May glanced at Owen as they slowed down, both getting their bearings. If they did have to go in, they'd be better off if they could catch Dean unawares.
Then she saw something move in the bushes to the right of the house. She wasn't sure what it was—a branch moving in the wind, perhaps? Immediately, it caught her eye.
She slowed down even more, and Owen, alert to her movements, looked the same way.
"What is it?"
"I saw something move in the bushes," May said, trying to see what it was. "To the right of the house, about twenty yards away."
But all she could see was a long line of shrubbery and then the fence which separated the large property from the neighbor's backyard.
"I didn't see anything," Owen said, his voice low.
"It could have been a raccoon," May said.
"Not so close to the porch," Owen said. "Would a raccoon really be so near the house?"
May slowed, watching carefully. She was sure she could see the hint of something in those thick bushes, or maybe it wasn't something. Maybe it was someone, hiding out and watching them arrive.
A chill ran through her. She was sure now that she'd seen a person.
"I think we need to get out of the car," she said. “I want to go and check that out. I don’t like the look of it.”
"You think it's Linn?" Owen asked, sounding very alert now. “Is getting out the best idea?” Now, he sounded worried, and May knew he was thinking of those potential weapons.
"I don't know," May admitted. "But it’s really my only idea, because I need to see what it is, and I can’t stay in the car."
"I'll go with you," Owen said. He got on the radio and warned the officers in the car behind them.
"We've seen movement to the right of the house, and we're going to check it out before proceeding," he said.
"Copy," the reply came. May saw both officers staring intently in that direction, as the car's windows were buzzed down.
She opened the door and climbed out, the cold wind tugging at her hair. As she stepped in the direction of the movement, she couldn't help feeling very vulnerable. There were some seriously deluded people out there. All it would take was one interaction with a wrong one, and May knew that life as she knew it could be over.
Her mind went briefly back once more to Lauren. The wrong place at the wrong time, and Lauren's life as she knew it had ended forever. All the more reason for May to show courage and face her fears, she thought determinedly. If someone was hiding here, she needed to call them out, get them out of hiding, and speak to them in a calm way.
May paced forward, her shoes treading over the paving, staring at the bushes ahead. She wasn't imagining things. She was seeing someone there. The figure was crouched down in the bushes, and it was dressed in military style clothing. Her heart sped up.
"You see him?" May murmured to Owen. She put her hand on her weapon. The bushes were thick, and she could only see the outline of the body, not the face. But most definitely, he was holding something in his hand. She saw the gleam of a matte, black object and swallowed hard.
Was he facing toward them or away? That, she couldn't tell. Her heart was pounding hard and fast. She reached for her weapon, holding it tightly in her hand.
"I see him now. I think we must get him out of there," Owen muttered back. "He's holding something."
"Yes, he is."
She had to call out, to give the man a warning, even though she knew that might trigger an attack. Slowly, she took a step forward, her hand ready on her weapon.
"This is the police!" she called, trying to subdue the tremble she could hear in her own voice. "We're police officers. We're going to walk toward you slowly, and we want you to stand up in a calm way. Please cooperate with us, and there won't be trouble."
May waited for a moment.
And then, the bushes erupted so suddenly that she jumped, her heart in her throat.
A huge man stood up, shaking greenery and leaves from his powerful shoulders. His face was broad and impassive. He stared at them in annoyance.
He was dressed in camo gear. And he was holding a long-lens camera in his hand.
