“In my room,” she called. Finally exhaling, she crossed back to her bedroom door and held up a hand. “Don’t touch anything.”
Cord froze in the doorway. His jaw hardened as he glanced first at her, then his gaze fell on the dead animal on her bed. “Sick son of a bitch,” he growled. “Are you okay?”
Ellie nodded, holstered her weapon then pulled herself together.
“If you think I’m scared of that pervert, you’re wrong. I’m pissed as hell that I don’t know where he is right now. I’d like to take a handful of those feathers and shove them down his throat.”
A small grin loosened Cord’s tight jaw. “There’s the hard-ass woman I know.”
Ellie made a low sound in her throat. “He’s not getting away with this.”
“Hell, no,” Cord muttered.
“Did you see anyone or another car when you arrived?”
She shook her head. Then an engine rumbled outside. “That must be backup.”
“Let’s go meet them.”
Cord nodded and followed her through the house.
Deputy Landrum was exiting his squad car. She greeted him and the ERT. “Got here as fast as I could, Detective,” Landrum said.
“Thanks.” She gestured toward the drive. “Looks like our killer wants me to know he was here.”
“Not too subtle, is he?” Lt. Williams muttered with a scowl.
“No. He was in the house, too. Left a present in my bedroom.”
Deputy Landrum’s eyes flashed with rage as he glanced at the feathers on the drive.
“Lt. Williams, please process the house,” Ellie said. “The only evidence I saw inside was in my bedroom but be thorough.”
“Always,” he said. He stepped aside to address the team, and they began to photograph the driveway and search for evidence.
Something crackled to the side of the house. Leaves or twigs? Footsteps? Was that madman still here hiding in the shadows?
THIRTY-ONE
Gun at the ready, Ellie moved to the right looking for an intruder on her property, but Cord touched her arm.
Cord spoke quietly, “Wait. Let me go.”
“Only if you stay behind me,” she whispered. “You’re not armed.”
He growled. “We’ll discuss that later.”
He inched up behind her and they crept forward, staying close to the edge of the house, flashlight off. Brush crackled again. Lightning streaked the sky. A tree limb snapped off in the wind and sailed down. Ellie darted sideways to avoid it as they continued. With the streetlight out and her porch light broken, the side and backyard were bathed in darkness.
She paused, listening. She definitely heard footsteps.
She raised her weapon and aimed it as she rounded the corner. The trash can rattled and rolled to the ground and she yelled, “Stop. I have a weapon.”
Cord flipped his flashlight on bright and shined it across the yard. Bushes waved as someone ran through them. She took off running and Cord followed close behind. It felt like hours but was only a couple of minutes until she reached the edge of herproperty. A dog barked, somewhere deep in the woods. A stray cat shot across her yard, screaming into the night.
“The cat’s bleeding,” Cord murmured.
Ellie’s stomach knotted as she inched closer and scanned the area where the cat had been while Cord raced to the edge of the woods to search in case there had been a person, not just an animal in the backyard.
