Standoff At Christmas. Margaret Daley

       TWO

      After reporting to the police about the trashed living room, Rachel hung up her aunt’s phone not far from the front door and started edging back. Her heart pounded against her rib cage, her breathing shallow. She should get out like Jake said, but what if Aunt Betty was knocked out on the floor? She didn’t think an intruder was still there since there was no sign of a vehicle other than Aunt Betty’s. But if someone robbed her, and from the disarray of drawers emptied and cushions tossed on the floor, it was obvious that was what happened, then her aunt could be hurt, tied up or even...

      No, she wouldn’t consider that. She wouldn’t leave until she found her aunt. The least she could do until Jake came was walk through her cabin and search. Rachel had first-aid training because of all the hiking and camping she did in the warmer months. If Aunt Betty was hurt, she might need medical attention right away.

      She moved through the clutter, careful not to step on anything. Maybe this was the only room involved. Maybe her aunt had been looking for something in the living room and...

      When Rachel entered the kitchen, it was worse. Everything was out of the cabinets and refrigerator. If someone had been looking for something, they probably found it, but Aunt Betty had little in the way of money. Rachel noticed the television was still in place as well as the small appliances. There was a walk-in pantry near the arctic entry at the back. The wooden floors were littered with flour, sugar, cereal. She would disturb the kitchen if she walked across it. Instead, she’d check the rest of the house first. By then, she hoped that Jake had arrived, and he would know how to proceed.

      She walked several feet into her aunt’s bedroom before she couldn’t go any farther because of the mess on the floor, but from that point she could look into the open closet. No Aunt Betty.

      A sound from the living room sent a wave of panic through her. It was probably Jake, but just in case, she flattened herself behind the open door.

      “Rachel, where are you?”

      Jake’s deep baritone voice pushed the panic away, and she came out from behind the bedroom door. “I’m in Aunt Betty’s bedroom.”

      “I should have known you wouldn’t listen to me,” Jake mumbled as he came into the short hallway.

      “You brought Mitch.” Rachel knelt next to the leashed German shepherd and petted him. “He looks good.”

      “I thought if we needed to search for your aunt he could help. He loves tracking. Have you found anything?”

      “A mess, as you can see for yourself, but no sign of Aunt Betty. I haven’t looked in the bathroom or the second bedroom, though.”

      “I’ll check them and then we’ll wait for the police. You stay here with Mitch. This will only take a minute.” After handing her the German shepherd’s leash, Jake walked toward the open bathroom door and peered inside. “The same thing here but no Betty.”

      The door to the second bedroom was ajar but not open. Jake shouldered his way into the room but stayed by the entrance. “She must not be here. Could she have gone somewhere with anyone?”

      “Maybe. I suppose she could have fled when she saw the chaos, but she most likely would have contacted her sister or me.”

      “Have you called Linda?”

      “No, I didn’t want to alarm her if I didn’t have to. If anything happened to Aunt Betty, we would be devastated.” Like when Jake had left Port Aurora years ago. His departure had stunned her, as if he’d taken part of her with him. She cared about the town and its people, but her family and Jake had been the most important people in her life. “I’ll call her, then we can stay inside by the front door.”

      While Rachel placed a call to Aunt Linda, Jake picked his way through the mess in the living room to look into the kitchen. When she answered, Rachel said, “I’m at Aunt Betty’s house. Her car is here, but she isn’t. She was upset today, and I wanted to make sure she was all right. Do you know anything?”

      “Well, that explains the weird message from her at lunchtime. I was waiting until she got home to call her. Her car is there?”

      “Yes, where she parks it in the shed.” Rachel glanced at the chaos and hated to tell Aunt Linda, but she continued. “Someone tore her house apart as though they were looking for something. For all I know, they could have found it.”

      Her aunt gasped. “I’ll be right there.”

      “No, stay put. The police are on the way. What did the message say?”

      “That she should never have taken those pictures.”

      “What pictures?” Rachel asked as Jake returned to her side.

      “I’m not sure. You know how she’s always snapping pictures. She was excited about some new project and was going to show us this weekend. She told me one day the town might want to even display the photos.”

      Maybe that had been what she’d wanted to talk to Rachel about. But then if that were the case, why had someone searched her house? Strange. “Display what?”

      “She was being secretive. You know how she is about the big reveal when she gets an idea. Why would anyone try to steal from her? The only things worth taking are the TV and her camera, although it isn’t a digital one like most people use today. Are they still there?”

      “The TV is. I didn’t check for the camera in her darkroom, but Jake said that second bedroom was trashed like the rest of the house.”

      “Really, I can’t see someone taking it. It’s old. Not something that someone would steal. How about her food processor I gave her for her birthday?”

      Rachel remembered seeing it in the kitchen, in pieces. “It’s here.”

      A long pause from her aunt, then in a tight, low tone, she said, “Then something has happened to her.” Her voice sounded thick.

      Rachel peered out the front window, seeing headlights piercing the snowy darkness. “The police have arrived. I’ve got to go. I’ll be home as soon as I can. We’re probably overreacting.” At least she prayed she was.

      “Rachel, let me know what’s going on. If you need my help, call. Are you sure I shouldn’t come over?”

      “Yes, she might call you. Someone needs to be there. Besides, the police are here, and they’ll probably kick us out while they check the house. When we find Aunt Betty, she’ll need you and me to help her clean this mess up.” If they find Aunt Betty. She couldn’t rid her mind of that thought.

      Jake opened the door for the two police officers from town—the older man, Police Chief Randall Quay, and the younger one, Officer Steve Bates.

      The chief shook Jake’s hand. “It’s good to see you back home. What do you think?” He gestured toward the trashed living room.

      “I’ve searched the house as much as I could without disturbing anything, but there are some places I didn’t get to check. The closet in the second bedroom, the pantry and the back arctic entry.”

      “Aunt Betty used the closet in the second bedroom as a darkroom.”

      The chief nodded once, then turned back to Jake. “Can you help me? Since you’re here, I’d like to send Officer Bates on up the road. We are shorthanded with this storm that moved in early. It seems to bring the crazies out.”

      “Sure, I can help. Mitch here can track if we need