Page 37 of Sam's Salvation

Audra surveyed the entryway, then cautiously stepped inside. “Who?”

“Dean. He’s the licensed private investigator of our group. He took learning the P.I. skills to heart.” He followed her in and shut the door.

“Sounds like—Oh, boy.”

Sam cursed as he came up behind her where she’d stopped and caught a glimpse of the living room. Someone had been here.

Stuffing littered the floor, and the ripped cushions were off the couch. Drawers were pulled out of the entertainment center and the television lay on the floor, the back torn off.

“Watch yourself.” Sam grazed a hand over her shoulder as they waded deeper into the mess.

Audra nodded and picked her way over the carnage to the kitchen. In here, the damage was even worse. Every cabinet door hung open. Cans and open boxes covered the counters and the floor, some of them spilling their contents and leaving a fine powder coating the surface. The refrigerator and freezer doors were also open. She could hear the appliance humming as it worked fruitlessly to keep the items inside cold.

A knock on the back door drew their attention. She glanced up to see Dean’s face in the window.

Sam was closer and opened it. “Someone beat us here.”

Dean and Max stepped in, and Max let out a low whistle. “Damn.”

“What are the chances we find anything now?” Dean asked.

“We still need to look.” Audra walked around them and headed for the hallway. “I’m going to see if I can find his office.”

Two doors down, she found what she was looking for. Grimacing, she stepped inside. This room was even worse than the kitchen. Theo had two monitors and both were lying smashed on the floor. Like the TV, their backs were ripped off. The computer case had been pried open. Wires hung from the bent metal. Audra peered closer and realized whoever had done this had taken the hard drive.

Walking around the desk, she noted the open drawers and the papers strewn over the carpet, interspersed with pens and paperclips. To her left, a filing cabinet had met a similar fate to the computer. Someone had taken a crowbar to the drawers, forcing the locks open. Manila file folders stuck out at odd angles. Some of them still contained papers.

Curious what the intruders could have left behind, Audra walked over. She pulled some nitrile gloves from her pocket and slipped them on, then leafed through the documents. It was the lease for the house and some utility bills.

After checking the other drawers, she dropped to her knees with a wince as the movement pulled at her hip, then started leafing through the papers on the floor. These, too, were just bills.

She brushed aside a water bill, then paused as she read the header. It was a bank statement. Picking up the page, she scanned it. It was a recent one. Several large deposits over the last month had inflated his balance to almost half a million dollars.

“Oh, Theo. What did you do?”

Audra set the statement on the desk and leafed through the rest of the papers. She found several more and gathered them up before going in search of Sam and his friends.

“Hey.”

Sam glanced up from where he sat in the master bedroom closet, going through pockets. “Find something?”

“Yes.” She waved the statements. “Theo received some large deposits over the last couple of months.”

“How large?”

“Almost half a million dollars. I didn’t do the exact math, but it’s a lot.”

A frown creased his forehead, and he got up, holding out a hand. She passed him the statements.

“Yeah, that’s a lot,” he said, leafing through the documents.

“Did you find anything?” she asked.

“No. I have a few more pairs of pants to check, then I think I’m done in here.” He handed her back the statements.

“What else still needs checked?”

“I’m not sure. We split up. Dean took the spare bedroom. Max stayed in the living room. Outside? But I don’t want you going out there alone.”