“Ness, we need to fight back. If he’s still here, he may not be back in Chicago for a while. Is there anything in his house that you can use against him?”
“As a matter of fact, there is,” Ness answered.
“Good, head there—he won’t be expecting that. Lindsay’s mother has decided to get away to her sister’s, and it was a spur-of-the-moment decision. Lindsay will be safe there.” Wyatt ran up the stairs. “Get dressed, Ness, and get ready to leave.” Ness moved up the stairs behind Wyatt and into the guestroom.
“What’s going on?” Lindsay asked, jumping up from the bed. “Gramps has been murdered, and I think we might be in danger,” Wyatt said, cutting to the chase.
“What?” Lindsay’s shock and confusion were practically palpable. “But . . . we were just there,” she started shaking with tears in her eyes.
“I know, honey, but we’re not safe here. Call your mom and tell her that you’re going with her to your aunt’s. Don’t go into any details because it will only freak her out.” Wyatt said grabbing his gun and extra clips from the gun safe in his bedside cabinet.
“Wait, where are you going to be?” Lindsay asked, insecure and confused.
“I need to head to the cabin with Dad to look for any way to catch the monster who did this,” Wyatt grabbed his jacket and clipped a hunting knife onto his belt. “Honey, you need to call your mom. We need to get moving,” he handed her the phone.
Lindsay knew that Wyatt was a cop and was trained to stay calm in stressful situations, but his methodical demeanor was freaking her out at the moment. She grabbed the phone and dialed her mom’s number. “Mom, have you left yet for Aunt Tracy’s?” she waited for her mom to respond. “Good, because I’m coming with you. But we need to leave tonight. I’ll explain when I get to you. I love you, Mom,” she said, hanging up the phone.
“Don’t bother packing, honey. Just get dressed and buy anything that you need when you arrive at Tracy’s,” Wyatt assured her. Lindsay nodded and started getting dressed.
10 minutes later, Lindsay was in her car and starting it up. Wyatt walked to the window and leaned in. He kissed her passionately: “This will all be over soon, honey, I promise. I love you.”
“I wish you were coming with me,” Lindsay said. “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Wyatt said as she reversed out of the garage.
Ness walked up beside her brother as Lindsay’s car disappeared into the distance. “I’m also heading out,” Ness said, hugging Wyatt. “Be safe.”
“You too,” Wyatt said, and Ness got into her Civic and pulled out the driveway.
Wyatt closed the garage and locked the house up. He knew that the chances of En Passant coming to the house were enormous, and he didn’t want to leave any easy points of entry. That done, he got into his truck and drove to the Illinois woods. He needed to make it to the cabin as soon as he possibly could.
Lindsay had made it about 10 miles out of town when she realized she left her phone on the bedside table and cursed under her breath. She knew that going back was ridiculous, but she needed her phone in case she needed to get hold of Wyatt. She turned the car around and drove back towards North Utica.
10 minutes later, she parked the car in the driveway and ran toward the front door. She unlocked it and went inside. All the lights were off in the interior of the house.
Strange . . . I’m sure Wyatt would have left lights on. Maybe he was just in a hurry, Lindsay though as she walked quickly up the stairs and found her phone on the bedside table. She didn’t bother turning on the lights because she knew where she left it.
Crash . . . Glass broke downstairs in the kitchen.
Lindsay’s heart was pounding in her ears and she started to feel dizzy. She wanted to call out, but she realized that in doing so she’d give away her position. She took several deep breaths and moved quietly toward the door of the room. Her eyes were adjusting to the dark, and she could see the landing on top of the stairs easily. Lindsay moved out of the master bedroom and tiptoed into the guest room and crawled under the bed in the guest bedroom; she turned so she could see the door. She strained to hear anything. She laid there for what seemed forever, but she wasn’t going to risk crawling out. Something, or someone, had to be responsible for breaking the glass downstairs.
Then she saw the feet move quietly past the door and into the master bedroom. Lindsay had to cover her mouth to muffle her building scream. “Lindsay, where are you?” the voice ominously whispered. She could hear the closet doors being opened and rummaged through in the other room, and then everything went quiet. Lindsay focused her sight on the doorway again and could see the black boots standing in the doorway facing the room. He took two steps forward and then stopped.
Lindsay wanted to scream as the tears ran down her cheeks. His body lowered to the ground and she could see his eyes meet hers. They seemed to be as dark as coal against the moonlight streaming into the room. “Well, hello there,” he laughed.
21
Ness drove as quickly as she could toward Chicago, but she was careful not to go too excessively over the speed limit. The last thing that she needed now was to be pulled over by the cops. It wouldn’t necessarily be detrimental to her, but she didn’t want to waste
