“Jenna, he’s coming your way,” Maria said.
“We’re in one of the center caves. We’re ready for him.”
Martz whirled and saw the guy slipping past her in the dark. She raised the shotgun to fire, but there was a SWAT officer in the line of fire. She saw the guy duck low and slash one of the SWAT men behind the knee. He fell to the ground clutching his leg.
She nudged one of the men out of the way, saw the guy hustling to the rear of the cave. She leveled the shotgun and fired, the Remington giving a hollow boom in the cave.
The guy kept going. Then he was just gone.
She followed to the back of the cave. Like Maria, she had a flashlight mounted to the shotgun. The stink of the man hung in the air.
When she got to the back of the cave, he was nowhere to be seen. She swept the beam back and forth, thinking maybe he was crouched in the shadows. “Where the hell did you go?”
From behind her, the downed officer moaned. The call for a medic went over the comm. She was at a loss until she felt a breeze nip at her ankles. She looked down and saw the gap between the rock wall and the floor. The stone was ragged and had been chipped away.
There was just enough space for someone to fit through. She shined her light down the hole and saw a rotting ladder affixed to the wall. This was why Meyers couldn’t find him back in 2003. They had somehow missed this.
“Greco, you there?” Jenna said.
“Copy. Go.”
“There’s a hole in the floor. He ducked down there.”
“What the hell’s down there?”
“I say we get a town engineer on the phone and find out. Get blueprints.”
“I’ll get on it. I’m worried where he’s headed next.”
“The kids?”
“Let’s roll.”
Chris had a belly full of Big Mac and fries. They were sitting in his living room, Hope next to him on the couch. They were both looking on their phones. His aunt was typing furiously on her laptop, her face bathed in the bluish glow of the screen.
Hope rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head, enjoying the scent of her coconut shampoo.
They sat for another moment when he heard sirens. They were getting closer.
His phone rang. Didn’t recognize the number. “Yeah?”
“Chris, it’s Detective Greco.”
“I’m really tired. Do I have to answer more questions?”
“Listen to me. The killer is loose. We lost him in the caves. Make sure you’re locked up. We’re on the way over.”
“Shit. Where did he go?” Chris said.
“We consulted with the town engineer. He’s using a network of caves underneath the town. Now we’re watching to see where he could end up. He marked you both, so we think he’s coming for you.”
That sent a chill through him. “Okay. We’ll double check the locks.”
He ended the call.
Hope sat up. Aunt Megan closed the laptop.
“What’s going on?” his aunt said.
“They lost track of the killer. They think he’s headed this way.”
Aunt Megan jumped out of the chair. “Are the doors locked?”
“I locked them and double checked.”
“Triple check the front and side doors. Hope, come with me and check the back door,” Megan said.
Chris hurried to the side door. The deadbolt was in place. He peered out the side window that looked onto the driveway. No one out there.
From there, he went to the front door and found the deadbolt in place. He drew the front curtains just because it made him feel better. When the curtains were drawn, he pushed one aside a bit and peered out. No one was on the street. The streetlights gave off a soft yellow glow.
The sirens screamed. The police were almost here. Good.
Chris ran upstairs to his bedroom and opened the closet door. Propped inside was an aluminum baseball bat. He’d played little league for a season and his dad had gotten him the bat. It had been gathering dust in the closet for years.
He grabbed the bat and headed downstairs, where he found Hope and Aunt Megan in the living room. Aunt Megan was holding a chef’s knife. Hope had a serrated carving knife.
“When you carving the turkey?” Chris said.
“I can cut other things off with this,” Hope said.
“Save that for when you’re married,” Aunt Megan said.
Lights flashed against the front of the house; the cops were here.
Chris looked outside and saw the officer get out of his patrol car. He was a portly guy with a mustache and a flat top haircut.
He was coming to the front door. Chris unlocked it and opened it up.
The name on his uniform said Perez.
“Evening,” Perez said. “Everyone okay in here?”
Aunt Megan came up beside Chris. “We’re okay. Locked it down tight.”
“I’m going to look around. Sit tight. I’ll be parked out here all night.”
“Has anyone seen him?” Chris said.
“Not since he fled the caves. We’ve got all our people on patrol. He’s using a network of tunnels and caves that run under the town. We’re not sure where he’ll surface.”
“Thank you, officer,” Aunt Megan said.
Chris was about to thank him as well when he saw the man in the long coat creep from behind the patrol car. A small noise escaped his throat. The man seemed to glide, quicker than Chris could warn the officer.
Something warm spattered on Chris’s face. Perez’s head was cocked back. Something poked through his throat. It was only after a moment that Chris realized it was a knife tip. The hooded man had driven it through the back of
