Alna had the house to herself this Saturday, which was a relief. As much as she loved her family (Marianna included), Alna was an introvert by nature. Too much time around too many people became stifling after a while.

  Which was why Alna had no plans to leave the house today. Not unless duty called. So far, however, both Alna and Marianna had made little headway in their current case.

  She should get used to it, Alna mused. If she was going to be a police officer, there would be a lot of frustration involved.

  “So we can expect sun for the next three days and then a light rain on Tuesday,” Terrance Askeland droned in the background. Alna sat on the couch in the living room, laptop balanced on her knees as she tried to learn more about these thefts-turned-murder. So far, all she had come across was sympathetic and horrified comments on various social media websites, along with some crude comments from the less sympathetic members of society. Some made Alna roll her eyes or sigh in exasperation.

  Alna pushed the thought aside and opened Zest’s social media.

  Enjoying the beach with Timmy! Zest had written. The image posted was heartwarming, Alna admitted. It showed a young boy no more than eight or nine running down a beach in swim trunks, his mother’s face filling the left side of the image.

  There was nothing remarkable about Zest. She appeared to be Latina, with long brown hair and light brown eyes. That meant nothing, however. Her police records showed Zest was not opposed to crime in the past and if her financial situation these days was less than stable…

  Now, if Alna could get a better idea of Zest’s schedule. Alna knew for a fact that Zest had a babysitter for her son, but figuring out just when he or she would be at the house with “Timmy” was a task in itself. The internet was helpful, but it couldn’t do everything.

  Alna frowned. She could, of course, make a quick stop at Zest’s house and determine if the babysitter was there. Perhaps on Monday. But doing so without Marianna felt almost like betrayal. They had been solving these types of puzzles together for over two years now. Alna had relied on her, in some ways, and solving cases with Marianna made them more enjoyable. If such a word could apply to what they did.

  Alna glanced over her cell phone, resting on the coffee table. She turned back to her laptop.

  Later, she decided. When Marianna got home, Alna would ask her.

  “You wanna go without me?” Marianna asked later, a frown on her face.

  They were sitting outside of the Holt house, perched on the steps leading to the front door as they enjoyed the sun. There was a beautiful sunset this evening, turning the sky pink and orange, mixed in with the few clouds in the sky. It was relaxing, despite the slight chill that was descending. Spring would linger for a while yet, but Alna knew Marianna was both eager and apprehensive about summer arriving. Alna could understand that, on some level. The end of high school could seem like a big change.

  Alna sighed, letting Marianna pull away from her but keeping her arm on Marianna’s shoulders.

  “‘Want’ is not exactly the right word,” Alna said. “I rather enjoy investigating with you. But yes, I believe it would be best if I went by myself this time.”

  Marianna gave her a sceptical look. She didn’t look annoyed yet, but she was clearly building up to it.

  A middle-aged couple walked by arm in arm, stalling Marianna’s response for the moment. Alna didn’t miss the way Marianna’s gaze lingered on the couple. Casting a look their way, Alna concluded there was nothing particularly remarkable about the two, and looked back at her girlfriend. There was a wistful look on her face.

  Was Marianna picturing her and Alna in fifteen or even thirty years, still very much in love after so much time together? It appeared she was. Alna smiled a bit and would have pressed a kiss to Marianna’s blonde hair had she not turned back to the conversation at hand.

  Blinking a few times, Marianna visibly brought herself back to the present and turned back to Alna.

  “You know I can skip school––” she began.

  “No,” Alna cut her off, squeezing Marianna’s shoulder to soften the blow of that one word. “You are graduating in mere months. I will not have you missing out on school unless it is of utmost importance. I care too much about your future to allow that.” Just saying that sentence made Alna feel a flicker of guilt. Sometimes, Alna came too close to sounding like a controlling girlfriend, and she hated it. The last thing Alna wanted to do was control Marianna.

  Frowning, Marianna looked toward the sunset, deep in thought. Alna didn’t blame her. This wasn’t the first time Alna had gone off on her own to solve one case or another, but those were the ones that they considered somewhat minor; hacking into security cameras, for example. When it came to searching houses or interviewing suspects, Alna and Marianna were at least in proximity to each other.

  The silence stretched out for over two minutes, in which six vehicles idled by as people went about their business. A young woman walked by, holding her son’s hand.

  Eventually, Marianna turned to face Alna once more, her eyes playful.

  “Okay, you can go by yourself this time.” Leaning forward, Marianna gave her a faux serious look, her lips twitching into a smile. “But I expect a full report, Ms. Holt.”

  Alna chuckled, pulling Marianna closer and kissing her hair. “For you, my darling Whitlock, I shall write an entire essay.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  ***

  Alna felt like a stalker.

  To be fair, many people would see her action in these cases as stalker-type behaviour, but this felt like a new low. She was across the street from the Zest house, seated on a bench as she subtly watched it.

  More than once, Alna had spotted Jimmy Zest passing by the living room window. The babysitter seemed to move around more often. He moved between the kitchen and living room, likely making a meal of some sort while still monitoring his charge.

  Looking back at her book, Alna frowned to herself. She never liked it when this happened––when the places she searched ended up being occupied. It didn’t happen as often as one may think, given her lack of resources, but when it did, it was always an inconvenience.

  Although hiding concrete evidence of theft and murder in the house one’s child lived in was not something Alna would do. If she were to commit such a crime, she would rent a locker, at the very least. Ideally, she’d sell the stolen items as soon as possible, but that was not always realistic. What she could do––

  Alna shook herself, bringing her mind back to the present. Thinking too much like a criminal was both unneeded and disturbing.

  Frowning to herself, Alna looked back to the Zest house. Clair Zest was not a gardener, proven by the dead and dying flowers in her garden. She must have put in some effort all the same because, from where Alna was sitting, she could see some daisies struggling to survive and daffodils that finally seemed to give up on life, the yellow in their petals all but gone.

  If Alna had to guess, she would say Zest had either planted the flowers too early this year, thus ensuring their demise, or she neglected to weed them.

  Zest’s dying garden was not, by any means, an indicator of guilt, but it was interesting nonetheless.

  A middle-aged man took a seat next to Alna on the bench, likely waiting for one of the many buses that ran in Brigate. Alna stifled a sigh and waited a minute before putting her book away and walking away at a sedate pace.

  Once she was a safe distance away from Zest’s house, Alna located a way to enter the back alley and quickly crossed the road. She cast subtle glances at her surroundings, keeping an eye out for anyone that may wonder at her presence on this peaceful, unsuspecting street. Alna had forgone any disguises this time around, as they could take quite some time to apply, and she hadn’t planned to be seen by anyone who may suspect her of having sinister intentions.

  Some people thought so, anyway, finding her pale complexion off-putting. However, if no one accused her of attempting vandalism or property damage, she should be all right.

  Crunching along on the gravel road, Alna squinted against the bright sun and flipped her sunglasses over her eyes, earning her instant relief. The back alley of this street was as unassuming as its front, displaying garages and backyards with trampolines and playhouses enclosed in fences. One such backyard contained a large black dog, who barked at her loudly as she walked by. Alna sent the canine a glare, disliking having her presence being announced, even if the chances of her accomplishing anything today were slim.

  Luck (of which Alna doubted the existence) was truly not on her side today.

  Coming to the Zest house from behind, Alna stopped and looked around once more. Someone drove by in a rather large truck, giving her a friendly wave that she returned. Apart from that, Alna remained more or less unobserved.

  Looking at the backyard, Alna debated with herself. The garage was unattached from the house, sitting some metres behind it. Should Alna take the risk of sneaking into the garage and looking around? She didn’t like the idea of today being for naught, but it would not be the first time. It wouldn’t be the last time, either.

  Alna pursed her lips. She began to walk down the back alley as she thought, unwilling to be seen lingering too long outside of Zest’s house.

  Although it was a little too late for that.

  Making a snap decision, Alna exited the back alley and walked down a sidewalk parallel to the street she came from. She walked along slowly, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, nodding and smiling at a few people.

  Reaching the end of the sidewalk, Alna once again entered the back alley and made her way toward Zest’s garage at a steady pace. After looking around once more, Alna listened for any sounds of movement within the backyard. Hearing none, she located the gate and unlatched it, and slipped inside.

  Well, there was no doubting the presence of a young child in this house, was Alna’s first thought. Toys of various shapes and sizes were scattered across the lawn, underneath the trampoline, and even on the back deck. The sheer amount of items left scattered carelessly in the grass created a tripping hazard and made mowing the lawn utterly impossible unless one were to pick them up first.

  Alna frowned, only to jump when a bark sounded through the air. She was suddenly aware of the little black dog yapping at her from the deck.

  Stepping back, Alna cursed herself for her inattentiveness and cast her eyes around for a hiding spot.

  Beside the garage. That was the only plausible option. It left her open to those whose windows looked into the backyard, but if she crouched near the fence, no one could see her from the back door.

  Fool, fool, fool, Alna thought to herself she rushed toward the garage. She knelt next to it, pressing her back against the fence. Dummkopf! she thought, berating herself in German for good measure.

  Alna heard the back door open and a male voice said, “What is it, Candy?”

  Candy. How original

  Whereas before Alna had missed Marianna’s presence, she was suddenly grateful her girlfriend wasn’t here after all.

  Marianna would find this funny, if worrying, later. After she got over her skepticism over Alna’s rash decision, that is.

  “What’s wrong, girl?” the man continued, as Alna watched a window in the neighbor’s house. The blinds were currently closed, which worked to her advantage. If anyone were to look outside, however, Alna would be in trouble.

  Alna had never actually been caught during her escapes, unless one counted the times she actively communicated with the killers she was pursuing.

  Now, trapped in Zest’s backyard, Alna ran through the list of consequences if she was spotted. Jail? Unlikely, as she was not actively doing anything wrong at the moment. A fine? Possible.

  Or the babysitter might chase her off.

  It wasn’t until the door closed again that Alna realized she had been holding her breath. Feeling a little lightheaded, Alna forced herself to breathe. This was an unfortunate turn of events.

  Knowing it was foolish, Alna hesitated. Should she take the risk of slipping in the garage? After almost being seen? That was the height of stupidity.

  And yet, she could hardly stand the idea of this trip being for nothing.

  Clenching her jaw, Alna debated with herself. What were the chances she would even find anything in the garage, anyway? Unlikely. Zest seemed like the type of woman to keep vital items inside her house.

  Not to mention the risks of searching Zest’s garage while there were people on this very property. Even if they were in another building.

  Casting another glance at the window, Alna decided.

  She left Zest’s backyard as quietly as possible.