By the time he’d finished two cups of coffee, he was ready to greet the day properly.
He helped Caitlin load the dishes in the dishwasher, and then refilled both their cups. “I want to check out the perimeter. I need to know where everything is in case there’s trouble.”
“All right, I’ll show you around. What size do you wear?”
“What size?”
“Dad’s snow boots might fit you.”
“That’s all right. These will do,” he said and indicated his own boots. The slip-on boots had eight-inch uppers, and he regularly treated them with waterproofing.
“Aren’t those cowboy boots? You’ll fall on your butt with slick bottoms,” Caitlin said with a laugh.
“The bottoms aren’t slick, they’re Neoprene. I won’t have any trouble.”
She shrugged. “Okay by me. Give me a minute to get my boots on.”
John followed her back to the foyer, where she dug through the shoes in the front closet until she found a pair of leather, work boots toward the back. She sat on the steps and exchanged the bunny slippers for the boots.
His coat hung next to hers in the closet. John took them both down and held Caitlin’s out for her.
“Thank you,” she said as she slipped her arms into it.
He started pulling his on and grunted as the tight muscles in his left arm sent a spasm of pain through his shoulder.
“Is that arm stiff?”
“Yeah, but it’ll pass in a couple of days,” John answered as he moved his arm through a wide circle to limber it up.
“We should change the bandage,” Caitlin said as she helped him into the sleeve.
“Later.”
“Okay, tough guy.”
Caitlin safed the alarm system and then opened the front door.
As John stepped out onto the porch, he had to stop and admire the view. The white crest of Pike’s Peak soared above the nearest trees. Dark clouds approached the peak from the west, a sure indication of more snow on the way.
“I’d almost forgotten how beautiful it was up here.”
Caitlin had stopped at the top step and was also taking in the view. “I never forget, but then I never get tired of it either.”
“Why do your parents go to Florida in the winter? That’s always been my favorite time in Colorado.”
“Dad’s arthritis started bothering him more over the last few years. Sometimes the cold exacerbates it.”
“I thought the dry air would help.”
“It does, but not enough to offset the cold. They don’t like to miss the winter either. That’s why they’re only gone from December to May.”
Caitlin led the way down the steps and around the side of the house. She followed the path left through the snow by whoever had been there last. They reached the power meter on the side of the house, but the tracks continued past it.
They stopped by the meter, and John felt an uncomfortable sensation between his shoulder blades. He turned and examined the line of trees that were not more than fifty feet away. Nothing moved. “I guess that answers the question of who it wasn’t. Now let’s see if we can’t find out where they did go.”
The tracks led to a small shed near the tree line. There was a clear arc where the snow had been pressed back by the opening door. A large Master padlock was closed in the hasp.
“What’s in there?” He asked.
“Garden tools, lawnmower, the usual stuff.”
“Would your neighbor have a reason to go in there?”
“Who, Abe? I don’t know. Dad probably told him where the key is, but I wouldn’t think he’d have to bother with any of that stuff. Besides, the footprints only come to here. If Abe came by, he’d check all the way around the house and inside too.”
“You have the key?” he asked.
“Sure, it’s right over the door.”
John ran his fingers along the top of the doorjamb. Sure enough, there was a small brass key on the ledge. He took it down and inserted it into the lock. The key turned smoothly, and the padlock clicked open.
Caitlin crowded his elbow. He put a hand on her arm and stopped her.
“I’d like you to stand behind that tree,” he said and pointed to a nearby pine.
“What for?”
“Caitlin, we don’t know who was in here, and someone has tried to kill you already. I think it’d be better if you weren’t too close to the door when I open it.”
Her eyes widened. “You don’t think there’s a bomb?”
“No, I don’t, but I’d rather play it safe.
“What about you?”
“I’ll be careful, but we need to know why someone has been in here.”
Her voice was tight and filled with emotion. “No, we don’t. We can walk back to the house and forget it, act as if we never saw the tracks. There’s no point in risking your life unnecessarily.”
“Caitlin, it could be important. I’ve handled booby traps before, I'm just careful.”
She crossed her arms in front of her and pursed her lips. “No. I’m not moving. If it’s safe enough for you, then it’s safe enough for me.”
“Be reasonable, there’s no sense in both of us being here to open the door. It’s just not necessary.”
“John, I’m not leaving.”
He stared at her for a minute. He was half-tempted to pick her up and carry her back in the house. But it was her life, she’d hired him to protect her, but not from herself.
“All right then, you’re the boss. Stand to my right, at least an arm’s length away.”
She moved to where he directed. Her arms unfolded, and she stretched her fingers out to touch him.
“How’s this?”
Although he felt like chuckling, his voice was stern as he replied, “You needn’t be so literal.”
