“Yes, sir,” I say. “This is the second time we’ve caught him out here. The first time with binoculars looking up into the office when I was helping the tenant move in. We’ve got a license plate from before.”

I grab a photocopy of the SUV’s license plate and hand it to Officer Clyde. The other officers continue rifling through the boxes. Another officer stands in front of the massive board that Steve’s been working on. They take photos of the boxes, pulling out files and reading through Steve’s notes. Then they take a photo of Steve’s board. They don’t seem too concerned about a robbery.

“Well, I don’t think there are any valuables here,” Mr. Evans says, beginning to usher the officers out. “But I’ll be sure to check in with my tenant. I’ll be in contact if he identifies anything missing.”

“Didn’t know you had a tenant,” Officer Clyde says.

“Yip. Things been slow, so thought I’d try and make a little more money.”

“You filed the appropriate paperwork to rent a space? You know how the city is about pop-up establishments. You never can be too careful who you bring into town.”

“I’ve got the paperwork. Nothing to worry about here, Officer Clyde,” Mr. Evans says.

The cops finally exit, and Mr. Evans shuts the door behind them.

“What do you think?” Mr. Evans asks us.

“That was weird, right?” I say. “The break-in? The cops?”

“Small town. Folks don’t like new people coming in and being nosy,” Mr. Evans says.

There’s being nosy, and there’s conspiring against the investigation. Someone was looking for something. The question is, what?

Two hours later, Dean and I jolt at the sound of the key jingling in the door. Steve carries his briefcase in with a weary look of exhaustion.

“What took so long?” I ask.

“Interviewee was an hour late. Some emergency.”

“Coincidence a break-in occurred in the daytime?” I ask.

“Not sure I believe in those anymore,” Steve says. “It’s time we take precautions.”

“I agree,” Dean says.

I think about how quickly Dean pulled out the shotgun. I don’t like the way this is going.

“All right, what happened?” Steve asks.

We walk Steve through everything. From the moment the guy got out of his SUV, all the way through how the cops seemed more interested in searching Steve’s office than looking for a burglar. When we’re done, we point out all the boxes the cops focused on. Steve checks each one.

“Did they take anything?”

“I didn’t see,” I say. “They were more poking around.”

“Yeah. I didn’t see them take anything, either,” Dean says.

Steve looks over at the security alarm that apparently only makes noise and doesn’t actually stop intruders.

“I’ve got an order in for a new system,” Dean says. “This time I’ll install it myself.”