She looked over her shoulder and saw Jack move out of the doorway and glance toward both ends of the hall. He must not have seen or heard anything suspicious, because he stepped back in.
Caroline looked outside again, trying to pick through the darkness and the rain. Willing herself to see something.
And she did.
Thanks to a bolt of lightning, Caroline saw the blur of motion next to one of the massive oaks.
“Did you see that?” Clarie immediately asked.
“I did.” And Caroline was almost positive that it was a woman. One who was no longer in sight.
“Clarie, switch places with me for a second,” Jack told the deputy, and Clarie immediately hurried across the room to take up position by the door as Jack came to the window.
“She’s behind the center tree in that cluster,” Caroline explained, motioning in the direction where she’d spotted the person. “I didn’t get a look at her face, but I think she’s wearing a ski mask.”
Which would make sense. Not only would it conceal her identity, but it would make her face less likely to stand out in the darkness. Ditto for the black clothes. If it hadn’t been for the lightning, Caroline might have missed the figure.
Jack continued to keep watch. Waiting. And Mother Nature cooperated with another lightning flash. It lit up the area by the trees for just a second. Enough for them to see that no one was there. Either the woman had moved or she had stayed behind cover.
Caroline soon got the answer as to which had happened.
Despite the rain and her own ragged breath, Caroline heard the sound. So did Jack and Clarie. Their heads whipped up in its direction. It had come not from the trees but rather the back of the inn. And it was something they’d been listening for.
The sound of someone stepping on broken glass.
An intruder was inside the house.
JACKSILENTLYCURSED, bracing himself for a fight.
He’d known all along that it would be possible for someone to get in the house without the deputies or anyone else seeingthem, but he had hoped that wouldn’t happen. Now that it had, he needed to do something about it.
He motioned for Clarie to switch places with him again and for her and Caroline to stay in place at the window. That would accomplish two things. The women could continue to keep watch in case this intruder was a decoy, and Caroline would keep out of the most probable line of fire.
Because Jack was certain the person who’d just stepped on that glass would soon be heading to the lights in the foyer.
Clarie took out her phone to send a text to Gunnar. It was part of the plan they’d worked out while still back at his house. She would let Gunnar know about the problem, and then either Gunnar or Manuel would move in closer to assist. The other would stay back to watch for anyone else.
Jack didn’t move. Not yet. He just stood there, waiting for the next sound, and he didn’t have to wait long.
More footsteps.
At first, those footsteps crunched over the broken glass, but then that stopped. It didn’t mean the intruder had left or had even quit moving. It only meant the glass was no longer in the path to alert Jack.
Dragging in a long breath, Jack tightened his grip on his gun and leaned slightly out the doorway so they could start the next phase of this trap. After all, they’d lured the killer or a henchman here with the news that Caroline was trying to recover all her memories. It was best if he played along with that for now.
“Just take a deep breath, Caroline,” he said, trying to make it seem as genuine as possible. “Try to clear your mind and think about what else you heard in that phone call. What did the caller say to Eric?”
With his lines delivered, he motioned for Caroline to jump into this.
“I’m okay.” Caroline’s shaky voice definitely didn’t mesh with the strong woman who was keeping watch out the window. “And I do think I remember. Yes, I can hear the person speaking...”
She purposely let her words trail off. Also as planned.
Jack listened for more of the footsteps. Nothing. But Clarie gave him the thumbs-up to indicate that one of the deputies was moving closer to the house. Since Jack hadn’t heard her phone ding with the message, Clarie had likely silenced it.
“Can you tell if it’s a man or woman talking to Eric?” Jack asked to keep his therapy conversation going with Caroline.
Again, she mumbled her response, but she strung it out for a few seconds. Hopefully, the intruder would think she was having some kind of revelation and would get there fast to try to silence her. Jack didn’t want this dragging on any longer than necessary, and he could stop the person as soon as she came into view.
