Page 380 of A Matter of Time

The idea of going back into the house made me nauseous. The fear was irrational but nevertheless coursing through my body. Outside, I could see if something came at me. I could maneuver or run. In the confines of the house, I could not.

“Shit,” I said. “Why am I so fuckin’ scared of nothing?”

“Jory,” he pleaded, “baby, it’s not nothing. You’ve been fearless so far, but really, this is stupid. They found the attic; you don’t need to go up there.”

“Okay,” I said to placate him before I hung up and forced myself forward to the back door. I could feel my chest tightening; I was having trouble moving air through my lungs. I was so close to hyperventilating.

In the kitchen, leaning on the refrigerator and hearing it cycle, I calmed down. Normal noises, things that made sense, were helpful. I still wanted a gun. I had never wanted one before. And even though I was calmer than I’d been all night, my phone ringing scared the hell out of me, and I screamed.

“Shit,” I said as I answered it, feeling stupid.

“As predicted, they did find the attic, but I told them you were there, so lots of people are on their way back. You’re gonna be knee-deep in police officers in, like, ten minutes, so just drive back to me, okay?”

But I knew his voice too well. He was lying. “Sure,” I played along before I hung up again and called Caleb.

“Do you know what time it is?”

“Never mind,” I scolded him. “Do you remember ever being in an attic?”

“An attic? I don’t think so.”

“When you got taken to talk to Dane on the phone, where’d ya go?”

“I don’t really know because I was blindfolded, but if I had to guess, I’d say it was a kitchen. It just smelled like a kitchen, you know?”

Which made sense. The walk from the shed to the kitchen was close, and there was a phone in the kitchen. Not that they had used that phone. Caleb had said he’d talked to Dane on a cell phone, probably a burner like mine.

“So you remember being outside and then inside when he moved you.”

“Yeah.”

“God, I wish you were here to see the shed and the kitchen.”

“I’ll be there tomorrow morning. You can pick me up.”

“I will. What airline?”

“I dunno. I’ll look in a minute. Can I just say I’ve been on more airplanes this past year than I think I have in my whole entire life?”

And as he rambled on, I calmed. Even though I was in a dark, creepy house, I was at ease because we were talking about normal things. But when I came around the corner, I saw something move. There was no way to stifle the scream.

“Jesus, what?” Caleb yelled.

The living room had double French doors, both glass. I had seen my own reflection.

“Crap,” I said. “Sorry.”

“Are you kidding?” he chided me. “You just took ten years off my life!”

“Shit.”

“Maybe you should leave and⁠—”

“No, I’m just freaked out.”

“Oh, no shit.”

“Should I just call you back when⁠—”