He brought the vehicle to a halt and studied the scene. “You’re sure this is the right place?”
“I told you, Thaddeus is a bit eccentric.” Abby unfastened her seat belt and opened the door.
“Doesn’t look like he’s much of a gardener.”
“The pots and the weeds are all that remain of an experimental garden he planted years ago. He was trying to grow some exotic herbs that he found for sale online. Supposedly, the herbs had psychical properties. But they didn’t do well in this climate.”
Sam got out of the car. “How do we announce ourselves?”
“There’s an intercom at the gate.” Abby started forward. “I’ll let Thaddeus know we’re here. He’ll disarm the security system and let us in.” She opened the rear door of the SUV. “Come on, Newton. We’re going to visit Thaddeus.”
Newton bounded down, but he did not look like his usual enthusiastic self. Instead, he flattened his ears and moved close to Abby.
“Maybe he’s not a country dog at heart, after all,” Sam said.
“I don’t understand it,” Abby said. “Usually he loves to come up here.”
Small shards of ice touched the back of Sam’s neck. He jacked his senses a little and looked around, trying to decide what it was about the scene that was bothering him.
“Wait,” he said, making it an order.
Abby stopped and looked back at him. “What is it?”
“Looks like the gate is unlocked.”
“That’s impossible. Thaddeus always keeps the gate locked.” She took a closer look. “Good grief, you’re right. It’s not like Thaddeus to get sloppy with his security system. He’s totally paranoid, and he’s got reason to be. He deals with some very dangerous collectors.”
Sam went back to the SUV, opened the cargo-bay door and unzipped his duffel bag. He took out the small pistol, shut the door and went back to the gate.
“That’s a gun,” Abby said. She sounded oddly shocked.
“Good observation.”
“But I thought you used that crystal gadget for self-defense.”
“Sometimes a gun works better. It gets people’s attention faster.”
He gave the gate a cautious shove. It swung open easily enough. He walked into the yard. Abby followed quickly. Newton trailed behind. He whined softly.
“Something is wrong,” Abby said.
“Yes,” Sam said. “But I think the trouble has already come and gone.”
“You can tell things like that?”
“I’ve got pretty good intuition when it comes to this kind of stuff.” He glanced at Newton. “So does your dog.”
“Maybe Thaddeus fell ill or took a fall,” Abby said anxiously. “If he managed to call an ambulance or a neighbor, that would explain why he unlocked the security system.”
“Maybe.” But he knew before he went up the three concrete steps that whatever he found inside the little house was going to be bad.
The front door was ajar. He pushed it wider.
Abby eyed the open door. “This isn’t good.”
“No,” Sam said. “It isn’t.”
Sam took another look at Newton. The dog’s ears were flat, and his tail was down. He stayed close to Abby, but he did not have the go–for-the-throat vibe he’d had earlier, when Abby had confronted Dawson.
