Page 15 of Line of Sight

“Is everyone okay?”

There was a pause. “Yeah. We’re all playing the waiting game here.”

Dan knew what that meant too. “In that case I’ll let you get back to your grandkids, and I’ll call Matt. Don’t let them wear you out.”

Dad laughed. “Why do you think I’m in my den? I’m too old to play horsey. I’ll leave that to Ben and Leo.” He said goodbye and hung up.

Dan dialed Matt’s number. “Hey. You got time to talk?”

Matt sighed. “You’ve been speaking to Dad, haven’t you?”

He got comfortable on the bed and let Matt talk. They’d been like this since Dan was a teenager. Matt might have been the older of the two, but it was usually Dan dishing out advice or simply providing a sounding board.

“Call me when you have news, okay?”

Matt let out another sigh. “Maybe we’ll get an early Christmas present. And speaking of which, we’re all dying to meet your man.”

“Oh Lord. He’s usually the one doing the interrogating.” The door opened, and Gary stuck his head around it. Dan beckoned for him to come in. “Okay, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you at Christmas. Give my love to Nicole.”

“Right back atcha. Take care, little brother. Don’t rile any killers, okay?”

Dan assured him he would do his utmost to stay out of any killers’ radar. But once he’d hung up, he couldn’t help thinking about Matt’s instruction.

I can try and stay out of danger, but what if danger is already on my trail?

Gary sat on the edge of the bed. “Everything okay with your folks?”

“They’re fine. It’s Matt and Nicole who are dealing with a lot right now.”

“What’s going on?”

Dan leaned against the pillows. “They’ve been trying to have a baby for the last five years. So far Nicole has had four miscarriages. She keeps saying it’s her fault for leaving it toolate, but that’s bullshit. Lots of women have kids in their early forties.”

“Have the doctors pinpointed what could be the cause? Is it anything they can help with?”

Dan nodded. “Nicole has what they call a weak cervix.” He peered at Gary. “How much do you know about childbirth?”

Gary snorted. “Zilch, but it sounds as though you’ve become an expert.”

“We all have.” Dan’s chest tightened. “It’s been heartbreaking watching them go through all this. Anyhow, with a full-term pregnancy, the cervix starts to shorten, then it dilates from contractions during labor. But in Nicole’s case, it’s done that during the second trimester, sometimes even early on in the third. When it happens, there are no labor symptoms. The result is a miscarriage or premature labor.”

“What can be done about it?”

“Matt said as soon as they know Nicole is pregnant, the doctors will stitch the cervix closed, and in the final month, they’ll remove the stitches.” Dan sighed. “And right now they’re trying again.”

Gary picked up the book lying on the bed. He peered at the cover. “The Executionersagain? What are you doing with it?”

“I’m waiting too.”

“For what?”

Dan shrugged. “Inspiration? A feeling? Anything that will point me in the direction of this guy.”

“It could be a woman,” Gary suggested.

“I used the term guy in the same way dude can refer to anyone of any gender.” As to the killer’s gender, he didn’t have any strong feelings either way.

What he couldn’t shake was the feeling that despite what he’d said to his brother, he was already on the killer’s radar, and he didn’t like that—not one bit.