More Poison in Your Coffee?

Chapter 14

        "What do you mean 'gone'" Henry and I were sitting in his car, parked a ways back from Karalyn's house. The clock on the dashboard read 10:38 PM.

        "I explained this, it's gone, vanished; inexplicably missing. No one knows where it is. Except for things like his stocks and investments, there should be about a quarter of a million dollars in savings, but there isn't even a fraction of that much left."

        "Damn."

        "My guy tells me the money was probably taken out a little bit at a time and hidden in another bank. He's trying to track it but it's not looking good." Henry was behind the wheel with his head resting in one hand, leaning on the window. "More importantly is what we're doing here."

        "Karalyn said she'd probably be at the repast most of the night."

        "So?"

        "So, if she's the murderer this could be my only chance to find some evidence."

       "Whoa there Sherlock, you want to break into her home? You think she just left a piece of paper on the dining room table that says 'Hey, I embezzled a bunch of money from my husband here's a detailed description of how I did it'?"

        "I've got to try."

        "Seriously Evie, this is crazy. It's against the law."

        "All I need you to do is wait here and alert me if anyone pulls into the driveway."

        "And how will I do that?"

        I reached into his pocket, the two of us struggling for control of his pants until he finally threw up his hands and let me roam freely. I sat what I was looking for on the dashboard in front of him.

        "Cell phone, duh."

        "I don't know about this, what if you get caught?"

        "I just won't get caught."

        I climbed out of the car and ran as quietly as possibly to the overcast gate. Using my sweet ninja moves I shimmed in-between the tight iron bars.  So far so good, here's hoping they don't have a motion sensitive porch light or guard dogs.

        I figured the front door was locked so I bypassed it and crept slowly along the cobblestone walk that led to the back of the house. The light from the pool in the backyard illuminated my way as I snuck toward the back porch.

        Taking a deep breath I reached for the door handle, and gave a tentative turn. Locked. Well what did I expect? Looking up at the manor, I could see that all the lights were off; the curtains in the windows closed. Karalyn had anticipated being out all night so she'd locked the house up good and tight.

        If there had been any justice in the world, someone would have forgotten to lock something, but from the lifeless look of the home, I could tell I was out of luck.

        I sighed to myself and started walking back toward the front gate. It was a stupid idea anyway. Breaking and entering, God what if I had gotten caught? As I was taking a walk of shame back up that cobblestone walk, my eyes caught the slightest disparity on the side of the house.

        Adjusting my eyes to the darkness, I squinted and made out the shape of a window. Only, unlike the other windows that were closed tight this window was faintly different. Someone had left it cracked. Just wide enough for my fingers to reach in and pry it open. Luckier still it was a window on the first floor.