“Where?” Ryan and I spoke as one.
“Out on the lawn.”
“A man? A woman?” Ryan asked.
“A man. I think. He looked pretty big.”
“What was he doing?”
“Just standing there. Under a tree. When I screamed, he ran off.”
“Lily!” Ryan rushed toward his daughter’s room.
The TV was tinting the walls and furniture an eerie blue. Colors danced the glass of the open balcony door, blurry reflections of movement on the screen.
Lily stood in shadow between the bed and a highboy dresser. In the dimness, her eyes looked way too large.
Ryan rushed forward. Stopped at arm’s length from his daughter, uncertain.
“Are you all right?” Ryan’s voice sounded taut and gentle at the same time.
Lily nodded.
Ryan scanned the room, assessing. Though the bedding was tangled, Lily was fully dressed.
Katy and I watched from the doorway.
Lily stood with her back pressed to the wall.
Ryan strode onto the balcony and surveyed the landscape below.
“Who screamed?” Lily asked.
“I saw someone down by the pool,” Katy said.
Ryan stepped in and slid the door sideways. Water plumed from the track.
“Holy hell!” Katy sounded scared. “That posting. Could this be related?”
Ryan snicked the lock into place, turned, frowned at me.
I hadn’t told him about the threatening message on Katy’s blog.
“What posting?” he asked.
I gave a condensed version.
“And you didn’t mention this little incident because . . . ?”
“I got distracted.”
“Distracted?”
“First LaManche called with his bombshell about Harriet Lowery’s DNA.” As the excuse left my lips I knew it was lame. “Then there was the news about Al Lapasa.”
Ryan spoke to Katy.
“Was the man alone?”
“I think so.”
“Which way did he go?”
“I didn’t see. I— I’m sorry. I acted like some B-grade Hollywood heroine.”
“Can you describe him?” I recognized the altered tone. Ryan had kicked into cop mode.
Katy shook her head. “It was dark.”
Ryan walked over and placed a hand on each of his daughter’s shoulders.
“Look at me.”
Lily’s eyes rolled up.
“Why are you dressed at two in the morning?”
“I fell asleep watching TV.”
“Watching what?”
Lily shrugged. “Nothing special. Just stuff.”
“Do you have any idea who this intruder might be?”
“I didn’t see the guy.”
A few beats passed.
“I’ll double-check the gates and the house.” Ryan shot a look my way. Angry? Troubled? Disappointed? “Let’s all get some sleep.”
