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I nod, even though she can’t see me. “Yes, I’m in my car. I have the doors locked, and it’s running in case I need to drive away.”
“That’s good to hear. Give me your address so I can see if we have any officers nearby.”
She does a great job keeping me calm as I recite my address for her.
“You’re in luck. I have someone less than ten minutes away. Would you like me to stay on the phone with you until he arrives?”
“If you wouldn’t mind, that would be amazing. If it wasn’t so late, I’d knock on my neighbor’s apartment and wait inside with her. She’s the sweetest, and I know she wouldn’t care if I knocked right now, but that just feels rude.” I ramble because I’m scared shitless.
“It’s no problem, ma’am. What’s your name?” she asks.
I appreciate her trying to distract me. “Alana.”
“Alana, what do you do for work?”
“Bartend. I just got home from my shift when I saw the door open,” I say.
We continue chatting, and every five minutes she gives me an update on how close Officer Patrick is to the apartment. Less than ten minutes later, a police car pulls up next to me. I thank the woman on the phone and get out to greet the officer.
“Good evening, ma’am. I’m Officer Patrick. You called in a break in?” he asks.
Nodding, I say, “Yes. Upstairs. Second-floor, apartment two.”
“Ma’am, get into your car and lock the door. I’ll go do a walk-through and make sure no one is in the apartment. Once I clear your apartment, I can come to get you and we can make sure nothing is missing.” He explains the process, and I get back behind the wheel, lock my car doors, and watch him draw his firearm. I look at the time on my phone and see that it’s after two in the morning. I anxiously watch the entrance until twelve minutes later, Officer Patrick emerges.
He gives me a thumbs up, and I grab my purse and step out of my car.
“It’s empty?”
Officer Patrick smiles. “Yes, ma’am. Why don’t we walk upstairs and make sure nothing is out of place, okay? From what I can see, it looks normal, but you’d know better than me.”
He gently places his hand between my shoulder blades and guides me up the stairs. We both enter my apartment together, and I take a deep breath. He flipped on all the lights as he checked the apartment, and I’m glad for it. I lead the way through every room and do my best to make sure nothing seems out of place. All my belongings and valuables seem to be accounted for, and I can’t spot anything that seems different from when I left this morning.
“It all looks normal,” I say. “Thanks, Officer, but maybe I forgot to pull the door shut when I left. Wow, I feel like an idiot for making you come out here. This is the second time this has happened since I moved in, so maybe the door is faulty? I’ll call maintenance tomorrow and have them come look at it. I’m so sorry.”
“Please don’t apologize, ma’am. This is my job, and it’s been a slow night. You gave me something to do. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation, but if this happens again, please don’t walk in alone. We’d much rather come to check the place out than you get harmed thinking it’s nothing. Is there a way you can make sure the door is secure tonight? It may help you sleep better.”
“I have an emergency door jammer I can use for tonight. I should probably use it more often. It was a gift from my mom before I moved to the city. She was terrified that I’d get kidnapped or be the victim of a home invasion gone wrong. I thought she was being paranoid.” I realize I’m rambling again and stop talking.
“I’m glad you have a safety net. Use it as soon as I leave, okay? You have a good night. Like I said, if it happens again, call us.”
I nod. “Thanks. Have a good night.”
As soon as I lock the door behind him, I scurry to my bedroom and grab the door jammer. It looks like a cane and goes from the doorknob to the floor. Once it’s in place, I try to open the door a few times, but it doesn’t budge.
Stripping out of my work clothes, I collapse on the bed. My phone doesn’t even make it on the charger before I fall into a fitful, restless sleep.
23
Chapter Twenty Three
Alana
“Ugh.” I reach over to silence my alarm, fatigued from sleeping like shit. My phone battery blinks low because I forgot to put it on the charger. Great.
After the break in debacle, I sent Ricole and Ashley a brief rundown of what happened when I got home last night. They both responded by voicing their concerns over the security in my apartment building, and I exhale heavily because I’m concerned, too. I knew when I saw how cheap the rent was, there would be issues, but a self-opening door wasn’t what I expected.
I slowly trundle out of bed and make my way to the bathroom. After I take care of my morning business, I stand in front of the mirror, noting the massive bags and dark circles under my eyes, and lean over to splash cold water on my face. There isn’t enough caffeine in the world to energize me, but I’m going to try my damnedest.
