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The intruder hesitated only a second longer before he turned and fled, shouldering past the neighbor who’d come to her rescue.

“Hey!”

She couldn’t move. “Please let him catch him,” she whispered as two sets of feet pounded away from the bedroom. Something crashed. An engine roared. Tires squealed.

Someone headed back down the hall, and Allye lifted the bat.

“He got away.” Cornell’s voice again. He returned, rubbing his left shoulder.

She dropped the bat. Tried to catch her breath.

“Allye, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” But her legs turned to water, and she slid to the floor.

38

Eric parked behind Allye’s Jettaand dashed up the porch steps to her house. He’d gotten a brief rundown from the dispatcher, who said Allye was unharmed, but he needed to see for himself.

Another break-in spelled trouble. Something had changed, and not for the better.

Allye met him at the door, a teacup cradled in her hands. Those rose-tinted glasses were perched on her nose again, and her face was paler than he’d ever seen it—a stark contrast to her fiery red hair. But she was whole and standing on her own two feet.

Relief washed over him at the assurance she really was okay, and he nearly gave in to the impulse to take her into his arms. But he restrained himself. He had no right to even a friendly hug, not after yesterday. Instead, he said the first words that popped out. “Another migraine?”

“Yeah.” She waved him inside. “Can’t seem to totally kick it, and now it’s flared again. But I figured we’d prefer not to have our conversation in the dark. Can I get you something to drink?”

“No. Thanks though.” He followed her in, noting her overturned coffee table and a shattered glass a few feet from it.

They entered the kitchen, and he stopped short. He hadn’trealized she wasn’t alone, but a man nursing a cup of coffee leaned against the counter, and a woman sat at the table, phone in hand.

“The detective is here,” the woman said into the phone. “We’re good now.”

Allye turned to face him. “Eric, these are my neighbors, Cornell and Shannon Howard. She called 911 while he came over here to check on me. He scared the intruder off.” Her voice cracked. “Once the coast was clear, they offered to stay until someone arrived. Cornell, Shannon, have you met Detective Eric Thornton?”

Eric shook Cornell’s offered hand. “I appreciate you coming to help. We need more people who care enough to jump in when needed.”

The man rolled one shoulder as if uncomfortable with the praise. “Couldn’t live with myself if a tragedy happened because I refused to be bothered.”

Eric nodded. He felt the same. “I’ll need to get your statement.”

“Sure thing. Didn’t see much though.” He rinsed out his coffee mug and set it in the sink. “Mind if I use your restroom first, Allye?”

“No, go ahead. First door on the ... left.” She paused almost imperceptibly, but Eric caught it. And if he wasn’t mistaken, it was on the right, not the left.

After Cornell disappeared down the hall, she returned her attention to Eric. “You sure I can’t pour you some coffee or something?”

“If it’ll make you feel better.”

“It would.” She set her teacup aside and retrieved the half-empty coffeepot and a mug from the counter. “Cream or sugar?”

“Just sugar, please.”

She handed him the mug, and he noted the pronounced tremble in her hands as the liquid sloshed dangerously close to the rim. She was shaken. More than any of the times before.

“You should sit.” He kept his tone low, for her ears only. Without argument, she grabbed the nearest chair. Eric took the oneclosest to her and readied his notebook and pen. After taking a sip of the coffee, he addressed the woman across the table. “Shannon, is it?” She nodded. “Mind telling me what you witnessed?”

“Less than Cornell, unfortunately. We were in bed, but I was still awake, reading. We heard a scream, then a shout, and with what happened last week, we didn’t want to wait to see if anything else caught our attention. We ran outside, and when Cornell saw the door was open, he yelled for me to call the police and stay put.” She shivered. Her husband reappeared and placed a hand on her shoulder. She reached up and held it. “A minute later, I saw a big man run out. He took off in the opposite direction, and I heard an engine roar to life right after he disappeared around the curve.”