“Oh, hi, ladies.” He comes over and kisses me. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine. What are you doing home so early?”
“Work was slow, so I thought I’d come home and check on my favorite patient. You been staying off screens? Walking a little?”
“I’ll get out of your hair.” Kenya heads toward the door but pauses at my chair. “I’ll reach out to that woman. Don’t give it another thought, Caren. I’m serious. Promise?”
“I promise.”
After Kenya is gone, Miguel asks, “What was that all about?”
I recount the whole story to Miguel, including why I was worried.
“Don’t jump to conclusions. It might not even be the same bracelet.”
“Oh, it’s the same. See for yourself. Jewelry is box number seventeen.” I point to a stack of clear boxes in the corner. “Look there.”
“Now? Let me change out of these clothes.”
I sigh and locate box number seventeen. I place it on the dining table, unsnap the lid, and begin taking out the baggies inside. Each item is in its own bag, labeled with a brief description of the contents.
“I don’t see it,” I say.
“Can we do this later? I want to change.” He pulls his tie off with a grimace.
I begin my search again, frantically rifling through the bags. My stomach starts to churn. I know the bracelet is here. I catalogued it the other day, the morning of the Allards’ party. I start again, examining each bag and its contents carefully. I begin to check a third time, my chest tightening in panic. I don’t lose things. In eleven years of doing this yard sale, I have never lost anything. I look up at Miguel.
“What’s wrong?”
“The bracelet,” I whisper. “It’s gone.”
THIRTEEN
Finn pauses outside the Allards’ back door, a prickle of discomfort crawling up the back of his neck. Their pristine yard is strangely silent, with none of the chirping of birds or buzzing of bees that seem to fill his landlady’s garden. He punches in the code Jo gave him and lets himself in.
“Hello?” His voice is tentative. No answer. Not even a bark. Crossing the threshold feels like a small betrayal, even with Jo’s permission.Homes, Finn thinks,are like the soft bellies of animals—unguarded, defenseless.
His footsteps slap against the polished stone floor. “Muffinhead?” he calls, grabbing the leash from the hook.
“Give him a chance to warm up to you,” Jo had said. “He’s a little nervous, but there’s nothing some string cheese and scratching his ears won’t fix.”
The door shuts behind him with a soft thud, and just like that, the house swallows him whole.
Under the cloying scent of fake vanilla, Finn catches the sharp bite of cleaner. He runs a finger along the marble countertop.Spotless. No dust. No clutter. The house is immaculate, with not one errant receipt or overdue library book lying around.
Besides the immense photo of the Allards on the beach, there is no sign of actual life.
“Muffinhead?” he calls again, louder this time. “It’s just me. C’mon out.”
He steps through the large formal dining room and into the two-story foyer. It’s hard not to be impressed. Light streams through the tall windows that flank the front door, glinting off the pale blue silk wallpaper. The Allards have real money. More than the average family in Eastbrook, whose homes often look perfect on the outside but, like his landlady’s, reveal chipping paint and scuffed floors inside. The Allards’ house boasts museum-level opulence.
The distinctive scratch of nails on the hardwood floor cuts through the silence. Finn stiffens as the goldendoodle pads into view at the top of the stairs, tail wagging cautiously.
“Hey, buddy,” Finn murmurs, kneeling to coax the dog down the stairs. Muffinhead limps slightly as he descends, favoring his front left paw.
“Poor guy.” Finn clips on the leash and rubs the dog’s fluffy head. This part is real. He loves dogs. He can thank his mom for that, for a childhood spent with the broken and discarded.
She was a sucker for a dog with a sob story—blind in one eye, three-legged, suffering from heartworm—no case was too difficult for her. She had a real savior complex, and Finn was grateful she had poured that energy into dogs and not trying to fix broken men once his dad died and she was alone.