back windows and was about to move to the front bedrooms when the phone rang again.
If she had a whistle, she’d be tempted to let it blast. She smiled to herself, then puckered up and put her thumb and forefinger between her lips as she lifted the receiver. She didn’t say a thing and when the person on the other end didn’t either, she let loose for a full ten seconds.
After a second’s pause, a voice came on the line. “Bec? Is that you?”
“Josh? Uh, sorry about that. Someone’s been calling here and not saying anything and then hanging up. I figured I’d give him an earful.”
“When? How many times?”
His staccato questions set her pulse racing all over again. “Three times in the last half hour or so. I tried star sixty-nine, but the guy blocked his information.”
“I’m on my way now. That’s why I called. If the phone rings again, don’t answer it. When I get there, I’ll get hold of the phone company and have them trace the call.”
Outside, Tripod started barking.
Sure, where was the dog an hour ago when Rambo showed up? “Your dog’s going nuts over something outside.”
“Probably a cat again. Can you see him?”
Becki unwound the phone cord from behind the night table and moved to the window to try and see what had him riled. A noise sounded from downstairs. The dog?
She couldn’t see him from the window. From his barking, it sounded as if he was prancing back and forth along the west wall. She moved toward the bedroom door, straining to hear if the sound had really come from inside.
Another thump sounded.
“Josh,” she whispered, “I think someone’s in the house.”
“Where are you?”
“Upstairs.”
A voice spoke in the background, and then Josh barked orders to send a cruiser to her address. “Help is on the way, Bec. I’m fifteen minutes out.” Through the phone, a siren whirred to life, while at her end, silence reigned.
The dog’s not barking. She clenched the phone to her ear. “Josh, the dog’s not barking!”
“It’s going to be okay. I want you to hide in the bathroom. Lock the door.”
“But I’m on an old plug-in phone, I’d have to hang up.”
“Listen to me. You need to hang up. If the intruder sees a light on the downstairs phone, he’ll know someone’s in the house.”
Her fingers tightened around the receiver at the thought of breaking the connection.
A loud pop and whoosh cracked the silence.
She gasped.
“What is it? What’s going on?” The urgency in Josh’s voice sent her pulse careening.
“A... It sounded like a gunshot. Outside.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t one of the bangers that scare birds from the vineyards across the road?”
Her heart pummeled her ribs as she tugged the phone as far as it would reach and tried to see out the front windows from the hallway. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
A second shot sounded. And a puff of dirt kicked up in the yard.
She dropped to her belly. “No, it’s real. Someone’s shooting at the house!”
FOUR
A t the sound of dead air swallowing Bec’s whispered “Hurry,” Josh floored the gas pedal. What kind of car thief shot at a house?
Josh tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Was he reading the situation all wrong? Were the note, the incident in the barn and these shots really about scaring Bec off her grandparents’ property?
He banked the corner too fast. His wheels bit into the graveled shoulder. He cranked the wheel hard to the left, then right, pulling the car straight, wishing he could get a grip as easily on what was going on.
The guy Bec had surprised in the barn had to believe she could identify him, or else why expose his proximity by shooting at the house?
Seven minutes out, his police radio blared to life. “We’re on-site. No sign of an intruder outside. But no one’s answering the door.”
Josh snatched up the radio. “I told her to hide in the upstairs bathroom. Use the bullhorn.”
Twenty long seconds later, an officer came back on.
If she had a whistle, she’d be tempted to let it blast. She smiled to herself, then puckered up and put her thumb and forefinger between her lips as she lifted the receiver. She didn’t say a thing and when the person on the other end didn’t either, she let loose for a full ten seconds.
After a second’s pause, a voice came on the line. “Bec? Is that you?”
“Josh? Uh, sorry about that. Someone’s been calling here and not saying anything and then hanging up. I figured I’d give him an earful.”
“When? How many times?”
His staccato questions set her pulse racing all over again. “Three times in the last half hour or so. I tried star sixty-nine, but the guy blocked his information.”
“I’m on my way now. That’s why I called. If the phone rings again, don’t answer it. When I get there, I’ll get hold of the phone company and have them trace the call.”
Outside, Tripod started barking.
Sure, where was the dog an hour ago when Rambo showed up? “Your dog’s going nuts over something outside.”
“Probably a cat again. Can you see him?”
Becki unwound the phone cord from behind the night table and moved to the window to try and see what had him riled. A noise sounded from downstairs. The dog?
She couldn’t see him from the window. From his barking, it sounded as if he was prancing back and forth along the west wall. She moved toward the bedroom door, straining to hear if the sound had really come from inside.
Another thump sounded.
“Josh,” she whispered, “I think someone’s in the house.”
“Where are you?”
“Upstairs.”
A voice spoke in the background, and then Josh barked orders to send a cruiser to her address. “Help is on the way, Bec. I’m fifteen minutes out.” Through the phone, a siren whirred to life, while at her end, silence reigned.
The dog’s not barking. She clenched the phone to her ear. “Josh, the dog’s not barking!”
“It’s going to be okay. I want you to hide in the bathroom. Lock the door.”
“But I’m on an old plug-in phone, I’d have to hang up.”
“Listen to me. You need to hang up. If the intruder sees a light on the downstairs phone, he’ll know someone’s in the house.”
Her fingers tightened around the receiver at the thought of breaking the connection.
A loud pop and whoosh cracked the silence.
She gasped.
“What is it? What’s going on?” The urgency in Josh’s voice sent her pulse careening.
“A... It sounded like a gunshot. Outside.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t one of the bangers that scare birds from the vineyards across the road?”
Her heart pummeled her ribs as she tugged the phone as far as it would reach and tried to see out the front windows from the hallway. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
A second shot sounded. And a puff of dirt kicked up in the yard.
She dropped to her belly. “No, it’s real. Someone’s shooting at the house!”
FOUR
A t the sound of dead air swallowing Bec’s whispered “Hurry,” Josh floored the gas pedal. What kind of car thief shot at a house?
Josh tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Was he reading the situation all wrong? Were the note, the incident in the barn and these shots really about scaring Bec off her grandparents’ property?
He banked the corner too fast. His wheels bit into the graveled shoulder. He cranked the wheel hard to the left, then right, pulling the car straight, wishing he could get a grip as easily on what was going on.
The guy Bec had surprised in the barn had to believe she could identify him, or else why expose his proximity by shooting at the house?
Seven minutes out, his police radio blared to life. “We’re on-site. No sign of an intruder outside. But no one’s answering the door.”
Josh snatched up the radio. “I told her to hide in the upstairs bathroom. Use the bullhorn.”
Twenty long seconds later, an officer came back on.
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