“I have one inside.”
Rossi went in first, then stood back to let them enter.
“Oh, God,” she said.
The place was destroyed. Furniture was overturned, books and pictures in frames were all over the floor. This was done by someone in a rage. He must have thought she’d be here and was furious when she wasn’t. He’d come here last night intending to…do what? Take her away? Do something to her in her own house? And what about Livie? Was he going to take her, too?
“He was gone when patrol got here?” he asked.
Rossi nodded. “There wasn’t anyone in the house.”
“And you said it took seven minutes for them to arrive?”
“Yes.”
The man had been busy in that seven minutes. “Is it a silent alarm?”
Kendall shook her head. “No. It’s loud. If it ever went off, especially if I was asleep, I wanted to know.”
“So, he stayed and did all this even with it blaring.” Ballsy. He glanced at Rossi. “He stayed until he saw patrol pull into the driveway, then he left the way he came. Did any of the neighbors see anyone suspicious? An unknown car parked where it shouldn’t be?”
“No. We canvassed the neighborhood. No one saw anything. We asked everyone we interviewed to check their Ring cameras, see if it caught a person running through their yard. So far, no one’s reported back that they have something for us.”
“That’s unfortunate.” He’d take a walk around her backyard before they left. He didn’t have to ask if she wanted to stay here tonight. There was no way she’d be able to sleep here. They’d have to find a nearby hotel.
Kendall let go of his hand and headed down the hallway. Already warned about what waited for her on her bed, he followed her. She stopped just inside her bedroom and stared at her bed. Standing behind her, he put his hands on her shoulders, and she leaned back against him.
“It looks obscene,” she whispered.
He agreed. It was something a lover would do, and from the right man, it would please a woman. But this… Her sheets and comforter were white, the red rose the only color on the bed. The bed wasn’t messed up, which was also disturbing as he couldn’t say that about the rest of the room. Drawers were pulled out, and her clothes, including her underwear, were all over the floor.
She turned and walked out of the room. He met Rossi’s eyes, and the anger in them matched what he knew was in his. The man who’d done this was a sick bastard, and they needed to find him fast.
Her next stop was Livie’s room, and strangely, not a thing was out of place that he could see. Had the police arrived before he could get to this room, or had he not felt the need to destroy Livie’s room?
“I can’t stay here,” she said, her voice trembling.
“No, you can’t. We’ll check into a hotel. Do you need anything before we go?”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to touch anything he has.”
“Okay.”
“My studio.” She went to a closed door and opened it.
He peeked in. It was a guest room, also undisturbed. She crossed the room and opened another door. He looked inside. He hadn’t seen her studio when he’d been here, and he was impressed with what she’d done with a small closet. Soundproof foam covered the walls, and on a small desk was a computer, microphone and a few other pieces of equipment. He smiled at seeing the baby monitor.
“He didn’t mess with any of my equipment,” she said. “That’s one small favor.”
Probably because he ran out of time to find it. “Let’s get that spare key for Rossi and get out of here.”
“Gladly.”
Chapter 24
Kendall took the spare key from the hook in the pantry. As she was handing it to the detective, Cooper frowned.
“Let me see it,” he said. He studied one side, then the other. “Did you try to make a copy of this?”