Saturday Morning Breakfast Serial.

Nothing's going to happen. Famous last words. Well, maybe not last words. Although at the moment Jen would gladly and happily strangle her sister she wouldn't actually kill her. Probably. No. She wouldn't. She loved Wendy. She really did. She just needed to remind herself of that over, and over until she calmed down.

"Are you all right?"

Jen gave her boyfriend a look that would've curdled milk.

"Okay, admittedly a stupid question. " He shook his head. "God, what a mess." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number from memory. The police station, of course. Jen only half-listened as he reported a break-in and presumed robbery.

The place was a wreck. It was as if a tornado had come threw. The contents of drawers were dumped on the floor, her bookcases emptied, their contents strewn everywhere. Her couch cushions and throw pillows had been shredded with a knife. There was broken glass everywhere. And that was just the living room. Jen hadn't even looked at the other rooms in the house. It was too damned depressing.

Outside she heard a faint, plaintive mewling. Obsidian! He wasn't in the house! Oh thank God. He could've been hurt, even killed.

Jen pushed past Jake to stand on the front porch step. "Obsidian. Here baby. Come here. It's all right now. I'm home."

She saw a twitch of movement in the bushes, and the mewling grew louder. Crouching down, she clucked her tongue and started making the little squirrel sounds that never failed to draw him out. Sure enough, he began his approach, warily at first, but crossing the last bit of space in a rush.

"Oh baby, I've missed you too." She petted him, tears stinging her eyes. He was a mess. leaves were tangled in his long, black fur, and there was a long scab running diagonally across his nose. Jen sank into a sitting position, taking him into her lap. As she finger-combed his hair she felt the purr rumbling through his body.

Jake came over and sat down beside them. "The police will be here in a couple of minutes." He told her. "Hey big guy." He reached over, letting the cat sniff his fingers before scratching behind the cat's ears. "Looks like you've had an adventure while we were gone. If only you could talk."

"Next time, he stays at the vet. I don't care how much boarding him costs." Jen's voice was unsteady. "If he hadn't been outside . . ."

"Don't think about it. He's fine. He's safe. You're safe. That's what's important."

"But my house." She felt so violated. And oh God the work it was going to take cleaning that mess up. It made her tired just thinking about it. The vacation had been fun, but it hadn't been restful. She was already exhausted. Damn it! The tears that had been threatening began falling in earnest.

"I know. I know." Obsidian squirmed out from between them as Jake took Jen in his arms, holding her close. "It's going to be all right. It sucks. And it's not the homecoming we would've wanted for you. But we'll get through this."

She felt like such a baby. She was all right. Her cat was fine. There was nothing in the house that couldn't be replaced. Not really. She'd taken all of her jewelry with her, and she didn't have much else valuable. Even her TV was a crummy old 19 inch.

"You know baby, it looks as if the intruder was searching for something. Any idea what?"

"No clue. I mean, I don't have anything worth hiding."

"Well maybe he just got mad and destroyed things because he didn't find anything he could fence." Jake's voice was soothing, but his expression was doubtful. "Are you sure there's nothing . . ."

"Not a thing. I don't keep anything valuable at the house. It all goes in the safe deposit box at the bank. The jewelry is going back there first thing Monday morning." She rummaged in her purse for a tissue. "Why would somebody do this?"

Why indeed.