I bounded up the stairs and hurried down the hallway. Crime scene tape was still draped across the doorway to the master bedroom and the door was pulled shut. A new dead bolt had been installed on the outside so that the door could be secured from the hallway. That way, they could delay repair of the breached window in case they needed to review it again, but prevent entry into the rest of the house. I unlocked the dead bolt and turned the doorknob, then pushed the door open a crack and peered inside. I didn’t see the flashlight moving around, but he could have extinguished it and been hiding in a corner just waiting for me to step inside.
Carter would probably pitch a fit, but that’s exactly what I did. I pushed the door open wide, then bent under one set of crime scene tape while stepping over the other. I turned on my cell phone flashlight and shone it around the room. No one was lurking in the corners, but that didn’t mean there weren’t hiding places. I pulled open the closet doors and moved the clothes around, making sure no one lurked behind them, then dropped down and peered under the bed. It was one of those with an adjustable base, so no place to hide there.
I stood back up and walked over to the window. The latch was closed, but I knew from what Marie had told us that if you jiggled it a bit, you could get the window open with little problem. I didn’t want to touch anything, so I turned around to head back downstairs and Carter stepped into the bedroom, carrying a flashlight.
“Trying to do my job?” he asked.
“No. Just making sure the room was clear. I touched the dead bolt, doorknob to the room, the closet doors, and the clothes. Nothing else.”
He nodded and glanced around the room. I could tell he wasn’t happy.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked. “It makes no sense for someone to return to a crime scene.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
I wondered if Derrick Miller was still in police custody, but then I supposed it didn’t matter. I’d seen Brandon Dugas leave his house with a flashlight. Ida Belle had seen him in the swamp using his computer. He was lying to his wife. The evidence was circumstantial but it all pointed in the same horrible direction.
“Let’s get out of here,” Carter said. “I’ll have a team work the window again, but I don’t expect they’ll find anything this time either.”
“I, uh, I need to tell you something else,” I said. “But I don’t want to do it in front of Nolan because I could be wrong.”
Carter frowned. “Okay. Let me get the situation on-site handled and then we’ll talk.”
We headed back downstairs to find an anxious Nolan and Ida Belle waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
“It’s clear,” I said. “There was no one up there.”
“Was the window open?” Nolan asked.
“No,” I said, “but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t used. I’m sure he heard us pounding on the door. He had plenty of time to leave before I got up there to check.”
“I don’t understand,” Nolan said. “Why would he come back here? What possible reason could he have?”
“I don’t know,” Carter said. “But I don’t like it. I’m sorry, Nolan, but I’m going to have to insist on removing you from the house tonight, for your own safety. You’re already at a disadvantage, and with the power out, it makes it worse.”
“But that’s not possible,” Nolan protested. “I can’t just pop over to a friend’s house and stay.”
“I know you need special accommodations,” Carter said. “The sheriff’s department will gladly pay for a room at the hotel just up the highway. It won’t be fancy, but you’ll be able to function and it will be safe.”
“Wow,” Nolan said, apparently still trying to process everything and coming up short. “If you think it’s best. I just need to pack a few things from the guest room. Ida Belle, if you wouldn’t mind, I think there’s a small duffel bag on the top shelf of the closet in there. If you could get it down for me.”
“Of course,” Ida Belle said. “And I’ll help you put some things together.”
Carter called Deputy Breaux and told him to get over to Nolan’s house now, then called the hotel and made a reservation. Deputy Breaux had just stepped inside when Ida Belle and Nolan returned with a packed bag. Carter instructed the deputy to take Nolan to the hotel and see that he was comfortable.
“That’s not necessary,” Nolan said. “I’d prefer to drive my own car. Besides, I need to return here tomorrow, assuming it’s all right.”
Carter nodded. “Then I’ll have Deputy Breaux follow you.”
“Do I wait on your call tomorrow?” Nolan asked. “To know when I can return home?”
Carter shook his head. “Hopefully, they’ll get the power back on sometime tonight. I’ll have my team work the window first thing tomorrow morning. It won’t take long. If you want to return sometime midmorning, you should be in the clear. I’ll probably go ahead and release the master bedroom back to you as well. That way you can have that window fixed.”
“Oh, that’s a relief,” Nolan said. “My upper back is killing me sleeping in the guest bed. The adjustable one is much better for me.” He flushed a bit. “I know it sounds morbid, sleeping in there, but I ordered new mattresses. They should arrive in a day or two.”
“It’s not morbid,” Ida Belle said, and patted his shoulder. “You do what you need to do.”