|
|
|
|
|
|
|
to the passenger side of his car. He climbed two stairs, tried the knob of the house door, then peered through the glass. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Liam's kitchen. Its lights were on. He saw no one, alive or dead. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
On the table were Liam's salt and pepper shakers. China Leprechauns. Trev's throat went tight. He'd spent a lot of time at that table, drinking Guinness and laughing with Liam and Mary. They'd seemed a bit like leprechauns, themselves. Full of blarney and mischief. They never tired of joking about themselves, a couple of folks from County Kerry coming to the States and opening a pizzaria. Sure, 'n there's no accounting for the whims of a Kerryman. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trev's vision went blurry. He blinked his eyes clear, then stepped down to the driveway. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If the woman who'd answered the phone claiming to be Maureen wasn't a guest, she'd broken into the house. Better to find where she entered, and go in that way, than to smash through a door or window. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Keeping his shotgun ready, Trev passed the bushes at the corner of the house. He looked over the low stucco wall of the porch. The front doorwhat remained of itwas shut. Light spilled out through a ragged gap above the handle. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Someone had bashed through the door. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trev pictured a wild, axe-wielding woman bursting into the house, going after Maureen. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
She would've had some warning, though. All that noise. Maybe she got out in time. If she was inside, at all. And if she didn't try to defend the place. |
|
|
|
|
|