Chapter 7 — Caleb holds up the spare house keys found in the shed — Then he realizes the entire house was vulnerable
Vincent picked up the yellow plastic ring by a single finger.
He held the keys up toward the overhead work light.
The metal teeth glinted in the harsh fluorescent glare.
“Recognize these?” Vincent asked, turning to look at Caleb.
Caleb stepped closer, squinting in the dim light of the storage unit.
His eyes widened as he focused on the specific cuts of the metal blades.
“Those are our spare house keys,” Caleb said, his voice dropping an octave.
“The ones to the front deadbolt,” Vincent confirmed.
Trey took a step backward out of the doorway.
“Wait a minute,” Trey stammered, his face losing all its color. “I didn’t put those in there.”
“They were hidden right here in a stolen tool bag,” Caleb said, turning back to his son with a fierce glare.
“Inside a storage unit that was unlocked with a key from your jacket.”
Vincent walked back out past them into the cool night air.
He moved toward the open backyard, sweeping his flashlight beam across the dew-covered grass.
The bright circle of light tracked across the open lawn toward the rear sliding glass door of the main house.
Vincent stopped walking about ten feet from the back patio steps.
He bent down, shining the light directly at a clear footprint pressed deep into the mud.
“Caleb,” Vincent called out. “Get over here.”
Caleb left the storage unit doorway and walked across the grass to where Vincent was standing.
Trey stayed behind near the shed, watching them with a panicked expression.
Caleb looked down at the ground.
A distinct rubber tread pattern marked the soft soil right beneath the back kitchen window.
It matched the soles of the sneakers Trey was wearing right now.
“Someone walked right up to the back slider,” Caleb muttered, his jaw clenching.
“More than walked,” Vincent said, standing up and pointing toward the window frame above them.
Caleb followed the line of the flashlight beam upward.
The white aluminum latch on the kitchen window was pushed halfway open.
A fresh scratch marred the painted wood right next to the lock mechanism.
“The window was unlocked,” Caleb whispered.
“They didn’t just store stolen goods out here,” Vincent said, his voice grim. “They had a way inside your actual home.”
Caleb spun around and looked directly at his son standing by the shed.
“Trey,” Caleb shouted across the lawn. “Get over here right now.”
Trey did not move an inch.
He stood frozen under the glow of the back floodlights, staring down at his phone.
The screen of Trey’s smartphone lit up his face in a sharp blue glow.
An incoming text message banner flashed across the top of the display.
Trey stared at the notification, his hands trembling as he unlocked the phone to read the text from an unknown number.