CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Claire shuffled closer to Hannah. “I heard a mouse.”
The last thing Hannah needed was her sister bursting into hysterical shrieks. “It must have been the wind,” she whispered.
A tremor ran through Claire’s body. “You know how much I hate them. I don’t know if I can stay here.”
“You’ll be okay,” Dave said with the confidence of not seeing Claire react to rodents of any size. “Mrs. Bennett has mice traps everywhere.”
Claire peered around the basement, probably looking for any dead mice.
“Don’t worry,” Mrs. Bennett said. “I haven’t found a mouse in here for a long time. You’re perfectly safe with us.”
Hannah pushed her sister’s mouse phobia to the back of her mind. Instead, she concentrated on the security camera image on her phone. “What are they doing?” she asked.
Claire turned Hannah’s phone toward her. They’d been watching the live feed for the last few minutes.
Dave’s phone glowed in the darkness as he showed Mrs. Bennett the same pictures. “They’ve stopped beside the barn.”
Claire leaned closer to Hannah. “There’s only one person in the truck. They’re getting out!”
Hannah was trying to keep calm, but her sister’s gasp sent ripples of fear along her spine. “Would you stop doing that. We’re not in a horror movie.”
“At least he hasn’t got a chainsaw or ax,” Dave said unhelpfully.
“He could still have a gun,” Mrs. Bennett said as she squinted at Dave’s cell phone. “I should have brought my glasses. I can’t see a thing without them.”
“He’s a cowboy,” Claire whispered. “I thought there was some sort of moral code that meant all cowboys were good guys.”
Dave snorted. “I don’t know where you heard that stuff. Just because you wear a cowboy hat and jeans, it doesn’t make you any better than the next person.”
“I’ve known more than my fair share of cowboys,” Mrs. Bennett added. “And each of them was a gentleman.”
Claire’s sharp intake of breath scared the living daylights out of Hannah.
“He’s taking off his hat,” her sister whispered. “He’s tall. Can you zoom in on his face?”
Hannah tried to remember what Brett had said about switching camera angles. “I don’t want to lose the connection.”
“You push the button with number three under it,” Dave said. “Do you want me to do it?”
“Are you sure we won’t lose the picture?”
“Positive.” Dave tapped his phone and the image now came from the unit on the barn wall. “We should take a photo of his face and send it to the police.”
“Good idea,” Mrs. Bennett said. “Do you know how to do that?”
“I think so.”
“Don’t fiddle with the buttons,” Hannah said quickly. “His location is more important than what he looks like.”
Claire leaned even closer to Hannah’s phone. “Wow. He’s handsome.”
Mrs. Bennett sighed. “No one could beat my Louis. He had such a way about him.”
Hannah dropped her head to her chest. Hiding in the basement with Claire, Mrs. Bennett, and Dave was like being in a black comedy show. Their lives could be in danger and they were discussing the physical attributes of their stalker.
Dave moved the phone closer to his face. “He’s pulling out night vision goggles. Where did he get those?”
