She turned sharply. Nothing. No movement. Just the quiet landing, the closed bedroom doors, and the faint hum of the thermostat. She grabbed the crackers quickly, but when she opened the pantry, she hesitated. A few items looked out of place, a cereal box leaned sideways, a jar that had been at the front now shoved toward the back.
It wasn’t anything alarming, but it wasn’t the tidy arrangement she remembered from her first day. On Friday, she noticed the upstairs pantry again. This time, one snack box was missing entirely. Kayla checked the high shelf twice, then the lower one. Nothing.