In A Heartbeat

Ch. 8

As I got into bed my mind swirled with questions. Why did someone break into my house now? Why didn't they do it when I was recovering or staying with Agnes? What on earth could be important enough to slice up furniture to find?

In the darkness my mind turned to crazy scenarios of spies and secrets. Even Kyle came under scrutiny. He had offered to take me out--today of all days. He asked me about my father's work. If anyone knew what my father did, surely it was Kyle, he was working for the same company. But if he had gotten me out of the way for the night why would he say all those things about liking me? And why would he talk about children?

After tossing and turning I decided to get up. Sleep would come when it came and now wasn't the time no matter how exhausted I was. I made my way to the kitchen and made some attempts at putting it back together. I worked there in the kitchen, the spot where my mom spent so much time cooking, singing, and sipping coffee while looking at the birdfeeder. When she quit her job to take care of me full time, we spent so many hours in that cozy room. I closed my eyes and saw us sitting at the table, doing puzzles and coloring, doing worksheets and me using all my strength to put icing on cookies while she beamed with pride.

I lay my head on the the table, sitting in her chair, a river of fresh tears leaving tiny puddles on the oak. I let it come, letting out the feelings of the injustice of it all. I didn't make this deal, I didn't trade my life for theirs, and yet it happened. Buster nudged my leg with his head as if to signal enough, and I wiped my face on my sleeve and surveyed the room. I had done at least something to claim my house back, it was a start. I made my way back to my room. The sleeping bag where Buster and I had been camping out looked inviting but I wanted to just do one thing to make sure sleep came. My lightning bug jar.

When I was too sick to get up from my bed and my dad would come home from work he would tromp up the stairs first thing and poke his head in my room with a "hello bug". It became our thing. He would sit on the edge of my bed and tell me fantastical stories of his day that made me giggle despite the pain and beg for more.

One day he brought me a present. A particularly bad day where I was too tired to laugh and struggled for breath. I begged him to take me outside to see the bugs light up, sure it would be for the last time. Seeing my weakened state he opened the present for me. A mason jar with a pale blue ribbon. He shook the jar and the inside lit like fireflies, sputtering and blinking as if looking for the top.

I remember laughing, and coughing. My heart not strong enough to push the fluids from lining my lungs. I clutched the jar and slept, holding on to magic in a bottle.

It became our nightly ritual. Him telling me he captured them all sorts of exotic places, and me relishing in the moment of imagining each and every detail as if they could be true.

I picked up the dusty jar and shook it, the small paper bugs inside lighting up one by one, blinking and shaking from their tiny fragile wires. Only tonight, the jar rattled. I looked closer and saw a piece of tightly folded paper jiggling freely at the bottom.

Carefully, without damaging the intricate bugs suspended, I tilted the jar and poured out the paper. My heart sputtered and kicked, a surge of adrenalin flowing as I unfolded it carefully.

A series of computer generated dots and lines filled the long sheet. My name was typed boldly at the top. At the bottom was a batch of signals and numbers I didn't understand. 4/7/2016. 8#8' exact match. N2014 38 72 Cardessa. Replicate 001.

I had never seen the paper, that I was sure of. Why it was in my jar and how it got into my jar was a mystery. My eyes began to swim the images and I knew it had been a bigger day than I was ready for. I placed it gently back in the jar and curled up right there on the hospital bed I'd sworn never to get in, and closed my eyes. Within seconds Busters warm body curled around mine and I slept.

I woke up late to knocking on my door. I grabbed a robe and an umbrella for security and snuck down the stairs. Standing outside were two young women wearing all pink. As I cracked the door I saw a "Maid to Order" car in the driveway.

"Can I help you?"

The women looked past me and into the house. The smaller of the two who stood about 5ft tall twirled her orangey yellow curls and smiled. "Nope. We're here to help you. Maid service. We were hired for the main floor pick up. Sorry we don't do bedrooms or Windows."

My excitement was bubbling up. The clean up would have taken me all day, maybe two, but with the downstairs done I could knock out my parents bedroom and the bathroom in a few short hours. Despite the giddiness I still wanted to be safe.

"I didn't hire a maid service. Did the police send you?"

The taller girl froze mid bubble blowing. Half a pink circle floating off her lips like it wasn't sure if it should launch or deflate. "Plche?" She sucked in the bubble. "Sorry about that. Did you say police?" She leaned over to the side and stared harder into the house behind me.

"We don't clean up crime scenes. Or blood. Is there blood in there?" Her eyes were wild and wide as she continued to position herself trying to see past me.

I opened the door wider before she had a hurt back or anxiety attack from all that twisting and panic.

"No, no blood. I had a break in last night and they tore the house apart. But if the police didn't hire you who did? I didn't order a service."

The curly haired one opened her jacket and pulled out her iPhone. I could see her name clearly monogrammed on her shirt in black letters. Val.

"Looks like a company order. GenTech. That ring a bell?"

I could feel that flutter again. Kyle had hired a service. One point for sensitivity and one point for being amazing. "Sure does girls, come on in and I'll start the coffee."

As I set up the coffee pot the girls surveyed the chaos. Buster following them around trying to scam a free ear rub. It had been a long time since people had been around and company twice in two days had him reeling. And I wasn't too proud to admit today it was good to have people in the house with me.

"That's a heck of a break in. Looks more like a mess than a robbery. They didn't even take the television. Or your computer. Probably kids. Looks like they were just on a damage spree. I don't know why someone would do that. Take a perfectly good computer and break it to bits. Even pawning it would make them some fast cash."

Val talked as she worked never bothering to pause for answers or return comments. I sipped my coffee and realized just how nice it was to have chatter sometimes. The warm liquid heated up my insides as I sat looking at the family computer she was going on and on about. She was right. The computer was less than a year old, it could have easily been sold. Why would someone break it to pieces instead of taking it?

"Val? You guys can help yourself to coffee. I'm sorry I don't have anything substantial to offer. Would you mind if I took my shower while you guys are down here?"

Val continued to stack books on the shelves while the other girl whose name I didn't know stuffed couch batting in a large garbage bag.

"Of course not. You just do what you have to. Trish and I got this. And thanks for the coffee. Maybe we'll take you up on that once we get things in some order."

I turned on the shower and step into the hot water. Today I was going to do some searching of my own.

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Hire me a maid service and you got yourself a gal- I'm just saying. For those of you still digesting.... it looks like a piece of the puzzle just came into play. Next up? Kyle drops the 411 and Cassie finds out what's at stake. Whoa. Finally!!!! 

Thanks so much for continuing to read this!!