Page 382 of A Matter of Time

And it was.

After a few minutes I climbed back down and left the attic stairs down when I bolted from the house. I definitely needed a partner in crime. I was looking forward to having Caleb there the next day. Following up on leads in dark houses was way freakier than it looked.

I checked the car before I got in it and then locked all the doors and drove away fast before anything happened. A line of police cars passed me, and there was relief knowing that they’d actually made it.

“What are you gonna do now?” Caleb asked me, yawning loudly.

“I dunno. I’m afraid if I go home, the detectives working the case might not let me pick you up alone tomorrow morning. I don’t wanna go to Dane’s or⁠—”

“Why don’t you get a room somewhere, and tomorrow we’ll get another room together.”

“That sounds good.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll call you when I get in.”

“You can’t, I have to turn the phone off.”

“Then just let me meet you at your room. Call me back as soon as you get one tonight.”

“Good plan.”

“I try,” he replied. “But listen, you really need to sleep tonight, all right? You’re starting to sound really weird and jumping at your own shadow.”

“I know. I’m just tired.”

“Yes, I know, so…sleep.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you in just a bit.”

He hung up then and I turned off the burner.

I felt better, because talking to him was somehow normal. We had been through a lot together lately, and in some ways, he was closer to me than anyone. We were like war buddies, and the thought of seeing him was comforting.

As I drove toward the airport in search of a hotel, my panic subsided and I started to calm. Once I found a pay-by-the-night place and got checked into my room, I called Caleb again and gave him all the information, and then I called Dane. I had locked all the doors and felt pretty safe two floors up.

“Hey.”

“Where are you?”

“I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“I want to know where you are.”

“I’m fine.”

“Not what I asked. Where”—he over-enunciated the word—“are you?”

“I’m safe. Where are you?”

“I’m at the hospital with Sam, watching over him as you asked.”

“You should go home and get some sleep. I didn’t mean that you should⁠—”

“He’s sleeping. You exhausted him with your antics at the house. He tried valiantly to stay awake, but his body’s healing, and he just can’t expend that much energy and not be knocked out. You should think about what you’re putting him through.”

The guilt wasn’t going to work. “Okay.”

“Okay? That’s all you have to say?”