"The person who called said a large metal container was removed from your yard early this morning."
I felt the ground shift beneath me.
"A metal container?"
"Yes."
"I didn't know anything was buried there."
"We believe you."
"Do you?"
Officer Beckett closed his notebook.
"At this stage, we believe Mark used you to gain access to whatever was underground."
The words settled slowly.
Used you.
That part I understood.
Mark had not chosen my yard because it was larger. He had not cared about a birthday party. He had known I would be gone.
He had planned around my kindness.
"I want to know what was in the container," I said.
Officer Gerald's expression tightened.
"So do we."
The officers stayed for almost two hours. They took photographs, measured the hole, and asked me the same questions in different ways.
Had Mark ever entered my backyard before?
Had I noticed him watching the property?
