Page 13 of Guarding Truth
A man stood in the doorframe, since the door hadn’t fully closed after the intruder had bolted. “My boss texted me about the break-in when he recognized the address as my building.” His neighbor strode in, weapon in hand, but no uniform. The man wore jeans and a Savannah Banana’s T-shirt. “I raced upstairs as soon as I heard about an intruder. Are you two okay?”
Caleb had only met Matt once, but gratitude at the man’s timely arrival plus the stress of the situation choked his words. “We’re fine. Just stunned.”
“The paramedics are on their way.” Matt surveyed the damage. “Are you able to talk and tell me what happened?”
Caleb stayed seated, making sure he wasn’t dizzy from the bump on his head. He cleared his throat, hoping his voice didn’t quaver. He needed to be strong for Ivy. “We had an intruder. Ivy screamed, and I walked into the living room to find a man rummaging through our belongings.”
Two paramedics rushed in single file, and they made a beeline for Caleb. His first reaction was to wave them off, but Ivy shook her head, preempting any chance of him not getting checked out. She knew him so well.
An officer peppered Ivy with questions and asked for a description of the intruder. “I don’t have an exact description because the man wore all black and a ski mask, but he was around five foot ten. I’d guess he weighed one seventy-five, because he was on the skinny side. He wore black Nike sneakers, probably a size ten if I had to estimate. White guy, based on the skin color that peeked through the edges of the mask. His eyes were blue, and I don’t think he was very old. Maybe not a teenager, so I’d guess he’s in his twenties. He moved pretty fast, so I don’t think he was much older than that. And he was married.”
The older officer taking her statement chuckled and sized Ivy up. The guy’s pasty skin with dark circles under his eyes conveyed the man’s bad luck of pulling numerous late-night shifts.
“Now, little girl, how do you know all this?” The officer’s Savannah drawl gave the question way more syllables than necessary.
Thislittle girlcould run circles around the guy when it came to recalling elements of a crime scene. Ivy stared at the man like the answer should be obvious. Her eidetic memory came in handy for police reports, and Caleb knew exactly how she’d figured the perpetrator was married.
“The bump on his gloved hand suggested the presence of a ring on his left hand.”
“Do you want a job, Ivy?” The officer shook his balding head. “Because we’ve never had that kind of description before. You’d make a fine officer.”
“No, thank you. I’m going to work for the FBI cybercrimes division.”
The man made a tsk-tsk sound. “Too bad. I’d hate to lose someone so talented to the Fibbies. I hope you reconsider someday.”
“Look, Uncle Caleb. My first job offer.” Ivy smiled, and it made Caleb’s adrenaline return to a normal level. He hated she’d had to go through the scare of a home invasion. His thoughts flickered back to his job. Did the break-in have anything to do with the hacker threat? The timing of the two events could be a coincidence, but Caleb’s gut told him otherwise.
Caleb pulled Matt to the side while Ivy chatted more about her FBI aspirations. “I need to let you know about threats we’ve received at work. From a hacker group called Rushmore.”
Matt inhaled sharply. “I’m familiar with their work in the area.”
“I’ll forward you the email they sent Blake, my partner, but I’m concerned this break-in is related.”
Matt nodded. “I’ll look into it. Is there anything else missing from your house? Did the thief take anything?”
Caleb looked around. “I didn’t see him take anything, but I counted the laptops and one is missing. He hit me with one, threw another, but there’s still one unaccounted for.”
Matt made a note with his phone. “I’ll add that to the official report. Just keep me in the loop if you hear from these hackers again.”
Matt left the apartment along with the other officer and paramedics. Caleb sat on the couch after securing the front door. He’d change the locks in the morning. Ivy snuggled close to him. The strawberry scent of her shampoo restored some semblance of the peace Caleb had lost with the home invasion.
He needed to keep Ivy safe—from robbers, hackers, or whatever terrors life threw her way.
“Uncle Caleb, I’m so glad you were in the Army and knew what to do when that man broke in.”
His heart wrenched. “I’ll always be there for you. Nothing’s going to happen to you on my watch.”
She looked up at him. “But who’s looking out for you?”
Caleb’s heart squeezed. This perpetrator had rocked her sense of security. “I’ll take extra precautions, but I don’t think that man will be back. I know how to defend myself.”
“But in the Army, you had a team of people that helped you.” She got up, moved to the bookcase, and picked up a picture of Caleb’s graduating basic training class. “You all worked together for protection. You shouldn’t be alone.”
“Oh, Ivy. I can’t guarantee safety, but I believe that God is ultimately in control, even when things don’t make sense. I’m choosing trust over fear.” He let the words settle in his soul, because his mind continued to sink its teeth into thewhat ifs,and he refused to waste brain space focusing on the worst-case scenarios.
She stared at the picture and then placed it back on the shelf. “Maybe we could play hooky tomorrow. Just spend the day together. I don’t think you should go to the office in the morning.”
Caleb looked at the pile of laptops. He still needed to check them for any security flaws. “I’ve got a lot of work to catch up on, and you’ve got to go to school. After today’s incident, you can’t play hooky. I can’t face Principal Rodgers twice in one week.”