LITMIR.BIZ

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silently through the hall toward the staircase. She could hear herself breathing hard. Blood roared like a jet engine in her ears. She passed the front door. Through the beveled glass, lightning flashed with blinding intensity, illuminating a tall figure draped in black and dripping with rain. A scream tore from her throat. She scrambled back, her hand shooting to the cell phone at her waist. The door flew open with a burst of wind and rain.

      “Stop right there,” came a deep male voice.

      Gripping her cell phone like a lifeline, she spun and ran for her life. Tearing through the foyer, she rounded the staircase and took the steps two at a time. All the while she tried desperately to remember if there was a lock on the bedroom door.

      She heard the intruder behind her as she reached the upstairs landing. Heavy footsteps. A hint of labored breathing. The knowledge that she was alone with someone who could very well mean her harm. Her fingers trembled violently as she stabbed 911 into her cell.

      “Stop! Cape Darkwood PD!”

      The words barely registered over the jumble of fear. She dashed into the bedroom, spun to slam the door. But the man stuck his foot in. “Take it easy,” he said.

      Facing the door, Sara stumbled back. In a small corner of her mind she heard the dispatcher’s voice coming over her cell phone. “There’s a prowler in my house!” she screamed.

      The bedroom door swung open. The yellow beam of a flashlight cut through the darkness. The man stood silhouetted in the doorway. Sara looked around wildly for a weapon. Finding nothing, she glanced at the cell phone in her hand and threw it with all her might.

      He ducked, but wasn’t fast enough. The phone struck the left side of his face. Grunting, he lifted his hand to his cheekbone.

      “The police are on the way!” she cried.

      Spotting the lamp on the night table, she snatched it up and mentally prepared herself to use it if he got any closer.

      “I am the damn police,” he snapped. “Calm down.”

      The words penetrated the veil of shock, slowed the hard rush of fear. He illuminated his face with the flashlight beam, and Sara lowered the lamp.

      “I’m a cop,” he repeated. “Put down the lamp.”

      He didn’t look like a cop. Wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt beneath a dark raincoat, he looked more like the villain in a slasher film. The thought made her shudder.

      “I—I want to see your badge,” she managed.

      “Keep your hands where I can see them.” He shone the light at her, sweeping it from her head to her feet. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

      “I own this place,” she said.

      Sliding a badge from the pocket of his trench, he shoved it at her. “You’re the homeowner?”

      “That’s what I said.”

      “Show me some ID.” Tilting his head slightly, he spoke into a lapel mike. “This is zero-two-four. I’m ten-twenty-three. Over.”

      “Whatcha got, Chief?” crackled a tinny male voice.

      “Cancel that ten-fourteen, will you?”

      “Roger that.”

      Convinced this man was indeed a cop, Sara sidled to the bed and pulled her driver’s license from her wallet. “You scared the hell out of me,” she snapped as she crossed to him and held it out for him to read.

      He shone the beam on her license. “Sara Douglas.” He said her name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

      “Th-there was a prowler,” she said. “I saw him. At the kitchen window. A man.”

      Dipping his head slightly, he pinched the bridge of his nose. “How long ago?”

      “A minute. Maybe two.”

      “That was probably me.”

      “Oh.” Sara choked out a nervous laugh, releasing some of the tension that had built up inside her.

      He frowned, apparently not seeing any humor in the situation. Maybe because he had a bump the size of a quarter on his left cheekbone from where she’d thrown the cell phone.

      “I’m sorry I threw the phone at you.”

      “Yeah.” He touched the bump. “I’ll let you know if I decide to arrest you for assaulting a cop.”

      “You’re kidding, right?”

      He didn’t answer, and Sara found herself wishing she could see his face better.

      “What are you doing here?” she asked.

      “A 911 call came in about twenty minutes ago. Someone reported seeing lights up here.”

      Realization dawned. “Someone thought I was a prowler?”

      “This place has been vacant for quite a few years. Neighbors aren’t used to seeing any kind of activity up here. Unless, of course, it has to do with ghosts.”

      The word hung in the air like a bad joke. “Ghosts?”

      “Word around town is that this place is haunted.”

      “That’s pretty ridiculous.” Her laugh held no humor.

      “Considering what happened up here.” He lifted a shoulder, let it drop. “People love a good ghost story.”

      Or a murder mystery, she thought.

      He shoved the badge back into his pocket. She caught a glimpse of a pistol and leather shoulder holster. But even more dangerous than the weapon was the man himself. He was built like a distance runner. Tall with narrow hips and long, muscular legs encased in snug denim. The navy T-shirt was damp from the rain and clung to an abdomen that regularly saw the inside of a gym.

      “So are you planning on hitting me with that?”

      Realizing she was still clutching the lamp, Sara returned it to the bedside table. “I thought you were an intruder.”

      “Good thing for you I’m not.” He motioned toward the lamp. “Wouldn’t do much good against a gun.”

      Sara didn’t know what to say to that; she knew firsthand the damage a gun could do.

      “I didn’t mean to spook you,” he said. “You okay?”

      “Just a little rattled. Electricity went out.”

      “Lightning took out a transformer down on Wind River Road. Crews are out, but it’s pretty remote out here. Could take a while.”

      “Lovely.”

      “Do you have a flashlight or candles?”

      “I dropped the flashlight and broke it, but I think there are candles in the kitchen.”

      “I’ll stay long enough for you to get a few lit if you’d like.”

      “Not that I’m afraid of ghosts or anything.”

      “Of course not.” Touching the brim of his cap, he left the bedroom and started for the stairs.

      Feeling silly for having overreacted, Sara followed.

      “Where are you from?” he asked as they descended the stairs.

      “San Diego.”

      At the kitchen, he moved aside and motioned her ahead, shining the flashlight so she could see. Sara went to the candle she’d left on the counter, relit it, then began rummaging for more.

      “Alexandra and Richard Douglas were your parents?”

      That he knew her parents’ first names shouldn’t have surprised her, but it did. Cape Darkwood was a small town, after all. She looked up from the drawer. In the candlelight, she was able to get a better look at

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