Thin Luck

Chapter 26

Chapter 26

California - Section 664

Attempted Murder

Two hours earlier

NICK STOOD BY the window. The cops were still there, but hardly paying attention. They talked, smoked, and checked their phones. He checked all of the doors to make sure they were locked, again. He made sure the back window, away from the street, was unlocked. He opened the drawer in the hallway, again. The gun was still there-still loaded. He stood in Kyle's room for a long time, watching him breathe.

Robyn was getting closer. She'd find a way in. She was crazy like that when she was on a mission. Nothing would stop her. In the past her missions had been stories. She would be wild with excitement when she was on the hunt for a story.

He should have known not to leave her like he did, but he had to get Kyle away from her. At least when she came here he'd have the upper hand.

***

I walked up to the back door, but the doorknob was locked. I tried to use my credit card to jimmy the mechanism, but then I noticed the deadbolt. I looked around for another plastic rock, tried all the door jams and looked under the mat, but there was no spare key.

I noticed the window on the left had its mechanism to the right and the one on the right had its mechanism to the left. The perfect mirror image meant that one of the windows was unlocked. I tried the one on the left first, since it was above the concrete porch, and not the rose bush, but it wouldn't budge.

I stomped on top of the rose bush. Little bits of thorn sliced through my leg. The window slowly opened. Nick didn't do anything by accident. He'd left this window open on purpose. He wanted me to break into the house.

At each creak I thought the porch light would turn on or blue lights would flash, but none came. Once the opening was big enough to reach my hand in I used my finger to pull the curtain aside.

The room was dark. Coats hung along the far wall. It was just a small mudroom. On the floor lay two very small high top tennis shoes with Nike swoops. There was a pain in my chest. I almost started to cry, but I took a deep breath to clear my mind.

I pushed up the window even farther. I heard footsteps inside the house. I stood perfectly still outside the window on top of the thorny rose bush until the footsteps sounded much further away.

I wondered if there was a cop inside the house, but I decided not to care. I started with my upper body, then a leg and the other leg. I was standing in the mudroom, trying to control my breath. I heard only the whooshing sounds of my heart pumping harder than it should have for something I'd done more times in one week than most people may do in their entire lives.

I took a few more shallow breaths while removing my boots. I tiptoed to the door. I couldn't hear anything over the sounds of my own panic when I put my ear up to the door.

But then someone pushed up against the door. "Who is it?" It was Nick's voice. He had an unmistakable booming baritone.

I whispered, loud enough for him to hear, but hopefully quiet enough not to catch the cop's attention, "Me."

Nick opened the door. I pointed the syringe at him. "What's in that?" he asked and took a few steps back. His hands were in the air. I slipped inside pointing the syringe at his chest.

"God, you really are stupid, aren't you?" Nick asked.

I shut the door behind me. "Shut up," I said. I pushed him away with my syringe. I wanted to get him away from the windows. The wood floors creaked under our footsteps in the darkness.