Just Cause Read Online Free Page A

there’s no one inside, ma’am. You can come in, but please don’t touch anything.”
    Some of the neighbors watched from their windows. Laurel kept her head down as she followed the police officer inside.
    A dull ache spread through her body as she stood just inside the living room surveying the mess. Shock was beyond her. Shock was what she had felt two years ago when she came blithely home from a shopping trip and found her world shattered. Now, a resigned defeat crept over her.
    Dan stood close behind her. “I know this is stressful. Take your time, and just try to tell us if anything is missing.”
    She took a half step away from him. “I don’t know where to start.”
    The carton of books she had yet to unpack lay in a jumble on the rug. Her art supplies were strewn among them, and the cushions had been tossed away from the sagging couch. Cyan acrylic paint oozed from its tube onto her favorite afghan and the gold carpet, where it seemed someone had stepped on it. Through the bedroom door, she could see clothing and bedding heaped on the floor.
    “Did you have any valuables?” Officer Alton asked. “Jewelry, cash, credit cards, artwork?”
    Laurel shook her head.
    “Electronics?”
    “My computer.” She stepped quickly to the rickety desk that held her computer setup. It was the first thing she had unpacked after making her bed.
    “Is it damaged? Any peripherals missing?”
    “No. All I had was the printer and—” She stopped, looking at the empty plastic box. The software disks were scattered on the desktop, and a few lay on the floor.
    “At least they didn’t break them,” Alton said.
    Laurel saw one disk peeking from under the pile of spilled books.
    “You think kids did this?” she asked.
    “We don’t know yet.”
    Dan stepped closer to her. “How long were you away?”
    “Maybe an hour. I just needed a few things at the store.”
    He nodded. “Did you have a television and DVD player here? We didn’t find those.”
    “No.”
    “CD player? Radio?”
    She shook her head. She hadn’t had the money to buy more than the basic necessities. The apartment came furnished with the castoff sofa and desk, a wobbly single bed and a chipboard dresser. Decent furniture and an entertainment system were distant goals that were of little importance to Laurel.
    “How about in the kitchen? Microwave?”
    “I don’t have one. I just moved here, and I didn’t bring much.”
    Dan’s eyes were thoughtful as he wrote in his small notebook. “So as far as you can tell, nothing was taken?”
    She hesitated. “I can’t really say yet, but I didn’t have anything of value to anyone else.”
    “No weapons?”
    She turned and stared at him. He knows, she thought. He ran my name through a national database, and he knows I’m not allowed to own a gun .
    “Sorry. We have to ask.”
    “Nothing like that.”
    Dan nodded. “All right. I’m going to call for technicians to check for fingerprints around your bedroom window.”
    She exhaled carefully. “They came in from there?”
    “Looks like it. Cut the screen in the bedroom and left through the front door. You said it was open. We’ll question the neighbors in case somebody saw something.”
    He went out and Officer Alton said, “If you discover later that something is missing, let us know.” She took a business card from her shirt pocket and held it out. “That’s the dispatcher’s nonemergency number at the police station. Just ask for me or Officer Ryan by name and they’ll contact us.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Is there someplace you can go for now?”
    “I thought I’d clean up.”
    “Let the techs finish before you move anything. They may want to dust those computer disks and some of the other things.”
    “How long will it take?”
    “Could be an hour or two. You might want to go out and get lunch.” The officer looked around, and Laurel noted the stark room and her meager belongings.
    The thought of leaving her possessions exposed like