In Plain View Read Online Free

sure she had locked it when she left, but it turned easily now.
    Inside, her fingers found the edge of the counter and she felt her way along it across the small dark kitchen. A shadow crossed the light seeping around the edges of the swinging door between the kitchen and dining room. Someone was definitely on the other side—and moving around.
    “I can’t see anything.” Joel’s feet dragged on the floor.
    “Put your hand on my shoulder. Watch out for the trash—”
    But Annie’s hushed warning was too late. Joel stumbled and sent the metal can clanging across the floor. She halted and froze. Joel’s tumbling weight against her back nearly knocked her over.
    The door from the dining room opened. “Annie, is that you?”
    The air went out of Annie so fast she almost whistled like a balloon. “Mom!”
    Annie reached for the small propane lamp she knew was at the end of the counter and turned the switch. Her father now stood behind her mother in the doorway. Myra Friesen looked from her daughter to the young man behind her.
    “This is Joel,” Annie said. “Rufus’s brother. Joel, these are my parents, Myra and Brad Friesen.”
    “Hello, Joel,” Myra said.
    “It’s nice to meet you.” Joel nudged Annie. “Everything’s okay, ya?”
    She nodded. Whatever brought her parents to her home without prior arrangement was nothing she needed Joel for. “Thank you for seeing me in.”
    “I’ll leave the bike on the side of the house.”
    “ Danki .” Thank you.
    The screen door slammed behind him, and Annie closed the solid inner door. Then she righted the trash can, grateful she chose the covered model when she outfitted her kitchen.
    Myra glanced around the kitchen. “You’ve done a nice job making something of this room…with its limitations.”
    “Thank you. Mom, what’s going on? How did you even get in?”
    “You’ve got a tree in the backyard just like the one at home. It even has the same low branch—good for climbing. It was simple enough to think you’d hide a key there like we do at home.”
    “Busted. Where did you stash your car?” If she had seen their sedan, she might have spared a few extra heartbeats moments ago.
    Myra set the house key on the counter. “We figured your garage was empty, considering your car is in our garage at home.”
    Home . Was her mother going to work that word into every sentence? Annie let the comment pass and instead gestured to the dining room. “Why don’t I make some coffee and you can tell me why you’re here?”
    Along with the coffee, Annie produced half a chocolate cake. They sat at the oval table up against the window in the dining room.
    “Mmm. Delicious!” Myra jabbed her fork in for a second bite of cake. “Is this from a bakery in town?”
    “No. I made it.”
    “You made this? You never used to like to bake.”
    “I’m trying a lot of new things these days.” Annie nudged a small pitcher of cream toward her dad, who she knew would want a generous portion.
    “Well, I miss some of your old habits.” Myra licked chocolate off her top lip. “Like calling your mother.”
    “I call you every Saturday and we yak the charge out of my phone.” Annie twirled her fork, balancing a piece of cake. “I would have called you tomorrow like always.” So why were they here?
    Brad cleared his throat. “We’re here on a special mission.”
    “Which is?”
    “Penny is coming home.” Myra looked at Annie hopefully.
    Annie had not seen her sister in almost a year and a half. Though Annie had gone to Colorado Springs for Christmas, at the last minute Penny had to cancel her flight from Seattle and missed the holiday.
    “When does she arrive?”
    “Tomorrow night.”
    “Tomorrow!” Annie set her mug down. “Why didn’t we find out sooner?”
    “We found out last Saturday. She called right after I got off the phone with you. I meant to send you a note, but I never got to it. I’m just not used to communicating the old-fashioned way, I