He had her now. There was no doubt.

His finger tightened on the trigger as he spun the weapon around the room. He stopped and pulled the trigger.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

He cursed as the feet he had seen disappearing out the window were now out of sight.

He dashed forward and stepped onto the wooden box she used to reach the opening. He hefted himself up, pulled his torso outside, and there she was, to his left, racing across the back lawn. He would never be able to get to her now.

He had failed.

Chapter 17

Tuesday, 4:05 p.m.

IT TOOK LESS THAN five minutes for first responders to appear on the scene and secure the building after Annie called 9-1-1 from Chrissy’s house next door. Officers searched the Lincoln house thoroughly before they declared it clear. The would-be murderer had fled.

Jake had returned home while the search was underway and Hank arrived shortly thereafter.

Annie looked at her husband, sitting on the edge of the couch, his face still showing the horror he felt at the sudden discovery of his home surrounded by cops.

“I had no idea what was going on,” he said. “Naturally, I feared the worst.” He turned to Hank, standing in the doorway. “I went to fill up with gas, and when I got back …”

“I think you should get a better lock for the back door, Jake,” Hank said. “It looks like the guy was a pro.”

Annie tried to control her trembling body. When she had first seen the killer in the mirror, she reacted almost without thought. Her first instinct was to get out of the house. As she dashed down the hallway, she saw him standing, a gun in his hand, and knew he meant business. She didn’t have time to be afraid, but now, thinking back on her close call, she was terrified, and she still shivered all over.

“What confuses me the most, is why,” she said. “Is this related to the Shaft case, or something else?”

“What concerns me more is, the guy might be back,” Jake said.

“We have to stop him before he does.” Hank sat on the couch and looked at Annie. “Did you see his face?”

“Just briefly.”

“Do you think you could recognize him again?”

Annie shook her head. “I don’t think so. All I know is, it was a man, and he wore dark clothes.”

“Hair color?”

“Not sure. I think he wore a cap. He wasn’t especially big or small. That’s about all I can tell you. I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.”

An investigator appeared in the doorway. “No unknown prints on the back door or the basement door, Hank. In fact, we checked the whole main floor and nothing.”

Hank bobbed his head up and down. “I expected as much. This guy might be a pro. He likely wore gloves.”

“Do you think it might be Norton?” Jake asked.

Hank pursed his lips and looked at the ceiling a moment. “Perhaps. But for what reason?”

“Maybe he thinks Annie knows something?”

Hank looked at Annie. “Do you?”

Annie shrugged. “Not that I can think of.” She paused. “I think he might have been after both of us, and thought Jake would be here as well.”

“If it was Norton, how would he know we were looking into the case?” Jake asked.

“Lisa Krunk,” Hank said.

Jake looked confused. “Lisa Krunk?”

“From the interview she did with Maria Shaft. They’ve been running teasers all day. The complete story is scheduled for six, and your names were mentioned.”

Annie’s brow wrinkled in disgust. “That woman is always sticking her beak in where she’s not wanted.”

Hank nodded. “And a murder always catches everyone’s attention.” He looked at Annie. “Lisa might be a royal pain, but she’s only doing her job as a reporter.”

“So the whole city knows about this case now,” Jake said.

“Afraid so,” Hank said. “And if it was Norton, we have no way to connect the dots. Annie said he fired two, maybe three shots through the window, but no bullets were recovered. Assuming they didn’t hit anything, they’re probably halfway across the city. So with no bullets, no fingerprints, and since Annie didn’t see his face.” He shrugged. “We don’t have much.”

Annie glanced over as she heard footsteps on the stairs. In a moment, Matty poked his head into the living room. “Can I come out of my room now?”

Annie looked at Jake, then back at Matty. “Yes, but stay in the house.”

Matty leaped onto the couch between Hank and Jake. “What’s going on here, anyway?”

Everyone sat back and looked at Matty, unsure how to answer. Finally, Jake said, “Someone was in the house while we were away, but he’s gone now, and everything’s okay.”

“How did he get in?” Matty asked.

“The back door.”

Matty’s face brightened. “Did you check for fingerprints?”

Hank grinned. “We checked. No prints.”

Matty frowned. “What about the neighbors? Maybe somebody saw him.”

“You might be right. We have officers checking up and down the street.” Hank paused and looked intently at Matty. “Do you have any more ideas?”

“Not right now.”

Hank looked at Annie. “I’ll make sure officers watch the house at all times until we catch him.”

“I hope it won’t be long,” Annie said.

“I suppose you have no new leads on the Shaft case?” Jake asked.

“Not yet. We’re still hoping to find Norton’s car. It has to be somewhere.”

Annie turned to Hank. “It skipped my mind with all this going on and I forgot to mention it. We went to see Tammy Norton. It turns out she and her husband don’t get along as well as she let on. We finally got her to admit …” She paused and glanced at Matty. “Her husband … doesn’t treat her too well.”

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Annie nodded. “We saw some … evidence on her face, and she admitted it.”

Matty slid off the couch and wandered toward the kitchen.

Annie watched him leave, and then leaned toward Hank and whispered. “She had a black eye and a bruise on her chin.”

Hank sat back and crossed his arms, the fingers of one hand tickling his chin. “So, he’s violent.”

“At least, toward her,” Jake said. “But she still covers up for him.”

Hank looked at the floor, shaking his head slowly. “This case is getting more confusing all the time. I’m trying to piece everything together into some plausible scenario, but nothing fits. And I can’t find anything that even remotely looks like a motive.”

“What about that 9-ball tournament that shows Shaft and Norton had a relationship?” Annie asked. “Anything on that yet?”

“I have plans to go to the pub where the tournament was held. Talk to the organizer and any other people either one of them might’ve come into contact with.”

“That should keep you busy for a while,” Jake said.

Hank shrugged and stood. “I’m a detective and that’s what detectives do. I have to take the boring jobs along with the rest.” He grinned. “Besides, I have King to help me.” He paused. “I haven’t heard back from him yet, so I assume he doesn’t have any earth-shattering news, but as soon as he returns, I’ll set him to work again.”

“And I plan on going over everything we know,” Annie said, as she stood and followed Hank to the door. “Maybe I’ll come up with a new approach.”

She had no idea what that approach would be, but there had to be an answer somewhere.

Chapter 18

Tuesday, 5:59 p.m.

JAKE SWITCHED on the television and stretched out on the couch, his back against the armrest. The story by Lisa Krunk was scheduled for 6:00, and though he was disgusted at the way she sensationalized every news report, it pertained to the case they were working on and he didn’t want to miss it.