Her face lit up when she spotted me. “Thank goodness,” she said, reaching out for my hand.
“I told them you didn’t do it.” “And because they’re greedy.”
“Samuel installed cameras in the house, remember?
Officer, I told you to check the recordings.”
“Oh, I think I do,” Kira shot back. “I’m tired of covering for you boys.”
One hour later, the corps returned carrying a laptop. “See?” I said, relief washing over me.
“I didn’t take anything!”
Moments after my leaving, Ethan and Mark arrived in the picture, digging through drawers and cabinets.
They emptied jewelry cases and took cash from an envelope stashed in a cookie jar. Ethan stammered, “We… we were looking for paperwork!”
The brothers were arrested on the scene and charged with larceny and making a fake report.
I was free to leave, but the encounter had left a bitter taste in my mouth. As I accompanied Kira home that evening, she opened up more about her family.
“Samuel adored them when they were younger,” she said.
“But as they grew older, they changed. They became greedy, always asking for money, never giving back.”
In the weeks that followed the horrific incident, I found myself pulled to Kira’s house more frequently than I anticipated. Our original bond, formed in the most unlikely of circumstances, strengthened with each visit.
“Maybe Samuel sent you to me.” Kira said.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For being my light in a dark moment.”
“Sometimes, strangers become family in ways you never expect.”
