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FORTY-THREE

He watched them from behind the trees. He laughed to himself as they discovered what he’d done to their generator. He hadn’t counted on cell phone service being affected, but it only helped him. He could take his time now. He didn’t have to kill her right away. He wondered how long it would take them to understand the message he was sending. Or if they even had the capacity to do so. At some point, someone would figure it out, but they still wouldn’t connect it to him. He was too smart for them all.

He made his way back to his vehicle. He would stay nice, warm, and cozy while he waited for nightfall. Then he would continue with his mission. He glanced up at heaven and smiled. Were the angels crying yet? He would keep going until they did.

Kaely and Erin worked quickly to check all the doors and windows in the cabin. They also closed the drapes in the living room so no one could look inside.

“When it gets dark, we’ll be at risk,” Kaely said. They were back in the living room, but they’d turned off the lanterns. They needed to save the batteries just in case. “I think we need to get into one of our cars and try to make it to town. We’re sitting ducks here.”

“We’re armed, and we’re pretty sure we know who our adversary is,” Erin said. “If we go outside, aren’t we putting ourselves in more danger? He could be hiding in the trees. And, he could be armed too. And what if our car gets stuck?”

“I honestly don’t think he wants to shoot us,” Kaely said. “That would mess with his MO.” She shook her head. “Maybe one of us could try to make it to the car. The other could cover her.”

“I don’t think we should separate. I mean, he could follow our car, if we can even get back to town, and if he doesn’t do that, whoever was left here would be alone. An easier target, right?”

“You’re right of course,” Kaely said. “Sorry. I’m a little rattled. I left the FBI because I wanted to start a family, and I believed it would be safer for all of us. And now, here I am again.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. “I guess we’d better barricade ourselves in and stay armed and watchful. Like you said, that way it’s two against one.”

“It’s also possible that the electricity could come back on... and the phones. I’m certain they’re both being worked on.”

“One thing doesn’t make sense to me,” Kaely said slowly. “Why now? He could easily get trapped by the snow. I thought that would deter him. Statistically, he shouldn’t be out there now.”

“Maybe he has some kind of car or truck that can navigate snow and ice.” She shook her head. “Of course, ‘neither snow nor rain or dark of night...’”

Kaely shook her head. “I thought of the same thing. Gives me the willies.”

“Did you know it’s not really the post office’s creed? It was inscribed on New York City’s James A. Farley Post Office Building in the early 1900s. It was borrowed from a passage in George Herbert Palmer’s translation of Herodotus’ Histories, referring to the courier service of the ancient Persian Empire.”

Kaely looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

Erin sighed. “Sorry, sometimes when I get nervous, I like to quote useless facts.”

Kaely smiled at her. “It’s okay. And that was interesting. I had no idea.”

“You’re trying to appease me, aren’t you?”

“Maybe. Is it working?”

Erin couldn’t hold back a giggle, although she was fairly sure it was more nerves than anything else. “You’re probably the only person in the world who could make me laugh at a time like this.”

“I count that as a compliment,” Kaely said. “Now, back to our situation.” She frowned. “You know, I noticed a black SUV parked outside while we were at the post office. There was a magnetic post office sign on the side door. I’ll bet that’s what he’s driving. If they use it to deliver mail, I’m sure it has snow tires. He might not be that worried about the weather at all.”

Erin looked at her. “He... he wouldn’t be, would he? Do you think he knows the phones are out?”

“We can’t be certain, but if he has a phone, which I’m sure he does, it certainly wouldn’t be hard to figure out. I think we need to assume that he’s aware of it.”

“So now he knows we can’t get help.”

“You could be right,” Kaely said. “I’ll bet he disabled the generator after he knew we’d lost phone service.”

“But he doesn’t know when our service will be restored, does he?” Erin said. “So does that mean he feels the need to move quickly?” Even as the words left her lips, she felt her stomach flip over. It was true. He couldn’t afford to wait too long. If he was determined that she would be the E in Watcher, he’d have to kill her as soon as possible, before he could move on. He wouldn’t want to look for someone else. It would take too much time. She was a perfect target—and this was the perfect opportunity.

“Look, let’s get this place ready,” Kaely said, her expression stoic and her manner determined. “We need to make certain he can’t get in, and we need to protect ourselves.”

“Which means what?”

“We need to cover all the other windows. We don’t want him to know where we are. There’s some tin foil and scotch tape in the kitchen. We’re going from room to room to close curtains, cover windows or sliding glass doors.” She frowned at Erin. “How many magazines did you bring for your gun?”

Erin shook her head. “I wasn’t actually planning on being targeted by a serial killer. I have one in my gun and a spare in my gun box.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t either. I brought three magazines. We should be okay.”

Erin’s mouth dropped open. “We have two guns and five magazines between us. If we need more than that to take Allen out, we’re doing something wrong. I mean, he’s not superhuman.” She frowned. “I always keep a spare magazine in my gun box. Why did you bring three with you? Were you planning on World War Three this week?”

Kaely shrugged. “Sorry. I fell back on my FBI training. I realized I didn’t actually need three magazines when I declared my gun at the airport, but now I’m glad I brought them.”

“Me too. If I miss the first thirty times, you should be able to get him.”

Kaely laughed and shook her head. “It’s always better to be prepared, I guess. But you’re right. He should be more worried than we are. I’m going to look for candles. We have four lamps and lots of batteries. After we make certain he can’t see inside the house, we’ll put the lamps and candles in the most important places. We need to be able to see where we’re going while we keep him from seeing us.”

“Okay.” Down at her feet, Chester whined. “Oh, shoot. He needs to go out again. We rushed him last time. What are we going to do?”

“We can’t let him outside,” Kaely said. “Even though Allen likes to stab his victims, we can’t rule out the possibility that he has a gun too. I know serial killers like to stick to their MOs, but we can’t take a chance.”

“I have an idea,” Erin said. “I’ll take him out on the balcony outside my bedroom. With the lights out, I don’t think he’ll notice us. And unless Allen is a long way away from the house, he won’t have a clear shot. I doubt he’s too proficient with a gun. Doesn’t seem like the type.”

“Okay. Let’s try it. I’m going to follow you upstairs. We can take care of the windows and doors up there while we’re taking care of Chester.”

Erin found the belt and attached it to Chester’s collar. He immediately began tugging toward the front door. She pulled him back.

“No, Chester,” she said. “Let’s go upstairs.” Before she headed toward the stairs, Erin said, “One thing’s that’s still bothering me. We believe Allen fits the profile of our killer. But what if we’re wrong? I’m still wondering about Timothy.”

Kaely sighed. “Well then, we’re going to have to be especially careful. The unknown can be a lot scarier and unpredictable than what’s known, and Timothy’s been trained to shoot.”

As Erin climbed the stairs with Chester beside her, Kaely’s words rang in her head. Were they really prepared for what was coming? She could only hope that Kaely’s God would protect them both.