Chapter 2 — Andrew Inspects the Floor While Rebecca Maintains Her Accusation
Andrew reached out a hand and touched the dark wood near the baseboard.
His index finger came away smeared with a thick, sugary residue.
It was definitely frosting.
The bright berry filling had mixed into the white substance, creating a smeared, tacky trail that led away from the counter and toward the pantry door.
“Rebecca, come look at this,” Andrew said quietly, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor.
Rebecca walked over slowly, her heels clicking against the hardwood.
She looked down at the sticky trail with a skeptical frown.
“She probably tracked it around while she was pacing,” Rebecca suggested, refusing to let go of her initial assumption.
“Look at the shape of it,” Andrew replied, tracing the path with his eyes.
A distinct trail of white sticky paw prints appeared on the dark wood.
They were small, padded impressions spaced evenly apart in a straight line.
Rebecca stared at the marks.
They clearly did not match the smooth soles of Chloe’s favorite pink sneakers.
Nor did they look like bare human footprints.
“Kids can get frosting on their shoes,” Rebecca argued defensively.
“Not in four-pad prints with claw marks at the top,” Andrew noted, pointing to the distinct indentation left by a nail at the edge of each white stamp.
Andrew stood up slowly and dusted off his knees.
He looked down the hallway toward the darkened utility room and the corner of the kitchen island.
Andrew pointed out that the paw prints were much too small to belong to an adult dog, yet too large for a human toddler.