Page 51 of Shallow Remains

She worked straight through until her focus started wandering. It was a little after four in the afternoon. She could sneak in a nap before Lachlan was done work for the day.

Larry, Curly, and Moe all raced over and hopped on top of her as soon as she stretched out on the sofa and draped a blanket over herself. They were actually pretty cute when they were curled up on her like little furry heating pads.

She silenced her phone so it wouldn’t wake her. The house was quiet. She was warm and comfy and so tired…

She jerked awake in near darkness to frantic, shrill barking.

TWENTY-FIVE

“Shit,” she breathed, putting a hand to her galloping heart as the dogs leaped off her and charged for the front door.

She grabbed her phone to check the time. It was just before midnight. And she’d missed a call and three subsequent messages from Lachlan, the last one asking her to respond and let him know she was okay.

“Dammit.”

The dogs continued to go nuts at the door. What had Mae said?

“Quiet, you three.”

They ignored her.

Was this normal? Or was someone out there?

Phone in hand, she moved through the darkened living room, shrouded in shadows. The dogs were all lined up at the front door, ears perked, low growls filling the quiet room.

A crawling sensation started between her shoulder blades and spread up the back of her neck.

She peered through a sidelight at the front door. The dogs quieted at her presence but didn’t relax their vigilance.

A heavy fog had rolled in. It blanketed the ground in a thick layer several feet high, obscuring everything outside below the level of the top of the front garden gate.

There was no movement out there that she could see. But she didn’t like the way the dogs remained poised by the front door, ears and tails up. Still on high alert.

They knew something was up. That something was out there.

She moved to the adjoining living room and eased the edge of a curtain back to peer up the street. Through the gloom she could see the outline of Willow’s cottage. She stilled, watching for a minute.

The prickle at her nape intensified when a dark shape detached from the shadows at the far end of Willow’s place. Someone darted out of view near the road. Seconds later, the faint sound of a car engine drifted through the night.

Without thinking twice, she dialed Lachlan.

“Maddy, everything okay?” he answered, sounding more awake than she’d expected.

It wasn’t lost on her that her first instinct had been to call him, not Blaine. “I’m fine. I just… I’m at Mae’s. I fell asleep, and the dogs woke me up going crazy a few minutes ago. It’s really foggy up here, but I just saw someone casing Willow’s place. They got into a car and drove away. I didn’t get a good look at them so I didn’t call the police in case I’m wrong.”

“Are you safe?”

“Yes.” She hoped so.

“Stay where you are, and keep the doors locked. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Okay.” She already felt better knowing he was coming. “Thank you.” If she was making a big deal out of nothing, so be it. At least she would get to see him.

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m on my way.”

While she waited she turned on a few lights downstairs to make it look like someone was home and awake, then sat on the sofa to wait. Larry jumped up into her lap. Curly followed suit, and Moe held out another ten seconds before joining her siblings. They huddled against her, ears pricked.

Was someone still out there?