had been flagged, but a closing had been scheduled with a private buyer for Friday.
May you like
"We can move to stop it," June said. "But we need your mother on record immediately."
Mom reached for her coat before I finished the call.
