Inno time, Zoe Locke became an expert cat burglar.
So expert in fact,to her knowledge, none of her crimes were even detected. She wasdisciplined in her craft. She always refrained from taking too muchfrom one home. She had a gift for finding cash and that was normallyall she took. Often she didn't even take it all. Occasionally she'dsnitch an item to later sell on EBay. Never anything too bigto fit in her pockets and nothing too unique that would be easilyrecognized.
Basically shethought of herself as a mischievous elf, sneaking into homes toplayfully trifle with their belongings. She often daydreamed aboutmothers and fathers, scratching their heads wondering where they puttheir golden ring, or diamond bracelet. Or driving themselvesslightly mad because they THOUGHT SURE there'd been one hundred; notsixty dollars, in the cookie jar. She'd giggle as she imagined herown classmates being accused by their parents of pilfering.
At school, shebecame a veritable private investigator. She eavesdropped at everyopportunity on her classmates. Anytime she overheard anybodymentioning plans out with their family, she took note. Then, if shedidn't already know where they lived, she found out. And somehowalways managed to find a way into their homes as if by magic. Itparticularly delighted Zoe to steal from her own classmates. Inthose special times, she felt a little bolder, a little morereckless. Sometimes from the home of a classmate she might actuallysteal an article of clothing to later be worn at school. Or eat foodright from her cupboards, seated in whatever spot at the table sheimagined to be theirs.
At home, Zoeacquired little by little, the things in life she'd always missed. She bought a computer. And by posing as her mother, she orderedInternet service, a luxury she'd never been privy to. The cupboardswere no longer bare. And as Christmas approached, she bought aChristmas tree and turned her shabby home into a cozy festive place. In her rare encounters with her mother, the changes were nevermentioned and presumably unnoticed. Zoe remained invisible throughit all. And for once, she was happy that not a soul noticed her.
***
Shortly after Zoegot the hang of petty theft activities and recognized she was quitegood at her craft, she became obsessed with Benjamin Bar.
Not in any typicalteenaged crush type fashion. On no. What Zoe saw in Benjamin Barwas the ultimate score. Benjamin and his family represented theepitome of Faraway's upper echelon. His mother, Madre Bar, was wellknown and loved as the high school counselor. And his father, well,who knew exactly what Abraham Bar did. But whatever it was, itprovided obscene wealth. Not that Benjamin was the sort whonecessarily exuded wealth. But Zoe had an eye for these things.
He was a tall andrather well built senior. With his thick, wavy, black hair, chiseledface, and piercing dark eyes, he might have been very appealing, wereit not for his rather unappealing personality. Benjamin wasnever mean or even unkind to anybody. He made good enough marks tobe thought of as smart. There was just something vacant abouthim. He was the sort of teen who would normally be popular. He'd bethe sort of guy all the guys wanted to be friends with and all thegirls wanted to date. Except that his peers had been alienated byhis oddness as early as Kindergarten. He existed on the fringe ofthe "in" crowd but Zoe observed he had no close ties toanybody. He never dated. He participated in extracurricularactivities and fared well, but he demonstrated no real passion orambition for anything. He seemed to always be pondering somethingother than whatever he was doing at the time. Detached. Aloof. Cold.
But Zoe knew hecame from a place that seemed for all practical purposes, enchanted. As a child, she had loved to play in Faraway Forest. She'd beentruly at one with nature and would spend sun up to sun down exploringthe quiet wood. Over the years, she'd gotten to know every nuance ofit and that's how she'd found Benjamin's house.
It furrowed deep inthe woods about five miles outside Faraway. She'd happened upon itonce entirely by chance. It was giant; a mansion. By far thegrandest structure she'd ever seen, the house seemed to be a threestory living creature, reaching up into the thick canopy of trees. Its walls were shining maple wood and its dozens of windows glintedfrom the few sun rays that snuck in through the tangle of tree limbs. A wrought iron gate loomed at the end of the winding drive leadingup to the house, with an ornate sign reading Bar Estates. Attimes she'd explored there as a child. She'd found a hole in thegate and easily been able to get closer to the house. Even then,before her dreams of thievery had solidified, she'd been a talentedsneak.
The grounds of BarEstates were sumptuous with lush gardens, a babbling brook andancient towering trees. She'd spent many an hour there, secretlywatching the massive quiet place, and wondering what was inside.
One week beforeChristmas, Zoe decided she was going to find out.
***
She happened to beseated within ear shot of Benjamin at lunch. Of course, Benjaminwasn't saying anything, just sitting forlornly quiet among the hub ofhis so called friends. But then, Mrs. Bar came into the cafeteria.
The counselor wasevery bit as striking as her son. She had his same tall dark lookswith shining black hair trimmed smartly even with her jaw, and astrong fit body. She dressed stylishly and as usual, she wore aninviting smile. She made her way through the sea of students,pausing to chat with people who addressed her. Finally she foundBenjamin and leaned down next to him. She spoke softly to her son,thinking no one was listening.
But Zoe heard.
"Hey, bud,"said Mrs. Bar kindly.
"Hey," hesaid morosely, barely bothering to acknowledge her. He continuedpicking at his food and staring straight ahead.
"You excitedabout your game tonight?" she asked hopefully.
"Oh yeah."
"Great!"she enthusiastically exclaimed, even though his agreement was soobviously contrived. "Your dad's gonna be there tonight!" She said this in a tone that suggested being graced by Mr. Bar'spresence was a momentous occasion.
"Great,"said Benjamin lackadaisically.
Mrs. Bar gave agleaming smile. Among the Faraway student body, Mrs. Bar wasgenerally considered a cool lady and a great confidant. It shockedZoe to discover she was clueless. She clearly had zero ability topick up her own son's veiled hostility. And Zoe was completelyconfident that the dear woman had no idea a nearby student wasessentially casing her home that very minute.
Zoe liked Mrs. Bareven more.
***
Zoe set out justbefore dark. It was still an hour to game time, but she knew she hadabout a six mile hike ahead of her, most of which would be throughrough terrain of the forest. Plus, snow fell steadily. There wasbarely a dusting on the ground, but it accumulated quickly. She knewshe'd need to move fast to avoid hiking back through a full blownsnow storm.
She didn't evenknow if she would steal anything from the Bar family. Their home hadfascinated her so much, for so long, she often dreamt of it. Shemainly just wanted to satisfy her curiosity and explore the place. She doubted there'd be the "leave cash about" sort, and forsome reason, she didn't have the strange desire to extract trophysteals like she had with other classmates.
She walked brisklythrough town and then plunged into the mouth of the massive forest.
Zoe was nearlyfrozen when she arrived. Her timing was impeccable. Shielded by thetrees, she watched from the shadows as the Bar family's tail lightsdisappeared down the lane. Then she slipped through the hole in thegate and trampled through the snow in the back yard to get up to thehouse, hoping the tracks back there wouldn't be as obvious. Shedecided on the way out she'd take some time to obscure her footprints as she left.
She found thattheir sliding glass door off a rear patio was unlocked. A delightedsqueal escaped her as she slipped inside. She kicked off her snowboots and left them by the door to wait for her return. Then, atlong last, her exploration began.
The Bar home was awhole new world altogether. It was like a cottage, a ski resort, anda castle, all blended into one dwelling. She found herself standingin a spacious family room. Zoe marveled at a magnificent fireplace,big enough that she could've stood at her full height inside. Themantle was lit by twinkling lights and was so huge, it accommodatethree six foot Christmas trees. Across from the fireplace and infront of a bay window, there stood another tree that towered everybit of sixteen feet high. And yet, the vaulted ceiling was still farover it. She drifted to the tree and delicately touched thesparkling ornaments with one gloved finger.
Zoe passed out ofthe family room and into a dining room. The focal point was agigantic oak dining table adorned with candles and fragrant Christmaswreaths. She saw at one end of the long table, the family's dinnerplates still sat with bits of uneaten food on them. Had they beenrunning behind and had to leave their mess? Or was there ahousekeeper who would arrive in the morning to clear away theirdinner dishes? Whatever the reason, Zoe couldn't believe the neatand tidy people would so carelessly leave their mess behind. Shewandered down to where the dishes sat, strangely fascinated by theirfood.
A spoon protrudedfrom an inviting bowl of beef stew. Amazingly, steam still rose fromit. Zoe raised the spoon to her lips to taste the delectable lookingstuff.
She hissed and thespoon clattered to the table. "Darn it!" she exclaimed. The soup had burned her mouth. She couldn't believe it was still sohot.
At the next seat,she saw no steam rising from the stew and decided to try it. But shefound that bowl to be ice cold and unpleasant tasting. So shedrifted to the next seat and tasted the soup there. She foundtemperature to be just right, and the soup tasted unbelievably good. Finding it irresistible, she sat down and devoured the entire bowl.
The next room Zoeexplored was a library. The walls were lined with shelves of booksspanning from floor to ceiling. In one corner of the room, threechairs were placed facing one another as though the family sometimessat there relaxing and reading together. Zoe crossed the room andtook a seat in a large, leather wing back chair. She found it to bestiff and uncomfortable. So, she moved to the next chair; a countyblue, flowered over stuffed. She found it to be far too soft andalso uncomfortable. Next she tried the third seat which was an oddcontraption of black bars like some aerodynamic office chair. Shelowered herself onto it and to her complete shock; she wound upcrashing to the floor. The flimsy chair broke into several pieces.
"Crap!"she exclaimed as she leapt up. Zoe looked down at the mess on thefloor and then turned to flee the room.
She found a darkhallway and crept down it quietly. Though the house was cozy warm, asudden shiver moved up and down her spine. It occurred to her thatshe should leave. She wondered why she felt so creeped out all thesudden. But despite her misgivings, she ventured on into thedarkness.
She came upon adoor. She stood there staring at the knob for a long time, with aneerie feeling. Finally, she opened it and a dark stairway leadingdown was revealed. To the right was a light switch and she flippedit on.
Zoe made her waydown a nicely finished set of basement steps. At the bottom, shefound herself in a small finished, empty room. It was brightly lit,with beige carpet, stark white walls, and absolutely nothing was init except for a door.
Again, Zoehesitated to try the door. Hairs raised on the back of her neck andup and down her arms. She felt even more alarmed then she had in thedark hallway. Part of her wanted to turn and run. But another partof her said to suck it up and open the door. That, unfortunately, isthe part she chose to listen to. With shaking hand, she gripped theknob and swung open the door.
Zoe shrieked andclamped her hand over her mouth.