Page 53

CHAPTER 53

O live heard the front door open.

Her heart raced as she realized what was happening.

She didn’t have time to get out of the house. Heading toward the back door would put her right in line with the front door.

She had to make a quick decision.

She ducked into the closet, leaving the door cracked just enough to peer out.

As she stood there in the darkness waiting, she texted Jason:

Man or woman?

He replied back:

Man. Never seen him before.

Olive had to wonder if this was the same guy who’d come while Nova was looking through the mailbox.

But why would that man come back now? If Rebecca and Matt were heading home from the hospital, it would be strange for him to come here to pick up something. The timing was off.

Maybe this guy wanted to grab something before Rebecca and Matt got home so he wouldn’t be seen.

The soft pad of footsteps on the carpet sounded in the hallway.

Olive waited, halfway expecting the man to enter the bedroom.

A creak cut through the air.

Her lungs froze.

But the sound hadn’t come from the door to Matt and Rebecca’s bedroom, she realized.

There were two other bedrooms in the house. From what Rebecca had told Olive, one belonged to Willow and the other was a home office. She wasn’t sure which was which.

If Olive had to guess, the man had gone into the office. More suspicious information could be found there.

She took a step back and her foot hit something.

Out of curiosity, she reached to pick it up.

She squinted.

A burner phone had been stuffed into a shoe.

Why would Rebecca or Matt have a hidden burner phone?

More things didn’t make sense.

She wanted to take the device with her, but she couldn’t. If this phone went missing, it would be too obvious someone had taken it. Instead, she placed it back inside the shoe.

As she did, a new thought hit her. What if someone else was investigating this family? The police? The FBI? Even a reporter possibly?

Maybe that was who’d come inside.

Olive would never know if she remained hidden.

Drawing in a deep breath, Olive pushed the door open and slunk out. She wanted a better look.

But she couldn’t be caught. She needed to be very careful.

For that reason, she decided to stay in the bedroom and peer into the hallway.

She quietly walked toward the doorway.

Just before she reached it, the floor squealed beneath her.

She froze, her heart racing out of control.

Had that man heard her footstep? Had she just blown it?

She was about to find out.

Olive’s heart pounded in her ears.

She couldn’t just stand here. Yet she couldn’t afford to make any more sounds either.

She imagined the man coming into this room and seeing her. Reacting to her. Attacking her.

Her body still ached from the fight last night. She wasn’t as strong today as she’d like. Her body needed more time to recover.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket.

It was probably Jason, checking to make sure she was okay.

Olive needed to move!

She hurried toward the bedroom door and ducked behind it.

She had her gun with her, though she didn’t want to use it.

No sounds came from the hallway.

She tried to peer in the gap between the door and the wall.

As her vision narrowed, she spotted a man wearing a black ball cap and hoodie. She couldn’t make out his features.

But he stared at the bedroom doors as if contemplating whether to go inside.

Olive’s heart continued to pound in her ears as she waited.

Finally, the man went inside the other bedroom.

Olive released the breath she’d been holding, though she knew she wasn’t out of the woods yet.

Remaining in place, she continued to watch and listen.

She heard his footsteps moving around. A moment later, he emerged, shoving something into his pocket.

His steps were faster this time as he headed away from the hallway.

Then the front door closed.

The man was gone.

But it was too soon to relax.

Instead, Olive took the phone from her pocket and looked at her messages.

Jason confirmed the man was walking back to his vehicle.

She let out a breath. Good.

But she still needed to get out of here.

She glanced at her watch. Rebecca should have been released from the hospital about ten minutes ago. If she’d left any earlier . . .

Olive didn’t even want to think about that.

She left the bedroom but paused as something beckoned her back.

Her eye was drawn to the room she’d seen the man go into.

On a whim, she hurried down the hallway and pushed the door open, fully expecting to see an office.

Her breath caught when she realized it was Willow’s room.

What in the world had the man been doing inside the girl’s room?

Her thoughts twisted in so many different directions, they formed a knot.

None of the possibilities were good.

Her phone buzzed again—probably Jason reminding her to get out of there.

She glanced at the screen. But before she could read the words, she heard car doors slamming. Voices drifted from outside.

Olive scanned her texts and confirmed her fear.

Matt and Rebecca were home early.