Page 65 of Colton On Guard

“Did you make a police report?” Spence asked.

“Not yet. We didn’t have time to look around and see if anything is missing,” Parker replied.

“I bet nothing is.” Genna spoke up. She scooped up her dog and got to her feet. “I think this was another attempt by my stalker to mess with me.”

Parker nodded. “I agree.”

Spence looked from one to the other. “This needs to stop,” he said. “Have you talked to Eli?”

“Yes. And to Kansas,” Genna said. “But this time, whoever is harassing me went too far. You don’t mess with my dogs. I’m pulling out all the stops. I intend to do whatever it takes to catch this person and put a stop to all of this.”

“What are you going to do?” Spence asked, crossing his arms.

“I don’t know yet,” Genna admitted. “But we’ll figure something out.”

“Let me know if I can help.” Spence squeezed Genna’s shoulder before clapping Parker on the back. “I’ve got to run. Will you two lock up?”

“Of course.” Parker walked his cousin out, Revis trotting along at his side.

When he returned, Revis rushed over to check on JB. Genna set her down and the two dogs walked off together, curing up with each other in the larger dog bed.

Parker watched them for a moment and then heaved a sigh.

“Do you still want to go camping?” he asked.

“I don’t know. We haven’t even had time to see if anything is missing from your place.”

“Checking that will only take a few minutes,” he said, his unruffled tone matching his expression. “And I vote we go. Now we need to get away even more.”

She couldn’t help but agree with him. “We’re all packed. Let’s do it. I’ll actually feel safer getting out of town.”

“And you could use some time to decompress,” he said.

After loading up the dogs, they drove to Parker’s place. After he backed his truck up to the garage, she cuddled JB close and sat for a moment before getting out.

Parker and Revis stayed close and they all went inside together. As far as Genna could tell, nothing appeared to have been disturbed.

“I don’t think they took anything,” Parker said, turning a slow circle so he could view the entire room. “Let me check my bedroom really quickly. You check yours.”

Though she already knew she wouldn’t find anything missing, she nodded. Still carrying JB, since she didn’t want to let her out of her sight, she took a quick look. As far as she could tell, nothing had been disturbed. Still neatly made, her bed hadn’t been touched. She opened a few dresser drawers just in case, but everything remained exactly the way she’d left it.

When she returned to the living room, she found Parker waiting for her. “I’m beginning to think I’ve lost my mind,” he said. “Maybe I didn’t close the front door all the way and it blew open. Not only has nothing been disturbed, but I can’t even find a point of entry. No broken windows and the back door is still locked with the dead bolt, so I’m beginning to think no one has been in here.”

Except Genna felt positive that someone had. The same person who’d broken into her house twice. The one who’d slashed all four of her tires. She just needed to find proof.

But how?

Setting JB down, she went over to the front door and inspected it. As Parker had said, she saw no sign of forced entry.

“I’ll be right back,” she said and stepped outside. Walking the perimeter of the house, she wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking for. She only felt she’d know when she saw it.

Opening the fence gate, she made a mental note to tell Parker it needed to be locked. She stepped into the backyard. On the backside of the house, she finally noticed something. A small bush under one of the windows appeared crushed.

It could have been anything. It could have been nothing. Or it might be the clue she’d been looking for.

She moved closer. There. That impression in the dirt next to the bush could be a footprint.

Curious, she stepped closer and tried to lift the window. To her astonishment, it easily opened.