Holiday Case Closed

"How did this briefcase get on the table?" Brad asked.

"You must've put it there," Charlotte answered, unloading their holiday bags into the living room.

"No, that's not mine. Mine's by the coach." Brad pointed to a similar briefcase.

Charlotte frowned. "You're right. It's not ours. How did it get here?"

Brad scanned the open-concept living room. They'd just arrived from the city to their country house for the weekend.

"The house didn't look broken into," Charlotte said.

"If it was, we have one high-class robber with great taste," Brad quipped.

"Should we open it?" Charlotte asked. "No way. For all we know, there could be a bomb in there," Brad said excitedly.

"You've been reading too my spy novels," Charlotte said dryly.

"I'm calling the police. You check if anything is missing." Brad pulled out his iPhone.

Charlotte searched while Brad reported the mysterious briefcase.

Thirty minutes later…

Two officers stood in the living room, listening to Brad's account.

"This is how we found it," Brad explained, gesturing to the briefcase. "We're worried someone broke in."

The younger officer glanced at the cluttered room. "You've got a lot of bags here."

"Yes, we just drove up from the city," Charlotte said, cutting Brad off before he could snap.

The older officer stepped forward. "We got a call from a gentleman in the city who travels a lot and has a tracker in this bag."

Charlotte blinked. "So, someone did come in here and leave it?"

"Well, this man should be arrested! He came into our home for whatever reason and left his bag here!" Brad yelled.

"Sir," the younger officer asked, "were you at the East 98th Street parking garage this afternoon?"

"Yes, I picked up my car there; it was busy with holiday traffic. What does this have to do with this briefcase?"

The officer folded his arms. "Nobody broke into your house, sir."

"And how do you know that?" Brad's voice rose.

"Because you took the briefcase at the parking garage. We have CCTV showing you grabbed it."

Brad's jaw dropped. Charlotte suppressed a giggle.

The older officer added, "If anyone needs to be arrested for theft, it's you."

Brad gawked. "This is crazy! I didn't steal anything!"

"You grabbed the wrong bag, sir. A mistake, it can happen." The officer tapped the briefcase. "We'll return this to the owner, who is not pressing charges."

As the officers left, Charlotte smirked. "You did say the parking garage was hectic."

Brad muttered, "Next time, you pick up the car with the holiday bags!"

******

Thank you for reading!